Since Germany stopped being very good at football, I get the impression that complaining about the state of the german rail service has taken its place as the de-facto national sport. For my part, I am currently maintaining a perfect correlation between trains caught and trains delayed for this trip. When I can smoothly join in the moaning with the correct blend of bafflement, national shame and resignation then I will know I have finally made it in Germany. If you can’t imagine the tone, try imagining someone from England talking about NHS dentistry, the English men’s cricket team losing another test match, or indeed British trains.
However, once tucked up in my cozy cabin on the nightjet overnight train, all these complaints felt far away. Not least because manoeuvring four grown adults and luggage in a space barely sufficient to swing even a kitten is a wonderful mental diversion. Overall though, my impressions of night trains are very positive. My bed/sofa was comfortable and while the pillow provided slightly less head support than the aforementioned kitten, if there’s one thing any long distance hiker can do it’s construct a pillow. Once you try sleeping without a pillow, either through happenstance or choice, you become pretty creative. Like the A-Team, but instead overpowering the bad guys by inviting them to all have a really comfortable nap.
It’s fair to say that goodbyes are my least favourite part of any long trip. Leadups are not much fun either, being less a time of anticipation and rather more a time of steadily increasing anxiety and self doubt about whatever stupid journey I have decided to take on this time. So it was that I was rather envious this morning looking from the train window at the reunions happening a few metres away on the platform. But that is a nice reminder though. Once the much dreaded goodbyes are over, anticipation for the reunions is free to build, which are conversely my favourite part of any long trip.
Today I have spent wandering relatively aimlessly around Vienna (Wien) and transiting the final 20 minites to Perchtoldsdorf, which is the official start of the Nordalpenweg and the journey proper. Tomorrow the hard work starts, but I am choosing to consider the quote on my hotel room wall as a good omen.
Ein Traum ist immer der Anfang aller Taten
A dream is always the beginning of all deeds
Next stop, Peilsteinhaus!
Hope Wein lived up to expectations, and your wandering has loosened limbs ready for the real stroll.
Vom Boxen kann die Gelassenheit angesichts der Leistungen unserer Bahn nicht kommen. Schließlich boxe ich auch und ich sitze seit heute Morgen aggressiv wie eine Hornisse im ICE. Es spottet der Beschreibung. Vielleicht hilft die englische Sprache, vielleicht ermöglicht sie eher Distanz und Leichtigkeit. Immerhin fährt der Zug gerade wieder.