From Amsterdam to Budapest by Rail: Krish and His Wife’s European Adventure with Thrillophilia
Thrillophilia Verified Booking
PNR: BKDJXMFJSZY
Rating: ★★★★★
Travellers: Krish Murali & Wife
Trip Duration: 19 Days | 18 Nights
Destination: Europe
Trip Date: 25 Oct 2023 – 12 Nov 2023
Package Booked: Europe Tour Package
“The fact that we did all ourselves was special. The highlight was trains from one country to other.”
There is something very different about travelling through Europe when you are not constantly following a group or waiting for the next guided tour. For Krish Murali and his wife, the real adventure was having the freedom to experience Europe at their own pace while moving from one country to another by train.
Their 19-day journey began in Amsterdam and travelled through Brussels, Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. Instead of treating each city as a quick stop, the couple had time to explore through cruises, hop-on hop-off tours, local sightseeing, leisure days, and plenty of independent wandering.
And then there were the trains. Crossing borders by rail became one of the defining experiences of the trip, turning the journey between destinations into part of the holiday itself rather than something that simply happened between two hotel check-ins.
Amsterdam: Canals, Windmills and a Slow Start to Europe
Amsterdam was the perfect place to begin. After arriving on October 25, Krish and his wife had time to settle in before experiencing the city from its famous waterways. Their evening canal cruise offered a completely different perspective of Amsterdam, with the city's narrow historic houses, bridges, waterfront buildings, and illuminated streets gradually appearing as the boat moved through the canals.
The following day took them outside the city on a full-day excursion covering Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam, and Marken. Zaanse Schans brought the quintessential Dutch countryside experience, with traditional windmills, wooden houses, and old-world landscapes. Edam added its charming streets and historic character, while Volendam offered a glimpse of the country's traditional fishing-village heritage. The route continued to Marken, a former island known for its wooden houses and distinctive village setting.
What made Amsterdam particularly enjoyable was the combination of city and countryside. Within just a couple of days, the couple had gone from cruising through Amsterdam's canals to seeing working windmills and traditional Dutch villages.
Brussels and Cologne: Two Cities, Two Completely Different Sides of Europe
The next part of the journey was all about moving between European cities by rail. From Amsterdam, they travelled onwards to Brussels, where they had an entire leisure day to explore independently. That freedom meant they could discover the Belgian capital without being tied to a fixed sightseeing schedule, whether that meant wandering around the historic centre, spending time around Grand Place, or simply stopping at cafés and watching the city move around them.
From Brussels, the journey continued to Cologne. Here, the Rhine became the centrepiece of their experience. A panoramic city cruise offered views of Cologne from the river, while the following day's 24-hour hop-on hop-off sightseeing pass gave them the flexibility to explore the city's major landmarks at their own pace.
The combination worked particularly well for an independent trip. The cruise provided the broader city perspective, while the sightseeing bus made it easy to move between attractions without having to figure out every local connection themselves.
Berlin and Prague: History on Land and Water
Berlin brought another change in atmosphere. The couple explored the German capital through a sightseeing cruise from Berlin's Main Station before using a hop-on hop-off bus tour the following day. Seeing Berlin from the water offered a calmer way to take in its architecture and landmarks, while the bus allowed them to cover more ground across the sprawling city.
From Berlin, they continued by rail towards Prague, beginning another chapter of the journey in the Czech Republic. Prague's historic centre is particularly striking from the water, so a 50-minute evening cruise became one of their first experiences in the city. As daylight faded, the historic buildings and bridges along the Vltava created a very different atmosphere from the daytime sightseeing they had experienced elsewhere.
The following day gave them more time to explore Prague. Their hop-on hop-off experience covered the city at a relaxed pace, while tickets to Prague Castle added one of the city's most significant landmarks to their sightseeing. From the castle complex, the couple could take in views across the red rooftops of Prague before continuing their exploration of the city's historic streets.
Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest: The Final European Chapter
Vienna brought yet another change in character. The couple explored the Austrian capital using a hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour, making it easy to move between its grand architecture, historic avenues, palaces, and central landmarks. They also had a full leisure day, giving them the freedom to explore beyond the planned sightseeing rather than rushing through the city.
The journey then continued to Bratislava, where a sightseeing bus introduced them to the Slovakian capital. It was another fascinating stop on a trip already spanning several countries, and the compact nature of Bratislava offered a contrast to larger cities such as Berlin and Vienna.
Finally came Budapest. The Hungarian capital provided a fitting finale, beginning with a sightseeing cruise accompanied by a welcome drink. The Danube offered spectacular views of Budapest's riverside architecture, with landmarks illuminated along the water. The couple then explored further with a Big Bus hop-on hop-off tour before enjoying another leisure day to experience the city independently.
After nearly three weeks of changing countries, cities, trains, cruises, and sightseeing buses, their European journey finally came to an end on November 12.
How Thrillophilia Made Krish’s Independent Europe Journey Seamless
What made this trip different was that it was not built around one large guided tour. Krish and his wife were able to experience Europe independently, moving between countries by rail and using a combination of cruises, sightseeing buses, organised day trips, and leisure days.
That balance was important. A multi-country European journey covering Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest involves a considerable amount of coordination. Train connections, hotel stays, transfers, sightseeing tickets, and timings all have to work together, while the itinerary still needs enough flexibility for travellers to actually enjoy each destination.
Priyam Soni, Thrillophilia's Europe destination expert, helped put together a route that allowed the couple to experience eight European cities without turning the holiday into a rigid checklist. The planned sightseeing gave them an easy way to discover each destination, while the leisure days left room for them to decide what they wanted to do on their own.
And ultimately, that independence became the biggest highlight of all. As Krish put it, “The fact that we did all ourselves was special.”
The trains between countries were not simply a way of getting from one hotel to another. They became part of the story, watching one landscape gradually give way to another, crossing borders, arriving in a new city, and knowing that another completely different European experience was waiting at the other end.
