Achtung! Willcommen auf Österreich

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Although Zurich was a good start to assimilate our Italian customary into German, entering Germany via Austria is a different story. Flash back at the statas a couple month prior our European trip, we purchased our six-day Eurorail tickets that only allow us to visit five countries: Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Benelux (Belgium/the Netherlands/Luxembourg), and France. The most direct route from Zürich to München is passing around a lake which borders Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, thus we need to enter Austria, one of the countries NOT listed on our tickets. We don't have any other alternatives but purchasing an additional ticket for our ten-minute ride passing Austria. The good thing about rerouting via Austria is that we are entering back EU from Switzerland via Austria; and this cheery plump Austrian immigration officer stamped our passports with an EU stamp bearing a letter of “A” surrounded by eleven stars of European Union. Austria! By less than ten minutes before entering Germany. Auf Wiedersehen.

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