Zidani Most: Europe’s Most Picturesque Train Station
On my train journey to Croatia I had a short stopover at Zidani Most railway station in Slovenia, which may very well be one of the most picturesque in all of Europe.
Zidani Most arrival
After a great journey from Austria on the Emona EuroCity train I had finally arrived at Zidani Most railway station in Slovenia.
As the Emona train continued its course to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana and I needed to go to Zagreb in Croatia, I had to change trains here.
Given how picturesque and unique the location of this train station is, this was hardly a crime.
Zidani Most location
The station of Zidani Most is an important stop for all the passenger trains passing through.
However, that’s certainly not due to its size as only 284 people call this village home.
Rather, it’s the unique location which makes Zidani Most such an important stop as the railway lines to Maribor/Graz, Ljubljana and Zagreb all meet at this junction station.
Zidani Most literally translates as ‘Stone Bridge’, which refers to the railway and road bridges across the Savinja River.
From one of the two railway bridges you even have a perfect view over the confluence between the Savinja and Sava River.
As both rivers stream through some gorgeous forested valleys, the location of the railway station is also visually stunning.
Station café
Between the arrival of my train from Graz and my onward train to Zagreb I had almost three hours to kill.
Needless to say, there isn’t much to do in a village as small as this.
However, Zidani Most does have a station bar with outdoor seating on the platform, making it an excellent place to kill the time.
With a cold beer or two, a good book and a bit of trainspotting from the comfort of my seat, time went by fast.
Slovenia’s crazy COVID laws
One minor inconvenience of having a beer-fuelled layover at the railway station quickly became clear.
At the time my my trip took place (Spring 2021), cafés and restaurants in Slovenia were only allowed to open for outdoor or takeaway service.
That clearly meant that you couldn’t enjoy your drink inside, but due to some quirks in the Slovenian COVID laws it also meant that bars and restaurants were not allowed to have guests use their toilets.
With the café staff refusing to unlock their toilet and there being no other public toilet available inside the train station, there was no other option than to take a leak behind some dumpsters in front of the station.
Although this wasn’t a big deal for me being a man, I was however wondering how Slovenian women would cope with such a nonsensical restriction.
Onwards to Zagreb
After a couple of beers it was time to head to the island platform as my connecting train towards Zagreb would arrive at any moment.
Just after the arrival of the Budapest-Ljubljana train at platform 2, my Ljubljana to Zagreb train pulled into Zidani Most station at the opposite side on platform 3.
Conclusion
Although it might sound boring having to kill three hours at a train station serving a village of only 284 people, that’s really not the case when it comes to Zidani Most in Slovenia.
Being located in a picturesque valley at the confluence of two rivers, there are few stations in Europe that can boast of having such a beautiful setting.
Having a nice little station bar with outdoor seating on one of the platforms, it’s hardly a crime to spend some time at Zidani Most station on a sunny day with a beer or two.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘Across Europe by Train: Interrail in the Age of Corona‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Review: LOT Polish Airlines Economy Class Bucharest to Warsaw (Embraer ERJ-175)
2. Walking Through an Empty Warsaw in Corona Lockdown
3. Review: Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotow
4. Review: LOT Polish Airlines Economy Class Warsaw to Zurich (Boeing 737 MAX)
5. A Stopover Walk Through the Old Town of Zurich
6. Review: Railjet Train Zurich to Feldkirch
7. An Evening in Friendly Little Feldkirch
8. Review: Nightjet Train Feldkirch to Graz
9. A Short Walk Along the Sights of Graz
10. Review: Emona EuroCity Train Vienna – Ljubljana – Trieste
11. Zidani Most: Europe’s Most Picturesque Train Station (current chapter)
12. Review: Ljubljana to Zagreb by EuroCity Train EC 1211 ‘Sava’
13. Flying With Trade Air on a Let L-410 Turbolet Across Croatia
14. Review: Palace Derossi, Trogir, Croatia
15. A Visit to the Tranquil Island City of Trogir, Croatia
16. Cycling on Ciovo: A Trogir Day Trip by Bike
17. Split: Croatia’s Bustling Seaside City Full of History
18. Review: Croatian Railways ICN Train Split to Zagreb
19. Review: Esplanade Hotel, Zagreb, Croatia
20. Zagreb: A Guide to Croatia’s Underrated Capital City
21. Review: EuroCity Train “Croatia” Zagreb to Vienna
22. Review: Dacia Night Train Vienna to Bucharest
