Orient Express

Trying to plan a holiday that's just a little bit different and now have my heart set on the Nostalgie Istanbul Orient Express. This train consists of 10 first-class sleeping carriages, containing private compartments with one lower or twin upper and lower beds, and a built-in washbasin with hot and cold running water. During the day, compartments are converted into comfortable salons and there are two dining carriages, shower carriage, Pullman and bar which are beautifully decorated with inlaid glass paneling. These original carriages (sleeping ones, shower, Pullman and bar) and were built in England, Belgium, France and Italy in 20s-30s and were the part of the legendary “Orient Express”. The names of Marlene Dietrich and Jean Marais, the Queen Elisabeth II of United Kingdom and H.R.H. princess Grace of Monaco, French president Charles de Gaulle and the leader of former Soviet government Nikita Khroutchev, Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, better known as Mata-Hari are in the list of passengers of the "Orient Express". On board this wonderful train I can explore and discover Northern Russia; Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Kandalaksha, Murmansk, Petrozavodsk, Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl.

Blau x

Image via We Heart It

Meet Me at the Station

Movies, romantic scenes, what does it for you? I'll pass on the clichéd dash to the airport and last minute pleads and declarations of love; not my scene. I won't be on the plane darling, come meet me off the train instead.

I don't care for airports; too busy, too loud, too sterile and safe for my tastes. I prefer the little train stations, the worn out seats, the slight wobble from side to side and if you listen closely the wheels hit the tracks in an almost heartbeat rhythm; possibility comes alive and a smile flickers across my face. There was a year in my life when I spent nearly every weekend up and down on the train; how I loved it. View from a plane; eh sky, white fluffy bits and the odd scenery type thing. View from a train; life in all seasons, life in all its glory. The old fashion romance, the vintage allure, the handsome stranger in the sleeper carriage, the manly arms waiting to life you down from the carriage steps; I want it all. For the men out there what compares to the sight of your lady glancing at you through the billows of stream on the platform; nothing. Who can’t recall the sight of Marilyn Monroe wriggling down the platform in Some Like It Hot, as Audrey Hepburn returns home unrecognisable from Paris in Sabrina, or Sienna Miller’s seduction in The Edge of Love, Penelope Cruz in Nine, Meryl Streep in Out of Africa, the steamy encounter in North by Northwest, the playful scene in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.


Why would you ever want to travel any other way? I’ll leave you now with one of my more modern favourites, the Casino Royale train scene.

Blau x




Image via We Heart It