Austria turned out to be much longer than I imagined, even though I have visited the country many times. But after travelling through all of it on a train from Vienna to Zürich, I know better. It is also a beautiful country. The changing scenery stood for the entertainment, and when that wasn’t enough, I let myself be engulfed by “The Historian”, a book I am re-reading during this trip, since it take place in Amsterdam, Budapest and Romania, amongst other places. I can thoroughly recommend it.
Anyway, we were on the train, heading west. Luckily, I was wise enough to book a table in the dining car upon embarkation. When we showed up at one as agreed, it was completely full, and the two not so young ladies in charge of the restaurant had almost lost control of the situation. But 70 minutes later, we were seated with a ridiculously expensive meal in front of us. We found comfort in the big panorama windows and the extravagant landscape of Tyrol passing by outside.
After changing trains in Zürich, we reached Luzern, our destination for the day. Our hotel was less than a stone-throw from the station, so we quickly dumped our bags and went out for a walk in the dark. Luzern turned out to be a good-looking and wealthy little town, with grand stone houses and decorated facades. The long journey had made us tired, so we just had dinner (but a good one, with local specialities at the Restaurant Schiff), before calling it a day, missing out on the excellent brews of the Rathaus Brauerei.
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