The train from Venezia to Budapest was just over 13 hours so obviously we opted for a sleeper carriage. However, as we had failed to reserve a cochette in advance we were left with no choice but to take a normal seat. 'No biggie' we thought as we walked into the station and saw a very clean and modern fast train which we assumed was our mode of transportation. We then realised that the rickety, old Hungarian train next to it was ours. Getting on it was horrible, the seats didn't correlate to the tickets assigned, there were no lights, no a/c (sauna room levels of heat), hyper-active gypsies and a few dogs roaming around. Pretty much our idea of hell especially after becoming slightly spoilt with the luxuries made available to us by staying at Julia's home.
Things began to look up slightly when the lights and a minimal amount of a/c were switched on, and we began to get comfortable in our little seats, squashed in next to the gypo's and dogs. A bottle of rose eased the pain.
The rest of the journey was spent in the dining carriage. We ate omlette's at 2am, continued drinking through until 8am and did yoga at 9am. When we finally arrived in Budapest we were a bit of a mess, schlepped our belongings to the hostel and passed out until the early evening.
We decided to spend that night at the hostel after cooking ourselves dinner (yay to having a kitchen!!!!) and watch a film. That night we met some students in the 'hostel' which we realised was actually a huge university dorm with only the medical students residing there over the summer months.
Day times in Budapest were great although extremely hot. They don't like a/c there - anywhere. We did a lot of walking, crossed the Duna river, walked up to Mathias church which has a panoramic view, and later checked out the main shopping district. On our second day in Budapest we went to check our Magrit Island which is essentially Budapest's answer to Hyde Park, situated in the middle of the Duna and made easily accessible by a pedestrianised bridge.
Night times in Budapest were also great! TOO HOT, but good fun. Not far from our hostel we found a great little square overflowing with bar's and restaurants and really bustling. We also stumbled upon an excellent beer garden, quite hidden from the obvious eye of your average traveller. We didn't make it to any clubs for a couple of reasons. We couldn't be bothered and we weren't prepared to pay entry. The traveller's life is clearly not as glamorous as one might assume!!!
We were very pleased to get on an extremely clean and high tech Austrian train as we made our last train journey together to Vienna...our final destination.
Things began to look up slightly when the lights and a minimal amount of a/c were switched on, and we began to get comfortable in our little seats, squashed in next to the gypo's and dogs. A bottle of rose eased the pain.
The rest of the journey was spent in the dining carriage. We ate omlette's at 2am, continued drinking through until 8am and did yoga at 9am. When we finally arrived in Budapest we were a bit of a mess, schlepped our belongings to the hostel and passed out until the early evening.
We decided to spend that night at the hostel after cooking ourselves dinner (yay to having a kitchen!!!!) and watch a film. That night we met some students in the 'hostel' which we realised was actually a huge university dorm with only the medical students residing there over the summer months.
Day times in Budapest were great although extremely hot. They don't like a/c there - anywhere. We did a lot of walking, crossed the Duna river, walked up to Mathias church which has a panoramic view, and later checked out the main shopping district. On our second day in Budapest we went to check our Magrit Island which is essentially Budapest's answer to Hyde Park, situated in the middle of the Duna and made easily accessible by a pedestrianised bridge.
Night times in Budapest were also great! TOO HOT, but good fun. Not far from our hostel we found a great little square overflowing with bar's and restaurants and really bustling. We also stumbled upon an excellent beer garden, quite hidden from the obvious eye of your average traveller. We didn't make it to any clubs for a couple of reasons. We couldn't be bothered and we weren't prepared to pay entry. The traveller's life is clearly not as glamorous as one might assume!!!
We were very pleased to get on an extremely clean and high tech Austrian train as we made our last train journey together to Vienna...our final destination.
No comments:
Post a Comment