August 18, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Nothing better than an open window riding the rails at sunset… 🌅 #DIYOrientExpress
August 19, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Nothing better than an open window riding the rails at sunset… 🌅 #DIYOrientExpress
Istanbul is in sight! 👀🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
August 22, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Istanbul is in sight! 👀🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
From my end it’s been a busy day, but from your end the fun’s only just begun… 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
August 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
From my end it’s been a busy day, but from your end the fun’s only just begun… 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
📍 St Pancras International
Leg 1 of my #DIYOrientExpress is to take ES9060 to Paris - I managed to snag a Eurostar Plus reservation, so that makes the first part of this trip more bearable at least. Let’s just hope I make my tight connection in Paris… 🤞
Leg 1 of my #DIYOrientExpress is to take ES9060 to Paris - I managed to snag a Eurostar Plus reservation, so that makes the first part of this trip more bearable at least. Let’s just hope I make my tight connection in Paris… 🤞
August 18, 2025 at 6:40 AM
📍 St Pancras International
Leg 1 of my #DIYOrientExpress is to take ES9060 to Paris - I managed to snag a Eurostar Plus reservation, so that makes the first part of this trip more bearable at least. Let’s just hope I make my tight connection in Paris… 🤞
Leg 1 of my #DIYOrientExpress is to take ES9060 to Paris - I managed to snag a Eurostar Plus reservation, so that makes the first part of this trip more bearable at least. Let’s just hope I make my tight connection in Paris… 🤞
📍 Edirne
A brief passport and security check later and it’s back on the train - this really is the home straight now… see you later for the final leg! #DIYOrientExpress
🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
A brief passport and security check later and it’s back on the train - this really is the home straight now… see you later for the final leg! #DIYOrientExpress
🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
August 22, 2025 at 1:04 AM
📍 Edirne
A brief passport and security check later and it’s back on the train - this really is the home straight now… see you later for the final leg! #DIYOrientExpress
🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
A brief passport and security check later and it’s back on the train - this really is the home straight now… see you later for the final leg! #DIYOrientExpress
🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
📍 Budapest Keleti
Day 2 starts with a 45 minute delay, but as my connection is another sleeper that’s not a massive issue - a fairly easy one today, just one sleeper train to Bucharest at 7 so that leaves the rest of the day to myself. Time to look around… 🇭🇺 #DIYOrientExpress
Day 2 starts with a 45 minute delay, but as my connection is another sleeper that’s not a massive issue - a fairly easy one today, just one sleeper train to Bucharest at 7 so that leaves the rest of the day to myself. Time to look around… 🇭🇺 #DIYOrientExpress
August 19, 2025 at 8:46 AM
📍 Budapest Keleti
Day 2 starts with a 45 minute delay, but as my connection is another sleeper that’s not a massive issue - a fairly easy one today, just one sleeper train to Bucharest at 7 so that leaves the rest of the day to myself. Time to look around… 🇭🇺 #DIYOrientExpress
Day 2 starts with a 45 minute delay, but as my connection is another sleeper that’s not a massive issue - a fairly easy one today, just one sleeper train to Bucharest at 7 so that leaves the rest of the day to myself. Time to look around… 🇭🇺 #DIYOrientExpress
But, I don’t have much time here…
I’m on the last TGV Lyria of the day to Zürich - this is the result of engineering works, resulting in a diversion on the Lyria’s former stomping ground, the LGV Est. As with my last ride on TGV inOui, it seems Business Premiere is declassified! #DIYOrientExpress
I’m on the last TGV Lyria of the day to Zürich - this is the result of engineering works, resulting in a diversion on the Lyria’s former stomping ground, the LGV Est. As with my last ride on TGV inOui, it seems Business Premiere is declassified! #DIYOrientExpress
August 18, 2025 at 9:29 AM
But, I don’t have much time here…
I’m on the last TGV Lyria of the day to Zürich - this is the result of engineering works, resulting in a diversion on the Lyria’s former stomping ground, the LGV Est. As with my last ride on TGV inOui, it seems Business Premiere is declassified! #DIYOrientExpress
I’m on the last TGV Lyria of the day to Zürich - this is the result of engineering works, resulting in a diversion on the Lyria’s former stomping ground, the LGV Est. As with my last ride on TGV inOui, it seems Business Premiere is declassified! #DIYOrientExpress
📍 Bucharest Gara du Nord
10 minutes late into the Romanian capital - this place really is Europe’s dumping ground for used rolling stock, seems like you can find just about anything here!
Before I settle in etc, I have to do something important… #DIYOrientExpress
10 minutes late into the Romanian capital - this place really is Europe’s dumping ground for used rolling stock, seems like you can find just about anything here!
Before I settle in etc, I have to do something important… #DIYOrientExpress
August 20, 2025 at 9:09 AM
📍 Bucharest Gara du Nord
10 minutes late into the Romanian capital - this place really is Europe’s dumping ground for used rolling stock, seems like you can find just about anything here!
Before I settle in etc, I have to do something important… #DIYOrientExpress
10 minutes late into the Romanian capital - this place really is Europe’s dumping ground for used rolling stock, seems like you can find just about anything here!
Before I settle in etc, I have to do something important… #DIYOrientExpress
📍 Braşov
Morning from Romania 🇷🇴👋 Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress has kicked off and it starts with using the layover here to go and pick up some “breakfast” from the local Relay… 😅
Morning from Romania 🇷🇴👋 Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress has kicked off and it starts with using the layover here to go and pick up some “breakfast” from the local Relay… 😅
August 20, 2025 at 6:03 AM
📍 Braşov
Morning from Romania 🇷🇴👋 Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress has kicked off and it starts with using the layover here to go and pick up some “breakfast” from the local Relay… 😅
Morning from Romania 🇷🇴👋 Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress has kicked off and it starts with using the layover here to go and pick up some “breakfast” from the local Relay… 😅
📍 Gorna Orjahovica
Another major reorganisation of the consist takes place here - the TCDD couchette car is detached and reattached to several trains before settling for the 17:35 departure to Dimitrovgrad via the Balkans mountain chain. #DIYOrientExpress
Another major reorganisation of the consist takes place here - the TCDD couchette car is detached and reattached to several trains before settling for the 17:35 departure to Dimitrovgrad via the Balkans mountain chain. #DIYOrientExpress
August 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
📍 Gorna Orjahovica
Another major reorganisation of the consist takes place here - the TCDD couchette car is detached and reattached to several trains before settling for the 17:35 departure to Dimitrovgrad via the Balkans mountain chain. #DIYOrientExpress
Another major reorganisation of the consist takes place here - the TCDD couchette car is detached and reattached to several trains before settling for the 17:35 departure to Dimitrovgrad via the Balkans mountain chain. #DIYOrientExpress
Day 4…
The penultimate leg of the #DIYOrientExpress is an overnight journey on TCDD’s direct couchette car from Bucharest to Istanbul Halkali, which runs from mid-June to October. I’ve booked myself solo occupancy of this 4 berth couchette, so here’s hoping for a good journey through the Balkans!
The penultimate leg of the #DIYOrientExpress is an overnight journey on TCDD’s direct couchette car from Bucharest to Istanbul Halkali, which runs from mid-June to October. I’ve booked myself solo occupancy of this 4 berth couchette, so here’s hoping for a good journey through the Balkans!
August 21, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Day 4…
The penultimate leg of the #DIYOrientExpress is an overnight journey on TCDD’s direct couchette car from Bucharest to Istanbul Halkali, which runs from mid-June to October. I’ve booked myself solo occupancy of this 4 berth couchette, so here’s hoping for a good journey through the Balkans!
The penultimate leg of the #DIYOrientExpress is an overnight journey on TCDD’s direct couchette car from Bucharest to Istanbul Halkali, which runs from mid-June to October. I’ve booked myself solo occupancy of this 4 berth couchette, so here’s hoping for a good journey through the Balkans!
📍 Zürich HB
Made it 2 minutes early… I feel like that journey alone was an odyssey itself! The important thing is the riskiest element of the journey is finished 😮💨😅
Over 5 hours to kill in Zürich, so off to do a few things quickly… #DIYOrientExpress
Made it 2 minutes early… I feel like that journey alone was an odyssey itself! The important thing is the riskiest element of the journey is finished 😮💨😅
Over 5 hours to kill in Zürich, so off to do a few things quickly… #DIYOrientExpress
August 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM
📍 Zürich HB
Made it 2 minutes early… I feel like that journey alone was an odyssey itself! The important thing is the riskiest element of the journey is finished 😮💨😅
Over 5 hours to kill in Zürich, so off to do a few things quickly… #DIYOrientExpress
Made it 2 minutes early… I feel like that journey alone was an odyssey itself! The important thing is the riskiest element of the journey is finished 😮💨😅
Over 5 hours to kill in Zürich, so off to do a few things quickly… #DIYOrientExpress
And that’s it… after 5 days and A LOT of trains, my #DIYOrientExpress has ended, having arrived at the terminus of the original Orient Express…
📍 Sirkeci
Sadly it’s in a pretty sorry state, but restoration work appears to be ongoing. I’ll have the stats up later, but for now I’m off to rest… 🇹🇷
📍 Sirkeci
Sadly it’s in a pretty sorry state, but restoration work appears to be ongoing. I’ll have the stats up later, but for now I’m off to rest… 🇹🇷
August 22, 2025 at 9:20 AM
And that’s it… after 5 days and A LOT of trains, my #DIYOrientExpress has ended, having arrived at the terminus of the original Orient Express…
📍 Sirkeci
Sadly it’s in a pretty sorry state, but restoration work appears to be ongoing. I’ll have the stats up later, but for now I’m off to rest… 🇹🇷
📍 Sirkeci
Sadly it’s in a pretty sorry state, but restoration work appears to be ongoing. I’ll have the stats up later, but for now I’m off to rest… 🇹🇷
📍 Ruse
Made it into Bulgaria 🇧🇬, the penultimate country on this odyssey. Here additional coaches are added to the Bosphorus Express portion… not to mention the TCDD couchette car FINALLY gets aircon and power 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
Made it into Bulgaria 🇧🇬, the penultimate country on this odyssey. Here additional coaches are added to the Bosphorus Express portion… not to mention the TCDD couchette car FINALLY gets aircon and power 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
August 21, 2025 at 11:26 AM
📍 Ruse
Made it into Bulgaria 🇧🇬, the penultimate country on this odyssey. Here additional coaches are added to the Bosphorus Express portion… not to mention the TCDD couchette car FINALLY gets aircon and power 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
Made it into Bulgaria 🇧🇬, the penultimate country on this odyssey. Here additional coaches are added to the Bosphorus Express portion… not to mention the TCDD couchette car FINALLY gets aircon and power 😅 #DIYOrientExpress
📍 Halkali
Made it 26 minutes late in the end, which is pretty good going considering the train picked up severe delays overnight at several stages…
The journey’s not over just yet though - I now have to transfer onto the Marmaray commuter network to continue on to Sirkeci 🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
Made it 26 minutes late in the end, which is pretty good going considering the train picked up severe delays overnight at several stages…
The journey’s not over just yet though - I now have to transfer onto the Marmaray commuter network to continue on to Sirkeci 🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
August 22, 2025 at 7:41 AM
📍 Halkali
Made it 26 minutes late in the end, which is pretty good going considering the train picked up severe delays overnight at several stages…
The journey’s not over just yet though - I now have to transfer onto the Marmaray commuter network to continue on to Sirkeci 🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
Made it 26 minutes late in the end, which is pretty good going considering the train picked up severe delays overnight at several stages…
The journey’s not over just yet though - I now have to transfer onto the Marmaray commuter network to continue on to Sirkeci 🇹🇷 #DIYOrientExpress
Tonight’s train is the 19:10 to Bucharest, which marks leg 4 (or 5 if you count the GDN to GDL transfer in Paris) of my #DIYOrientExpress - this is also the last part of the trip where I make use of my Interrail pass, which I used to get a €99 reservation for this deluxe ensuite sleeper. Let’s go!
August 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Tonight’s train is the 19:10 to Bucharest, which marks leg 4 (or 5 if you count the GDN to GDL transfer in Paris) of my #DIYOrientExpress - this is also the last part of the trip where I make use of my Interrail pass, which I used to get a €99 reservation for this deluxe ensuite sleeper. Let’s go!
📍 Paris Nord
Made it a couple of minutes late, though with the next RER D being in 15 minutes, that would almost definitely make me miss my connecting TGV - thankfully though I have a back-up plan to make it on time… #DIYOrientExpress
Made it a couple of minutes late, though with the next RER D being in 15 minutes, that would almost definitely make me miss my connecting TGV - thankfully though I have a back-up plan to make it on time… #DIYOrientExpress
August 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM
📍 Paris Nord
Made it a couple of minutes late, though with the next RER D being in 15 minutes, that would almost definitely make me miss my connecting TGV - thankfully though I have a back-up plan to make it on time… #DIYOrientExpress
Made it a couple of minutes late, though with the next RER D being in 15 minutes, that would almost definitely make me miss my connecting TGV - thankfully though I have a back-up plan to make it on time… #DIYOrientExpress
📍Kürtös
That’s the border now crossed into a country I never thought I’d visit - Romania 💀 Thankfully Romania’s now part of the Schengen Zone, so no passport formalities here…
Instead, I’m up to watch the Vectron swap for a CFR Class 47 as we continue overnight to Bucharest 🇷🇴 #DIYOrientExpress
That’s the border now crossed into a country I never thought I’d visit - Romania 💀 Thankfully Romania’s now part of the Schengen Zone, so no passport formalities here…
Instead, I’m up to watch the Vectron swap for a CFR Class 47 as we continue overnight to Bucharest 🇷🇴 #DIYOrientExpress
August 19, 2025 at 9:17 PM
📍Kürtös
That’s the border now crossed into a country I never thought I’d visit - Romania 💀 Thankfully Romania’s now part of the Schengen Zone, so no passport formalities here…
Instead, I’m up to watch the Vectron swap for a CFR Class 47 as we continue overnight to Bucharest 🇷🇴 #DIYOrientExpress
That’s the border now crossed into a country I never thought I’d visit - Romania 💀 Thankfully Romania’s now part of the Schengen Zone, so no passport formalities here…
Instead, I’m up to watch the Vectron swap for a CFR Class 47 as we continue overnight to Bucharest 🇷🇴 #DIYOrientExpress
📍 Svilengrad
Good morning from the Bulgarian-Turkish border which abruptly kicks off Day 5 of the #DIYOrientExpress - at Dimitrovgrad, the couchette joined with the Sofia portion & passport checks are done here over a 30 min period, so I stepped out for some fresh air and bumped into an old friend…
Good morning from the Bulgarian-Turkish border which abruptly kicks off Day 5 of the #DIYOrientExpress - at Dimitrovgrad, the couchette joined with the Sofia portion & passport checks are done here over a 30 min period, so I stepped out for some fresh air and bumped into an old friend…
August 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
📍 Svilengrad
Good morning from the Bulgarian-Turkish border which abruptly kicks off Day 5 of the #DIYOrientExpress - at Dimitrovgrad, the couchette joined with the Sofia portion & passport checks are done here over a 30 min period, so I stepped out for some fresh air and bumped into an old friend…
Good morning from the Bulgarian-Turkish border which abruptly kicks off Day 5 of the #DIYOrientExpress - at Dimitrovgrad, the couchette joined with the Sofia portion & passport checks are done here over a 30 min period, so I stepped out for some fresh air and bumped into an old friend…
📍 Giurgiu North
The last station in Romania before Bulgaria - whilst both countries were recently added to the European Schengen Zone, land border controls are still in place whilst land border rules are in process of being adopted. A quick check then it’s back on the move #DIYOrientExpress
The last station in Romania before Bulgaria - whilst both countries were recently added to the European Schengen Zone, land border controls are still in place whilst land border rules are in process of being adopted. A quick check then it’s back on the move #DIYOrientExpress
August 21, 2025 at 11:03 AM
📍 Giurgiu North
The last station in Romania before Bulgaria - whilst both countries were recently added to the European Schengen Zone, land border controls are still in place whilst land border rules are in process of being adopted. A quick check then it’s back on the move #DIYOrientExpress
The last station in Romania before Bulgaria - whilst both countries were recently added to the European Schengen Zone, land border controls are still in place whilst land border rules are in process of being adopted. A quick check then it’s back on the move #DIYOrientExpress
📍 Chatelet-les-Halles
Ever having problems with the RER D to Gare de Lyon? Just take the more frequent and often equally unreliable RER B and change for the much better RER A. Seems I might be making that connection after all! #DIYOrientExpress
Ever having problems with the RER D to Gare de Lyon? Just take the more frequent and often equally unreliable RER B and change for the much better RER A. Seems I might be making that connection after all! #DIYOrientExpress
August 18, 2025 at 9:09 AM
📍 Chatelet-les-Halles
Ever having problems with the RER D to Gare de Lyon? Just take the more frequent and often equally unreliable RER B and change for the much better RER A. Seems I might be making that connection after all! #DIYOrientExpress
Ever having problems with the RER D to Gare de Lyon? Just take the more frequent and often equally unreliable RER B and change for the much better RER A. Seems I might be making that connection after all! #DIYOrientExpress
Back in Bucharest now, but here’s a video from earlier of the IC2 leaving Titu for the depot. Shame ATC couldn’t run a return from here on arrival, but luckily CFR runs regular services…
That’s Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress done - the end is in sight with Day 4 tomorrow! 🇷🇴 ➡️ 🇹🇷
That’s Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress done - the end is in sight with Day 4 tomorrow! 🇷🇴 ➡️ 🇹🇷
August 20, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Back in Bucharest now, but here’s a video from earlier of the IC2 leaving Titu for the depot. Shame ATC couldn’t run a return from here on arrival, but luckily CFR runs regular services…
That’s Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress done - the end is in sight with Day 4 tomorrow! 🇷🇴 ➡️ 🇹🇷
That’s Day 3 of my #DIYOrientExpress done - the end is in sight with Day 4 tomorrow! 🇷🇴 ➡️ 🇹🇷
That’s the bed made up and me ready for sleep - passport control on this train is done overnight in the early hours of the morning, and as we’ll see it’s a lot worse on the Turkish side with the additional requirements…
That about wraps up Day 4 of the #DIYOrientExpress - the final day beckons… 🇹🇷
That about wraps up Day 4 of the #DIYOrientExpress - the final day beckons… 🇹🇷
August 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
That’s the bed made up and me ready for sleep - passport control on this train is done overnight in the early hours of the morning, and as we’ll see it’s a lot worse on the Turkish side with the additional requirements…
That about wraps up Day 4 of the #DIYOrientExpress - the final day beckons… 🇹🇷
That about wraps up Day 4 of the #DIYOrientExpress - the final day beckons… 🇹🇷