Our first European train experience travelling from Vienna to Munich led us to ponder whether our First Class Eurail tickets would allow us to sit in these lovely leathery compartments marked “Business Class”. Surely First Class is higher than Business Class, so why not? Shortly after making ourselves right at home, a giant Germanic conductor asks to see our tickets. He looked at the tickets, then he looked me up and down.
“You are from Australia. Are you big miniature in Australia?” Our faces expressed utter confusion. What part of me was he suggesting was big, or possibly even miniature, or even more bizarrely, both?
“Only big miniatures sit in Business Class.” It was at this point it dawned on us he was referring to “big managers” and not the oxymoron we had misheard.
“Otherwise, you pay extra 50 Euros… Or you get out.” We got out. Echoes of his roaring laughter could be heard all the way up until the next carriage.
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