The last couple of tours down to Salzburg have been extremely busy, but not nearly as bad as previous years. As long as I’ve gotten my group onto the train 20 minutes before it leaves, I’m good. On Thursday’s tour, if we were 10 seconds later, everyone would have been standing the entire two hour ride to Salzburg.
On the down side, it’s not completely comfortable with people’s arm pits in your face as they stand smushed together in the aisles. Everyone in my groups get seats…and that’s what matters to me. During the summer, on the train to Neuschwanstein, it’s quite often a major seating problem as well, but I have to say…I’m REALLY good at getting everyone a seat and pissing off the lesser tour companies.
I’m considering carrying a hockey stick wherever I go to use as crowd control. Maybe put some bright orange hockey take on the blade… If I could get my mom to mail me my aluminum hockey stick from home, I think I’d bring it on the next tour.
And the best news of the season for me: I don’t have to go to Salzburg again until after the Christmas markets close!!! (you don’t know how wonderful that feels…the stress is too much…even if I have been damn lucky)
Instead I’ll be going down to Neuschwanstein every couple days for the rest of the month. Apparently, we’ll have a couple very large groups too…but it should be no problem that direction, just cold. Mary’s bridge is closed til spring…and many of the restaurants and souvenir shops don’t bother opening in the winter…followed by Fuessen COMPLETELY shutting down at 4pm…they really try to make it difficult.
Despite all of this, nearly every tour this year has gone very well. (there are always exceptions…less than 5% and it’s a good year…considering all the train break downs, train delays, bus break downs, bus delays, snow, ice, rain, motorhead fans, drunken bachelor parties, rowdy Italians, football (soccer) hooligans, and others that try and make it difficult)
[Listening to Jetty Boys from the album St. Patrick’s Day]