Angst - The Worst €12 I Didn’t Spend
Navigating the train system of Europe has been, surprisingly, pretty easy. The Eurail pass that I have makes it easy to just hop on any train whenever you want. There have been some hiccups and caveats along the way though…
Most high-speed trains require a seat reservation. €10 to €15 gets you a seat on a train, and boom, you’re at your next destination within a couple hours. I’ll happily pay €15 so I don’t have to spend 6 extra hours on a train.
Now, all the high-speed trains I’ve encountered thus far *require* a reservation to even board. Today I’m on a train going from Venice, Italy to Munich, Germany. This is where my current plight takes place.
I had one connection in Verona, Italy. Simple enough, same song and dance as usual. However, the train from Verona to Munich requires a “supplement” to board. What is that? A €10 extra fee just to board trains going across the Austrian border. Ugh, fine, just let me on the train.
While the supplement is required, the seat reservation is optional. Here’s what my mind was thinking:
“Okay, so the reservation is optional, but not required. Most trains I’ve been on have at least a couple empty seats. Surely I can find one empty seat on an entire train and save myself €12 - there’s no way they sell more tickets than seats”
Well let me just tell you how wrong I was.
I found a seat and sat down, fully prepared to give up my seat to find a new one, but not expecting anything to happen. I started writing to pass the time.
A couple stops later, someone takes my seat. I look up from the screen and, behold, there are not enough seats to contain the number of butts on the train.
I find myself inside the vestibule of one of the coaches, standing next to a guy sitting in the door stairwell. People start filling in even more, and now I’ve found myself with 20 pounds on my back, standing in an area with a 6’4” ceiling, no on-board WiFi, with FOUR HOURS UNTIL MY DESTINATION.
With a bit of shifting and finessing, I was able to condense and set down my luggage, move to an area tall enough for me to actually stand up straight, and I actually claimed a good enough spot to sit down on the floor for a few minutes without blocking an aisle.
Frankly, this whole situation is ridiculous. I bought a Eurail pass to avoid having to pay for trains as I go, yet they still want to con €10-30 out of me on each train ride just because they can. And what do I get? A seat on the floor, or a space too short for me to stand up. If you’re going to sell more tickets than seats available, perhaps railway companies should add a “third class” standing car to trains as popular as this.
Okay, I’ll be done complaining. I think I’m just hungry and cranky. Once I’m in Munich I’ll have myself a pint from a beer hall.
