In which I take my first sleeper train, remember what mountains are like, and eat lots of strudel.
Day 8, 11th September 2023: Amsterdam
It turns out that the bike hire was for 24 hours, so I decided to get my money’s worth and go for a bike ride in the morning. My friend had recommended Muiderslot Castle, so I decided to head there for a look. It took just over an hour of cycling to get there, although it was a bit less scenic than yesterday and still roasting hot.
I didn’t really fancy paying the hefty €17 to get into the castle, so I wandered around on the embankments a little bit to get a decent view.
I then decided to attempt a little bit of town cycling and went to the Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum). It was a great museum and a part of history I hadn’t got much knowledge on, and was presented through films and first person testimonies.
It was then time to drop the bike back off and I then had a few hours to kill before my night train down to Innsbruck at 7pm. I went to the Monk boulder gym in north east Amsterdam, and had a great time pottering around some routes as it was far too hot for any real try-hard moves. I went back to the hostel for a well-deserved shower, picked up my bags and headed to the station, stopping on the way to fill my rucksack with snacks.
I’d never taken a night train before so I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I was in a berth where the bench seats folded out to make bunk beds complete with a sheet, pillow and blanket, and there were 6 bunks per compartment. My berth companions were well prepared with a full picnic, so I even got a free beer! We all chatted until around 9.30pm, then folded the beds down and settled down for the night.
Day 9, 12th September 2023: Innsbruck
I slept surprisingly well on the sleeper train, it wasn’t particularly roomy but the gentle rocking motion certainly helped me drop off. I was supposed to be arriving into Innsbruck at 9.14, but when I woke up and checked my map to see that we were still most definitely in Germany and nowhere near the border, I figured we were running quite late!
Breakfast arrived around 9ish and was a coffee with a couple of bread rolls, butter and jam. It turned out that the delay was due to us somehow going the wrong way at a signal and we were about three hours behind!
I finally arrived in Innsbruck just after 12, I dumped my bag at the hostel and then headed straight out, eager to get some mountains in before the rain scheduled tomorrow. Unfortunately, because of the delay I didn’t have time for a full mountain route, but I headed up to the Höttinger Alm refuge to try and make the most of it.
I’d thoroughly left my mountain legs at home and the ascent left me quite humbled, but the views were spectacular and it was so nice to see some terrain after spending a week in the low countries. I walked up to the refuge through pine forests and ski slopes, even spotting a red squirrel on the way, and then made my way back down to Innsbruck down slippery limestone paths and forestry tracks. It was so nice to get out and get properly stuck into some hills, and it’s definitely made me want to come back to the area and do some more exploring.
Day 10, 13th September 2023: Innsbruck to Salzburg
I only realised after waking up that today was my last day in Innsbruck – I think the sleeper train had confused me! It was grey with heavy clouds and, so not a day for hills, and I set out to explore the town of Innsbruck instead.
I first headed to the Sillschlucht trail, which goes down into the Sill gorge not far out the centre of town. It was a nice little walk along the edge of the river, and not what I was expecting so close to the city.
I then went and walked around some of the historical sights and buildings in town, and then refuelled at a cafe that sold only strudel, but in a dizzying array of flavours both sweet and savoury. I was pretty much done with Innsbruck at this point and it was starting to rain, so I headed to the station around 3pm and made the 2ish hour journey to Salzburg.
When I got to my hostel myself and a new roommate quickly decided to go out for a drink, but by the time we got into town the rain was absolutely biblical! We stopped at the first café we found to have a bite to eat and to wait for it to ease off. We then headed to the nearby Charles Darwin bar, which is a slightly bizarre Darwin themed cocktail bar. I’m not sure what he would have thought about the concept, but he made a good Negroni!
Day 11, 14th September 2023: Salzburg
It was a grey and drippy morning, so I decided to get a short train over the German border to the small town of Bad Reichenhall and go on a hike through the woods.
It was really misty and moody in the woodland, and the spooky feeling was magnified by the fact I was apparently the only person there. I went up the Bürgermeister-Höhe, which had a cool little rock gorge near the top.
On the way back down the hill an alarm went off on my phone, which was quickly followed by the whole valley filling with the noise of eerie air-raid-type sirens. After a minute or two of not knowing if I actually needed to do anything, I got another alarm on my phone in English that luckily said it was just a test! I was glad I didn’t have to survive a nuclear winter in the woods by myself with just an apple and half a bag of nuts!
I made my way back down to the town, which had a surprisingly pretty saltworks museum but little else, then headed back to Salzburg.
I tried to have a little walk around the old town, but it was now hot and absolutely heaving with other tourists. Instead, I escaped to a quiet corner for a coffee and another slice of strudel, and then walked back to the hostel over the Kapuzinerberg hill, just in case I hadn’t already walked enough!
Day 12, 15th September 2023: Salzburg to Brno
After yesterday’s slight sightseeing fail, I decided to get up a little earlier and do a lap of the old town before it got too busy. I stocked up breakfast pastries and then walked into town, but it definitely wasn’t dead!
I walked north through the old town and climbed up the steps onto the Mönchsburg, the big rock escarpment on the western side of the city, then followed it along to the castle. There were great views and plenty of information boards to explain the geology and the history.
I then went back into the old town and got a cappuccino in a chocolate-lined waffle cone, just for the pure novelty of it. By this point I felt I’d explored most of what Salzburg had to offer, so I went back to the hostel to get my bags and start heading to my next stop, Brno. Due to a few transfers being delayed I actually managed to get to Brno far faster than I expected, with only one mad dash across the station platforms!
I checked into my hostel, which was slightly weird and had the vibes of old student accommodation rather than the relatively large and modern hostels I’d been staying in so far. It was deathly quiet, so I dropped my stuff and then went for a wander round town to see the sights and get some food. I ended up at a Vietnamese place, which wasn’t quite what I was expecting but the crispy pork belly was delicious!
Day 13, 16th September 2023: Brno
I decided to treat myself to a nice breakfast so headed out to Bavard Cafe around 9, which was already nearly full. The benefit of solo travel is being able to squeeze into small tables! I got a delicious salmon eggs benedict and quickly demolished it, then set off on my mission of seeing all of Brno’s sights in one day!
I started at the crypt under St Jacob’s church, because who doesn’t want to see thousands of human bones just after breakfast? It was actually a really interesting little place and explained some of the history of Brno.
On a roommate’s recommendation I then went up the town hall tower, which had fantastic views in every direction and also had information on some of the architecture.
My next stop was the 10-Z bunker, which had originally been dug in WW2 but was then repurposed during the cold war. It had lots of interesting short films (luckily with English subtitles) about the people who dug and used the bunker, as well as the wider history. There was also an exhibition about the Czech nurses that worked in Britain during WW2, which was another bit of history I had no idea about.
I emerged into the light for some lunch, then went back underground to carry on my morbid day at the Capuchin crypt, where bodies of the monks and some benefactors had been unintentionally mummified due to the atmospheric conditions down in the crypt.
My final stop was the castle, so I walked up and looked round the walls, which also had a display of modern art sculptures, then found a nice sunny spot on the grass to have a bit of a chill after all my sightseeing.
I ended up going for a different Vietnamese in the evening, but as my food arrived all the other people in the restaurant paid and left, so it was slightly awkward tucking into my huge bowl of pho with just me and three waitresses!
Day 14, 17th September 2023: Brno to Prague
Again, I headed out for breakfast and sat in the sunshine by one of the main squares in Brno with an iced coffee and a plate of sausages, bread and condiments. I then got the 10.30 train to Prague, and rolled into the city just after 1pm.
My hostel was far nicer than the one in Brno and was newly renovated. I checked in and did some well-needed washing, and hung out on the terrace with a book until it was finished.
I hung it all up on my bed, then went to the shop around the corner (weirdly a Tesco express) for some cheese, wine and snacks. I’d arranged with a few girls off the Hostelworld app to meet up that evening, so with my supplies I headed over to the opposite side of the city to the big park on the western bank of the river.
I was a bit apprehensive about meeting strangers from the internet in a park, but I didn’t need to be and we had a fantastic time just chatting, snacking and drinking wine. After darkness had well and truly come, we headed off to a beer garden to meet with another group, and then ended up at the slightly weird but fun London Underground karaoke bar!
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