Vienna and train to Munich

Yesterday I slept in and then walked around the city. I went back to Stephensdom and they still didn’t have any guided tours, so I had to get an audio guide instead. It was alright, I guess. When you spend over two months in Europe, all the churches and cathedrals start blending together. I took some more pictures of the city, and then spent part of the evening planning what I am going to do in Munich. I also applied to some engineering positions for after I graduate in December 2010.

Overall, Vienna was good, but nothing really stood out for me. I’d like to go back eventually, but it certainly isn’t at the top of my list. I’m really looking forward to Switzerland and Italy, especially the landscapes, something Vienna didn’t really have.

I woke up this morning around 7:30 am, in order to get ready in plenty of time and catch my train to Munich at 10:20 am. The other people in my room woke up around the same time, and asked me if I was talking on my phone last night. Apparently I was talking and laughing in my sleep. They said that I said, “Uh huh….yeah?…Oh that’s….” and then started laughing. Haha – it’s always an interesting experience sleeping in a hostel.

I hurried to the metro and had to transfer lines before I got to Vienna’s main station, Westbahnof. After rushing through the station, I managed to find the train platform around 10:15 am. Luckily, my train was a little bit late, and wasn’t arriving until 10:30am.

I got on the train as soon as it arrived, and found an empty seat that didn’t have a reservation marked on the LCD screen above it. It was good that I got on early, because the train filled up fast. I have a Eurail pass, so I was able to just sit in a seat that didn’t have a reservation, but I’m not sure what would happen if there were more people on the train than open seats. Maybe people have to stand, I don’t know.

The train ride went pretty well. After we passed Salzburg, we started passing some mountains. I felt like a little kid because I probably took around 100 pictures out the window of the train.

I got to Munich around 2:30 pm and checked into my hostel which was right across the street from the station. I found out there was a bike tour starting a 4:00 pm, so I hurried and took the S-Bahn to the meeting point. The tour lasted four hours and took us through the main sites of Munich. We stopped at a beer garden inside the English Garden for dinner, had a couple more stops, and then ended the tour around 8:30 pm. It was one of the better tours I’ve been on, even though it was pretty expensive, around 20 euros.

So far, Munich is probably one of my favorite cities, right next to Berlin. I haven’t been to a city in Germany that I haven’t liked yet. Tomorrow, I think I’m going to rent a bike and watch the Germany-Argentina game. I’ll probably go to a beer garden to watch it along with everyone else in Munich.