Well, perhaps our adventure isn’t quite over yet. We had to take trains from Budapest to Munich, then on to Paris, then Caen, then ferry to Portsmouth. What could possibly go wrong?
Cycling to Budapest train station was easy and the station itself surprisingly glamorous!
Loading our heavy bikes onto the intercity train was awkward but we coordinated well with the other 3 cyclists, hung all 5 bikes in the only spaces available, and sat down to enjoy the journey.
However, at Vienna, the guard came along and asked to see our tickets. Neil thought he had booked our bikes on all the trains through to Paris, but alas! The website was in German and it appeared he hadn’t. The guard then insisted we get off the train as 2 more bikes were booked on. There was literally no space for us all. After much discussion, as we were unloading our bikes, a guardian angel in charge of first class got involved and she suggested moving 2 passengers with bikes into her first class carriage as they were getting off at the next stop. They were happy to be upgraded to first class and we were safe , at least until the next stop.
As we approached the next station, both of us stared along the platform looking for bikes but there were none! At least we were safe for another section. And so it continued. At our penultimate station, another bike did get on but the new guard kindly let him stack his bike against ours and we all made it to Munich. Phew.
My goodness, the station was absolute mayhem. Munich is in the middle of the Munich beer festival and the station was jam packed with noisy drunken revellers in their lederhosen mixed with bewildered tourists and cyclists . And now we had to buy tickets for our bikes to Paris. We chained up our bikes to visit the ticket office, and rather amusingly, 5 police stood guard over them – so it seemed.
However, the lady at the office gave us the bad news that the bike slots on intercity trains were fully booked for many days to come. We could not possibly catch the train we’d booked. Our only option was to travel on 5 separate regional German trains where bikes don’t need tickets, but there has to be space and it would be at the guards’ discretion on all trains to let us use our existing tickets . Then we’d need to buy new tickets from Strasbourg to Paris. We had a plan.
It was quite a relief to cycle away from the crazy station, and an even bigger relief to discover that Munich has bike paths everywhere! Even in rush hour, we saw children cycling safely behind their parents who had loaded their other children in all kinds of bike contraptions. This is cycle city. It’s fantastic!
A friend of Neil’s had kindly offered us his apartment for 2 nights while he and his wife were away. We cycled to another friend to collect the keys, passing the beautiful Nymphenburg palace , then on to our new haven. We enjoyed a delicious meal out then ‘home’ to relax and recover from quite a challenging day.
Next morning , chilling in our charming city apartment, we sorted out all the tickets to Paris, losing some and buying others, then had a carefree day to enjoy Munich. We opted to stay clear of the busy beer festival, cycling instead to Munich’s huge beautiful peaceful park, enjoying a coffee on the way. Everyone was out and about this warm Sunday morning , many in traditional Bavarian dress on their way to the festival. Bikes were parked everywhere. It really is a cyclists dream.
However, the park wasn’t quite as peaceful as we’d imagined. We followed the music and ended up in part of the beer festival after all. It was such fun, sitting in the warm sun watching the revellers. Neil of course enjoyed a huge stein of beer while I abstained. We’ve had a wonderfully relaxing day, knowing what’s coming tomorrow.
We have to cycle away from our apartment at 5:30am and take 6 different trains to get us to Paris, arriving 21:30 then cycle across Paris to our hotel. Our journey includes 8 different train stations to negotiate with our heavy bikes up and down platforms, lifts, stairs, and never having a guaranteed place for our bikes. Wish us luck!
