The excitement for our Graz trip started a week early. @Dovycola talked about it daily, counting down the days. The night before, I packed our bags while my son slept, then took a 4-hour nap. We had to wake up at 4 a.m. and be ready by 5 to leave. I was thrilled because it was my first long trip with my son, and I’d always wanted to take a train journey to see beautiful places along the way.
Our trip kicked off with an unexpected hiccup. I was certain we could hop on a tram at 5 a.m. to reach the train station, but I was wrong—there were no trams running that early. Left with no choice, I quickly booked a taxi, which ended up costing an extra 30 euros for just a 10-minute drive to the station.
Because we took the taxi, we arrived at the train station too early and had to wait an extra 30 minutes for our train to Utrecht Centraal. The trip was only 37 minutes, but with all the excitement, it felt like we were traveling for over an hour.
Next, we hurriedly caught the train to Düsseldorf, which would take us across the border into Germany. This leg of the journey was longer, lasting about 2 hours. Dovydas kept busy playing on his Nintendo, while I worked on some tasks on my laptop. The time flew by quickly since we were both occupied with our activities instead of gazing out the window.
Every train ran smoothly and on schedule until we arrived in Düsseldorf to catch our connection to Munich. Unfortunately, the Munich train was delayed by 30 minutes, which threw off the rest of our travel plans. We had to quickly adapt to new timetables to keep the journey on track. The trip from Düsseldorf to Munich lasted about 5 hours, and the train was absolutely packed with passengers. I was incredibly relieved that we had reserved seats in advance; without them, we would have been forced to stand for hours. Thankfully, the seats were remarkably comfortable, almost like traveling in first class, which made the long ride much more pleasant.
At last, we reached Munich, but we were late for our next train. We discovered that the train we needed to catch to Salzburg was leaving soon, so we sprinted through the station to make it. Miraculously, we not only caught the train on time but also snagged two seats. The train was packed, making the roughly 2-hour journey to Salzburg feel even longer, though we were just grateful to be onboard.
Finally, we reached Salzburg, where we were set to board our last train to Graz. But with our travel schedule completely thrown off course by earlier delays, we found ourselves facing a lengthy 2-hour wait for the final part of our journey. Surprisingly, this break turned out to be a welcome pause. We made a beeline for McDonald’s, where we savored our first real meal of the trip, refueling after a long day. With time to spare, we wandered around the station, capturing the moment with videos and photos, and picked up some drinks and snacks to keep us going. Eventually, we settled at the platform, eagerly awaiting our train. When we spotted it rolling toward us, our excitement skyrocketed. We hopped aboard, searched for our seats, and were absolutely delighted to find we had an entire cozy cabin all to ourselves. It was the perfect ending we’d dreamed of for this trip—a private, comfortable space for the final leg to Graz.
As the daylight gradually slipped away, darkness enveloped the landscape, and we could no longer see anything through the train’s windows. It was nearly 10 p.m., and we were just 15 minutes away from reaching Graz, the final destination of our long and eventful journey. The train came to a gentle stop, and we stepped off, breathing in the cool, fresh air of Graz for the first time. Exhausted but relieved, we gathered our belongings and made the 15-minute walk from the station to our hotel, navigating the quiet streets under the night sky. Once we arrived, we checked in, and the moment we reached our room, fatigue took over. We collapsed into bed, falling asleep so quickly that I can barely recall how I even got under the covers, our bodies and minds grateful for rest after such an adventure.
