Wien

After leaving Wieliczka, we headed to the train station. Our train to Vienna, a night train, would be leaving around 10:00. I didn't know what to expect, as I had never been on an overnight train before. As we handed our tickets to the conductor, he said "35 and 36, top bunks." When I booked the tickets, there was no mention of top/middle/bottom anything! There was no way MaryAnn would be able to get up on the top bunk. After a bit of polite arguing, she was allowed to take a bottom bunk that no one was sleeping on anyways. The bunks were so tiny! I didn't expect anything fancy... but even with me being so small, I had a hard time fitting on the bunk. On the train from Warsaw to Krakow, we had air conditioning. This one, the one we would be on for 8 hours, did not. Needless to say, it was quite the experience!




Upon arriving in Vienna, or as the Austrians call it "Wien", we met our host and began the day's adventures. After about 15 minutes, MaryAnn got this horrified look on her face and said "My purse is on the train." Those are NOT the words I was wanting to here after no sleep, on a hot, muggy train. Marc, our host, immediately began leading us back to the train station. Having someone speaking the language was an immense help. We ran this way and that, called multiple people, went to the security office... All of which, to no avail. Finally, after a few hours of searching, we got news that "someone" had found "something" on the train. No description. They didn't turn it in. The train was gone. We felt hopeless, until we were told the train was coming back to Wien tonight at 9:30. Until then, we just had to explore the city, as if nothing was wrong!

We traveled around on the subway, being lead by our amazing host, Marc. He showed us all the famous buildings in Vienna: The opera house, St.Stephen's cathedral, the Parliament building, etc. We went to the Summer Palace and got lost in a labyrinth. There were two people painted silver standng near the palace... they sat perfectly still until someone put coins in their cans. Then, they slowly bowed... Just watch the video and see! We ate lunch at a hole in the wall restaurant, that we never would have found on our own. All in all, the afternoon was well spent! We had a few hours before we needed to go to the train station, so we went to get settled in at Marc's apartment. A nap was much needed! We finally just relaxed for a little while.

Had to buy it :)

After chatting on Facebook, watching some shows online, blogging, and napping, we were finally ready to go get MaryAnn's bag. We didn't know if it was actually her's, but we had to be optimistic! We found the train, and Marc began speaking in German to a man who worked on it. MaryAnn and I could only watch their facial expressions to gauge whether this was a positive conversation or negative. Finally, Marc turned to us, grinned, and said, "They have it!" Sure enough, they had MaryAnn's purse with everything in it. Her wallet, cash, cards, camera, glasses, and passport are all accounted for. I talk about enjoying new experiences, good or bad, but this was one experience I could have done without! I don't know what we would have done if Marc weren't there to save the day!