Clockwise from left: St. Nikolaus Kirche, Obernberg am Brenner; On the trail; St Stephens Cathedral, Vienna.
by Barbara Rimmington

Travel as an Ecowarrior

By Ann Clark

I was really impressed by the AAC(UK) encouraging us to travel in a more ecological way to meets. The more we could avoid flying, the less climate change there would be, and the glaciers will last longer.

When we signed up for Wendy Shipley’s beginners’ snowshoe meet, we thought we would not only add a few days culture by visiting Vienna beforehand but also travel by train. Our first job was to look at www.seat61.com – the website of The Man in Seat 61, the fount of knowledge for train and ferry travel. We homed in on travelling from London to Amsterdam by Eurostar and catching the sleeper train to Vienna. That looked straight forward. Then we would travel to Innsbruck by train and bus to Obernberg where the meet was arranged. Next to plan the return journey. As this was on a Saturday, we found the Innsbruck sleeper and the Eurostar journey were not available, maybe they were already full. Nothing daunted we planned to travel by train from Innsbruck to Amsterdam and then by ferry to Newcastle which was convenient as we lived in the north.

Stage 2 was to book these journeys. The Man in Seat 61 suggested that the bookings could all be done on Trainline www.thetrainline. com and paid for in pounds sterling. The system was that you put each part of the journey in the basket and paid at the end. So far so good, until paying, by which time the first stage had been removed from the basket as out of the time limit. Eventually the first three journeys were booked only to find that Trainline could not book a compartment for us on the sleeper train. That part was cancelled and onto the Austrian train website www.oebb.at/en (ÖBB). Luckily this has an English translation and the sleeper train and compartment were booked. The ÖBB site was used to book us three days later from Vienna to Innsbruck – only one hitch, we had to book seats as well which was done. Now to the return journey; using ÖBB we booked from Innsbruck to Amsterdam including seats. Again, straight forward enough and now for the ferry. We booked on Direct Ferries www.directferries.co.uk which did not include meals but was acceptable and in light of the fact that storm Ischia blew in on the day we travelled, no food was needed or wanted.

Now for what actually happened. As we met at St Pancras to board the Eurostar we had a message from ÖBB to warn us that German train drivers were starting a three day strike and our sleeper train would be cancelled. I’m sure your geography will tell you that most of the sleeper train journey was through Germany. Over a late breakfast we discussed the other ways we could get to Vienna and decided to fly via Gatwick airport. So not what we had planned to save the planet but not much choice either.

Our three days in Vienna were rewarding, culturally. In the Wipptal we enjoyed calm weather and lovely views, and were impressed by the comfort, warmth and excellent food of the Almi Hotel (accessible by bus). Wendy’s tutoring was wonderful and her care of us exemplary. But as all good things must, the meet came to an end and after Innsbruck we said our farewells and went our own ways back. That for most was uneventful, however the two of us crossed to Britain in the teeth of storm Ischia. This was fine as the ferry was modern and the movement of the ship rocked us to sleep. The rest of our party travelled by plane and Toto is collating our travel plans and working out our carbon footprints. That should make interesting reading.

The best laid plans do not always work out as intended. The moral of this tale is to travel hopefully and be prepared for the unexpected.

Return whence you came