It was with some trepidation that I boarded my night train in Zurich bound for Lljubljlana, Slovenia. Not only was I travelling on my own, I was in a mixed 4-berth couchette for the 12 hour duration. Who would my fellow couchettees be; male or female, would I be able to communicate with them, both in terms of language and behavior or worst case scenario, might the whole journey be spent in silence, awkwardly edging around each other in a weird and uncomfortable game of twister?