Poprad – Bratislava – Vienna with ZSSK’s intercity train

Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria, we explore an area which was in the (not too distant) past bonded together by the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and by Austria-Hungary.

After a night in Poprad, Danny and I took a train from Poprad-Tatry to Vienna Main Station (Wien Hauptbahnhof). A direct train, with only a few stops.

IC 44 departs Košice at 7.11 and calls Kysak, Poprad-Tatry, Žilina, Trnava, Bratislava Main Station (hl.st.), Bratislava-Nové Mesto, Bratislava-Petržalka and terminates at Vienna Main Station.

While waiting for the train in Poprad, we heard the longest train announcement we ever experienced. In two languages, Slovak and English, our train was announced. Where it stopped, where first class is, where the restaurant car is, where the car for children under ten years old is, where second class is. Actually, every coach position was announced. It was announced it had a short delay. It was announced where it came from. Way too elaborate.

Speaking of announcements, the English-language announcements have an Australian accent. And Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK), the operator’s name, is unpronounceable for people who don’t speak a Slavic language.

Comfort

We travelled first class – snobisme oblige – and that was similar to the first class on our from Bratislava to Štrba. There coach is arranged in a 2+1 configuration.

The red fabric moquette is soft. The cushion is thick. There’s decent legroom. In this version, there was a foldable tablet.

Included in the price of first class is WiFi, water and apparently coffee and tea. An attendant comes regularly with a cart.

The water was sparking water, which is an odd choice.

The six-hour journey was in these condition uneventful and nicely boring. Just relax, enjoy the view and fall asleep.

The rest of the train

I decided to explore the rest of the train.

There is an actual restaurant car consisting of a sit-down restaurant area, the kitchen and counter and a bar area.

There is service and multifunctional car where you find the conductors, you can load your bikes, travellers with reduced mobility can be helped, a toilet for disabled travellers and a mystery area.

Behind that coach there’s the ‘children under ten’ coach consisting of closed compartments and children-friendly stickers of princesses and bees.

Finally, the standard second class coaches have blue 2+2 seats.