By Jill Dutton, Travel Awaits; January 1, 2020
Five years ago, I set out to explore the United States by train. The vision started in part because I had spent three months in Europe as a teenager traveling with my mom and two Eurail passes. My sister was in the military, stationed in Augsburg, Germany, so we used her house as a home base as we traveled by train, staying in youth hostels or camping in Austria, Germany, England, Italy, France, and Switzerland. It was an immersive experience and train travel allowed us to connect while learning about foreign cultures.