Introduction
I attended Open Source Summit 2024 in Europe, which took place in Vienna (Wien), Austria from the 16th-18th of September, 2024. A few days before then, I flew out from Miami International Airport (MIA) destined for Zürich Airport (ZRH). The original plan was to fly direct to/from Zürich, and travel to and from Vienna on the train to avoid the connecting flight. The specific train I was catching in both directions was the Transalpin train EC163/EC164, so that I could enjoy the mountain views along the way. Coincidentally, this was also the fastest train route (just under 8 hours each way), so it seemed like the perfect plan…
Zürich, part one
My flight from MIA to ZRH was mostly uneventful, and from ZRH, it was a very short train ride to the main train station (Hauptbanhof). I booked a very “interesting” hotel maybe 200 meters from the station. I had arrived a couple days early, and this part I was paying for on my own, so in exchange for it being very interesting, the hotel price was very compelling. The price was especially good for the proximity to city center, but it was a good price for the city as a whole, which had very high hotel prices. I immediately noticed how expensive things are while I was spending time in this city, but I was able to find a very good and reasonably priced coffee shop very close by. I needed to refuel and plan an easy day, being tired from the flight. I decided to just spend as much time as possible exploring the city of Zürich on foot and via public transit, limiting myself to areas around the old town. After several hours of walking/transiting, and with daylight hours dwindling, I finally decided to take a boat tour on Zürichsee. This allowed me to kill a bit more time while also taking a break from the walking, and the price was very reasonable (I think ~10 CHF). Overall, I really liked spending time in Zürich. Though it was really expensive, it was still quite a nice place to walk around and see sights in. Its very central European location for trains, and its surprisingly nice airport make it a bit easier to stomach the high prices, especially when you limit your stay. But don’t worry, we’ll be back here in a few days!
Storm Boris
Shortly before leaving for the initial flight, I started getting emails about an incoming storm - officially named Storm Boris. Early on, the warnings were mostly just about higher than usual rainfall, higher potential for flash floods, etc. Your typical heavy storm warnings. However, over the next couple days, the alerts were not just from email, but they were arriving over the mobile phone network EAS broadcasts, and the messages were getting much more serious; the storm ended up causing massive flooding and damages over the course of that ~week while it moved through Europe. None of this impacted my flight, or me at all while I was in Zürich. However, it was very likely to affect my train travel, due to the path the train takes, so I was following along with the news and weather alerts. The train company (ÖBB) expected only some delays due to some construction, all the way up until the day/time of the trip, so the trip was still on. I would be heading to Wien on Sunday the 15th of September at 08:40 CEST.
Transalpin train ride - first half
On Sunday, the 15th of September, it was finally time for the train ride from Zürich to Wien via Innsbruck. The first half of the train ride was right on schedule, and it took me through unbelievable scenery from tall mountains, to glacial lakes, rivers, mountain passes, and other natural features that feel impossible to describe. It’s a train ride I will most certainly never forget. At one point, my watch told me I was over 5000 feet (~1500 meters) elevation, which is usually somewhere only a plane takes me - we don’t have land elevations like that in Florida! This part of the ride was specifically the half between Zürich, Switzerland 🇨🇭, and Innsbruck, Austria 🇦🇹. It was approximately four hours, and almost the entire time, I was staring in absolute awe, and sometimes disbelief, at what I was seeing through those train windows. None of these pictures do the views any justice, but I hope they still somewhat convey the point nonetheless.
Arrival at Innsbruck Hauptbanhof
Finally, I’d arrived at Innsbruck Hbf. Everything up until this point went exactly according to plan. Then began the announcements regarding the next train. We’d be delayed about 20 minutes for departure…
CONTINUED IN PART TWO…