train strikes

What would a backpacking adventure be if I didn't have to worry about finding a place to sleep? Well, I thought that I'd take a slight risk and not book a bed when staying the night in Copenhagen, while I was on my way back from Stockholm. Since I'd stayed in a dingy basement in Copenhagen only several nights ago, I thought that it'd be a safe bet that the place would be fairly empty again. There was a little bit of concern when I was trudging to the hostel at 11pm at night, wondering if I would actually have a bed to sleep in, but everything turned out fine.

It's a little more annoying when you have absolutely no control over things. The train drivers of Italy decided to stop working today, the day I needed to get from Zurich to Venice. I had to change trains twice yesterday, one time in Hamburg and another time in Cologne (when hopping on the overnight train to Zurich), so was looking forward to a nice, hassle-free direct trip to Venice through the Swiss Alps. Unfortunately, I only got as far as the Switzerland/Italy border when I had to get off the train and catch a dodgy little bus to a dodgy little village. At that village, I had to use my dodgy Italian (learn out of the back of a Lonely Planet guide-book) to find the local train lines. From there, after having scoffed down a pasta dish that I ordered at random, I caught the next train to Milano... and here I am, still. The trains won't be running until 9pm, and since that would mean getting to Venice after midnight, I thought that I'd stick around here. So after a little wandering around like a hobo, I managed to find an ultra cheap hotel room, which seems like luxury compared to most of the hostels I've been staying in. The downside is that I'm also paying for a bed in Venice for tonight. D'oh.

Oh well, the hassle was worth it, because the train ride through the Alps was amazing. White-capped mountains appeared out of nowhere from behind more white-capped mountains. Our train twisted its way up the snowy slopes, periodically disappearing into holes tunneled into the mountains. We snaked our way around little towns with medieval churches, and rode over valleys on big concrete bridges. It was magical. What's more, I was sitting in a carriage with an old man who obviously loved the Alps, and he served as an excellent tour guide. He pointed out the mountains that he'd climbed and where the new tunnels were being built. Every now and then he'd rush to the window like a little kid, and point at a walking track that he'd been on just last summer.

Amazingly, it was also the first time I'd seen snow on this trip. I go all the way to Stockholm to get cold, and all I see there is frozen lakes. Having said that, it was more than worth the effort getting to Stockholm. I stayed two nights in a boat hostel, which served buffet breakfasts (including pickled herring!), and got a glimpse at a bit more of Scandinavia when I went to Skansen. Hiking trails, log huts, ice and fjords... I'd love to go back are really explore the place some day.