Riding the Rails - 28 settembre, 2014

Trains are my favorite way to travel. Someone else is driving, you can read, eat, get up and move around, all while enjoying the scenery that is passing by the window. In Europe, trains are generally on time and the arrangements well organized. In Italy, that's not always the case; strikes and late trains can disrupt travel schedules but I am learning to relax and be more flexible with my schedule.

During Ellen and Anne's recent visit to Europe, we used trains as our primary transportation. Like most of our visitors, they traveled by train from Milan's Malpensa airport to our neighborhood station in Como. Our plan to visit several places in Northern Italy, Austria and Germany while they were here created a route that was best served by the train system. We had seven days of travel: Como to Milan, Milan to Vicenza, Vicenza to Graz (Austria), Graz to Salzburg, Salzburg to Munich (Germany). We flew from Munich to Milan and then completed the last segment from Milan to Como by train. 

The most interesting part of the travel for me was taking a night train from Vicenza to Graz. We took a local train at 10 PM from Dueville into Vicenza and waited there for the train that was traveling between Milan and Vienna and scheduled to pass through Vicenza at midnight. The journey was to take about eight hours. When the train arrived, we found our sleeping car in which we had two rooms reserved. It was an Austrian train with compartments that each had two bunks that folded out of the wall. An attendant helped fold down the beds and oriented us to the rooms. We were asked to fill out a menu for breakfast and given a "gift bag" with snacks, a small bottle of wine, and water.

The sleeping car

Waiting for the night train

Ellen and Anne shared one compartment and I was the only one in mine. I was aware that there could be another passenger (of the same sex) assigned to my compartment but I was relieved when that didn't happen. The bed was comfortable and I enjoyed falling asleep as I looked out the window and felt the motion of the train. My friends didn't share my experience as they both struggled to sleep that night. In the morning, breakfast was delivered with the news that the train was running about an hour late. We arrived at our destination, a little bleary eyed but ready to hit the ground running.  

After the beds were made up

Watching life go by out the window.

Bischofshofen, Austria

Train travel, while more ecological than flying or driving, is no longer the more affordable option. Our airplane flight from Munich to Milan was actually cheaper than our night train from Vicenza to Graz. But when one takes into account the transportation to and from the airport and the fact that the night train also served as our hotel room for the night, it seemed to be a reasonable expense. Overall, because the experience of traveling together on the train gave us plenty of time to talk and laugh together, it was the ideal method to travel and enjoy the journey.

Scenic views from our window.