We start the day in Switzerland.  We had wanted to do some shopping, but it was Sunday so all the shops were closed.  Everyone did their own thing for breakfast and got packed, then we all met at the lobby downstairs at 11:00 am.  

Nick informs us that when he went to bed last night, he neglected to both shut the room door and remove the complimentary chocolate from his pillow.  He woke up in the morning with chocolate smeared all over his face and his hotel door wide open.  It was nice of him to volunteer this story so we can make fun of him for years to come.

We had coffee in the little cobbled square across the street from the hotel, then grabbed our luggage and walked towards the train station.  We stopped on the way for some lunch (they had an amazing Caesar salad topped with crisp bacon) then boarded the train to Munich.

The whole reason we are going to Germany to get to Austria is because we needed a rental car, and since it was Sunday the closest open rental agency was in Munich.

Trying to find enough open space on the train so that our large group could somewhat sit together was a challenge.  Then, suddenly, we discovered an entire unoccupied car.  What luck!

No, it was not luck.  Shortly after we got ourselves and our luggage arranged, we discovered there was no air conditioning in that car.  So the train goes along its merry way and we relax, chat, and try to ignore the fact that it was rather warm on the train.

The train made a stop on the island of Lindau, and at this point the steward approached us.  He told us we had to get off the train, since it would be staying in Lindau and not going on to Munch (well, something like this, but in German).  We hadn't been expecting to change trains so it was a mad scramble to get all our luggage and haul it to the platform.

Once on the platform, we are confused.  Where is the other train?  Why are all the rest of the passengers not getting off?  

We finally figure out that the entire train is not staying in Lindau - just our car!  Perhaps the other reason that no one was sitting in it.  So ensues another mad scramble to get ourselves and all our luggage back on a different train car before it leaves the station.  We somehow managed to do this without losing anything.

But of course, now the train is really full.  We had to walk almost the entire length of the train and only saw one or two seats in each car.  However, at the front of the train there was a restaurant with empty tables.  And air conditioning.  As long as we ordered food and/or drink, we could sit at the tables all the way to Munich.  We settled in.

Sometime around 3 or 4pm we realized that we should probably check when the rental car place closes.  It is at this point that we discover the rental car place closes at 5pm, and our train doesn't arrive at the station until 5:30pm.  Cell service on the train is terrible, and when we can get a signal, it doesn't last long enough to talk through the language barrier.  

We did our best to look like pathetic tourists and asked the German man sitting at the table near ours if he would call Hertz for us if we bought him a beer.  He agreed to this deal, as long as we used our phone.

The German man must take this train often, because he knew exactly when we would get a long enough cell signal to make a call.  He was able to get in touch with the rental car place and they agreed to stay until we arrived.

The gentleman manning the rental counter was a friendly sort, and we were able to retrieve our cars without incident.  Well, once we figured out how to get them out of the parking garage, that is.  Teenage Dirtbag made another appearance on the radio, and we got our first taste of the autobahn.

We then drove to the Hotel Romantik Krone in Austria, and arrived just after 8:00.  There was a little snafu in the parking lot when Lori managed to the zipper of her suitcase stuck on her shirt, but eventually we got it unstuck.  In keeping with our theme for the trip, we arrived after dinner hours.  Thankfully, the kitchen had only just closed, and the hotel owner agreed to keep it open for us if we sat down to eat right away.

This was actually one of my favorites meals so far.  We ordered a polenta appetizer to share, then creamy garlic soup.  I ordered the almond crusted chicken, and others ordered steaks or schnitzel.  All our meals came with a salad, which our waiter said "is a little thing for a rabbit."  After dinner we all called it a night.