Waking up at 6am to catch a 8:35 train wasn't the best start to a day. Getting to the station at 8:00am gave me half an hour to find my platform ... I was sad to say goodbye to Berlin.
Everyone in the UK seems to have this impression that European trains are a lot better than UK ones ... I certainly had this impression too; and after my first train experience it certainly seemed that way. However the train to Vienna, via Prague, is a little different. Firstly, when I went to board the train, I had to find coach 259. Ummm 257, 258 ... 260. odear, odear, odear.
After waiting until the next stop me, and an equally confused American couple, had to follow a slightly annoyed train Stewart. It turns out 259 is after the dining cart (263) on it's own ... this seems a little odd (and still does) however what was odder is the fact that this coach seems to be full of Americans. Maybe it's a German custom to put all English (and I use the term English, in regards to the Americans, very very loosely) speaking people together? We will never know, all I do know is that I'm in a coach full of American tourists and my MP3 battery is running low.
Oh and before I go on, when I finally made it to my coach I found, what appeared to be, the only German couple had taken my seat .... a quote from sir Clarkson would be required at this point; however, on reflection, as I was still in Germany, I think tact is the best cause of action here.
2 hours into my journey I moved to single window seat with, most importantly, a power supply ... time to re-charge all my toys (I swear the train went slower as a result).
The scenery, when I started the journey, started off being a mix of urban and agricultural and this has now changed to become rivers and hills. The weather is great and so I settled down to a bit of reading and 'window sightseeing' (not at the same time you understand). I then headed to the dining cart (ohhh). Realising so far I hadn't been that adventurous with my food, I went for Goulash soup for my lunch ... It was ace, sitting there eating my soup and watching the world go by. I saw another couple order chocolate pancakes and I decided, in Vienna I would have to have one. Then it dawned on me ... I hadn't had any chocolate for the whole of my trip so far (unheard off for me); also no chips either .... something will have to be done.
After this I headed back to my seat to continue with my charging, reading and 'window sightseeing'. Then 10 hours flew by and I was soon in Vienna; I stepped out and my initial thought was "... what have I done? I had left Berlin behind for this..." however after I got on the tram (which I did all by myself) I went through the main parts of Vienna and soon my fear disappeared and excitement took it's place.
I arrived at my hostel which is a lovely old building with its own courtyard (will try to take a pic tomorrow). After dumping my stuff I headed to a local bar for some food. Keeping with the 'adventurous food' theme I ordered pork Schnitzel (port or veal in breadcrumbs), a chocolate pancake for pudding and 2x cokes ... my first 2 course meal of the trip.
I'm now relaxing in my hostel (before I have to start doing my washing) writing this message. The only weird thing is the room feels like it's moving ... I know it's weird but it does. However it's just dawned on me that it's probably me who is moving ... I've spend 10 hours on a train and I still feel that I'm on one ... anyone else herd of this or am I just weird?
Looking forward to tomorrow
Toodle Pip!
After waiting until the next stop me, and an equally confused American couple, had to follow a slightly annoyed train Stewart. It turns out 259 is after the dining cart (263) on it's own ... this seems a little odd (and still does) however what was odder is the fact that this coach seems to be full of Americans. Maybe it's a German custom to put all English (and I use the term English, in regards to the Americans, very very loosely) speaking people together? We will never know, all I do know is that I'm in a coach full of American tourists and my MP3 battery is running low.
Oh and before I go on, when I finally made it to my coach I found, what appeared to be, the only German couple had taken my seat .... a quote from sir Clarkson would be required at this point; however, on reflection, as I was still in Germany, I think tact is the best cause of action here.
2 hours into my journey I moved to single window seat with, most importantly, a power supply ... time to re-charge all my toys (I swear the train went slower as a result).
The scenery, when I started the journey, started off being a mix of urban and agricultural and this has now changed to become rivers and hills. The weather is great and so I settled down to a bit of reading and 'window sightseeing' (not at the same time you understand). I then headed to the dining cart (ohhh). Realising so far I hadn't been that adventurous with my food, I went for Goulash soup for my lunch ... It was ace, sitting there eating my soup and watching the world go by. I saw another couple order chocolate pancakes and I decided, in Vienna I would have to have one. Then it dawned on me ... I hadn't had any chocolate for the whole of my trip so far (unheard off for me); also no chips either .... something will have to be done.
After this I headed back to my seat to continue with my charging, reading and 'window sightseeing'. Then 10 hours flew by and I was soon in Vienna; I stepped out and my initial thought was "... what have I done? I had left Berlin behind for this..." however after I got on the tram (which I did all by myself) I went through the main parts of Vienna and soon my fear disappeared and excitement took it's place.
I arrived at my hostel which is a lovely old building with its own courtyard (will try to take a pic tomorrow). After dumping my stuff I headed to a local bar for some food. Keeping with the 'adventurous food' theme I ordered pork Schnitzel (port or veal in breadcrumbs), a chocolate pancake for pudding and 2x cokes ... my first 2 course meal of the trip.
I'm now relaxing in my hostel (before I have to start doing my washing) writing this message. The only weird thing is the room feels like it's moving ... I know it's weird but it does. However it's just dawned on me that it's probably me who is moving ... I've spend 10 hours on a train and I still feel that I'm on one ... anyone else herd of this or am I just weird?
Looking forward to tomorrow
Toodle Pip!
Posts
I had that feeling after spending a whole day canoeing once, felt like my bunk was about to capsize all night. So no, you're not alone on this!
ReplyDeleteYou're in Austria now, go find some chocolate cake!
Train Journey Inertia.
ReplyDeleteSomething else you could nab the rights too mate ;)
Never mind Chocolate Cake, see if you can get an Edelweiss!
Rich