On the wrong train

Munich main train station. The sleek, long high speed train was at the platform. I got into one of the cars and found a seat. With no reservation, I wasn’t sure what I’d find. But this was good.

Really good! A single seat by a window. No one beside me. Just the aisle. I leaned back and enjoyed.

Still a few minutes until departure. That’s when doubt set in. Because I noticed a reservation display listing Nuremberg. Meaning this train was going through Nuremberg. My destination was Augsburg. Now the train might go to Nuremberg via Augsburg. But it might also use an entirely different route.

Definitely doubt by now. Certainly didn’t want to be on the wrong train when it left the station.

But if I got up to check the display out in the vestibule, this very nice seat would surely be claimed by someone else before I returned.

In the end, uncertainty won. I ended up going out on the platform to check the big display for there. It showed the train’s final destination and key stops along the way. Right next to a clock, ticking ever closer to departure.

From the sign, I concluded that this was indeed the right train. I hadn’t been crazy when getting on. First stop would be Augsburg. I got back on, just before the whistle blew. One quick look back into the car where I’d been sitting. It was of…