The trip would normally take 59 minutes but as we are going by steam train and have to ‘ be looped ’ to allow normal traffic to pass; it will take some hours!!
As we left Bahnhof Meidling station (Vienna), two men stood on the platform. I had a smile from one - they sat beside us at breakfast in the station and CC had said they were definitely grisers and yes they had come here to watch the train depart, but they did not board!!
All along the route the grisers (train spotters to the uninitiated!!) took photographs of the train as it passed. I have never seen so many trainspotters - they were present at every station and on the embankments along the way. One photographed the train arriving at his station and then quickly bicycled down the platform to film it departing!!
Even the woman grisers were out - a rare sight!!
As we left Vienna, the land was very flat and fertile
and intensively farmed but as we proceeded towards the mountains the land turned to scrub and forest prevailed.
Soon we approached the mountains with traditional villages nestled in the valleys below
Three and a half hours later, we arrived in Murzzuschlag, c. 99 km from Vienna (Steam travel was always slow!) to be greeted by a brass band.
This was a nostalgia fest for grisers here in Murzzuschlag.
The trains and grisers came from all over Eastern Europe and from England also.
The town was packed with train anoraks.
We visited the museum, a UNESCO world heritage site, which illustrated the history of railways. A huge project is being undertaken in the area, to build a massive tunnel that will not be completed until 2026!!
At 15.00 there was a clap of thunder and the rain poured down. We adjourned to a railway carriage
coffee shop for coffee and sachertorte!
At 1600 hrs, with the rain spilling down, we decided to return to our train, even though it wasn’t due to depart until 1640hrs Imagine our surprise when the train departed at 1615hrs!!! We do not speak German which is a great disadvantage here. People speak English but signage in most instances is in German alone.
We arrived back in Bahnhof Meidling Vienna at 1915, earlier than expected. A long day but quite an enjoyable trip into the Viennese Alps.
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