Another foray into Europe on many wheels!

Drama!
Allgoneinshitefest!
A few minutes out of Salzburg at a place called Freilassing, the train stops and we are all told to detrain.
The police have closed Salzburg down due to some sort of bomb threat/incident.
Salzburg station is completely locked down.
We stood around like lemons with hundreds of other folk...no staff, no info, eventually a train driver on another platform yelled across, in German, translated by pax, and said that it could be multiple hours.
Fuck this we said.
Booking.com into actioning find a place nearby called Hotel Schaider in Ainring which looks good..


Book in and the try to find a cab...every taxi in Salzburg has seen the earnings potential of the drama and is here but they only want to go to Salzburg so a phone call to the hotel and she sorts out a cab.
Arrive here about 7.45 knackered!
 
Drama!
Allgoneinshitefest!
A few minutes out of Salzburg at a place called Freilassing, the train stops and we are all told to detrain.
The police have closed Salzburg down due to some sort of bomb threat/incident.
Salzburg station is completely locked down.
We stood around like lemons with hundreds of other folk...no staff, no info, eventually a train driver on another platform yelled across, in German, translated by pax, and said that it could be multiple hours.
Fuck this we said.
Booking.com into actioning find a place nearby called Hotel Schaider in Ainring which looks good..


Book in and the try to find a cab...every taxi in Salzburg has seen the earnings potential of the drama and is here but they only want to go to Salzburg so a phone call to the hotel and she sorts out a cab.
Arrive here about 7.45 knackered!
Strong liqueur, quickly
 
A grey day in a quiet German misty village..

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A very good night's kip, and what passes for breakfast in Europe...
Mainly bread..
Taxi ordered back to the station to continue our rudely interrupted progress..
 
A packed commuter train into Salzburg, trains obviously running again, and another change there.
Again , any reservations I made have been completely wrecked by a) storms
b) bomb scares
but lady luck smiles upon us to provide unused wheelchair spaces in 1st class.
Settle down to venture into Austria

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All looks very....Austrian, I suppose

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All in all although not going as planned, we took the initiative, ended up with a comfy bed, plumbing, and nourishment...I know folk that would still be standing on the platform waiting to be told what to do!
 
Phew! And relax!

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Hotel next door...2024-10-0314.08.014986041599861589486.jpg

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Hotel got my email and cancelled last night f.o.c, checked us in early and ready for the fray...or maybe a nap...sad...
 
I now have read the email I got yesterday from dBahn.
They have cancelled our journey from Vienna to Brussels on Monday 7th.
Joy.
Having looked at all the options, the only way we are going to get to Brussels...and Eurostar on 8th and LNER on 8th is to do it in 2 bites.
So we will be leaving Vienna on Sunday, instead of Monday, travelling to Cologne.
I've booked a hotel in Cologne for Sunday night, which should give us a comfortable journey on Monday.
There is a transfer in Munich , between Vienna and Cologne; it is tight, and experience has taught us that German trains are nearly always late, and it only takes a couple of minutes to fuck up a transfer.
I expect I shall lose the cost of the cancelled night in Vienna.
I am always keen to enjoy train travel, but I can't see us doing another similar 'complicated' journey through Germany, when their whole rail network is a complete cluster fuck.
The 1st class service/trains in Germany is/are far away from that provided by LNER at least.
Constantly having to rejig the trip is doing my head in!
I realise that nobody can do anything about bombscares or floods, but the ropey timekeeping in general makes planning a nightmare!
 
A
I now have read the email I got yesterday from dBahn.
They have cancelled our journey from Vienna to Brussels on Monday 7th.
Joy.
Having looked at all the options, the only way we are going to get to Brussels...and Eurostar on 8th and LNER on 8th is to do it in 2 bites.
So we will be leaving Vienna on Sunday, instead of Monday, travelling to Cologne.
I've booked a hotel in Cologne for Sunday night, which should give us a comfortable journey on Monday.
There is a transfer in Munich , between Vienna and Cologne; it is tight, and experience has taught us that German trains are nearly always late, and it only takes a couple of minutes to fuck up a transfer.
I expect I shall lose the cost of the cancelled night in Vienna.
I am always keen to enjoy train travel, but I can't see us doing another similar 'complicated' journey through Germany, when their whole rail network is a complete cluster fuck.
The 1st class service/trains in Germany is/are far away from that provided by LNER at least.
Constantly having to rejig the trip is doing my head in!
I realise that nobody can do anything about bombscares or floods, but the ropey timekeeping in general makes planning a nightmare!
And folk believe the opposite, German trains will be perfect and British crap.
 
A

And folk believe the opposite, German trains will be perfect and British crap.
Only because they think it is clever to run down anything British. Unfortunately the euro zone in general, and Germany in particular are in the doldrums just now.
So had a tour about the main station which is also a major shopping area, bought 72 hour cards to use public transport willy-nilly, and got the lie of the for the underground.
Back for a quick doze and the ventured forth via some street food schnitzel, and then underground to St Stephasplatz, where resides the main cathedral..

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I had cunningly bought tickets for a recital, and noted it involved a giant organ, so thought it would be familiar ground for Cherry.
Sure enough, a very gifted organist serenaded us for an hour with works from Bach etc. All very Viennese and cultural. Actually, in the magnificent cathedral setting it was very good and well worth the time.

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