I mentioned the romance of train trips on occasion in a previous piece.
Anthony Lambert in Europe by rail: The romance of the railway (The Independent, August 30th) feels the same way.
I heard many people raving about the new London train hub, he adds to the kudos telling us that "the champagne bar at London St Pancras has to be the most uplifting place to begin a rail odyssey around Europe".
At the Champagne Bar sip a St. Pancras themed Cocktail such as Meet me @ St. Pancras (Pommery Brut Royal, absolut citron, passion fruit & lemon) while waiting to board your train.
The station celebrates The Best Of British in September with a Best of British Photographic Exhibition
with 40 photos taken over a 100 plus years time frame.
As for Antwerp Central, I learned from this article that it "plays a major role in WG
Sebald’s extraordinary novel Austerlitz. The station serving the city of
diamonds and Rubens has undergone a 15-year transformation to create tracks
on three levels and restore the eclectic building put up between 1895 and
1905. Designed by Louis Delacenserie with touches of Art Nouveau, it uses 20
different kinds of marble and stone and is topped by a huge metal and glass
dome. Even the cafeteria feels like a palace".
I will let you discover the rest of the article which will leave you dreaming of a train escapade.
Bon voyage!
Related: No More Fear of Flying with ‘NoFlights’ (Traveling without Flying)