Oslo Central Station. | Shutterstock

A design journalist attending a sustainability-minded architecture fair reflects on her experience traveling from London to Oslo by train instead of a plane When 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic in late August to attend the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City, it was perhaps the most high-profile case yet of ?flight shaming,? a growing movement urging people to avoid air travel and the greenhouse gas emissions that come with taking planes.
As it happens, this was also the year I challenged myself to travel less and use as little resources as possible when I do. So when I was planning my visit to the 2019 Oslo Architecture Triennale this fall, I had just the opportunity to walk the talk?especially given the show?s theme of ?degrowth?, exploring architectural alternatives that promote human and ecological flourishing instead of infinite economic expansion. Getting to Oslo from London, where I?m based, is quickest by plane, just about two hours flying over the North Sea. My alternative journey would certainly be longer and more complicated, traversing more of Europe. But what was supposed to be four trains and one ferry ended up being nine trains and one ferry, making for a total one-way trip duration of 45 hours.
At one point, we were forced out of the overnight train from Hamburg to Copenhagen because the toilets weren?t working and told to meet a new train at another st...