Today I activated my EuroRail train pass, which means I can get on any train in any direction. (I am sure I will bump into some restrictions) It was a challenge getting to the best train station to activate the pass, and I will end this blog with the frustrating tale.
Meanwhile, a festival was going on in Melk, about an hour from Vienna. Every cafe was filled with happy Austrians guzzling good beer in the sunshine. The town could have been the backdrop to Beauty and the Beast movie, and as I walked through the quaint streets I kept thinking Belle would be singing there must be more to this provincial life, with Gaston singing in the background. I went to the tourist centre to find the way up to the world famous Abby. Good thing I asked because it is a very narrow alley at back of town square. Steep walk in the summer heat. There is a fountain along the way, which I noted everyone stopped to use. The cost is 13 Euros to enter, and while I was wondering if it would be worth it, I stepped into the entrance and went *WOW. A tourguide near
me said it happens all the time. So yes, it is worth the money to visit, and if you keep your ticket you can go into the gardens, too.
Only problem is that you are not allowed to take photos inside, not even the walls or stairs. There are several things to see; the mineral room which holds the most amazing large and beautiful crystals from around the world (I saw a child take dozens of pictures on her phone, but I did not dare as the guard kept watching and the cameras pointed in every direction) I took my chances in other places...thus the blurred photos. Next there is a long line of rooms that display religious artifacts. Then there is a killer balcony where you could take photos of the Austrian landscape. Then there was a beautiful old library exactly like Beauty and the Beast movie, and finally there is the church with more glitter than I have seen in these European churches.
Everything was beautiful, another celebration of the finer things in life! After I toured part of the gardens, I walked back down into the festival area and had a tall beer with snitzel...a
This cut out could be used for photos I suppose. If you zoom in you can read at the bottom English translation of Queen (or was she empress?) Maria Theresa saying she was happy she visited the place.
very Austrian thing to do. Then I caught the train back, and two trams later, I am home. I am better with directions now, and which side of the street to stand to get the correct tram. My D tram goes directy to the main train station and I confidently went there this morning thinking I was on top of things. Ha! Haufbanhof really is hell, and not the main station. The building is a nightmare of various levels in all directions. The men at information give criptic instructions to English speakers, but they print off detailed into for German speakers. The line for the ticket office is over 100 people long, and it never seemed to move. I think there were many Ukrainian refugees in that line up. I stood for five minutes and then went back to the info site. I realized that this train station is crippled with crowds and not much help for strangers. I decided to go to the West train station, and after an hour of going in circles and asking people on the street, I got on the right tram. If the man at info office had been specific and told me that
The West trainstation is smaller, in a seedier part of Vienna, but it functions. The fellow at the ticket office activated my Europass, printed off information for me without me asking, gave me specific directions as to which platform I would go on, in both directions. I thanked him profusely. Eagerly I sat on the train and got my camera out to take pictures of the Austrian countryside as it rolled past my window....but NO. Seems the Austrians have missed such an enjoyable thing.
