8:00 am

Success! I RULE CZECHOSLOVAKIA! I was happy when only two of us were in the compartment. The girl was Yugoslavian. When the inspector came around, I showed him my ticket and he said, "Zbrodowice?" as if, "Why are you going there?" I explained (in Pig Latin Polish sign language) that my Eurailpass covered the rest of the trip. Fine. Then, as we get to the border, my nerves are on edge, although I had been keeping myself busy by reading. The Czechs came in -- one by one -- inspecting passports. After an hour's wait, we crossed the border. This time, more Czechs got on and thoroughly inspected the train -- they asked me to put my seat upright. It was stuck, but I finally managed and they looked under it. In the next cabin, they were knocking on the walls and ceiling. They knocked on the ceiling all the way through the train. It was 1 am. Finally, we continued our journey -- nobody had asked about the tickets. I felt better, but I knew it was still coming. My stomach was churning. I tried to sleep, but couldn't. At 2:30 am, there was a pound at the door and someone came in to inspect tickets. I was taken by surprise. I fumbled for my Eurailpass and gave it to him without even looking at him -- trying to be nonchalant, but feeling like I was giving myself away. He said thank you and gave it right back! What a relief! That was it! I had won! I was still so wired that I barely slept -- maybe 2 hours total. Crossing the Austrian border was a snap. No one has ever checked my bags. Luckily. Now I'm in Vienna for 15 hours. Time to explore! Very expensive here -- I paid $3 for a danish and tea that would have cost 50¢ in Poland! But I've reserved my couchette for Venice (no more train tickets - yay) and I'm ready to go!

2:00 pm

I'm sitting in the huge courtyard of Schloss Shönberg, overlooking Vienna. Very beautiful. This is a wonderful city. Very clean, very easy to get around, very accommodating to tourists and very picturesque. It's another warm and sunny day. There's a great breeze blowing up here. I'm getting so crazed, though. I'm trying to think of ways I can still do everything, including Switzerland. It just won't work. If I travel overnight constantly, I won't meet people in hostels. I should stay 2 nights in Venice. We'll see what happens. Vienna is very expensive. I can't buy or do much at all.