A MAN travelled nearly 600 miles and ten countries in 24 hours – using just public transport.
Jo Kibble travelled from London to Eijsden, in the very south of the Netherlands, to start his challenge to travel to as many countries as possible in a day, at 11.58pm on Monday.
It allowed him close access to as many different countries as possible, and he used buses, trains, trams, coaches and hire bikes.
He travelled to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Slovakia, ending his challenge in Breclav, Czech Republic, at 11.25pm on Tuesday.
He challenged himself after doing a similar trip eight months ago, to see how far he could get solely on trains from London in 24 hours.
Jo, who lives in South London, said: “It was a fantastic experience. “I’d hoped to make it to 11 countries, but a broken down train in Alsace, France, meant I didn’t end up having time to squeeze in a side trip to Hungary.
“Over the course of the journey, I travelled on eight trains, five buses, a coach, a tram, and a hire bike.
“Under my rules, to tick off a country I couldn’t just sit on a train travelling through it – I had to arrive and depart on different vehicles, so at the very least, I had to change.
“The comfort ranged from a very cramped, overcrowded 1am coach from Liege to Luxembourg, to a first class express through the incredible scenery of the Austrian Alps.
“The journey also included a visit to the clinically clean capital of Liechtenstein and to a run down station in the Bratislava suburbs.”
At 11.58pm on Monday evening, Jo embarked on his adventure from the little village of Eijsden in the southern Netherlands – leaving on the last train of the day.
Arriving in Liège, Belgium, less than an hour later, he boarded a Flixbus coach at 1am to Luxembourg where he then hired a Vel’OH! bike from the park and ride where the coach arrived.
He cycled to the main bus station in Luxembourg and boarded an express bus at 4am to Saarbrücken, Germany, before switching to a tram at 5.40am to Sarreguemines, France.
Jo then boarded a train at 6.13am to Strasbourg, followed by a train at 7.51am to Basel, Switzerland, but this train was terminated at the border due to a technical issue.
He then had to take the next train to Basel and therefore missed his planned onward connection to Hungary, reducing his adventure by a whole country.
Nevertheless, Jo soldiered on and took a train from Basel to Zürich at 10.06am, followed by a train to Sargans at 11.38am, and then a bus to Vaduz, Liechtenstein, at 12.33pm.
He caught a bus at 1.18pm to Schaan, then a bus at 1.28pm to Feldkirch, Austria, before boarding a train to Bratislava-Petrzalka, Slovakia, at 2.17pm.
Jo then took a bus to Bratislava-Hlavná at 9.38pm and finally boarded a train at 10.06pm to his last destination.
After 23 hours and 27 minutes, Jo arrived in Breclav in the south east of the Czech Republic at 11.25pm, ticking off 10 countries in total.
He said: “I’m pleased I did this challenge.
“It’s great to see that things you spend a lot of time working out on paper can work in reality.
“Luckily, the last train had a sleeper car to Prague, so having hopped off at a very cold Breclav at 11.25pm, I could just hop back on and go straight to bed, and wake up in the Czech capital the next morning.
“I’ve got a couple more days in the Czech Republic and then I’ll be wandering home.
“Ending up one short of how many countries that I think is possible to visit in 24 hours gives a potential for a future challenge.”
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