Originally Posted by
BadgerBoi
..and I'm sure that there is no "bureaucracy at its finest" involved in air travel wherever the OP lives.
The European rail system is just fantastic, I love using it and I'm sure that when the OP gets there he'll realise that all this worrying was for nothing. I was travelling all around Europe on very complicated international itineraries long before the internet was around and I don't recall experiencing a single problem. I used overnight trains, couchettes, sleeping cars, day journeys involving tight connections, border crossings in pre-Schengen days. Not once did I have to stand, although a few times I had to shift poachers out of my reserved seats. I just came to terms with the fact that things don't always work as they do "back home". Thank God.
I've actually traveled by rail quite a bit in Europe (Italy, France, Netherlands, Russia, etc), and I agree that it is fantastically efficient. My beef is only with the booking process, which has always been rather cumbersome.
I just wish it was like booking a flight. You can do that 11 months in advance, and in many cases, you can also reserve your seat way in advance. But even if you can't reserve a seat, you are guaranteed one. It may not be the seat you wanted, but at least you wouldn't be risking having to stand or sit on the floor for many hours, unlike on a train.