From Vienna to Zurich, you rather take the night train

A photography showing a radio tower on a mountain next to the City of Zurich, in the morning light — Zurich, viewed from the "Uetliberg"

As a Dutchie I never knew Vienna and Zurich are so far apart that it takes a night train to travel between the two. For us, every neighbouring country is within 1,5 hour distance from almost anywhere in the country.

So, naturally, I thought let me take a quick train to Zurich after my conference in Vienna. Just in time to celebrate Timo's birthday. Of course, when doing the research, it turned out to be quite the travel. There are a couple of direct day trains, but I wanted to travel as efficiently as possible. And so I went to my favorite platform nightride.com and discovered there are indeed night trains between the two cities. There are actually two options here: The NJ 466 and the EN 40462. The latter comes from Budapest and makes a stop in Vienna. This time, I decided for the NJ 466, since it departs a bit earlier, however, offers on the Euronight might sometimes be cheaper – good to check both!

Check night train availabilities from Zurich to Vienna here

I booked a single compartment this time as I could find one for only 180 euro, probably because I booked quite some time in advance. That would be nice after the intense conference days; some me-time!

A glimpse into the compartment – the table on the left can be turned into a sink

When I boarded the train, I was happy to find yet another type of night train to discover. This time a double decker! My place was located on the upper compartment and the bed was already made. It was a bit smaller than the last compartment that I shared in a 3-person cabin, but also in this compartment there would still fit two people.

I got a nice goodiebag again with all sleeping supplies you could wish for. I filled out the breakfast form and, as I was too tired to stay up for too much longer, I went for an early night sleep.

Waking up with a view of the Swiss mountains

In the morning I was woken by a nice and healthy breakfast. Pro tip: if you’re like me and you like dark bread, bring some dark bread from the station (usually all German speaking countries have good bread). And instead of the little white "Semmel" you can order an extra yogurt or so.

And before I knew it I was in the city center of Zurich again.