Day 98:Train from Klagenfurt to Ulm Germany

May 24, 2023

Good Day to be on the Train

“Nein,” the conductor on the train pointing to our bikes says, and then continues: “more bikes”. The train originates in Klagenfurt so we are the first on the train. Loading our bikes on the “bike car”, we lean our fully loaded bikes against the racks for bikes. We realize that each slot is numbered and assigned by the ticket bought for the bikes. So we move the bikes to our assigned spots trying to keep as many bags on the bike as possible.

We have breakfast with Klaus and Susana, and say goodbye. We have only a few km to the railroad station. What a difference a country makes in the experience and efficiency. The process in Austria with the trains is so easy. There is a screen that shows the make-up of the train and which carriage will be for the bikes. Elevators are available to get to the sky bridge and down to the train platform.

The display of the train so we know exactly which car to load the bikes.

This is how we load the bikes at first, we are the beginning of the line with an empty train.

We leave right on time. As the train stops at more cities, more and more cyclists get on board. So we start to understand why reservations and assignments are needed. “Germans have to follow the rules, they can’t help it,” Patrick observes, but then he has a history with Germans and makes many factious comments. He says this because the conductor again makes us change our bikes by taking bags off so a bike can fit.

The train ride is 6 hours, the sky is cloudy and there are times when rain is on the windows. The terrain changes as first we climb up and see snow covered mountains; go through some tunnels and then down to a different landscape. As we cross into Germany a couple of 16 year old looking cops walk the train and check the restrooms for stow-aways.

The next stop is where we get off, so getting ready

We arrive in Ulm a little later than scheduled but we are not expected to the WS host until after 5pm. The train station is near the center, we first look for the Thai restaurant we see on googlemaps because we are craving Pad Thai, only it is closed. McDonalds is nearby…. After eating a Big Mac Meal, we go to the cathedral nearby. It is under renovation and covered in scaffolding, but we can see the steeple that is the tallest in the world.

The Cathedral of Ulm with the tallest Steeple in the world.

We make our way to the WS host. We’ve been warned that there is a hill to get to his house and it is a doozy. As we introduce ourselves to Joachim he looks at our bikes and exclaims: “historic bikes” meaning to say “old bikes”. Yes our bikes are getting pretty old. Joachim’s wife Anke is not home, but he goes out of his way to take care of us: we have a nice room with a view down the valley at Ulm and the cathedral. A hot shower, dinner and a beer.

Joachim reaffirms that there is a holiday weekend coming up, Pfingstmontag in Germany, Pinksteren in Dutch, the day after Pentecost Sunday. He assures us that the petro stations will probably still be open with attached shops. In 2015, two weeks into our RTW tour, we were caught off guard at a WS host who didn’t provide dinner, and we had not found a shop open. We had to use two of the four “emergency meals” we were carrying.

We’ve been in contact with Maren and Chris through warmshowers who live in Freiburg. They stayed with us last year, so we will make our route to Freiburg and be off the road the holiday weekend.

Today's ride: 11 km (7 miles)
Total: 3,805 km (2,363 miles)

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