Budapest to Balatonfüred
Balatonfüred to Tihany
Back to Balatonfüred and then to Keszthely
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
2009-03-08
Lake Balaton Weekend
Back to Balatonfüred and then to Keszthely
Keszthely to Heviz
Heviz Thermal Lake
And back to Budapest
2009-03-02
Beograd, Serbia (Belgrade for the Western World)
Journal Entries:
26-2-2009
22:30 Keleti Palyudvar, Budapest. Listening to The Clash "London Calling" album from iPod. I saw a dude in front of the train station with an eye patch and, I swear, a fake plastic hand.
23:01 Train jerks forward, Elliott barely made it, Esperenza had to hold the door open while he ran to board.
22:30 Put The Clash back on, Clampdown is playing while our tickets are checked. Martin, a student from Germany who is studying in Istanbul joins our compartment (he heard the train is a little sketchy when traveling alone). Discussing currencies:
Martin: "Have a Turkish Coin"
Me: "Thanks, I can give you some forrints in exchange..."
Martin: "I'm not rich, but I'm not that poor!"
27-2-2009
06:30 Early Morning. Arrive, depart train, find hostel on 6th floor of an old apartment building nearby train station. Hostel host is from Miami, and has been living in Europe for 4 years, the last 2 in Serbia. We venture out for crepes and money. I withdraw 5000 dinar (~$70) for the weekend expenses, and a little extra for souvenirs. We are guided by Jeff (he's been to Belgrade at the beginning of the semester) to a fast food place offering pizza and crepes. Best idea ever. I have a nutella and "plazma" crepe (plazma is kind of like the stuff inside Whoppers candy crumbled up...). Return to the hostel, watch some Discovery channel, then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Serbian. Fall asleep until 11:00 AM.
11:00 For the day we explore the fortress and the war museum. Kalemegdan, the old fortress, stands at the meeting of the Duna and Sava rivers. Belgrade was once entirely enclosed by it's walls. It was conquered by the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires, and eventually returned to Serbian rule. Lots of awesome ruins. One currator of the war mueseum fought against the KLA in the early 90's.
15:15 It starts raining, we escape to a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner and dryness.
18:30 Returning to explore the streets. First glimpse of bombed buildings from 1999. Just put on Dave Brubeck.
20:30 St. Sava Cathedral. Impressive. Huge. Still in construction.
22:00 Return to Hostel. Chess Time. Lost the 1st game (lost the queen early, I'm rusty), well see how the second game goes...
23:00 Stalemate
28-2-2009
2:00 Going to sleep. Wandered around a bit, most of the crew went to a club on the 9th floor of some office building.
14:10 Waiting on people for forever. I just want to go explore more! Listening to Dert Floyd on iPod.
14:45 US Embassy, lots of police guards.
14:58 People made to delete photos of the Embassy by Police...(still have mine, don't look like a tourist, duh).
15:20 Made it to Tito's memorial. The green grass and birch tress are covered in white snow and bark.
17:00 Eat some more crepes at our favorite place. Explore Skadarska, the old Bohemian street of Belgrade.
20:00 Head back to the Hostel to pack up stuff. We pick up pizza to take on the train.
21:30 Make sure to choose a compartment with a working window. Share the compartment with Jesper, Jake and Brett. Talk about the sights we saw in Belgrade, and plans for future weekend trips...
1-3-2009
6:30 Arrive in Budapest. Go home and sleep for a big part of the day. Finish up some homework later in the day and fall asleep again (preventing a cold I feel trying to come on)
2-3-2009
9:50 Somehow my alarm didn't go off, so I rush off to get to lab on time. Hungarian Language class in the afternoon, and now finally at home!
It was a great weekend, and crazy to see other parts of the world, the bizarre differences that 7 hours of travel can make. The difference of being inside and outside the EU. The difference of a city with recent violent history. I really enjoyed traveling with the group, staying at the hostel, and exploring a new place. Looking forward to more good (and safe) trips.
Photos!!! and Flickr Photos!!!
26-2-2009
22:30 Keleti Palyudvar, Budapest. Listening to The Clash "London Calling" album from iPod. I saw a dude in front of the train station with an eye patch and, I swear, a fake plastic hand.
23:01 Train jerks forward, Elliott barely made it, Esperenza had to hold the door open while he ran to board.
22:30 Put The Clash back on, Clampdown is playing while our tickets are checked. Martin, a student from Germany who is studying in Istanbul joins our compartment (he heard the train is a little sketchy when traveling alone). Discussing currencies:
Martin: "Have a Turkish Coin"
Me: "Thanks, I can give you some forrints in exchange..."
Martin: "I'm not rich, but I'm not that poor!"
27-2-2009
06:30 Early Morning. Arrive, depart train, find hostel on 6th floor of an old apartment building nearby train station. Hostel host is from Miami, and has been living in Europe for 4 years, the last 2 in Serbia. We venture out for crepes and money. I withdraw 5000 dinar (~$70) for the weekend expenses, and a little extra for souvenirs. We are guided by Jeff (he's been to Belgrade at the beginning of the semester) to a fast food place offering pizza and crepes. Best idea ever. I have a nutella and "plazma" crepe (plazma is kind of like the stuff inside Whoppers candy crumbled up...). Return to the hostel, watch some Discovery channel, then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Serbian. Fall asleep until 11:00 AM.
11:00 For the day we explore the fortress and the war museum. Kalemegdan, the old fortress, stands at the meeting of the Duna and Sava rivers. Belgrade was once entirely enclosed by it's walls. It was conquered by the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires, and eventually returned to Serbian rule. Lots of awesome ruins. One currator of the war mueseum fought against the KLA in the early 90's.
15:15 It starts raining, we escape to a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner and dryness.
18:30 Returning to explore the streets. First glimpse of bombed buildings from 1999. Just put on Dave Brubeck.
20:30 St. Sava Cathedral. Impressive. Huge. Still in construction.
22:00 Return to Hostel. Chess Time. Lost the 1st game (lost the queen early, I'm rusty), well see how the second game goes...
23:00 Stalemate
28-2-2009
2:00 Going to sleep. Wandered around a bit, most of the crew went to a club on the 9th floor of some office building.
14:10 Waiting on people for forever. I just want to go explore more! Listening to Dert Floyd on iPod.
14:45 US Embassy, lots of police guards.
14:58 People made to delete photos of the Embassy by Police...(still have mine, don't look like a tourist, duh).
15:20 Made it to Tito's memorial. The green grass and birch tress are covered in white snow and bark.
17:00 Eat some more crepes at our favorite place. Explore Skadarska, the old Bohemian street of Belgrade.
20:00 Head back to the Hostel to pack up stuff. We pick up pizza to take on the train.
21:30 Make sure to choose a compartment with a working window. Share the compartment with Jesper, Jake and Brett. Talk about the sights we saw in Belgrade, and plans for future weekend trips...
1-3-2009
6:30 Arrive in Budapest. Go home and sleep for a big part of the day. Finish up some homework later in the day and fall asleep again (preventing a cold I feel trying to come on)
2-3-2009
9:50 Somehow my alarm didn't go off, so I rush off to get to lab on time. Hungarian Language class in the afternoon, and now finally at home!
It was a great weekend, and crazy to see other parts of the world, the bizarre differences that 7 hours of travel can make. The difference of being inside and outside the EU. The difference of a city with recent violent history. I really enjoyed traveling with the group, staying at the hostel, and exploring a new place. Looking forward to more good (and safe) trips.
Photos!!! and Flickr Photos!!!
2009-02-26
Another Night Train....
Tonight I'm taking a night train to Belgrade with a group of the international students for the weekend. The forecast predicts warming up, finally; all the snow is melting quickly. Walking down the street, you hear sounds of little waterfalls, as the water runs down the gutters to the street and below, eventually finding it's way to the Duna. Expect lots of pictures of Belgrade in a few days!
2009-02-21
Day Trip: Szentendre
You could call it country fever, but it was getting high time to get out of the city for a little change of scenery. For a whopping 125 forint ($.50) and 40 minutes time, Szentendre waits along the Danube north of Budapest. Cobblestone roads, ancient churches, waterfront promenades, quaint kavehaz, and smaller village charm, Szentendre has it all. Day Trippin'!
Even more photos at my flickr!
Even more photos at my flickr!
2009-01-28
Snow Train
Robs and I awoke early this morning. Grabbed the bags, caught the bus, had enough time for some more delicious German pretzels and then jumped onto corresponding trains. Robert headed west, myself east. Würzburg was fun, I'm glad to have been able to meet up with Robert and to also become friends with his new international friends. Perhaps a return to Würzburg when the weather is nicer? Maybe just a rendezvous in Austria? For now, I'm back in Budapest and starting to think about school. It's raining. I miss Arizona sunlight. Time rolls along.
Also, I highly recomend taking a train through the general Alps area in the winter. The endless snow is beautiful.
Also, I highly recomend taking a train through the general Alps area in the winter. The endless snow is beautiful.
2009-01-18
Train Stations and more Wandering
I awoke to light snow flurries falling through the frigid -4˚C air. Flakes stuck to the tile roof out the window and the cars parked along the narrow streets. I had a quick breakfast of rolls and strawberry jam, then began putting on the layers. Thermal undies, pants, shirt, wool socks, beanie, hoodie, thick jacket, shoes, gloves. Pockets: keys, wallet, ipod. Good to go. The cold greats me as I open the door and descend the stairs. 
Out the gate and then the main door of the apartment, I wait long enough to hear the click of the door locked shut before pressing play. I head towards Jósef körút (Joseph Boulevard) to Rákóczi ut towards Keleti Train station. Keleti Station is quite impressive, it's size allows it to be seen from ways down Rákóczi ut. More 
constrution is going on in Baross square in front of the station, a new metro line (#4) from what I could figure out. Inside, it takes me a while to find the international ticket counters. The teller spoke enough english for me to purchase a ticket to Würzburg; A night train to Munich, and then a faster Intercity Express train from Munich to the Wü. Thursday morning, I'll be hanging with Robert. All good. Also learned about special deals from Budapest for future travels...I returned home slowly, again letting curiousity lead me. I found one of the large open markets of Budapest just behind the constrution at Rákóczi park. Hopefully it will be open tomorrow...I'm eager to discover local produce! I had great dinner at a cafe around the corner, a goat cheese and fried zucchi dish with seasoned potato wedges, DELICIOUS! I also discoverd that the Frank Zappa Cafe is also extreamly close to my apartment ( http://www.zappacaffe.hu/ ). Totally awesome. I will have to try that someday soon. Final note: I made a flickr set to share more pictures. Looking forward to more awesome adventures soon.
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