Using Trains in Austria
Cement this thought into your brain while traveling - nothing will leave or arrive on time. Whether there is going to be a three-hour plane delay at O'Hare because of terrible thunderstorms...or a mechanical... something is going to go wrong and throw all your plans off. We ended up getting into Munich too late to make our train connection...and practiced some deep breathing! Get used to the notion that you are probably going to miss your plane, train and anything else you counted on. If you have a tour or cruise that absolutely can't be missed, leave an extra day early.
Trains in Europe used to take pride on arriving and departing exactly on time. That too, has long gone by the wayside. Not one single long-distance (or local) train arrived or left on time during our two weeks. Resign yourself and always leave enough time between train connections in the eventuality that your train is late (which it will be).
But once we actually arrived in Munich (finally), it was a simple matter to find the Bahn (train) desk right after arrivals to get new train departure schedules. We already had our tickets. Then, a short walk across the open courtyard (with Burger King and a Beer Garden) to the S-Bahn/Train Station.....View image
Escalator downstairs to the train tracks and take either the S1 or S8 line (rather like our subway system) to Munich Ostbahnhoff (not their main train stations - the Hauptbahnhoff) where you can change to your long-distance train. Our train was heading South towards Verona, with a stop at Jenbach, where we transferred to the Zillertalbahn...a little narrow-gauge railroad (that moves very s.. l..o..w..l..y)...to Mayrhofen. The Zillertalbahn starts in Jenbach, ends in Mayrhofen and began running in 1902. There are several stops along the route where you need to push a button for it to halt. Otherwise, it blows right by it. They also have a train pulled by a steam engine for tourist rides, once or twice a day.
Zillertaler Steam Engine
Finally, Mayrhofen. Hours late, in time for a delicious dinner, we're too late to visit the Tourist Information Office, but here we are, falling asleep on our feet. The weather had been extremely hot in Austria, as well as all over Europe, BUT (in case this never dawned on you - or us)...it is very uncommon to find ANY hotel, restaurant or other place with air conditioning in Europe. We fell into bed, a big puddle of sweat - even though all the windows were open and Mayrhofen is surrounded by the Alps. What can you do.....
