Unfortunately, when I made this decision, I didn't consider what time I would be stopping there. I've gotten used to using military time enough that I often think of it as is without converting it back to the twelve hour clock, so when I saw that I would be getting into Fulda at 22:04, I didn't think about that actually being 10:04 and everything being closed.
The other mistake that I made was in switching out guide books right before I left, leaving mine in preference of one in the house library which was more compact, thus easier to carry around. I knew from earlier browsing that they both had equivalent information about Nürnberg, but I didn't double check that this replacement also had information about Fulda. It didn't.
I was going to get a little dessert and wander around because I had read about some worthwhile things to see there, but all of the restaurants were closed at that hour (at least where I was), and for the life of me I couldn't recall what was worth checking out. Admittedly becoming a bit dejected I eventually stumbled across a gelato shop that was still buzzing. For lack of anything better to do, I stopped there. After a somehow not-quite-satisfying gelato (or as close to a not-quite-satisfying gelato as one can get since such a thing doesn't exist), I was wracking my brain trying to remember what I read that had intrigued me so much. I was going to leave and take up my aimless wandering again, but on a whim turned back to the waiter and asked where he recommended I go to kill another hour. Although he had just moved from Poland and didn't know the city too well, he mentioned going to the gardens at the Stadtschloss. They were even still open by the time I got there at 11:15, though it was not lit at all so I couldn't see much. Still, I was able to get a sense of them and they certainly seemed spectacular - and smelled phenomenal. Fulda redeemed.
By then I was a ways from the station and figured it was time to make head back, passing Dom St Salvator und Bonifatius.
I also discovered why the town was so deserted despite being a Friday night: everyone was at this bar.
Seriously, music blaring, voices carrying, tables crowded, people continuously coming and going... that definitely seemed the place to be. Alas, I had a train to catch.
So, about that... I admit that I had a pretty romantic notion of this overnight train. I could just imagine dozing peacefully to the gentle vibrations of the track as I was whisked through the European countryside and waking to a fresh new day in an exciting new city. Wrong. I was crammed in a compartment with five other people, between two folks and facing the other row of three with maybe a two foot gap between us so we kept bumping legs. And the smell! I think it wouldn't have been so horrible except that the man across from me seemed to exude this horrific stench. And (AND!) he absolutely refused to put his shoes on for the duration of the ride. Not that he would have smelled much better with feet enclosed, but there was definitely a hint of foot in the awful scent. He also kept wandering in and out of the compartment, and every time he left everyone would take a deep breath of the 'cleaner' air. I don't think I fell asleep until about 6:00 when everyone in the compartment but two women had gotten off the train. Even then, it was only a light sleep.
But at 10:02 on Saturday morning, the train pulled into Copenhagen station...
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