The scenery was stunning. So for the better part of 7 hours, I stared out the window, looking at flat green fields situated between mountains on either side of the train. Everywhere are brown dairy cows with giant bells around their necks, grazing and rubbing up against telephone wire towers like giant, slightly stupid cats.
For the first half of my trip, I chose to share a compartment with a tiny elderly woman. I can't believe nobody wanted to sit with her. The old ladies on trains are the best. So quiet and polite. Just before she had to detrain at Sargans, we gave a go at having a conversation. She didn't speak any English, so all we really got out of each of each other is that I'm an American from Minnesota, getting off in Zurich. She is Austrian, getting off in Sargans. She has a lady friend in Florida. And we were both perplexed when the train left the Buchs station from the same direction as it came in.
When I arrived in Interlaken, I was joined by 3 Californians in front of a light-up map of the city that shows where all the hotels and hostels are located, and which ones have vacancies. Phil, the navigator of his group, took down directions to a nearby hostel, while I chatted with him, Jill (his sister -- together they are half of a quadruplet) and Jessica (his cousin). They invited me to come along with them to the hostel, and so I did.
By now, it was about 8:00. The town was completely dark and quiet, and once we got situated in our rooms, the bar in the hostel basement was just opening up. We went down for 2-for-1 beers and met another large group of guys from America and Canada. I think we all stayed up until about 2am, which was somewhat of poor planning, considering that the 4 of us booked train tickets to see Jungfrau peak at 9:00 the next morning.
Getting to Interlaken, I found immediate friends, didn't have to worry about navigating myself through town for once, and I got my very own room in a very cool hostel. Score.
Some photos from Innsbruck, Austria:
No comments:
Post a Comment