One last overnight train, waking up on the Grand Canal
Departure station. Arrive 30+ minutes early for an international overnight train. Platform assignments sometimes change — check the boards.
Arrival station. You step off the train and the Grand Canal is RIGHT THERE. Vaporetto (water bus) stop at the station entrance. No more dramatic train arrival in the world.
Last full day in Salzburg. Morning: whatever you missed — the fortress if you haven't been up, a last walk through the Altstadt, Mozartkugeln shopping (Fürst on Alter Markt for the originals).
Afternoon: pack, check out, maybe one more coffee at Café Tomaselli, the oldest café in Salzburg (1705). Ricki will have his third Sachertorte of the trip. Maritza will count.
Evening: Salzburg Hauptbahnhof for the Nightjet. ÖBB's overnight trains are among Europe's best — clean, punctual, with proper sleeper cabins (not just couchettes). For six people: two 3-berth sleeper cabins or three 2-berth cabins. Each has a sink, mirror, and fold-down bunks. Breakfast is served on board — coffee, rolls, jam, butter, juice. Included with the sleeper ticket.
The train crosses the Austrian Alps in darkness. You won't see the Brenner Pass or the Italian Dolomites — but you'll feel the curves, hear the tunnels, and wake up to the conductor saying 'Venezia Santa Lucia.' You step off the platform and the Grand Canal is right there. Water taxis, vaporetti, and the dome of San Simeone Piccolo across the canal. No city in the world has a more dramatic arrival by train.
Salzburg → Venice (overnight)
Book at nightjet.com. Sleeper cabins have 1, 2, or 3 berths with sink and mirror. Couchettes are 4 or 6 berth. Book early for best cabin selection.
The Nightjet crosses the Brenner Pass — the lowest major Alpine pass at 1,370m. The railway here was built 1864–1867, one of the first major trans-Alpine rail lines. The current base tunnel (BBT, opening soon) will be the longest railway tunnel in the world at 55 km.
Sleeping on a train! Top bunk! Waking up in a different country! The breakfast tray delivered to your cabin! She'll want to do this every night for the rest of the trip.
Request lower berths for Ricki and Maritza. The 2-berth sleeper cabin gives them privacy, a sink, and more space. Breakfast is delivered to the cabin. The train does all the work — they sleep through the Alps.