Day 1 - Journey from Leipzig to Ljubljana

I left Leipzig at 6:48 AM with my train. The train was pleasantly empty and arrived on time in Erfurt. However, there were some minor issues from Erfurt to Munich, as the train was delayed by 15 minutes due to construction work, which would have caused me to miss my connection to Salzburg.

Fortunately, my connecting train waited for me, and I managed to catch the transfer.

However, this train was completely overcrowded, and I had to stand between two compartments for an hour and a half. When it was announced that the train would be delayed by 20 minutes, a desperate Italian who, like me, would miss the train to Villach approached me. I showed him the alternative route, in case the train would not be available.

As it turned out, the connecting train had already left when we arrived. I met the Italian again at the station, and since we both had to wait 2.5 hours for the next train, we briefly walked through Salzburg together. He introduced himself as Domenico, who, like me, was 19 and had won a DiscoverEU Interrail trip. His destination was Bled, a town near Ljubljana. Therefore, our travel routes mostly overlapped, and we made our way to Villach together, albeit with some delays.

On the train, the rainy Austrian landscape soon gave way to dark clouds, revealing a stunning Alpine landscape. We passed by small, quiet villages, green pastures with cows, and turquoise mountain streams.

Upon arriving in Villach, we were able to take off our rain gear and were greeted by a summer temperature of 28°C. Domenico and I then switched to a small regional train heading towards Ljubljana. Domenico would get off in Bled half an hour earlier. We exchanged numbers to hike together at the turquoise