Unexpected Day Trip to Vienna

You arrive in Europe and have heard all the romanticized stories about the rail system, the ease of use and the convenience. What they don’t tell you is that language barriers don’t always resolve themselves into being able to book the ideal trip.

So far we’ve done really well at going with the flow of the whitewater but man is it tiring. We got on a train last night after having been promised a “sleeper” for the 4 hour ride from 2am to 6am. Our sleeper was a version there of. The seats did in fact fold down so we could stretch out, but in 5 hours (because our train was late) our tickets were checked 3 times, and our passports checked once. Streamline, people! If the ticket says I’m not getting off until Vienna, who do you think is sleeping in here! Or at least trying to.

So we arrived in Vienna, low on sleep but still trying to make the most of our unexpected 8 hour layover. So we decided we’d try to catch a catnap in the station. We had finally made ourselves comfortable, me with my butt in one wrought iron chair and my legs over the armrest, feet resting on the next armrest, protectively stretched over a couple of our bags. Emrys had managed to prop himself on the backpack and was stretched on the tile floor. All was well, and we dozed for 15 minutes. Then enter the train station police, who get after Emrys for being on the floor and me for having my feet on the chair. Not a fan of the train station staff (even less a fan after the run in with the bathroom guard)! So we gave up on sleep at that point, pulled out the Frommer’s guide, grabbed public transit passes and headed out in search for breakfast and for Schönbrunn Palace. We found some hot grub and enjoyed a warm meal and then to the Palace.

The Palace was really amazing. We did the interior walking tour and unfortunately they don’t allow cameras so no pix to share. The details and ornamentation of the facility dated back hundreds of years and was truly stunning. We plan on skipping through there when the gardens, which are all under repair/replanting right now, promise to be spectacular once spring and summer arrive.

Now we sit at platform 16, staring at our train, waiting for them to let us on so hopefully we’ll have a compartment to ourselves and get some sleep.