borders and byways: Travel to Budapest October 28, 2017Day 27 of the trip

October 28, 2017 Day 27 Travel and Travails to Budapest

This was an anxious day that was filled with mistakes, but ultimately, albeit belatedly, got us where we were going, Budapest.

I made several mistakes in booking and traveling on a train from Cesky Rrumlov to Budapest.

I booked the trip from the US over the internet and at the end of the booking, I received a Pick-Up Code and a notice that I should print out the tickets at the train station. I thought that was great, one less document to carry around and possibly lose. Unfortunately, I did not notice until yesterday that the ticket had been purchased from the Austrian Railroad system and that it had to be printed at an Austrian station. I should have done more research on it over the computer, but I was lazy, hoped I could get help at the train station and then lost my head.

After we got up we bought some pastries at a bakery near our lodging in the morning and we ate them along with some coffee at the Airbnb. Our taxi came right on time at 8:30 and we arrived at the train station by 8:45. (the fare was more expensive than the way in because we were now going uphill, at least that is what I was told.) The trouble I feared came to pass. The ticket agent at the small station did not speak any English, was uninterested in the Pick-up code on my phone and knew nothing about the 9:20 departure I had expected that was in my itinerary. There was no train board listing departing trains and no place to use my Pick-up code to print a ticket. Another passenger, seeing my problem and speaking a little English told me that I had to get on the 9:00 train to Cesky Budejovice, where we had changed yesterday and is apparently a regional transit hub. I was dubious, because that was going north when we wanted to go south, but he insisted that was the correct train. I had no evidence that there would be a 9:20 train and feared we would be stranded there, so I got on the 9:00 train. A big mistake.

So, we got on the 9:00 train. I figured maybe there had been a time change in the 6 weeks since I had purchased the ticket. The receipt I had received showed a small fare for the first leg of the train trip and I assumed that covered this portion of the journey. The problem was that I did not have a ticket. I knew that, but when the conductor came through asking for tickets I tried to explain to her what had happened and showed her my phone with the purchase receipt. She was not convinced, but it was a short ride, this was just a local train and she less us skate by.

I went into the train station at Cesky Budjovice to get some help. The information desk passed me along to a train clerk who spoke a little English. She printed out for me the schedule for getting to Budapest, but refused to issue tickets. At least I now knew where I was going. Next stop was Linz, in Austria. I subsequently realized that this city is in western Austria and I think we were originally supposed to go through there on the 9:20 train. Perhaps this is the reason we will get into Budapest 2.5 hours later than in my original schedule.

The train to Linz was a national train, faster, better ride and a more professional, but still a conductor with limited English. When she came by to check tickets we went back and forth, me trying to explain that I had purchased tickets, showing her my receipt on the phone and she is asking for a ticket or bar code on the phone. No resolution, however when we reached the Czech Austrian border, the train stopped, she got off and conferred with a new, and presumably Austrian conductor while pointing to us. That conductor spoke more English and by the end of our conversation he agreed with me that the tickets had to be printed out in Austria. I thought he told me to get off and print them in this station and, so I left the train and started to do that, but then the train doors began to close, and I had to run back on without the tickets. A little panic there by my spouse

The Austrian countryside seemed to be different than the Czech. In the former everything seemed to be in order, nothing out of place, no garbage, or even untended piles of dirt or construction materials. No abandoned vehicles. Very orderly. The Czech, and to even a greater extent, the Polish countryside from the view from the train seemed much more disorganized. Differences in wealth, or perhaps national character.

The conductor left us alone and we arrived in Linz about 12:30. Linz is on the Danube, but we did not see it. What I did see was a very long freight train that had hundreds of cars, seemingly virtually all the same white sedans. It was a pretty big train station, but not enclosed. We had about two hours before our connecting train to Budapest. We found the information desk who directed us to the ticket office. There I encountered a very friendly and helpful clerk who printed out our tickets to Budapest and the tickets from where we had been, but a place that I did not recognize. We were not traveling on our purchased itinerary. Digging into our euro stash we purchased some sandwiches and desert in a station sandwich shop. Pretty good food, but expensive.

The train ride to Budapest was about 4 hours and arrived at about 6:30. A good train that moved at a good clip. It was crowded and seemed to have many Hungarians on it. We arrived at the Keleti, Eastern Train station. It was a pretty big train barn, well-lit and with ornate features on the walls. There was a long line at the station’s ATM machine. We were tired, so I went to a money changer. Only changed $50, but got a lower rate than I probably could have gotten at the ATM. I also was able to change the remaining Polish money I had. Too many currencies on this trip!

Our lodging turned out to be only a short distance from the train station, but we decided to take a taxi given the hour and our luggage. We got ripped off on that. The cab driver demanded 20 euro claiming that we were going out of a zone and that the rate was mandated by law. He got lost going there and was not helpful with the luggage, so no tip. I felt like a fool.

Our host was waiting for us at the door. As in Krakow, it was an apartment building in which she was Airbnbing an apartment at 15a Vas Street. One flight up (there was an elevator), the apartment was a spacious room, with a loft bedroom. There was a makeshift kitchen in the hallway with a hot plate and a refrigerator. The bathroom was OK and there was a washer (no dryer). The host was very helpful in offering advice, maps and directions, plus instructions on how to use the airport bus. Then we walked out to find one of her restaurant suggestions. It was Bajor Sarok, located in the Jewish Quarter. It was very busy with lots of people, primarily young, on the street and crowded bars and restaurants. We found the restaurant without mishap. The downstairs was full, and although we were seated upstairs, we were told that it would take 30 minutes to get our meal. It did not take that long. I had some Hungarian soup and a traditional Hungarian meat dish. Good dinner at a reasonable cost.

We then walked around the Jewish Quarter. We came to a small wall. It was a portion of the wall that had surrounded the Jewish ghetto from December 1944 until late January 1945, when the Soviets liberated Budapest. 70,000 Jews were squeezed into an area .3 sq. km and over 10,000 died during the 6 weeks the Ghetto existed. Most of those who survived the ghetto were shipped to Auschwitz and murdered. The Hungarian government allied itself with Germany in the beginning of WWII in an effort to regain the territory it had lost because of its defeat in WWI. Notwithstanding the desires of its ally, the Hungarians largely left the Jews alone. However, by 1944, seeing the Red Army approaching and sensing the inevitable defat of the Nazis, the Hungarians attempted to switch sides in the war. The Nazis did not take kindly to that, so they invaded Hungary and installed a fascist puppet government. That government eagerly participated in the roundup and murder of over 700,000 Hungarian Jews.

We then found the original ruin bar, Szimpla Kurt (garden). The Jewish Quarter was heavily damaged during WWII and this neighborhood sat dilapidated and forgotten for several decades. In the early 2000s it was discovered by the young crowd. Many of buildings are still run down, (some looked as if they were candidates to be condemned) but many house “ruin bars” which typically have entryways that look abandoned, but upon entry they have a maze of walkways that open into large halls and open-air courtyards. On this Saturday night the line to get in was around the corner. We passed on it and went back to our apartment at about 11:30.