Pages tagged: railway literature

We take a look at recent books by travel writers Tom Chesshyre and Vitali Vitaliev, both of whom are keen rail travellers. Each writer shows a strong focus on journeys, rather than just emphasising the destination.

Travelling across the North European Plain, a vast sweep of two-dimensional terrain that extends from Brussels to Berlin and beyond, travellers might well give thanks for whatever modest hills punctuate their journey. The Harz Mountains barely rise to more than one thousand metres, but seen from the flatlands to the north they appear mightily impressive: great, forested humpbacks that preside over the plains. The highest point is the Brocken, at 1,141 metres the loftiest elevation anywhere in northern Germany.