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[The CIVIS Newsroom ](https://civis.eu/de/the-civis-newsroom) 2. Sebastian SEIFFERT Sebastian SEIFFERT ==================== People 29\. Juni 2026 Travelling by train through Europe it’s not such a big challenge anymore, but maybe quite the opposite: besides the environmental aspect, it might be even faster or safer sometimes - especially lately, given the kerosene crisis. However, travelling green all the way to another continent it’s still a challenge - one that Sebastian Seiffert, international officer for ULB, was willing not only to take, but also to share with the CIVIS community. Will he do it again? Let’s find out together! My liking of fast trains goes back to my Erasmus year in Bordeaux. I remember standing in the TGV cafeteria and gazing at some lush landscape dimly lit by the sunset while the train went at 300 km/ h. Nothing as fast was then circulating in my native Germany, so for me it was part of the cultural discovery of studying abroad. The years have past, and now I’m a staff member of the international office at ULB. Like many university staff and students, I also choose to travel by train - it’s fun and has a lighter carbon footprint, compared to flying. Part of my job is to apply for Erasmus+ travel grants between ULB and our CIVIS partners in Africa. This is how I know that Erasmus+ offers small top-up amounts for persons travelling on land rather than by air. And, as the [*F*](https://civis.eu/en/the-civis-newsroom/countdown-begins-for-civis-first-african-european-forum-for-research-and-education-in-casablanca)[*irst CIVIS African–European Forum for Research and Education in Casablanca*](https://civis.eu/en/the-civis-newsroom/countdown-begins-for-civis-first-african-european-forum-for-research-and-education-in-casablanca) was approaching, I wondered: could green mobility also work out in this case, too? Start by doing your homework ---------------------------- ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/map.jpg)My copilot.I consulted the ULB travel agency and learnt that I could indeed take trains from Brussels to the Spanish port of Algeciras in a day and a half. Algeciras is directly on the strait of Gibraltar, where Africa and Europe are only 15 kilometers, or a 1.5 hour ferry ride, apart. I was also told I had to buy the ferry and the train in Morocco myself, as it was not covered by the agency. In total, it would be a two-day travel, with one night of stopover in Madrid. After consulting my family if they could spare me two weekends, on top of the working week, and a fast budget check that shows all costs fit into the Erasmus+ mobility grant, I thus decided to travel by train and ferry. ### Hit the road, Sebastian! - **Saturday, 21 March** I set off at Bruxelles Midi at 10:00 AM. In my backpack, two novels and one Morocco travel guide. I’ve also downloaded some full-length albums in my music app. This cultural package keeps me busy until Barcelona, with one change in Lyon. At the French Mediterranean coast in Camargue, you can even see flamingos in the shallow water! Between Barcelona and Madrid, there’s a group of teenage rugby players in the cafeteria car, and they are in a (contagious) bright mood. I arrive at Madrid Atocha a bit before midnight and quickly head to my hotel. - **Sunday, 22 March** After a short night, I’m at Atocha train station again at 7:00 AM. The choice of high-speed trains is amazing, and it includes French and Italian operators. At 10:00 AM, I’m in Antequera in Andalucia, and change for a bus. Following floods in January, the train between Antequera and Algeciras is damaged and currently being repaired. In Algeciras, I get on the ferry amid a group of Mexican tourists. Tanger Med, on the Moroccan side, turns out to be an impressively sized freight and passenger harbour, where a bus will take you to the terminal. So, if I needed some airport feeling, here it finally is! Communicating with the taxi driver is a small challenge, as he speaks more Spanish than French, and my Spanish is a bit rusty. I take the Al Boraq high-speed train (by the way, the first on the African continent) at the Tanger Ville station at 9:00 PM, and arrive at Casablanca shortly after 11:00 PM. It’s been 16 hours of travel by now, but hey! here I am, on time. Ironically, my hotel happens to be the former Moroccan headquarter of oil company Shell. ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/tanger-1.jpg)Tanger by Sebastian Seiffert- **Monday, 23 - Friday, 27 March** The event I’m attending is the first large-scale academic and scientific conference with all 17 CIVIS members and associates. As such, it nicely brings together my ULB and CIVIS professional hats. In ULB, my main role is to help academics develop Erasmus+ projects, often with one or several CIVIS partners. Like, for example, example is PolyCIVIS - a network icovering the entire Alliance, which (over the last two and a half years) has created short teaching programmes and policy advice related to the polycrisis. As PolyCIVIS project coordinator (my CIVIS hat), I have the pleasure to moderate a panel discussion on our achievements so far and future steps. ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/polycivis-panel.jpg)Right to left: Malte Brosig (Wits); Sarah Hassnaoui (AMU); Olfa Ammar (Sfax) online; Noor Gulamussen (UEM) & Sebastian![]()- **Saturday, 28 March** After a great week of exchanges at the CIVIS Forum, I start the journey again with Al Boraq (named after a Mythical winged horse). This time it’s day time, so I can better appreciate the landscape, including many greenhouses and short views of the Atlantic. In Tanger, I share a taxi with two French students that take an exchange year in Rabat and go to Algeciras for the day. On the ferry, we have a great panorama of Gibraltar, and I do a bit of reading on the history of this hill that has remained British territory since the early 18th century. I arrive just in time to catch the 2:30 PM replacement bus. From Antequera, it is again the AVE, but this time it’s violet. Great, I can add another selfie to my collection. In Madrid Atocha, my friend Nacho picks me up. 10:00 PM, just the right time to go to a restaurant in Spain! - **Sunday, 29 March** We go for some churros for breakfast, and then Nacho takes me for a tour through El Retiro, the big park in the center of Madrid. My train is only at 1:00 PM, so we have some time to stroll through the alleys and chat, even with the time change the night before. My program includes a single train, and only eight hours of travel. However, they get long, my back hurts, and by the time of reaching the French border, I write to my family, half-joking: *“Who had the strange idea of doing this travel on land?”*. I shouldn’t have done so: within three minutes from then, we get informed there’s a fire near the tracks in Sète, and we’ll have to wait until further notice. I give up the remote prospect of going for a run when arriving in Avignon, and order a beer in the restaurant car. In the end, the situation clarifies rather quickly, and the delay amounts to only 80 minutes. - **Monday, 30 March** Shortly after noon, the direct TGV arrives at Bruxelles Midi station. On the bus home, I reflect on my experience. In terms of ecology, I have emitted around 15% of CO2 compared to flying the same itinerary. I have travelled roughly 5500 kilometers by train, 300 by bus, and 40 by ferry. I have completed one of the novels, read enough of the other to decide I didn’t like it, and am now familiar with several albums of Rosalía. ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/tanger-med-1.jpg)Tanger Med by Sebastian Seiffert**So, will I do it again? Yes! And I will invite colleagues to join, as it’s more fun to travel in a group.** A colleague from Tübingen already signaled interest - so we could meet up in Lyon for the next similar journey. Heads up also for Marseille and Madrid - you too could easily join en route, so don’t hesitate to drop a sign if interested. ### International Officer ![International Officer](https://civis.eu/storage/files/universite-libre-de-bruxelles.png)- Sebastian Seiffert - [Email](mailto:Sebastian.Seiffert@ulb.be) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/de-retour-618x_.jpg?token=8aa136558f817b2e073ad8d36b65d8f9) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/de-retour-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=ea7cb7ae37908dc0cc737d018d0b65de) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/carte-jour-2-618x_.png?token=0b638a4e9d68f8d6d1a8b70b9a07fb28) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/carte-jour-2-1600x1600-resize.png?token=d99c017dfeca65c96f782b69c5b926d3) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/carte-jour-1-618x_.png?token=37bc9327789a94be9a7ad6cae70cbb67) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/carte-jour-1-1600x1600-resize.png?token=9e5eb7ab563057142fa9ac69d50e1c35) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/tajine-618x_.jpg?token=fddd06ba61aca75928dd565bcdbbdf0c) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/tajine-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=c0cfbf1d8dfec9177d3fa0b18cc48da9) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/scene-de-rue-casa-618x_.jpg?token=886e9d546ba4e2493cdfd09fde320861) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/scene-de-rue-casa-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=e01c42ea978fb6ab1bb54b1c218bfd88) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-618x_.jpg?token=5cfd8f4a5e324ddba46725f68a963786) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=9e0a40f7f2a6178e81366ce2252a5477) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-8-618x_.jpg?token=6ed96d7027d175ec35678c668e1ec211) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-8-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=195da097c3c589dedb0684e93a469e32) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-7-618x_.jpg?token=d79a451482b3b2b862c933e7f672b2bf) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-7-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=02cb7010af8c133619338de3224ba3f6) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-2-618x_.jpg?token=cd649b9620756a443dc6591e9d4849e0) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-2-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=d686c09ccc0b6c66772a2e6d3bc9b15a) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-10-618x_.jpg?token=732118a12e03575a284e94cc93c6b491) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-10-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=3ecd1c40c9b93afef9988ce6d5ad2a62) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-3-618x_.jpg?token=34920c93a2582cadd0e9e13961139ea9) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-3-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=6bbb924589e75aec9dba39c6c72b7041) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-9-618x_.jpg?token=198b0d96a62c02d61e19596d0c596cda) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-9-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=6075e1207a644c4ae5c5affedbf01c03) - [ ![Click to enlarge](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-1-618x_.jpg?token=347410da44f94c6ace637af73068b551) ](https://civis.eu/storage/files/sebastian-1-1600x1600-resize.jpg?token=58ddfccd07c592abcf2a28b274fc1ff5) Related news ------------ - [ ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/random-sizes-for-galleries-website-photos-1-800x600.jpg?token=77f645082e58cf18f4ff5b333c9bf163)CIVIS Student Ambassadors Take Centre Stage in Newsroom Pilot Communication and Dissemination 22. 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