Finally back on track ! After a week of bus travels, my first #AzadiRail train back home : I'm in  #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman waiting for the famous  #GüneyEkspresi / Southern Express #SleeperAndEater bringing my to 🇹🇷 #Ankara for the next 25 hours.

Êlih is a cute station, a couple of cargo carriages in the cargo terminal, a cute maintenance vehicle for display, three tracks but sadly no catenary.

The station has three train pairs per day : twice the regional link to the Kurdish capital  #Amed / 🇹🇷 #Diyarbakır and six days per week a pair of my Güney Ekspresi linking  #Misircê / 🇹🇷 #Kurtalan, Êlih, Amed and 🇹🇷 #Malatya with #Ankara over night.

Shortly after the arrival of the local train from  #Amed / 🇹🇷 #Diyarbakır, my  #SleeperAndEater #GüneyEkspresi arrived. It features most comfortable and spacious wagon-lits compartments with a desk, two proper beds, a sink and even a mini-bar - a comfortable hotel room for the next 25 hours.

The steward was already waiting for me and didn't even wanna see my ticket since I was the only passenger boarding the wagon-lits carriage.

#AzadiRail #TeamNightTrain

The weird thing about  Turkish railways : You have three different train types but their speeds don't match :

YHT high-speed trains : Vmax 300 kph
Mainline trains : Vmax 50 kph
Regional trains : Vmax 140 kph

... ???

#AzadiRail

Enjoying lunch in a  @diningcar during my #AzadiRail journey from  Iraqi #Kurdistan to France, today on the famous  #GüneyEkspresi / Southern Express #SleeperAndEater on my 25 hours trip from  #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman to 🇹🇷 #Ankara 😋 !

Since the vegan choice is sadly highly limited, I decided for a plate of rice with some side salad, some fruit juice and of course a glass of #Çay 🍵!

Save travels everyone and enjoy your meal 🍽️ !

So far, #AzadiRail day #13, homebound day and night #3 : comfortable  #GüneyEkspresi #SleeperAndEater from  #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman to 🇹🇷 #Ankara 🍽️😴.

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷

#AzadiRail day #14, homebound day #4 begins with tasty breakfast in the  @diningcar of the  #GüneyEkspresi #SleeperAndEater . The vegan options are highly limited but I reached at explaining I only want #Çay , bread and jam.

#TeamNightTrain

40 km left until 🇹🇷 #Ankara, Vmax 50 kph and my connecting train is leaving in 40 minutes.

Am I going to miss my  YHT ?

You will ...

#AzadiRail

I still made it to the train but they didn't let me in even though they understood I'd miss my train to 🇧🇬 Софія / Sofia this way.

Some people aren't just bad but actually evil. #AzadiRail

Anyways, Obilet for help : My alternative #AzadiRail plan is now to take some later  YHT from 🇹🇷 #Ankara to 🇹🇷 #Istanbul, from there on take one more #AzadiBus to 🇹🇷 #Kapikule and hopefully catch my night train to 🇧🇬 #Софія / #Sofia there at 2 a.m. 🙄🫣.

What an asshole at the ticket check.

Next train for my #AzadiRail trip : the comfortable  class HT80000 Velaro from 🇹🇷 #Ankara to 🇹🇷 #Istanbul.

I got the last available seat in the train, a luxury first class compartment seat, similar to the business class in first generation  trains.

This YHT comes from 🇹🇷 #Sivas, where I've been at around 2 a.m. in my #GüneyEkspresi . For the ne?t four hours, this means some relaxing time before boarding my #AzadiBus to 🇹🇷 #Kapikule tonight.

So far, #AzadiRail day #14, homebound day & night #4 :

-  night train to 🇹🇷 #Ankara 2 hours late, I missed my  YHT to 🇹🇷 #Istanbul
- next YHT not willing to take me with them, knowing that this let me miss ly connecting train
- finally caught an YHT, but that one had 1 hour delay
- I missed my alternative connecting bus to 🇹🇷 #Kapikule
- finally found a later bus still eventually making the transfer
- I'll hopefully catch my connecting train from 🇹🇷 #Kapikule to 🇧🇬 #Софія / #Sofia at 2.30 a.m.

What a bad luck. What a mess. What a chaos. What a stress.

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬

#AzadiRail night 14, homebound night #4 : 🇹🇷 #Kapikule.

The border officers were highly surprised by someone arriving by foot, were checking my ticket and seemed quite amused when they learned I also intended to take the train from 🇹🇷 #Istanbul on but missed it and arrived by bus 🫣.

Anyways, my Istanbul-Sofia-Express has not arrived yet. Instead, the opposite direction from 🇧🇬 #Софія / #Sofia is still waiting here.

After a quick but careful luggage and passport check I was told my train is delayed by about an hour ; nothing unusual here. So one more hour of waiting before getting my deserved bed.

2.45 a.m. : my Istanbul-Sofia-Ekspesi arrived.

My reserved cabin has already been occupied by someone else so I decided to just grab one of the numerous empty compartments in the other carriage.

#AzadiRail good night. Alarm clock set to 🇧🇬 #Софія / #Sofia 😴. #TeamNightTrain

What an eventful day 🙄.

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬

Welcome to 🇧🇬 Bulgaria ! #AzadiRail

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬

After a quick ride by the  suburban replacement train in a familiar Siemens Desiro Classic, I reached 🇧🇬 #Софія Севея / Sofia North where I caught my comfortable Intercity Fast train #RealInterCity consisting of beautifully repainted   ex-DB InterCity carriages taking me to my first destination today : 🇧🇬 #ГорнаОряховица / #GornaOryahovitsa.

#AzadiRail day 15, homebound day 5 has begun.

From 🇧🇬 #ГорнаОряховица / #GornaOryahovitsa, an amazing old Soviet ER25 EMU serving as  class 32 will bring me further to 🇧🇬 #Русе / #Ruse, right at the 🇷🇴 Romanian border.

Amazing vehicles 🤩🤩🤩 ! #AzadiRail #TeamOpenWindows

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬🇷🇴

After two more hours in the amazing  ER25, I reached today's #AzadiRail destination : 🇧🇬 #Русе / #Ruse, right at the 🇷🇴 Romanian border.

So far, #AzadiRail day 15. Now time for a long sleep after the short night 😴.

After some waiting time due to construction work on the 🇧🇬🇷🇴 Friendship Bridge, my #AzadiBus reached 🇷🇴 #Giurgiu. The railway tracks on the bridge still look as misplaced as always, considering how there's only one #CrossBorderRail train pair per day, the probably even *are* misplaced. #AzadiRail

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬🇷🇴

After a relaxed day in 🇷🇴 #Bucuresti, time to head over to the amazing Gara de Nord. Still enough time to watch all the amazing trains here before the arrival of my  #Dacia on my way to 🇦🇹 #Wien / #Vienna. #AzadiRail

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬🇷🇴🇭🇺🇦🇹

So far, #AzadiRail day & night #16, homebound day & night #6 : From 🇧🇬 #Русе / #Ruse to 🇷🇴 #București / #Bucharest by 🚌 mini bus #AzadiBus, afterwards a relaxed day in Bucuresti and now by   #Dacia night train via 🇭🇺 #Budapest to 🇦🇹 #Wien / #Vienna 😴.

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷🇧🇬🇷🇴🇭🇺🇦🇹

OH(ÖBB) : You look like you just arrived by night train.
OH(me) : Indeed, I did. From Bucharest.
OH(ÖBB) : Oh, I hope it was comfortable.
OH(me) : Yes, it was excellent.
OH(ÖBB) : Really, I can't believe people actually enjoy night trains.

... ? #AzadiRail

Good morning 🇦🇹 #Wien / #Vienna 🤩 !

The night train trip in the   IRN #Dacia wagon-lits was excellent. We arrived just on time. After a quick shower, I sadly didn't have enough time left for breakfast in the #SleeperAndEater @diningcar - btw. one of the few night trains with different dining cars on different sections of the journey : a  CFR bistro carriage between 🇷🇴 #București / #Bucharest and 🇷🇴 #Arad and a  MÁV @diningcar between 🇭🇺 #Budapest and 🇦🇹 #Wien / #Vienna.

Now time to grab some snacks in Vienna main station before boarding my   bringing me to my first destination for today : 🇩🇪 #Nürnberg / #Nuremberg .

#AzadiRail day 17, homebound day 7 has begun. Sadly already the last day of my amazing trip.