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 If you arrived by boat, you might as well complete the cycle and depart by train in a truly 19th century gesture. Forget those scenes from the Midnight Express--- you will be riding the Dostluk-Filia Express. Dostluk and Filia mean friendship in Greek and Turkish, so I’m assuming this new train service is meant to be friendly, and something
of a Political advertisement. Whatever it is, the term “express” is something of a mystery for a train that took us 18 hours of putting
along through the vast countryside of North Greece and Turkey and seemed to stop in every one street town between Istanbul and Thessaloniki. Apparently our train had engine troubles, hence the slow ride and the five hour delay at the border in the middle of the night. The line was actually founded in 2005 by the Greek and Turkish governments as gesture of solidarity and friendship which explains the cheap prices, the friendly helpful staff and the existence of a sleeper-only train line between
these two countries. It’s really a wonderful idea. Normally, the train should take 12 hours (add on one or two for passport controls at both borders) and leaves both cities at about 8pm, getting you there in the morning. In spite of the delay, I have nothing but the best words or this little sleeper train. For 48 Euros a person you get a charming little sleeper car with fold down beds, a huge window, independent AC and Heating, a sink, a fridge, clean towels and linens for your bedand a full delivered breakfast
“in bed” (about 10 Euros extra). The friendly conductors don’t speak much English, but they will pass by with cold beers and whiskey for anyone who needs to buy a drink.
 Because of our delay, we spent much of the trip in daylight which meant we got to see the landscape of northern Greece. The train runs along an old track that winds through the For anyone who loves trains and would rather spend a night traveling, than sitting in a hotel, I highly recommend this trip.Not only is it more romantic to arrive
or depart this way, but it’s cheap and the train will pull right into the central stations of Istanbul and Thessaloniki (Salonika). The Thessaloniki station leaves much to be desired, it’s a total embarrassment actually, whereas the Istanbul Circesi station is a beautiful building from the old world of train travel and is well run efficient and modernized. The Greeks and Turks have different trains, so be aware that I am describing the journey from Turkey
and can’t speak for travel in the opposite direction although I’ve heard that the Turkish train is more modern and little more luxurious than its Greek counterpart.
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