Remember The First Time We Went Off The Rails?

Tracey writes about how Interrailing around Europe is a rite of passage... for 50 year olds.

Dusting off my trusty old rucksack, I pack my favourite slippers, some comfortable sweaters and a pair of walking shoes, plus half a dozen novels. Like a weighty sibling clinging onto my back, I don't remember it feeling quite so heavy. Perhaps because the last time I used it – to island-hop around Thailand in the Nineties – it only contained bikinis and Marlboro Lights.

'To travel is to live' said the great Hans Christian Andersen, and I firmly agree. The urge to explore has grown ever stronger as I've aged. While I can still be found flopping by a pool with a vast margarita and the latest Sally Rooney, I'm also drawn to more exciting adventures, which is how I found myself going interrailing at fifty. It turns out spending endless hours on a train whizzing through Europe, sampling sausagey snacks from the buffet car and gazing out of the window watching the world roll by, is my actual dream holiday.

Interrailing was a teenage rite of passage back in the Eighties when getting drunk in 22 countries in 28 days was the ultimate adventure. But while my friends roamed across Europe by train, I spent the summer selling overpriced unicorn balloons on Brighton Pier. It's a decision I've always regretted, and so to celebrate my half-century, I decide to redress this failing and go interrailing, dragging my good friend and partner-in-crime Rhonda along for the ride.

Interrailing has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last ten years, especially amongst the older age group who have more time and money to spend. Eurail's GlobalPass offers travel around 33 countries in Europe. There are discounted passes for the over-60s, and you can even pimp it up by upgrading to first-class and explore the continent in style.

Six cities in seven days is the master plan, starting from London St Pancras on the 11.04 Eurostar to Amsterdam. The Dutch capital has long been a Mecca for backpackers, who flock in droves to sample its, ahem, more bohemian delights. Speeding through France and Belgium, Rhonda and I chat over glasses of wine and a cheeseboard, flicking through magazines and watching windmills whirl by, and before we know it we're pulling into Amsterdam Centraal on our first stop.

Like the youth, we're travelling on a budget and have chosen to stay in hostels. However, Generator Amsterdam in Oosterpark is a far cry from the backpacker hostels of yore and is more a design-led budget hotel with its hip cafe-bar, nightclub and skateboards for hire.

But rather than sticking out like a sore thumb, which we feared we would, the Generator brand tends to attract a real mix of couples, families and teenagers, as well as older solo travellers like us. Naturally, we eschew the shared dorms – no one needs to see these ladies in their nightgowns and face cream - and opt for a private en suite room instead, which is stylish and comfortable and a fraction of the price of a boutique hotel.

We're in Amsterdam for a mere 17 hours, so we have just enough time for a canal cruise and a stroll around the still-fragrant Red Light District and to scratch the surface of the great Rijksmuseum. However, we do manage to sample Dutch culture with baskets of fried bittenballen and hand-pulled beers in Bar Bukowski, the Oosterpark bar dedicated to American author and renowned booze hound Charles Bukowski.

It's an early start for the next leg of our journey, Amsterdam to Berlin. I was a little worried that spending our days on trains would feel like an endless commute, but it's quite the opposite. European train services are modern, clean and comfortable with friendly staff and a well-stocked buffet car, and are a remarkably civilised and relaxed way to travel. We read books, chat and nap, and like the beautiful scenery, the hours just glide by and before we know it we're pulling into Berlin Hauptbahnhof ready for city number two.

A benefit of travelling in these modern times is the advent of smartphones and having GPS at our fingertips. It means even the most geographically inept person like myself can be plonked in any city and still find my way around. With a confident swagger, we hop on the M5 tram, which drops us right outside Generator Mitte.

After dumping our rucksacks it’s a short stroll to pay homage at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauerstrasse. We have a leisurely 24 hours to check out Berlin and pack in the main sights like Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the Reichstag Building. We even manage to squeeze in a peek at some of Europe's finest contemporary art in the Berlinische Galerie.

For dinner we head to Schwarzwaldstuben, a cosy cash-only bistro on the corner of Tucholskystraße, which specialises in Swabian-Baden cuisine. Like the teenagers we once were, we drink pints of unfiltered pilsner and wolf down pork schnitzel and German goulash with spatzl. After three beers, we boldly consider trying our luck at Berghain, the notoriously exclusive techno club, but come to our senses and instead have a nightcap in Mein Haus Am See, an equally hip bar open 24/7 on Rosenthalerplatz.

It's exciting to wake up every morning knowing that you're heading to a new country. But we almost didn’t make it thanks to a broken tram incident that blocked the streets of Mitte. Running through the station, we only just make our train to Copenhagen. A brief stop in Frankfurt gives us enough time to grab a beer and a bratwurst for the journey, then it's back on the DSL and over the Danish island of Funen and the four-mile Storebælt suspension bridge towards Copenhagen. It's interesting to watch the scenery change and the city thin out to wide vast plains and then cross the stark slate Baltic Sea into Denmark.

We arrive in Copenhagen at night and as we step outside the station we're immediately met by a sparkling Tivoli Gardens. The hostel is 15-minute walk from the station, near Nyhavn, which at night has an almost ethereal appeal.

Now we're getting into the swing of seeing the best of a city in mere hours. After breakfast, we hire a couple of bikes from the front desk and set out to explore the Danish capital. We spin past Amalienborg Palace, where the royal family reside, grab a selfie with the Little Mermaid and follow the hazy scent of weed as we freewheel through Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen's independent state and notorious green light district. There's just enough time for a herring sandwich in Det Lille Apotek, Copenhagen's oldest tavern and former haunt of Hans Christian Andersen, before our train to Hamburg.

Less than five hours later and we're pulling into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof. Rhonda and I feel little cheated that our train journeys seem to be getting quicker. Generator Hamburg is a two-minute walk from the station and is housed in the former recording studio of The Beatles. Again attracting a real mix of guests with its exposed brick walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and artwork by local artist Till Keifer, it has the vibe of a hip boutique hotel rather than a hostel.

As the sun sets over the Elbe, we take a swift walking tour of this attractive city. We swing by HafenCity in the old docklands, a series of 19th-century redbrick warehouses that now has a spice museum and a slew of trendy waterside cafes, while the ultra-modern Elbphilharmonie concert hall looms over the river.

As we're in the city for one night and one night only, it's straight on the U Bahn to St Pauli and Reeperbahn, 'the most sinful mile in the world'. Hamburg's famous red light district has been cleaned up in recent years, and while the neon-tinged stretch can feel a little like a damp Magaluf in parts, it's still the hub of Hamburg's nightlife.

With the help of Google, we found out that it's also home to one of the world's best bars, The Chug Club on Taubenstraße. Tucked away off the stretch, this charming little speakeasy filled with glitterballs and candlelit tables is perfect, and we settle down at the bar with a flight of chugs – five miniature taster cocktails and a small beer palette cleanser – and some smoky jazz, and high five ourselves over our life choices.

The next morning our resulting hangovers are soothed by the luxury of an eight-hour train journey to Paris, where our final night is spent in the gorgeously boho Canal Saint-Martin district. Checking into our room on the eighth floor of Generator Paris, we have a little surprise in store – a private terrace with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower, the perfect adieu to our European adventure.

Exploring Europe by rail brings back the real joy of travelling. We've seen much more than we would if we'd flown and our consciences are salved by the fact that we didn't. However, the best thing about interrailing is… I've never felt more European.

AS PUBLISHED IN PLATINUM MAGAZINE