One night on a train from Istanbul to SofiaAugust 20th, 2009 View Comments |
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Snippets from an overnight train ride on the Bosphorus Express from Istanbul, Turkey to Sofia, Bulgaria on my current little jaunt.
Waiting, Istanbul, Turkey
The relief of being on the train segueing into the nervousness of the journey, waiting for the Bosphorus Express to depart Istanbul’s Sirkeci Station, deep in the Golden Horn of Istanbul.
Expectant, Istanbul, Turkey
Sirkeci Station was originally the eastern terminus for the famed Orient Express linking Paris to Istanbul. But those days are over; in 1977 the service was scaled back to a much smaller Vienna to Strasbourg route. The Bosphorus Express, named for the Bosphorus Straits that divides Istanbul’s Europe and Asian sides, offers daily service between Istanbul and Bucharest, Romania, with connections through and to Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest and Chişinău, Moldova.
Quarters, Istanbul, Turkey
One fear, reduced: a well-appointed berth, one of the nicer trains I’ve slept on in the past couple years (and trust me, I’m used to sleeping in many different places)…
Running, Istanbul, Turkey
A journey started, bouncing into the late night darkness of Istanbul, unaware of the jostling cacophony that the night will bring.
What will I remember from the night? The incredible bouncing, causing me to doubt my incredible ability to sleep anywhere, anytime (a misplaced fear, as it turned out); the incessant staccato of metal on metal, ten muddled minutes spent searching for its source, solved with a simple jam of my shoe into a tight spot; forty-five minutes standing in line in the wee hours of the new day waiting for an exit stamp from Turkey (more on that in a bit); followed shortly by the knocks of “passport control” on the train’s sleeping compartment doors, re-awakening the half-asleep inhabitants; the last interruption, the unexpected cries of the “customs control” officer sweeping through the train, a man that looked at me and my compartment mate Oliver and merely asked “English” to each of us, two tired shakes of our heads answering his question in turn, sending him scurrying away without a further word.
Exiting, Kapikule, Turkey
Powerless, Kapikule, Turkey
A singular highlight? A tired, bored Turkish immigration officer, stamping passports at 3 AM in the border town of Kapikule, Turkey; his questions of where I’m going (“Sofia”), where I’m going after that (a pause, “Bucharest”, followed by him repeating it back with the correct pronunciation); he answers his next questions himself with tired rolls of his hands and the names of cities on the rails beyond (“Vienna?” Da. “Berlin?” Da. “And then, Washington, DC?” Da.), both of us acknowledging the beaten path; even if my slightly more ambitions plans stray from his expectations, correcting him at 3 AM serves none of us any good, and off I slunk back to the train and my bunk.
Leaving, Istanbul, Turkey
And in the morning? Awakening to a peaceful trance, content with the hot, brown countryside as my companion, skipping away outside my window, time standing still in my oasis; my unreasonable wish to spend the rest of the day on the train, unfulfilled, as the drop into an unknown foreign city gets closer and closer.
August 20th, 2009 at 14:32
This was some good reading…
I recall a similar awakening on a sleeper train from Czech to Poland…I suppose it can't wait. :)
August 20th, 2009 at 23:49
Thanks; I too, remember that awakening. But this one seemed more matter-of-fact, less menacing, than the Czech Republic to Poland crossing; I wonder if the difference is because things have changed, or if the countries treat it differently, or my perception is changed after many more years of crossing borders in new ways…
August 21st, 2009 at 1:25
[...] One night on a train from Istanbul to Sofia [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 13:33
I really like this post. Experiencing a train station at night or traveling by train at night are two of the things that make me feel most alive.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:38
Thank you… this was actually one of my more comfortable night train experiences, compared to past overnight trains I have taken in Russia, Czech Republic/Poland, New Zealand, Thailand, India, etc., etc.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:39
[...] A hot, languid day train from Bulgaria to Romania, (Veliko Tarnovo to Bucharest via Ruse); as uneventful, in a good way, as a night train from Turkey to Bulgaria. [...]
October 20th, 2009 at 15:16
it was nice to see u r trip i wanna ask u some thing did they ask u inside the train about the passport yes or no
October 20th, 2009 at 15:33
When you leave Turkey, you have to get off the train and get an exit
stamp from Turkish immigration (the train stops, everyone gets off,
walks 20 feet, stands in a line, gets their stamp from immigration,
gets back on train, train leaves). Entering Bulgaria the immigration
authorities came on the train to ask for passports, etc.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:02
Hi there,
We'll be doing the same trip with some friends, and i was wondering whether you used 1st or 2nd class?
Do you know if it's worth the value to pay 30TL more for the first class? (For us if there are sleeping beds in 2nd it's fine, we don't really need privacy.
Thanks a lot for your answer
December 8th, 2009 at 8:34
I took 2nd class, but I'm not sure what the difference is between 1st
and 2nd so can't gauge marginal value.
30 TL isn't that much money, but I was perfectly comfortable in 2nd
class. Just note that my tolerance is pretty high these days, after
spending 106 nights in hostels this year alone :)
December 8th, 2009 at 16:10
Thank you very much for your quick answer.
I guess we'll be fine with the 2nd class too, our tolerance level is pretty high too. ;-)
Best regards
David
December 8th, 2009 at 17:02
Cool. And once you've done it, please drop me a line, I'd love to hear
about your experience…
December 8th, 2009 at 17:02
Cool. And once you've done it, please drop me a line, I'd love to hear
about your experience…
December 16th, 2009 at 13:11
Hello Taylor,
I'm back in Istanbul from Sofia, and the trip was great.
Bulgaria is a surprising country that is, in my opinion, “underadvertised” on the web.
We have visited Sofia and Veliko-Tarnovo which is the ancient capital city of the country and a very charming place.
We spent the nights in Sofia in “Hostel Mostel” which is probably the best hostel in the world as far as I know, to be recommended without any hesitation honnestly.
Bulgarian food is amazing and served in large portions for a democratic price, and night life in Sofia is very animated.
Concerning the train travel we have had 2 little problems : to go to Sofia the Bulgarian boarder guards controlled me during half an hour (I've dubbel citizenship Turkish and Belgian and it seems it was the first time they had to face such a situation :-)
To go back, the heater was off and the temperature inside the wagon was 2°C (about 35°F) which is pretty cold as you can guess, but the train conductor provide us with a second blanket after having tried to bribe us and a couple of Americans to upgrade our 2nd class tickets into 1st class tickets (and as far as there was no 1st class on this train, it was not very fair from him!)
But those details didn't avoid us to have a great time during this trip. We met people from many different countries in the hostels and also very nice Bulgarians of course.
In one word, this trip was “GREAT”!
Hope everything is allright for you too wherever you are,
David
December 16th, 2009 at 14:06
Fantastic to hear!
I stayed at the Hostel Mostel in Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo, and agree that the Hostel Mostel was fantastic.
Luckily I didn't have the same border problems, and sorry the heater was off, wow. Doing it in the summer meant the heat wasn't an issue.
Great to hear you enjoyed Bulgaria, I had a great time as well, similar impressions about food, nightlife, and “flying under the radar”.
Things are great where I am: New Orleans… http://bit.ly/movingNOLA
May 15th, 2010 at 9:57
1. Do non ren-cıtızen or non-resıdent lıvıng ınTurkey, Istanbul require a vısa ın hıs passport when travelling from Istanbul to Vıenna by train?
2. What is the fare of travelling from Istanbul to Vienna by Traın
May 17th, 2010 at 7:44
Re: visa, I don't know. And I don't know the fare, but like the visa question, I'm betting the Internet holds the answer somewhere!
May 17th, 2010 at 8:53
What do you mean by “ren-citizen”? Anyway, if you are not a citizen of a Shengen area country you need a visa to go to Austria.
You can ask any of the shengen member embassy in Istanbul BEFORE your departure (very important or you will be refused at the Bulgarian border).
I advise you the Italian embassy which is reputated to be “cooler” than some other countries (really, 2 of my relatives obtain it without too much investigation).
It takes more or less 2-3 weeks to get the visa if your file is complete and that you have all the needed documents, and it will cost you about 400 TL.
Moreover the train ticket will cost you another 200TL (roundtrip).
July 18th, 2010 at 10:09
i Taylor,
I know you did this trip awhile ago, but I was wondering if you remember or know how to make a train reservation for this trip. I kept going to the TCDD – turkish state railways website, but they don't allow make an international reservation. Is one needed or can I show up a few days in advance and just get one from the train station? I'm traveling in “peak season” and perfer not to be flexible with my travel dates since there are so many places I want to visit.
Thank you so much for your help,
Kat
July 19th, 2010 at 0:03
I did the trip myself last December with 3 friends and we just shown up 2 hours before the departure time, but as you are travelling in summer time, amybe it might be safer to come to the train station 1 day in advance.
If you have a Turkish friend, she/he might be very useful as the employees of TCDD nearly never know to speak English.
Another tip that you must know, there is a big change that once in the train, the conductor will try to “upgrade” you in 1st class. Refuse it firmly (but politely ;) because there is no 1st in this train, it's just a way for them to bribe you!
Hope you'll enjoy your trip!
Best regards,
David
July 19th, 2010 at 7:40
I made this train reservation directly at the central train station in Istanbul a couple days in advance. If you're concerned about making a reservation in advance, perhaps contact the hotel or hostel where you're staying and ask them for specifics on how to make a reservation, or talk to a local travel agent to make a reservation for you.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:43
Great advice. I know I had some difficulty making the reservation myself at the train station due to the language barrier, but muddled my way through :)
July 20th, 2010 at 3:39
Dear Dave and Taylor,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I appreciate the information and the tips. That's great to know about the language barrier. If all else fails, hopefully I can just write it down to explain it clearly.
Thanks again!
Kat
July 20th, 2010 at 7:06
I remember when I booked this ticket I wasn't entirely sure what I had booked (which class, etc.) when I booked it, but I comforted myself knowing that I at the least had a ticket. It all worked out. It will work out for you too :)
July 20th, 2010 at 22:07
Incredible poetry. So glad I could read and see this. Super appreciated. Well done.
July 21st, 2010 at 9:18
Thanks!
July 21st, 2010 at 16:18
Thanks!