16.09.2025
With the support of the DiscoverEU programme and a Rail Baltica scholarship, Paula Rits travelled across Europe, sitting on packed trains, walking through unfamiliar cities and learning lessons about loneliness and freedom. “The idea of a multi-week European trip seemed like a dream, and DiscoverEU was too good to be true,” she says. That dream became a reality, and the world unfolded around her like a movie.
Paula Rits had her first real train journey experience only this summer. In Estonia, trains were familiar to her from childhood, taking her once to the folk of Viljandi and once to her relatives in Nõo. But she had never travelled on a European scale before, through cities and across national borders, along railways that create new connections and friendships on the continent. All of this was made possible by the DiscoverEU programme, within the framework of which Rits received a Rail Baltic Estonia scholarship.
Paula's journey took her from the Mediterranean beaches of Cyprus to Larnaca, Amsterdam, Vienna to Munich, Pesaro to Reims in France: city life and mountain landscapes, views from the train window and the hustle and bustle of station platforms, friendships and lonely moments.
A train ride like a Hollywood comedy
According to Paula, the Vienna-Prague route went by the fastest: "The four and a half hour journey went by quickly because we were sitting next to a super funny American family, where two small children were constantly making mischief. We read a book and listened to music, the journey was smooth. The second time, on the Milan-Lucerne route, the most beautiful views of the entire trip opened up! We passed through the mountainous landscapes of Italy, Austria and Switzerland."
The true meaning of travel was revealed to him in unexpected places and situations. Munich felt like home in a day – the Isar River, cycling, cheap beers and a museum quarter that he had too little time to explore. The journey to Venice, however, proved to be a challenge when the train was stopped for two hours in the middle of a field due to a construction barrier: “Deutsche Bahn strikes again!” he wrote in his travel diary, and still gave it a good three in his mind because: “Bonus, the mountain views were amazing!”
The charm and pain of solo travel
Those moments when the train stops but the person moves forward in their thoughts are part of the poetics of train travel. Paula describes how a few days passed in solitude: “I thought I would be a huge fan of solo travel, but those times when I was alone for several days, I sometimes felt quite lonely.” But at the same time, it was during these moments that the strangest and most beautiful encounters took place – for example, in a bar in Munich, where she got into a casual conversation with a woman from Japan who dreamed of visiting Finland.
Such fragments give his journey as much weight as the sights themselves. A European train journey is not just about getting from point A to point B, but about embracing a new rhythm. It is the rhythm of stations, of landscapes gliding past the window, of delays and chance encounters.
The hardest moment hit Paula while she was traveling from Munich to Venice when she received a call from Italy. The friend she was supposed to stay with in Rimini said that she couldn’t offer accommodation due to problems with her parents. “That call really hit home,” says Paula. The day had already started badly – two hours on the train in the middle of the fields – and now a safe place to stay was gone. The result: a spontaneous stopover in Bologna instead of Rimini. The hostel cost 37 euros per person per night, a hole in the budget, but in return she was left with a travel memory that later felt more like an adventure than a disaster.
When all of Italy is on vacation and eating questionable pizza at once
Italy also gave him the brightest memories. In the city of Pesaro, he celebrated Ferragosto – the feast of August 15, which is the peak of summer for Italians, at the same time a religious holiday and a collective holiday, reminiscent of the Estonian Midsummer, only without the bonfire and mosquitoes. That evening, he met new friends and tasted the local pride, Pizza Rossini. The name is a tribute to the composer Gioachino Rossini, who was born in Pesaro. The classic Rossini is based on tomato puree and mozzarella, to which boiled eggs, ham and sometimes peas or vegetables are added after baking. It is a pizza that sounds suspicious, but tastes better than the description suggests.
The gastronomy of the trip moved constantly to the rhythm of the American mountains, from gourmet experiences to austerity-style cuisine classics. While in one city it meant the best gelato at an outdoor cinema with new friends, in Reims, where his wallet was in danger of running out, he found himself opening a can of tuna and ratatouille. “Everything tasted very good!” he confirms. Perhaps there was as much youthful optimism in it as gastronomy, but it is this ability to elevate a can to the status of dinner that later makes a summer train journey a worthy chapter in the book of travel memories.
Estonia sounded exciting to many
When it comes to the future of train travel in Estonia, Paula is hopeful: “Rail transport was mostly extremely convenient! Compared to flying, the pre-procedures are very quick, the train stations are usually completely inside the city, the trains are comfortable and fast and more affordable. I think Rail Baltica can definitely bring more train passengers to Estonia.” However, she does not deny the challenges: “As a young traveler, Estonia is not that attractive right now, because the prices in Estonia are extremely cheap. Of course, I really hope that Estonia will be an attractive destination – people were very interested in Estonia when I was on the DiscoverEU trip.”
What Paula got wasn’t just a free train ticket, but a chance to see Europe the way an actor sees a movie set – all a little dirtier, sometimes uncomfortable, but much more exciting than the final version shining on the canvas. Rail Baltica promises young people a similar view: a high-speed railway that brings not only tourists and businessmen to Estonia, but also random conversations, friendships and strange food experiences.
DiscoverEU scholarship – what, how and for whom?
DiscoverEU is an Erasmus+ programme that gives 18-year-olds the opportunity to discover Europe by train. The competition, which takes place twice a year, awards free travel passes that allow you to visit almost 30 European countries for up to one month. You can travel alone or with a group of up to four friends. In addition, young people receive discounts on accommodation, transport, culture and more.
Every summer, Rail Baltic Estonia provides five young Estonians with a 500-euro travel grant, which helps cover food, accommodation, and other travel expenses.
Read more about the program: https://youth.europa.eu/discovereu_et
The article was first published as a content marketing story in Õhtuleht on 15.09.2025, 14:36.
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