Saturday, May 23, 2009

All Day Train Ride? Actually Not So Bad

On the train headed to Milan. 5:27 pm (local time) somewhere in Italy. The train just stopped at a train station and I’m pretty sure based on the aroma wafting about the cabin that someone brought on Burger King…not cool. Btw...yes, Burger King and McDonald’s are everywhere here, Subway too. Even a small town in France on the way out to Trouville and Deauville had a McDonald’s located by the station. They aren’t exactly the same menu, but close…and I definitely can smell Burger King fries right now, Erica agrees.

We left Munich today at 1:30 pm to head to Milan for the Roma vs. AC Milan football (soccer) match tomorrow. This is basically taking up our entire day as we’ll arrive in Milan sometime between 8 and 9 tonight. Obviously this takes up valuable time on our trip in which we’d much rather be doing something other than just sitting on a train. Although if I had to choose an area to take a train ride through during the day…this has got to be at the top. Starting in Munich and heading to Milan has taken us through some of the most beautiful countryside and mountain ranges I’ve ever seen. Erica and I would have happily gotten off at every train stop to just take some time to walk around. We took pictures from inside the train, but I fear they won’t do the area justice. We passed through Switzerland in the Swiss Alps where around every bend you found little towns tucked back into the mountainside. We even came across a town that was somewhere before the Innsbruck Train Station, where there was the equivalent of a Swiss Mountain beach with people actually swimming in the river all while snow capped mountains were in view far above.

We immediately knew when we crossed into Italy; one reason, the vineyards…there are vineyards everywhere. There are vineyards on flat ground, vineyards on the mountainsides, anywhere they can fit them. As we continue through the mountains there are castles and ruins on top of remote peaks everywhere. It is all so surreal, out of a book or a movie…places you’re told exist but you don’t think you’ll ever get to see. While we wish we had the time to stop at some of these places, we’re definitely glad we at least got to see these amazing places. We are truly blessed.

No comments:

Post a Comment