Riding the Rails: London to Brussels

July 16, 2011 -- After a night out at a local Swiss Cottage pub with some hostelers, I woke up early the next morning and took a taxi to St. Pancras Railway Station where I took a Eurostar high speed train to my next stop -- Brussels, Belgium.

The train zips you to Brussels in a little under two hours and travels at speeds up to 186 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour). It was my first time riding a high speed train and it was an amazing experience. You literally feel as if you are flying on the ground. But while the speed is incredibly fast, the ride is also surprisingly smooth. The highlight for me was traveling through the English Channel Tunnel, otherwise called the Chunnel. It takes about 20 minutes to travel the 31.4 miles (50.5 kilometers) from Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France. It is thrilling being 250 feet (75 meters) under sea level on a high-speed train roaring ahead at nearly 200 mph.

Eurostar makes stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in southern England; and Calais and Lille in northern France, before arriving at Brussels South Railway Station.

Here is video riding the rails from London to Brussels:

Here are photos of the rail trip from London to Brussels. Click here to see the Flickr set.