Einfach Raus!

This is the name of the ticket we have just discovered on the ÖBB (Austrian Railways).

This is a special ticket that is valid on all Austrian trains except the big fast inter-city trains. It is valid for between 2 - 5 people and costs 28Euro for a whole day's travel for all the people in the group.

We decided to investigate the possibilities over the weekend, starting on Saturday with a trip to Eisenstadt (the regional capital of Burgenland). Saturday was a really warm day and the town centre was uphill from the station (oh my aching shins and blistered feet) so we were a bit tuckered out by the time we arrived to saunter through the, rather deserted, town centre (anyone would think it was a bank holiday or something!).

We had a bit of lunch (Würstel with freshly grated horseradish all round) and made our way idly (we had to run at full pelt) back to the station to catch the next train to Neusiedel Am See, which we sort of missed as we got off at the wrong station. We could see the lake twinkling the distance but had just missed the train (well, we had got off it actually) into town, so we got on a different train and came back a different route into Vienna.

We arrived back in Vienna earlier than we originally expected, and decided to tootle off on another train/adventure to Mödling, an outlying small spa town, just because we could. The town centre was uphill, again, and looked really unpromising from the main road. We almost turned around and came back home but didn't, for some reason I can't remember, and ended up somewhere that was so dinky it looked like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang could have been filmed there (was it? I don't know, but if you do, then please tell me).

Then we headed home, via a Turkish-shop stop to pick up some provisions (delicious pistachio nuts,
aubergine dip and (a tin of!) humous).

Easter Sunday, and a new Einfach Raus ticket beckons, but not before finding the rather brilliant journey planner on the ÖBB website called Scotty, which allows us to plan our journey to the minute before we have actually left the house (I think Austrian public transport efficiency is second only that of Germany).

Today we're going to Melk.

Melk lies on a bend in the Danube, about 100km from Vienna. It's a pretty little town (this time downhill from the station!) which boasts the most jaw-dropping baroque "pile" (atop the hill in the town centre) that I have ever seen. It completely dominates the town.

This pile is a still functioning monastery, with a museum, and gallery, and fountains, and gardens, and church, and cherubs, and frescoes, and relics (!!!), and gold-leaf, and general pomp, and, in fact, so much visual pastel confection that at times, you may feel like you're having a sugar-rush.

Easter Monday we set forth again, this time with Payerbach-Riechenau as our destination of choice.

We were thwarted early on in the journey today however, as both of us were daydreaming and missed our first change (Ottakring). We eventually got back to Wien Meidling (our main departure station) and decided to head towards Wiener Neustadt (which is on the way to Payerbach-Riechenau) and review the situation later in the morning.

Wiener Neustadt (New City) is actually medieval, and not an overflow council estate (like Wythenshawe is to Manchester) as I had previously thought and in itself looked picturesque and probably held enough to keep us entertained for the afternoon, had it not been a Bank Holiday and had everything not been shut. So, after a cursory circuit of the old town we headed back to the station to venture forth, to our original destination.

We arrived in Payerbach-Riechenau and "siezed the day" yet again by jumping onto yet another train which was already in the station when we arrived which took us up the snow covered mountain to Semmering.

It snowed when we arrived and was really beautiful.

Snow pix to follow soon, when I have sorted them out!

Einfach Raus? Well, it gets you out of the house doesn't it?