Venice to Vienna - TrenItalia 1st class

Based on our experience on overnight trains, we were pretty much dreading going on another one. But it can't be helped, as it would be a complete waste of a day to sit on the train, when you can sleep on a train and save a night's hotel! Our boarding time was 9:05pm and since we had 1st class tickets, we thought to get there early to sit in the 1st class lounge. We got there at 6:30pm, only to learn that the 1st class lounge closes at 4:30pm! Good grief! This particular lounge seemingly caters to the overnight trains, yet they close before customers even get to the train station! What's the point! So we took turns going outside and saying our goodbyes to the city. The train was actually docked quite early at the platform so we got on no problem. Only problem was, the train station had really bad air, and it was really hot and muggy, so ALL the passengers that got on early were in the hallways fanning themselves like crazy because there was no air conditioning! To make matters worse, mosquitoes started coming into the train! We killed a couple in our cabin, then I finally couldn't stand it anymore and got the very effective mosquito spray out. I sprayed our whole cabin very thoroughly, then Angel and I went to stand outside, waiting for the directed 15 minutes to be over before going back into our cabin. We think other passengers should have thanked us because after that, no more mosquitoes! ~__^
The train left the station with very little fanfare. By the time 10:30pm rolled around, no one had come around with bed service, so we had to ring a little buzzer to let the attendant know we needed help (they hold the keys to unlocking the beds). Nobody came for a long time, so finally I went searching for them... to find one of the attendants texting on her cell in the crew's assigned cabin... with black leather chairs! And we 1st class only get fabric chairs! The room is very small, so it was a tight squeeze, mainly because some brilliant train engineer must have thought that 1 sink and closet in each cabin room was a good idea. The electric plug is on the top of the sink, vertically facing down! Who designed this train??
1st class gives you breakfast, and you are allowed to choose 6 items from their menu. Additional items are 1 euro per item. We didn't know what to choose, as Angel learned from our previous train ride that an empty stomach is the best way to ride a train. We finally chose a bunch of cold cut meats and Austrian cheese to take with us for the road.
By the time we reached Vienna Westbahnhof (after seeing some lovely Austrian countryside), it was 8:28am (very punctual train!) and we were excited to be on our way to see Vienna!