Munich & Bolzano: Part 5 - Day 4: Train ride from Munich to Bolzano

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4.

2/8 Day 4: Saw a sundial at St. Benno church which was a few metres away from the hotel. Had lunch at Park Cafe which was on the way to the train station. Took the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Eurocity (EC) 87 train from Munich at 1.34pm and arrived at Bolzano at 5.27pm, checked in at our AirBnb and had pizza for dinner. 

Must-Incur Costs

(1) 2nd class train ticket from Munich to Bolzano - EUR27,90 per person, Reserve seat - EUR4 per person

Optional Costs

a) Accommodation

AirBnb 4 nights - SEK5721,27 for 3 adults.

b) Food

(1) Beer garden (biergarten) in Park Cafe, Munich - Sausages, pretzel and radler (rhubarb and beer) EUR44.30 for 3 persons, tips to the waiter EUR4

(2) Dinner at Pizzeria La Veneziana which is pizza, a glass of wine and espresso - EUR58.60 for 3 persons. Tips EUR4 (which we did not need to give because our receipt included tips by default...)

As I do not have the breakdown of the prices, you can see the food and coffee that we got to estimate the portion and its worth. 

The Story

020822 - We had breakfast in the hotel and took a walk around the neighbourhood. Here, we saw a sundial at St. Benno Church and we found out that the time on our watch is 1.5 hour faster than the time on the sundial. So, 12noon on the watch does not mean the sun is right above us because it showed 10.30am on the sundial. Which means when the sun is above us, the time on our watch will show 1.30pm. I saw a number of sundials in Munich. 

Saw also a stand selling newspapers. One just drop some coins and take a newspaper. I think the people who live here are very honest. 

Then, we headed to Park Cafe for lunch at the beer garden. My company was keen to have a glass of beer before they boarded the train to Bolzano. We got white sausages, pretzels and beer. I got my radler and this time with rhubarb instead of the usual soda.

There were many flies in the beer garden and so, we used the coaster to cover the glass.

We reached the train station and looked for the platform. It was not difficult at all to find the train. Here begin our almost 4-hour train ride from Munich to Bolzano. These 2 places are not very far from one another as Munich is located in the south and Bolzano is located in the north of Italy. Bolzano is about 100km from the border of Austria. Part of Austria is sandwiched between Germany and Italy.

Inside the train, we could see the seats that were reserved for us. The journey from Munich to Bolzano. It is very common for folk to travel using the Interrail card and the benefit of Interrail card is that you can hop on and hop off on any trains during the selected dates that you choose and save on seat reservation cost. The downside to that is if the train is full, you will have to sit on the floor or by the exit or stand during the entire trip if no one gets off at any station.

I bought the most expensive coffee on the train. I cannot remember the price now but it is VERY expensive.

When we entered Austria, we were surrounded by the mountains. They were so majestic!

Here, we have arrived at the border of Italy, Brenner. It was 4pm. We stopped here for a while because the Italian border police got into the train and did a random passport check on some of the passengers. We were not chosen. 

As we rolled into Bolzano, I saw vineyards. I was amazed at the grapes hanging from the plants. I am in Italy! 

When we arrived at Bolzano, it was 32 degrees and my two Swedish companions were sweating. I felt very warm too and I supposed I have not experienced much humidity for the past 2 years since I have not travelled to any humid countries. I forgot how it was like to feel sticky and sweaty. Haha!

We walked to our AirBnb which was about 20 minutes from the train station, and waited for our hostess who was a bit late due to traffic jam. I was getting restless and was afraid that the hostess was not going to appear. When she arrived, we checked in and were overwhelmed by the heat in the apartment. We were advised by the hostess to roll down the metallic blinds during the day and amazingly enough, it worked because when we went back to the apartment during the day, it was not melting hot. It was much cooling when the sun has set. 

Here are some photos of the apartment. There is one bedroom with a king-size bed and another king-size bed in the living room. There is a balcony too so we could hang our laundry and sit there in the night to enjoy the breeze. The only reason I would choose an AirBnb is because there is a washing machine. Otherwise, a hotel or a hostel is sufficient for me. We did not use the kitchen as we chose to try the local food. Well, if the host or hostess is friendly, there would be some good tips on where to eat and see.

I changed into my shorts and we decided to look for a place to take a dip. However, the locals did not encourage us to take a dip into the river because of the strong current. So, we decided to look for a place to eat. Of course, the first choice was pizza!

On the tables were bottles of vinegar and olive oil. For appetizers, we were served olive instead of the usual bread that one gets in Sweden. Feels healthy. Haha! I asked the diners in the next table on which pizza to choose. I had the full-vegetables pizza.

My pizza with vegetables only!

Of course, when in Italy, drink wine because it is cheap!

We ordered coffee after the meal and for the normal coffee that we ordered, we got espresso! Check out the tiny little cup and the tiny weeny amount of coffee inside. I asked the waiter - how do you sleep at night? He looked back at me and I wondered if I posed the question wrongly because my companions said that my question sounded like he did a crime and how could he sleep from the crime. 

Anyway, the waiter answered - You will. 

Which I did because I was so tired from the heat and train ride.