Bad weather - carry your bike

There had been heavy rain showers during the night and the outlook was still poor. So we went to Parma station in the morning and took a regional train to Verona. That's always quite an adventure. Bikes up and down when changing platforms, where is the carriage with the space for the bikes and then there are bikes or suitcases on it. A problem is often the displays that are in the main building but missing on the platforms. The Italian announcement, for example that the train is stopping at another platform because of a delay, is lost due to a lack of language skills. Then it's hectic and the train leaves quickly.
Travelling by train and with bicycles has its pitfalls. Taking a bicycle with you is not guaranteed as there are usually not enough spaces available. Another issue with Deutsche Bahn is that you can book people online but not bicycles. The advertisements on the internet are also quite misleading. Sometimes there are bicycle spaces available, seconds later there aren't, and then there are again.
And so it was. When we arrived in Verona, there was no EC train to Munich for the next few days, let alone by bike. Yes, dear Deutsche Bahn, you still have work to do. To earn money you have to move with the times, be customer-friendly and respond to market requirements. So the only option we had was to take regional trains and change trains a lot. Staying here for several days isn't great in this weather either. We were here last year, and the hotels aren't cheap either...

So, from Parma - Brescia - Verona - Brenner - Innsbruck - Kufstein - Munich, 6 changes. We arrived home safe and sound. It was great.

This is the end of the blog, thank you for being there, for your comments, your support.

Stefan and Peter