I'm currently sat on the 12:33 train from Vienna to Prague. We are leaving Austria and about to claim another flag. This morning we rose unnecessarily early as we ended up catching a much later train than the intended 9:33am. We looked on the map for the station Wien Meidling. When we got there after a 20 minute walk it appeared the train station just plain didn't exist. This was confusing as I double checked the timetable on my phone and there it was. I googlemapped it and here we were but the train station was nowhere. Knowing our searching was going to take us past 9:33am we resigned ourselves to the midday train. We caught the underground back to Westbanhoff Station where we came into Vienna which looked like a large one. Asking instructions at the ticket hall it seems all Prague trains left from this ghost station. Anyway by way of help for future travellers. Wien Meidling is Philiadelphiabrucke on the map. Not at all helpful I'm afraid. Armed with that advice we effortlessly made the train and here I am sat down in a cosy cabin having just crossed The Danube on a clear sunny day.
Anyway as has seemed to be a pattern I'm leaving another EU state and I feel I must summarise the culture the lifestyle the people in either a negative and positive way. Truth be told I can't. Salzburg was, well a lovely city nestled in the Alps, but so are loads in Bavaria. Vienna looked a large spralling city, which big roads. To my eyes, similar to Budapest. You can see Vienna was a city of once huge importance, being the primary capital in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. You can see it now is a seat of government. That said I don't know what I took away with me from Austria. Sarah saw that we had definately made it east, but I couldn't see it really. The transport still seemed Western European. I cannot see the difference between Austrian and Bavarian culture, but maybe this is all my naivity. Being tired and scared of spending in what is obviously an expensive city, we didn't do much more than walk around and show vague interest at what were amazing buildings. Again it is just me. There is much more to Austria as an Empire, but I've never been bothered to read up on it. When I studied history at uni, I noticed looking into the Hapsburgs meant looking into Slavik politics, taking in Croatia and Serbia etc, and it was a can of worms I didn't want to open. I prefered to the easy points won in a history and politics degree by analysing Hitler and fascism. Yes I know Hitler was from Austria. "You can't go wrong with Hitler" was the advice when swotting up on my European history. So true, but now I wish I had learnt more about the Hapsburgs, as I feel I've missed out on something. Then again, if someone would tell me what is so spectacularly Austrian that I missed out on. Food, beer, anything? I don't want to be down on any country in Europe, coming from the bland culture of the UK. However, Austria to me is like Canada. Not harmful, not unattractive. Seemingly sat as funny shaped land-locked country in the middle of Europe minding its own business. Maybe that is an attractive trait.
My indifference on Austria is becoming a concern, because maybe it isn't Austria at all. Today it's been 3 weeks on mainland Europe. I'm sort of wondering what is new. What will Prague, Budapest and Sofia offer me? Town Squares and pretty churches and dome shaped cathedrals. I'm wondering if I've seen it all. Maybe this view will present me with a surprise. Really I'm hankering for a change of scenery. Turkey will offer me this no doubt, but that is a week away I think. I really am hankering to spend a whole week in a single place. I travel to chill and its been non-stop thinking about how to move on. Arrive at a place, find wifi, book hostels in the new place. Find a station, reserve seats. Explore new a city, gaze through windows at restaurants out of our price range. Buy some food, always too expensive. Feel stressed, have a drink, feel guilty that we had that drink. This wasn't the travelling I remembered where I just chilled and met people, made memories and basically didn't think much about the next destination until it seemed a good time to move on. Then again I'm on a train now for a good 4 more hours, this is a time to relax as Sarah is doing now. A time I could be staring out the window and taking in Europe and realising that this moment may not come back for the rest of my life.
I think I wanted this blog to be an honest reflection of my time, and I must say things can't be upbeat all the time. I always knew this Europe itinerary was crowded and would have been tiring. It seems 3 weeks in and I am feeling the effects. This manifest itself yesterday when I was climbing some steps near the river and it seemed my legs just wanted to stop, like they were rebelling, going on strike. We are walking miles each day and usually with some weight on, this will take a toll. On the plus side, the Interrail tickets we bought have been put to good use, and I'm thankful for that. I also am thankful that we will complete this journey through. A journey which will have taken us from Paris to Istanbul. A journey in mileage I intend to calculate next time I am online.
Something else about travelling which I think is good for the soul and good as validation of my motto; "don't make your happiness reliant on things that are too complicated to obtain". In respect of this, I found things that make me happy are little things. Clean clothes for example make everything seem better. Yesterday I managed to source some anti-perspirant (I'm allergic to most deodrants, so even finding them in UK and English speaking countries isn't always easy), and after going without for a week, the shower yesterday felt so special as I got to spray anti-perspirant after I was done. On the platform waiting for the train, I had a loaded salad and fresh fruit for afters which was heavenly. It feels I gave my gut what it was begging for, to copy a Yakult advert back in the UK. So it's the little things that mean so much.
I look out the window again and I'm seeing what Sarah has just commented on. It's looks so flat like she and I remember her home state of Illinois, USA. I guess I've just had that change of scenery. Flatness, some lakes and green fields interupted by yellow flowers. It seems as Austria winds north it moves away from the Alpines where the Vonn Trapps cavorted and turns into a land of big sky as it winds its way to area of former communism. Flat can sometimes be viewed as dull, but I disagree. When I first saw the vast flatness of Illinois, I thought, what a beautiful country. I think I see that now. There doesn't have to be an ocean, hill or mountain to form a perfect landscape.
I'm reading back over this and seeing this post as signs that I am obviously tired. I am also seeing signs that I see the rewards in all of this. As always I'm a lucky person to have travelled as much as I have already and to continue this when most my age are fretting over mortgages and children makes me even more lucky. A work colleague said "what will happen if America is rubbish and you don't like it". I replied "hopefully Sarah and I will save some more money and travel again". She replied "you can't travel all your life". I didn't reply, because I can't agree with that.
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