James' Euro Trip 2010 - Part 2

Ground Travel

By Car

I was very excited to land in Milan. My adventure was really starting up. I was tired from sitting on a plane (I can't sleep on planes) and my eyes were blood shot from watching Hollywood classics like Knight and Day, Salt, and an episode of the New Adventures of Old Christine.

Oh, I also had the high score in Delta's in flight trivia.

I made my way out of Linate Airpot, and followed the signs for taxis. I made a huge rookie mistake and was "sold" on a ride in a "luxury" taxi to my hotel. The Italian man spoke suave English, which I found very nice and I just wasn't thinking. While being driven in a warm Mercedes was nice, it cost me 40 Euros to go 5 miles. That was not a good way to start my trip, but I was too tired to care. I was happy to be warm. A typical taxi drive would have cost 10 Euros. I did not tip, which is OK in Europe. This was my only moment in a car during the whole trip. The rest of my trip was done through.....

Rail Travel

Metro Systems

The best way to get around Milan and Munich were through their great underground Metro systems. Having never used a public mass transit system by myself in my life, I found them both very easy. Yes, I know I'm 30 and that fact is a little embarrassing, but I don't think that's an uncommon fact among Americans.

There were some quirks about using the metro in both cities.

Milan's metro stations, while safe, were nasty. It was clear that trash was only picked up once a week, and vending machines were far from being in working order. I badly wanted a gatorade out of one, but after examing a dozen machines, all were vandalized and broekn. There was also a funk, but that might be attributed to the damp conditions in Milan. At Milan's Lambrate station, where I waited to catch a train to Munich at 6:00 Am, I witnessed mice and rats running fearlessly around the platforms. The locals didn't flinch.

My hotel in Milan was very close to the beautiful Milan Centrale Station. I didn't get enough pictures of that venue. In fact, I only got one. My hands were usually too cold to bother with pulling out my camera, and working my frozen fingers into a position to take a picture.

I took this picture as I was leaving Milan. I wish I could have documented more of it. Also, the tents out front were merchants (mostly African immigrants from what I could gather) selling Christmas stuff and souvenirs. I believe some of the merchants were living in their tents.

Getting onto a rail car in the Milan subway was interesting, especially when compared to Munich. The Milanese start getting onto the rail cars before the passengers waiting to depart the rail car have a chance to get off. There are no lines, it's just a mash of people grinding against each other to get on and off the train. No special exceptions were made for the young, elderly, or women. It's  every man for himself in Milan. This impatience and disorganization was a common theme in Italy.

The Muenchen residents were much more orderly when it came to getting on and off the subway. First, as a train, bus, or tram arrived at a stop, the riders would form orderly lines at precisely the place where the doors were going to open. The munich public transport always stopped at the same spot, so there was no guessing as to where the doors to the rail would "land." Second, those departing the rail would calmly step off and be on their way. Finally, the elderly would board the carriage first, and then the rest of the masses. In Munich, the elderly and women had exclusive access to seats, while men stood. In Milan, this order was non-existent.

These boarding habits almost created an embarrassing moment for me in Munich, as I was still in a Milan mentality. For my first Munich subway ride, I assumed my fighting stance to get past the passengers coming off the rail and to get ahead of the passengers getting onto the rail. As the train was pulling up, I noticed people forming small lines, but like the native americans who first saw Christopher Columbus' ships, I wasn't quite sure if I could believe what I was seeing. Were these people going to be civilized? I took a step back and learned how to behave the Munich way.

I used the Munich metro quite a bit. I took advantage of the underground, bus system, and trams. I needed all three to get to various sites. All the while, there was snow blanketing the city, and this didn't cause any issues.

At first, I paid 2 Euros per trip on all of my Munich transport, but after 2 days, I realized no one ever checked tickets, and most people weren't even bothering to buy tickets. I guess paying for mass transit tickets in Munich is on the honor system. I allowed Munich the honor to let me ride for free in the last two days of my four day visit.

I was really impressed with the ease of getting around Munich. It's almost Utopian and I wish Los Angeles could come just halfway to accompishing what they have.

Trans Europe Rail

One of the most gratifying parts of my travels was getting from each major destination my rail. My base cities were Alps adjacent which made for beautiful post card scenery.

Before the trip, I purchased a 5 day travel pass at Eurail.com. This meant I could take long distance trips on 5 separate days. I was entitled to first class, and it made travel mostly painless. I'm not sure if the money value was worth it, but my travels were made easy. To use the pass, it's necessary to reserve a seat before you take off on the train, which costs anywhere between 3 and 20 Euros. It's a very simple process done at the station you leave from. All of the major rail carriers participate in the system.

From Milan to Munich, I took TrenItalia. This rail system is characterized with old decrepit cars,  greasey head rests, dirty seats, and no differentiation between first and second class cabins. Each cabin held 6 people and I somehow ended up in a middle seat for the 3 times I used this system. The Italians were also very particular about sitting in their assigned seat, but I think some of that had to do with sitting near pretty girls.

Me alone in a cabin after my cabinmates got off the train to smoke.

Tren Italia happened to be the place for my first ever purchase and willing consumption of a cup of coffee. If you're unaware, I happen to hate the taste and smell of coffee. I liken it to burning flesh. I don't know why. If it gets too close to me I feel like gagging.  Before I had gotten on the train, I was freezing at the Lambrate station platform for about 30 minutes. Since the train wasn't  warm (I hadn't even taken off my beanie or gloves,) I was desperate.

A man came by with a tray offering coffee. It was one Euro and the size of a shot. In my weary state I bought one and downed it. I felt ill for the next 45 minutes, so I pulled my hoodie over my face and tried to sleep. Outside was still dark, so I wasn't missing any scenery. My cabin mates chatted in Italian, which eased me, but I didn't feel any warmer. I just felt more awake.

Here is some of the scenery between Milan and Munich. More specifically, this is between Verona and Munich, as the region between Milan and Verona is flat, farmy, and industrial. The trip took 7 hours, and scenes like these highlighted the last 5 hours of the trip. About an hour of it was in Austria. Note that these pics were taken through a dirty train window.

From Munich to Lausanne, I took the DB Bahn to Zurich, then switched to SBB to finish the trip. Both rails were great. They were clean, had spacious seats that reclined, offered dining cars, and just felt like a nice way to travel.

For the first 3 hours on my way out of Munich, there was massive amounts of snow highlighting the landscape. At times the flurries were so thick, I couldn't see 20 meters past the window. That was sort of exciting, but I'm curious if I missed any good scenery. The land right outside of Munich isn't too featureful but I might have to make the trip again to make sure. The German-Austrian-Swiss border of Lake Constance was beautiful, highlighted by lake side towns backed by Alps. I plugged some headphones into my Vibrant and listened to Trans Europe Express and I Expressly Transed across Europe. *The audience groans* but seriously, I did do that.

After a couple hours out of Munich, the snow cleared up a little.

Lake Constance, and I believe some homes in the city of Lindau.

I changed trains in Zurich. Gleis 17 for me!

One of many soccer fields I saw from the train in Switzerland. I think most of the soccer fields I could have seen in Italy and Germany were covered in snow.

The Swiss Capital of Bern. Shortly after this, as you move West, Switzerland stops being German and becomes French.

Me on the Swiss train.

Alps and farmland. This was also the first time in my trip (7 days in) that I experienced sustained sunlight. I was so happy.

Towards the end of the ride to Lausanne, there is a long tunnel that lasts about 10 minutes. When you come out, you're greeted with a beautiful view of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman if you're French speaking) and the city of Lausanne. It was fantastic.

I approached the area around 2:00 PM, as the sun was starting to go down. That fact also created a lot of glare which prevented me from taking more great pictures, but the visions will never leave my head.

From Lausanne to Genoa, I took a Swiss train to Milan, then TrainItalia to Genoa. The first leg took 4 hours, and the Italian leg took another 2.

I'm the red dot.

This final Swiss train had incredibly comfortable seats. I fell asleep on impact, which was ok because it was dark outside. Next time I'll leave a little later because we went through scenic Italian Alps.

This is where Switzerland ends and Italy begins.

My favorite town name of my entire trip.

This is the South side of Lake Maggiore which borders Italy and Switzerland. There are some great views here and some interesting islands in the middle.

Sunrise over Lake Maggiore. About 15 minutes after this, the weather became bleak as we approached Milan.

From Milan to Genova, there was a lack of picturesque moments. Most of the time, fog prevented me from getting a good view, and then as we made our way into Genova, a lot of time was spent in tunnels. I was hoping for another moment similar to when I approached Lausanne, but it wasn't to be.