As we wind through the Austrian countryside over mountains of forest and scattered wooden cabins, I can't help but imagine I'd be more comfortable inside one of them, in an armchair tucked up next to a flickering log fire, than I am sat here in this train seat. I really shouldn't complain- although the 9 hour journey ahead might not be the most appealing, it's broken up into two 4 and a half hour trains, and right now I have a seat, so it should be a pretty slow, easy-going day as long as we make our connection. This is the appeal of regional trains in my opinion; we can take an easy ride on a slow-moving train, take in the natural beauty of each country we travel through, and enjoy the travelling itself rather than rushing for high speed trains (and forking out more money doing so).
That being said, a high speed train was our best option getting from Naples to Venice seeing as we were travelling essentially the entire length of Italy; and that was 5 and a half hours as it is. Our hostel was in Mestre, which is the last bit of mainland before you can take the road (or tracks, in our case) out to the floating city. We left the station and only had to walk about 2 minutes down the road to reach our hostel, Anda Venice, which was an absolutely perfect base for our 3-night stay. Spacious rooms, two showers, big lockers, a great bar and garden area, kitchen and laundry room. After some of the weird and rough stays we've had throughout Italy, it was a relief to be somewhere that was safe, clean, and relatively normal.
As is typical when arriving somewhere new after a long travel day, we crashed as soon as we could get into the rooms, unpacked and rested our eyes a bit. I had a shower to wake myself up slightly, and we headed down the road to a chicken shop for an easy dinner. This was the night that Zac, the man with an egg allergy, made me vow to never let him eat a chicken and mayo burger again, as he got himself well acquainted with the hostel bathroom that evening. We had a round at the hostel bar- Zac and I have decided to work on rounds now rather than splitting the cost after every drink, it's quite a fun roulette when the prices change drastically between countries- and turned in for the night.
The hostel turned out to be exactly what we needed- away from the bustle of Venice itself, it was a 5 minute train journey into the main city, and that was the route we took the next morning.
I don't think I was really prepared for the view turning the corner of the train station to look through the archways out onto the city- opening immediately onto the riverfront, I was blown away with how stunning it was. The sunlight caught the water at the perfect angle, the way a romantic poet might describe it, reflecting in shimmering rows across the river's surface. We turned left and crossed the first bridge, standing at its apex overlooking the canal, small boats and gondolas filled with people travelling in every direction. Even then, I knew- there is, and never will be anywhere quite like Venice. We found a little café and each had a very reasonably priced beer, and got talking to a German guy sat on the table across from us. He'd been to Venice many times before, a collector of Murano glass, but insisted he shan't buy any more after selling his old collection, and that his wife wouldn't be happy with him starting a new one. I didn't believe him, somehow. We shared names and shook hands goodbye as we have many a time now, and took on the maze once more. For probably the first time abroad, we didn't have our maps set to any location, we just walked, following whatever direction of the crazy labyrinth that is this city that caught our interest. Venice is one of those few cities that you can just wander any way you want and never get bored- you'll always find your way back to some canal, a church, or as it happened for us, a gelato shop. We stopped off there for a scoop each (2.50€ , way less than I was ripped off for at 8.50€ in Florence!), and sat by the riverside, just taking in how mental it is that we made it here, alone, entirely by trains. This stopped being a holiday a long time ago, it's become a way of life, and we've almost forgotten what life looked like before every 3 days was a new city, a new country. It's almost become a bit addictive, wondering how far we can go before the dream ends and the reality of full-time work and driving lessons becomes normal again.
We followed street signs and made our way out towards the open ocean; it only then kind of set in that we were on a literal floating island, the 'rivers' flowing through the canals were the sea itself. The views were unmatched though; motorboats running in and out of the ports set to a backdrop of a brilliant deep blue sea and an outstretching clear sky. If I'd had a set of paints and a canvas I could have sat for hours and painted the landscape. This not being the case though, Zac set the destination for St Mark's square, the bustling tourist centre of the admittedly already almost entirely tourist-populated city.
The square was a sight to behold- having spent so long walking through small crowded streets, for the space to suddenly open up onto a massive plaza encased in pillars, fronted by a beautifully painted cathedral, was almost confusing. We strolled around the square for a while, I contemplated buying a 'Venice' cap (eventually deciding against it), and then headed away from the busier parts of the city to find a decent place to eat. Its incredible how much the prices vary in Venice- for a seafront or canal-facing view, you'll pay triple the price for the exact same meal as one on the outskirts a bit more. Not even five minutes walking distance can save you about 15€ a head. We sat down outside in a little rustica pizza place, paid around €12 each for a pizza and a beer, then headed to our last stop of the day, the famous Rialto Bridge. To say I've walked across that bridge is cool, for sure, and I don't know what I expected, but it's got to be said- it is just a bridge, not altogether that different from any of the tens of others we crossed in our 2 days in the city. Just outside the station was a retro photobooth, so we quickly hopped in and got some photos done, then jumped on the first train back to the hostel. We arrived back just in time to catch the start of the evening entertainment, a live band, had a round of drinks (Zac's turn), and called it a night.
Having seen an advertisement for a 2€ gondola ride in our hostel, Zac and I were keen to try it the next day. We asked at reception; it turns out, the 'ride' literally took you from one side of the canal to the other, and was just so you could get photos on a gondola- we decided not to waste our time. It's a shame, because I think seeing the city from a gondola, travelling in its canals rather than its streets, would have given a completely different perspective, opened our eyes to another city entirely; but with fares starting at 80€, we weren't exactly sold on the idea. We went later in the day this time around, hoping to catch a Venetian sunset, and we weren't let down. Making our way back to the seafront, the blues fading to oranges against the horizon, you had to take a moment to breathe and try and really focus on remembering you were experiencing one of life's amazing moments. Venice, a city I'd wanted to see all my life, and I was here with my best mate, and a street busker accompanying the scene with a melody from a perfectly tuned Spanish guitar. We sat by the waterside and watched the sky turn black, the yellowish lights from passing boats casting shadows of our feet on the water, before making our way back to the station, snapping some more pictures of the Venetian night, the full moon over the bridges and between alleyways, on the way. The idyllic way to spend our last night in Venice, you'd think.
Except, it wasn't our last night as initially planned. We were due to leave for Innsbruck at around midday the next day; we got up, packed, showered and checked out at 10am, and sat in the garden of the hostel, completely unaware of what was about to unfold.
Zac had messaged the host of our Airbnb in Innsbruck and asked where to pick up the keys, to which the host replied saying he had in fact cancelled our reservation- news to us, and to Airbnb as well, who had not received a cancellation request from the owner and not issued a refund. The next two hours were divided between trying to get this money back, trying to find somewhere to stay that night, and generally not cry and/or scream. There was nowhere available in Innsbruck that night (for a reasonable price, anyway); Venice was the same. We came to a conclusion- we'd spend as long as we could in the hostel for the day through until the evening, then camp out at the 24-hour McDonalds near the train station, and catch the earliest train out of there. The earliest train was at 6.30am, and so the clock was set- 19 hours of homelessness in Venice.
So, survival mode it was- we went to the supermarket early, and bought snacks to get us through the day, and then went to a nearby café for brunch. Brunch is a common thing when travelling- 2 meals a day becomes the standard. We went back to the hostel from the night before, where we'd locked our bags up, and sat in the bar area to watch the Arsenal game, which Zac was quite happy about. After a series of naps in shifts on the upstairs sofa and an innumerable amount of games of table football, we made it to the evening, still yet to be kicked out- this is when the first challenge came, as the bar was hosting a DJ set that night. We'd obviously given in our keycards that morning when we checked out, so they wouldn't initially let us into the bar; but after some impressive blagging on our part, we somehow made our way in. We decided to not drink so we'd have our wits about us when the inevitable happened and we had to leave, but spent about 3 hours there. The set ended, and we got our bags and made haste for the 24-hour McDonalds ten minutes down the road, the time at this point being about 12:30am. 13 hours down, 6 to go. We'd passed the halfway hurdle, even the ⅔ way hurdle, but little did we know, these 6 hours would be the most difficult part.
We camped out in the McDonalds until they closed at 4am (the 24-hour is a lie!), sinking several Sprites and Chicken Big Macs in the process, then headed back towards the train station where we waited in the cold, absolutely exhausted from the sleeplessness, telling ourselves that it was all part of the journey and it would at least make a good story.
It was like a gift from heaven seeing the train pull up to our platform.
The exact details of our journey to Innsbruck escape me now, but from memory I'd file it under uncomfortable. Aside from the junk food, we hadn't eaten properly and I'd started to feel the effects. It set us in a really bad stead for Innsbruck, which was a shame, because it is such an incredible place.
We arrived, made the 30 minute walk to the hostel on empty stomachs and frazzled minds, and passed out asleep immediately after getting our beds. The day was uneventful; 6 hours sleep, then we headed to the Old Town for food. We got changed first though; going from the warm Venice air to the chilly mountain town definitely called for jeans rather than shorts. We ate at a place called Franz's, in the heart of the old town with a brilliant view outside of the medieval-style buildings. I really wanted to try the local Schnitzel but they were out, so Zac and I settled for something else, and, still exhausted, traced our footsteps back to the hostel and headed straight for bed.
We were up surprisingly early the next morning (in all fairness, our checkout time was 10am), and so we stored our bags in the hostel luggage room and tried to make the most of our unfortunately shortened time in this beautiful mountain town. We followed the river for a while, getting some incredible photos of the coloured houses against a backdrop of unbelievably big mountains, and grabbed a postcard for the collection along the way. I can't recommend Innsbruck enough, and I wish we had the extra day we were meant to have there, but I know I'll definitely be back at some point. Brunch (again) consisted of a kebab at a really cool vegan Doner place, which filled the hole in our stomachs perfectly and fuelled us for the rest of our sightseeing morning. We strolled back through the old town, which was much more enjoyable when we weren't literally starving, then bought some snacks for the journey ahead- it was time for one of the highlights of the trip, one of the only things we had planned out; Oktoberfest in Munich.
Even though it was only around 2 hours on the train from Innsbruck, the journey to Munich felt like an age; each carriage was completely full, so we had to sit on the floor in the doorway for the duration of the trip, sharing with a group of women on a hen do party. Safe to say we've had better company. The tram arrived to pick us up from the station and took us across the city to our Meininger hostel near the Olympic Park. As far as I'm aware, the public transport here in Munich was free- either that, or we snuck our way onto every metro train and tram we boarded on our 3 days in the city. The hostel was lovely- the same company, actually, that ran our one in Innsbruck- and we freshened up here before embarking to the festival for the evening.
It was evident on the underground trains, and even more so coming out of the station at Theresienwiese that the festival was going to be two things: busy, and a hell of a lot of fun.
We queued to get in, and made our first port of call at a frankfurter stall. All things considered, it was really cheap for food there- but then again, they clawed their money back on the price of drinks! There was a big tent not far from where we got food, so we headed inside, and it was everything you'd imagine it to be. Still finishing my hot dog, we waded in-between crowds of dancing drunkards and people singing, dressed in the full lederhosen attire, and I just remember having a massive grin across my face. It was bonkers, in all the best ways, and I loved it. Having not booked a table though, it was nearly impossible to get a drink- eventually we got one at a beer garden, and it felt well earned. We'd done it- all by train, by ourselves, made it to the actual Oktoberfest in Munich. I couldn't think of anything more worthy of cheers-ing to than that.
We started to queue for some other tents but they all were too long; eventually going back to the one from earlier and joining in with the singing and dancing in the rows between tables there. Robbie Williams' 'Angels' went down a storm with the Germans, and I couldn't help belting out Bon Jovi along with the rest. We left when the tent closed that evening, and took the metro back to the hostel, agreeing to get there much earlier the next day to try and find ourselves a free table to order drinks from.
And what a time it was to have my first ever Stein the next morning- 11am on a Tuesday, working through a litre of Paulaner each, to the tune of various German songs we still don't know the name of. We had our free seats until 4pm, so stayed here as long as we could, greeting different people who came and went at our table throughout the day. There was a man from Munich himself who clinked his glass with us, shared his pretzel, and laughed a lot when Zac and I tried to sing in German. We also spoke to an older couple, originally from China, who had moved to the US but were visiting Munich- the man had two cameras, and told us his wife wouldn't let him bring his third. The drinks kept coming, the music kept going, and by the time we left the tent let's just say I was feeling the effects of the beer, and the sleepless night in Venice had finally caught up to me. We left to go back to the hostel at about 5pm, where I climbed into bed and passed out for the evening. Zac woke me up with his offering of nuggets and chips from the McDonalds run he'd just made, which I took gratefully, and the next thing I knew my 9:30am alarm was sounding for hostel checkout.
Part of me regrets not making more of Oktoberfest, especially being there for the last night, but there's no doubt I'll be back again another year, and hopefully I'll make it further than 5pm!
Our next stop, where I've just been, was back into Austria for its beautiful capital, Vienna. I could not have more positive things to say about this city, and the four nights we spent there were the most comfortable and relaxing of the trip so far.
This started on the train there- from Munich into Vienna, our direct train had sofa seats which we gladly took, and lounged in comfort the duration of the journey. Arriving in the city, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the station essentially opened right into the door of our hostel- the wonderful JO&JOE which is still unbeaten in my books. Everything just fell perfectly into place in Vienna, and it started to feel a little bit like a home from home.
JO&JOE Vienna is in a weird location; it's on the top floor of an IKEA, but that actually worked out amazingly for us because the store's restaurant was an easy solution for the dinner dilemma that first day. The hostel hosted karaoke that evening (we didn't participate) so we just sat in the bar and enjoyed watching people embarrass themselves- one of my favourite pastimes.
The next morning, I was up early so went into the shopping district for a bit and bought myself some breakfast. It became very clear very quickly, though, stepping out into the Viennese morning air, that I'd need to buy a new hoodie- we were coming into the colder seasons and entering the colder countries now, and my backpack of shorts and t-shirts weren't going to do me much good. So after meeting back up with Zac at the hostel, we set out to the nearest H&M where I bought a new hoodie and a pair of joggers, which I spent the afternoon lounging around in, reading my book and practising guitar back at the hostel. Zac had found a cool rock/metal bar in the city, so in the evening after my microwave chicken tikka masala I made a change of clothes and we took the metro there for a couple of drinks and games of table football. The metro here, again, as far as I'm aware, was free, and incredibly efficient.
This became very useful the next morning when I made my way to Karlskirche to collect our tickets for a show we'd booked in to see that evening- for a really good price actually, Zac and I were going to see a live performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by a full orchestra, inside the church itself. It was completely different from anything I've ever watched before, but I loved it, it felt like we'd got an authentic Vienna experience. For about two hours we sat, admiring the unbelievable interior, watching each individual musician performing incredibly in their own right. If you'd had told me two years ago that I'd be in Vienna watching a live orchestra inside a 300-year old church, I would've been very confused. But it was the best experience and I'm so grateful it was part of our time there.
The next day was our last full one in Vienna, and I didn't want to leave without feeling like I'd seen the highlights. Zac slept in a while so I thought I'd set off on my own and get some sightseeing done. I took the metro again in the Karlskirche direction, getting off at Stephansplatz and looking around one of the tallest churches in the world. I've said this about so many beautiful cities I've seen over the last 2 months now, but I could honestly see myself living in Vienna. Walking those streets, the friendliest people, the cool air, the great sights but not in an overwhelming sense- it was such a comfortable place to be. I would need to learn German though, which is much easier said than done. I took a stroll up towards the Belvedere Palace, passing the Kazakhstan and Turkish embassies on the way. I can't help but play a game of flags in my head whenever we pass embassies in capital cities. I sat in the beautiful palace gardens, the Viennese skyline stretching out beneath me, and just smiled to myself. I know I'll be back there one day.
To finish off our last night, Zac and I returned to our favourite rock bar from the second night, Battle Axe Vienna, and drank to the hopes of a good few days ahead in Croatia.
So that's where we're up to now- even though we did have to rush across the city this morning to make this train in time, having confused Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) with Westbahnhof (Wbf), it's been an amazing, activity-packed, few days. I'd prefer not to spend a night on the streets of Venice again, however.
Cheers for the read,
EV.
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