Opinion
Why I adore long train journeys
by Simon Balissat
Everything’s better these days! Seven reasons why family driving holidays are becoming more and more enjoyable
21.8.2025
Translation: Megan Cornish
Pictures: Michael Restin
Thousands of kilometres lie behind me, and all that remains of the summer is a sense of humility. On road trips with children, modernity’s a blessing. Here’s a rundown.
My memory’s like a sieve. Thankfully. It filters out the dull hours, leaving pure, golden memories. When I think of the endless holiday trips of my childhood, I feel a sense of departure and adventure. They usually started in the middle of the night. The first few hours in the car were a blurry dream of dancing car lights, bumps and street signs for Brescia or Darmstadt flying past.
Almost 40 years later…
I’ve also come to realise how stressful a summer holiday road trip can be for parents. I drove to Spain alone with two small children, and as a four with slightly older children to France and Italy, getting angry kicks to the back of my seat and despairing over arguments. The whole lot, right up to the point where I wanted to bite the steering wheel. Still, I wouldn’t travel any other way. Okay, maybe in a different car, but with the same people. And only with them. Although I can understand my colleague Balissat’s penchant for train travel as an independent tourist, as a family, nothing beats having your own four wheels.
It starts with the price, if you’re trying to make the running costs of a family car worth it over the year. But it doesn’t stop at comfort. Too often, when travelling by train, there comes a moment when the train doesn’t turn up. Or the aisle fills up with passengers, with children reaching as high as their armpits at most. And good dynamic pricing deals for four or more people are all too rare. The same applies to flying, that never-ending test of patience.
While I associate my first flight with minimal waiting, a fair amount of legroom, and a visit to the cockpit, today it’s: belt off! Hands up! Water away! Tick, tick, tick. And then, wedged in my padded seat, I wait to reach our destination – only to then wait to pick up our luggage and rental car, where the car rental company charges a fortune for children’s car seats. Instead of being under your control, travelling feels like you’re at the mercy of others.
Self-awareness in microcosm
It’s different in a car; two full tanks of fuel won’t get you to the sea from Switzerland. And nowhere else is there so much «us» in such a small space. It’s a familial microcosm that only annoys itself, not an entire open-plan compartment. Emotions can quickly flare up and anger can slowly dissipate. There’s no escape for anyone. Except into your thoughts. It can be exhausting. As can the roadworks, traffic jams and toll booths.
But this summer, after a few thousand kilometres on Europe’s motorways, I’ve decided to be optimistic – despite the fact the prospect of hours-long drives was giving me a headache just a few weeks ago. Between Zurich and the Atlantic, on roads in France, Germany, and the Netherlands, I’ve had plenty of time to change my mind. Family holidays by car are better than good. And they’ve got better over time – not just because the children are older. No other mode of travel has seen such an improvement in comfort thanks to advances in technology.
1. The answer to the question of all questions
It starts with the big question of arrival time. Travelling means being on the move, but the younger the passengers, the more important a foreseeable end becomes. The longing for arrival grows. «When will we finally get there?» has been the standard, annoying question of generations of children – and in the past, we had to make do with the standard, annoyed parental answer, «soon!» That’s obsolete now there’s a sat nav on the centre console, unerringly calculating our ETA.
The era of mood-lifting white lies is over. Especially when the ETA suddenly jumps from 5.54 p.m. to 6.48 p.m., you need a lot of confidence and acting talent to believably mutter something about «a different route» or «the traffic might clear.» From school age onwards, children know pretty quickly what to expect in situations like these. And that’s a good thing.
Hardly anyone still drives into a monster traffic jam completely unaware anymore, and no radio play’s interrupted every 20 minutes by overly loud traffic reports and a fatherly «Shhh!» These days, we usually have a choice about the torture we want to subject ourselves to in advance. And we can react to changes. Take a break? Take a detour? Sigh and stay on the route? We usually resign ourselves to the traffic jam if the sat nav doesn’t suggest a faster route. In the past, this level of certainty was only available on flights and trains. The information’s worth its weight in gold. That’s why almost all of us use it, despite a few minor drawbacks.
Knowing that the situation can’t be improved is incredibly relaxing. Just like a nice environment.
2. Gone are the days of stewing in a convection oven
«Don’t be such a baby,» is something I especially like to say when the kids are moaning about the temperature in the car. Granted, the air conditioning takes a while to kick in. But at least we have it – and even the most basic model makes things acceptably cool in just a few minutes.
In the past, cars became like convection ovens on hot days. After ten hours of simmering, even the coolest head would melt into a sludge of thoughts that would evoke envy of air travellers. The jet set floated coolly through the clouds towards exotic destinations. The driving holiday crowd sweated it out on the Brenner Pass or melted away on the Gotthard Pass.
These days, air turbulence is becoming increasingly common, and the term «travel weather»’s practically extinct. At most, it refers to the conditions at your destination. We used to think about the day of our trip and hope for a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius and overcast skies. Because in the blazing sun, even a handheld fan – whose battery you can guarantee would run out when it was really needed – was no help.
The only shame is that the full air conditioning has taken the event-like quality out of traffic. Before, windows would roll down, doors would open and people would chat and exchange a few words of encouragement. Now, everyone suffers on their own. Travel tip: if you want to experience real heat, the best thing to do is wait in a queue for hours to get on a ferry.
3. Almost limitless freedom on the ground
At the airport, you often give your fingerprints, declare your non-existent presidential assassination plans and surrender your dignity in the terminal, while border controls on the ground in Europe are more of a spectre than a real annoyance. If a national border comes into view, I still turn down the radio and brace myself. I somehow can’t get that out of my system, because it used to be a tense moment.
For the adults, it meant digging out their passports, smiling awkwardly and hoping for the best. For the children, it meant at least behaving, preferably well – what parents call «pulling themselves together.» With the added task of pretending to be asleep in the evening or early morning, ideally, and drooling so pitifully that no border guard – no matter how tough – would want to disturb their deep sleep.
Even though the trend’s now moving towards more checks, hardly any customs post will hold up a journey for hours because strict officials want to see your passport but also pull every last piece of swimwear out of your suitcase. And I appreciate this freedom over and over, as France easily becomes Spain or Austria turns into Italy. You have the option of turning onto country roads, stopping for coffee in the next village or stocking up on supplies at the first supermarket you find. A small detour brings variety – and no one sweats anymore.
4. The passenger can relax
The entertainment director traditionally sits in the front right seat. They’re responsible for small games with small children, a consensus-based sound system, drinks and snacks. Rummaging, crumbling, making noise. In other words, all the things that annoy fellow passengers about families on trains or flights – and can be unashamedly indulged and discussed in the car with no distractions. Because in the old days, the front passenger also served as the sat nav – and the instruction to turn right in 500 metres was rarely given as confidently and quickly as a sandwich.
Instead, there was a thick stack of road maps in the glove compartment, marked with the intended route. At motorway junctions or on French country roads, minor errors at a scale of 1:800,000 have reportedly sparked major marital disputes – and anyone who doesn’t know the pressure of racing relentlessly towards a decision with a map on their knees that will determine their mood for the next few hours has never lived in the digital Stone Age.
But you’re allowed to miss that, too. Travelling was teamwork, regularly provided exciting moments and allowed children to experience a different side of their otherwise confident parents. But most of us probably appreciate ditching the schedule and having more time to relax. When everyone’s asleep and only one person has to stay awake, you’ve done something right.
5. What happens in the car stays in the car
As a driver, I love the feeling when everyone’s asleep. I always glance in the rear-view mirror whenever there’s a suspicious silence behind me. I can usually sense when it’s time for everyone to stop reading, they start seeing blurred taillights and their eyelids slowly droop. It’s a small sign of trust that creates a very special atmosphere that you can only get in a car. A positive energy that simultaneously keeps me awake, cautions me and relaxes me. Installing side headrests in the back means I can even see halfway upright heads in the mirror instead of hunched-over children. That relaxes me even more.
Nothing beats a bed, but drifting off to dreamland in air-conditioned comfort and surrounded by sonorous sounds is also quite nice. I admire people who can fall asleep in public at any moment. I can’t. I don’t want to either. Falling asleep in the middle seat on a plane or waking up on a train with a rattling snore – no thanks. In the worst-case scenario, your luggage will have disappeared along with your self-respect. If you’re going to sleep on your travels, do it in the family car. Cool, supported and protected. Even when you’re awake, you’ll want for nothing.
6. On-board entertainment for everyone
Let’s be honest, as a child, flying was great. After the first part, mainly because there was a screen and nothing better to do than stare at it for hours. First, everyone watched the same thing on CRT monitors, then came a considerable selection on your own display at your seat. These days, the car is the ultimate multimedia hub. While on some trains, a small download drags on like an old piece of chewing gum you accidentally put under your folding table, on the motorway, data usually flows smoothly. Radio plays, music, series and films are always options.
The fact that I still hear the phrase «I don’t know what to listen to» in 2025 regularly makes me laugh. Sure, there isn’t a new episode of my favourite radio play every week – but there are thousands more waiting to be discovered. Back in the day – I’d tell them – all our audio treasures fitted in a small case. Sometimes, a cassette would be inserted and played, with – much to my parents’ dismay – a loud «toooooooooot» interrupting the radio indefinitely. It wasn’t until the advent of the Walkman that Benjamin The Elephant’s trunk had a direct line to my ear canal.
I admit that these days I’m sometimes quite happy when everyone’s watching or listening to their own thing. Breaks like that are good when you’ve been sitting together for ten hours or more. But it’s even nicer to discover interesting content together and talk about it, such as on SRF Kids Reporter or CheckPod (both in German). It’s all about the variety – and when the children are in their own world, parents can also immerse themselves in audiobooks or hour-long podcasts (in German) that make the time fly by.
7. Arriving means arriving
Like most parents, I’m especially aware of how time flies during the holidays. It’s not just a time to watch the sun reflecting off the waves; it’s also perfect for us to reflect on the events of the past few months. We take in what’s been happening in the family, who’s achieved what and that everyday life might not always be so easy. Our outlook softens, frustration melts and joy eclipses dark thoughts.
Arriving by car means you’ve truly arrived. Take it out of gear, turn off the engine and the holiday begins. A family – alone in four square metres – together at its destination. This moment is so good it’s impossible for it to get any better. But it’s more precious with each passing year because we’ve spent more and more time together.
Fresh impressions mingle with old stories, while the strains of the journey slowly fade. The immediate feelings are relief and a touch of humility that everything turned out well again. Because blown tyres, ambulances and hazard lights on the warning strips are once again only things that affected other people. Today, everything’s better because yesterday the journey was still ahead of us. Time will transform the rest into golden memories.
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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