Europe's travel strikes: Flight and train disruption you can expect in September

Summer vacations to Europe don’t have to mean sea and sand. Fresh water is equally as appealing, and the continent’s most beautiful lake regions are simply stunning year-round. Lake Como’s crystal clear water, dramatic scenery, picturesque villages, and five-star hotels — not to mention A-list celebrity visitors — have contributed to the region’s reputation for being the most romantic (and luxurious) lake in Europe. And while this is very true, Como is breathtaking, across the continent are other bodies of water that deserve attention. From the shores of Lough Corrib in Ireland, where you can stay in an ancient castle, to the limpid turquoise water of Lake Päijänne in Finland, where you can sleep overnight in a floating hotel made entirely of glass, these are the best lakes in Europe for a luxury vacation.

There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.

Amsterdam, like many other European cities, is facing an overtourism problem. The numbers don’t lie. In the year 2000, the Dutch capital broke a record when it welcomed over 4 million visitors. In 2019, the city’s enthusiasm for unbridled tourism had curbed: 10.2 million visitors came to Amsterdam, which has a population of about 820,000, that year and spent 21.8 million nights in the city.

I think of myself as a well-traveled individual with a very solid knowledge of geography and tourist sights. Most of the people at Matador Network see themselves in the same way. After all, we live and breathe travel day in, day out. Yet, apparently, none of us know much about Germany.

A full slate of labor strikes are planned throughout Europe this month, which could impact both plane and train travel.Both flights and trains could be delayed as a result of the various labor actions in the coming weeks. Here’s a breakdown of the locations where strikes are expected to take place and when.

Sep 23, 2024 • 5 min read

While there are countless ways to cook eggs, chefs currently seem fixated on the most hedonistic option: hard boiling and then coating them in a layer of ground meat before breading and frying them. Known as Scotch eggs, the treats are said to have been pioneered by the London epicurean shop Fortnum & Mason in 1738, after which they quickly became a fixture of British pub cuisine. The chef Ed Szymanski, 31, of Lord’s in New York recalls the Scotch eggs he encountered growing up in London as both ubiquitous and “quite bad.” His version features Madras-style spiced lamb in place of the usual pork sausage. “It’s like a supercharged croquette with an egg in the middle,” he says. In Seattle, the chef Sean Arakaki, 30, is also seeking to elevate the flavors of his childhood. Born and raised in Hawaii, he grew up eating loco moco: a hamburger patty served over gravy-drenched white rice with a sunny-side-up egg. At Itsumono, his restaurant in Seattle’s Japantown, his loco moco Scotch egg arrives atop rice and gravy with a side of macaroni salad. “You cut through the crumb to get to a runny yolk,” he says. For his Portland, Ore., food cart Tokyo Sando, the owner Taiki Nakajima, 36, makes a rendition with ajitama — soy-marinated boiled eggs — enveloped in a gyoza-inspired mix of ground pork and chicken with ginger and soy. Encrusted with panko and deep-fried, the eggs are sandwiched between slices of Japanese bread with mayo, roasted black garlic and cabbage. And in Mumbai, India, the chef Hussain Shahzad, 37, of O Pedro wraps his version in chile- and vinegar-laced ground lamb, drizzling on vindaloo sauce when the egg comes out of the fryer. “It’s not a monotonous dish,” he says. “You get crisp crust, juiciness from the meat and the runny yolk … playing on the palate at the same time. There are so many layers to it.” —

As Europe's main tourist season winds down, cities are putting in place legislation to control overtourism and crack down on badly-behaved visitors alongside landlords who run illegal accommodation. 

The UK's Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will soon apply to visitors from from Europe, Australia, the US and Canada.

Have you ever wondered which European cities have the best, worst and busiest metro networks? New research reveals the answers. 

Ennismore, Accor's playful joint venture offshoot of luxury and lifestyle brands, is on track to make a splash in the capital of Spain's Catalonia region.

The shake-up continues at Scandinavian Airlines following its official entrance into the SkyTeam alliance.