Escape from Italy

   April 15, 2014

   Steve and I did not sleep well. We each probably got an hour of sleep total. The beds were hard (but we are probably more picky about the beds than the average person). We woke up, made coffee (which was good) and ate a piece of pastry that was left in our room for breakfast. Then we packed up our stuff and woke the kids just early enough to get them dressed.

   Our Hotel host Francesca hired a driver for us for 25 Euros and we took a van to the train station instead of dragging our luggage and the kids through the subway again.  The first train we took was a bullet train, it was a high speed train that travels over 220 kilometers per hour or about 140 miles per hour.  We rode that for about 3 hours leaving Rome in our rear view mirror.  We were relieved to be on the train and leave before another train strike or another ATM worker strike.

 

In Roma Termini train station, waiting to find out what platform our train leaves from

On the platform, waiting for our train to Bologna

Moving at 130 miles/hour

On the train from Rome to Bologna

   When we got to Bologna and got off the train, another guy tried to grab our luggage and “help” us down the stairs. We told him we did not want any help (figuring out it was another scammer) and he kept saying “no money”. As we were walking to another platform, he grabbed the bottom of the suitcase and carried it with me the last few steps. Then, of course, at the top he started asking for money. We got away from him. This is getting really old.

   Our next train arrived on time and we got on. There were small cabins (with 6 seats each) inside the car. We found our assigned seats. There was a young woman in the cabin already. She was wonderful. She was Italian and spoke a little bit of English. Her name was Andrea. Andrea basically turned into a baby-sitter for the ride. Hannah was talking to her the whole time (telling all of our family secrets and then some) and they played together the whole time. 

On the train from Bologna to Innsbruck

Hannah with her new friend Andrea

   The surrounding country side was quickly changing as we were approaching the Alps. There were amazing views everywhere you looked. First we started seeing mountains in the background towering over vineyards of northern Italy. Then we started seeing snow covered peaks with a castles atop the lower hills. The architecture looked different than in the southern regions. As we crossed over the Alps into Austria in Brenen, it was snowing lightly.

   We arrived in Innsbruck at 4:30 PM, bought our tickets to Linz for tomorrow and hired a taxi to get us the hotel. 

   The hotel room is very nice. We actually have two connected rooms with two beds in each. There is an elevator large enough for us to get into. The light in the bathroom is not working well and it is flickering. But we decided not to bother with it because we just want to get some rest. 

   We walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The food was by far the best meal we had in Europe up to this point. The portions were large and it was good. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, took showers and went to sleep. We slept well, beds are comfortable.