THE JOURNEY
THE REVERSE POLAR EXPRESS
A high-adventure traversal from the frozen Finnish Arctic down to the sun-soaked Mediterranean coast. Eight days. Six countries. One tactical race through the heart of Europe by ferry, sleeper train, and high-speed rail.
DAY 01
Manchester to Helsinki
The adventure begins with a flight from Manchester to Helsinki. Using Avios, I’ll be testing out Finnair Business Class, leaving Manchester in the evening with a late arrival into Helsinki — ready to explore Finland for the first time!
DAY 02
Exploring Helsinki
A full winter day in Helsinki, possibly starting with parkrun before exploring the Finnish capital, its Christmas atmosphere and hopefully some suitably snowy scenery. This is the only completely transport-free day of the challenge.
DAY 03
Helsinki to Stockholm
Finland’s Independence Day gives me one final day to explore Helsinki before heading to the harbour. At 16:45 I board the Tallink Silja overnight ferry to Stockholm — swapping hotels for a cabin and crossing the Baltic overnight.
DAY 04
Stockholm
Arriving into Stockholm at 10:00, there’s a full day to explore the Swedish capital. After travelling through the archipelago on the ferry, the rest of the day is about Stockholm itself, with an actual hotel bed before the railway journey south begins.
DAY 05
Stockholm to Hamburg
Another day in Stockholm before boarding the RDC Euronight. Tonight’s accommodation is a private first-class compartment aboard the overnight train to Hamburg — the first proper rail leg of the journey south through Europe.
DAY 06
Hamburg to Karlsruhe
The sleeper arrives into Hamburg at 05:53. From there, I continue south through Germany by high-speed rail towards Karlsruhe, where I’ll spend the night. By now the Arctic and Baltic are firmly behind me and the route is pointing towards France.
DAY 07
Karlsruhe to Nîmes via Strasbourg
Rather than taking the quickest route south, I’m breaking the journey in Strasbourg for lunch and its famous Christmas markets. Then it’s back aboard the TGV and south through France to Nîmes for the final overnight stop before Spain.
DAY 08
Nîmes to Alicante
The final day of the race. TGV INOUI takes me from Nîmes Centre to Barcelona, followed by an afternoon train down Spain’s Mediterranean coast to Alicante. Meanwhile, Cat begins her trip and takes the considerably more sensible option: Ryanair direct from Manchester, due into Alicante at 22:25. The finish line: Alicante-Elche Airport. Who gets there first?
DAY 09–12
Alicante
Race over. Trains finished. Suitcase finally stays in one place. Cat and I have four full days together in Alicante to explore the city, enjoy the Christmas atmosphere and swap the increasingly wintry journey south for the Mediterranean.