My last train ride was across America with Amtrak. Much as I loved that journey, the trains were an embarrassment in terms of equipment. So I set out from Bologna with a mélange of Amtrak and Italian trains in my head. Sleeping in my clothes, worrying that the door would lock, whether the toilet would be functioning, etc. Imagine my surprise when the conductor showed me to my room: lined in wood, a private bed already made with a couple of bags neatly packed with linens, water, Austrian cookies, white wine and an apple. “Please select six items for your breakfast, and tell me when you would like to be awakened for eating. An hour prior to arrival in Vienna?” All the visions of fear melted away; feeling totally safe in my lockable room, I fell asleep, well sort of….and arrived the next morning in Vienna.
Thankfully I did not learn from my friend in Vienna the details of how they had been robbed on exactly the same train. Some gassing was involved. Yikes.
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