Saturday June 1 - Munich to Vienna

Got up, packed and caught the U-Bahn to Munich Hauptbahnhof for the last time. But the powers that be had a couple of nasty surprises still in store; the U-Bahn was being worked on again and I had to wait and change trains; and when I tried to get money at the station it would only give me #200 rather than #300. Hopefully that should be enough; and hopefully my card will work in Austria if it isn't.

The trip was on a relatively slow train, and although I didn't have a reserved seats, other people did; so at every stop there was a kind of slow dance where people with non-reserved seats were pushed out of their places and had to find new ones. Fortunately the train was never full.

The scenery itself was excellent during the early part of the trip -- green farmlands, big rivers and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Once into Austria it got a bit flatter and more urban. But there were some nice lakes. And for the first time on my trip the train arrived late.

The Vienna Hauptbahnhof is on the southern edge of town in a newish and fairly unprepossessing area. My apartment is just to the north of that. I had said I would be there at three, but I was an hour early, and when I rang the number there was no response; so I went and had lunch in a nearby cafe -- asparagus soup and a glass of the local beer -- and when I went back the owner's friend was there to let me in. It's basically one big room plus a bathroom, but at least the bed is on the floor and not up a ladder. 

I had a bath and rested for a bit, then went out to the local supermarket for supplies. First impressions are that Austria is a bit more run-down than Germany, although prices seem to be about the same. 

Home again, and so to bed. Sabine messaged me that there's a washing machine downstairs, which I will look at this morning. I have run out of t-shirts to wear, but luckily Europe is having a heat wave; 29 degrees in Munich yesterday and 26 predicted for Vienna today, along with these hypothetical thunderstorms that never seem to eventuate. 

Love to all,

Jon.

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