I loved traveling by train when I was a student in Switzerland years ago—it’s one of the reasons why we invested in the Eurorail passes even though you can travel fairly inexpensively all over Europe using the deep discounted airlines. When we went to the Berlin Conference, most of our contingent of Hungarian Fulbrights booked on the same Easyjet flight. It was cheap, but it was uncivilized. You are herded through security. We had to get to the terminal two hours in advance in order to secure our seat. Once we arrived, we were once again herded from one waiting area to another (both of which were crowded and overheated), then onto buses that ferried us out to the planes. The seats are narrow, there is not much leg room, and you have to pay for your own refreshments. I read in the IHT that Ryanair is even considering asking its passengers to pay for the use of the toilet. Then you go through the same process in reverse upon landing. By the time we retrieved our luggage, walked from the terminal to the train station, and then took the express into the city…it had been a full day of traveling.
Unideb is on spring break until Easter Monday. We decided to explore Croatia and a little of the Dalmation coast. After taking the morning train to Budapest, we hopped on the “Maestral” on our way to Zagreb. We had the compartment to ourselves and were able to put our feet up and relax. We had the windows in both our compartment and in the corridor open, so there was a nice cross-breeze. The route from Budapest Keleti to Zagreb takes you through southwestern Hungary, through the Balaton region. The weather has been glorious…sunny, warm, and balmy….As we made our way through the small resort towns, we could see people fishing, biking, hiking, working in their gardens, and just making the most of the lovely weather. For a small country, Hungary has an amazing diversity of landscapes. Just one day earlier, we were out in the flatlands of the puszta in the Hortobagy, the site of Hungary’s first national park and one of the largest nature preserves in Europe. I think that contrast made the forested hills around Lake Balaton even more striking. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the windows…we could see others hanging out all along the length of the train. Bernard remarked that he wished the train would stop for a half an hour or so–he would have loved to get out and explore a little. If we had been on a plane, we would have missed all of this.
The border crossing was interesting. The Hungarian conductors and staff disembarked and the Croatian team got on. Then the border officials came—all four of them. First the Hungarian official came to examine and stamp our passports. Then another official came, whom we assumed was from Croatia. But, then there were two other s…each of whom were dressed in different uniforms and with differing degrees of friendliness. …We finally resumed our journey about an hour late.
Our travel bible has been Lonely Planet which had noted that it was a shame that many travelers overlook Zagreb, using it merely as a transfer point to go to Split and the towns further south along the Dalmatian coast. We wholeheartedly agree. We arrived after 9p last night. The woman at the information desk told us the hotel was within walking distance, located after the “third park on the left.” She wasn’t kidding. Broad avenues separated by parks and fountains, separate the train station from the central square where our hotel is located.
Even late on a Sunday evening, the town was alive. There were countless outdoors and cafes in the plazas near our square, and most of the tables were full of locals drinking coffee or sipping wine. We wandered around a while until we found a little Italian restaurant..it is located downstairs in a cellar with high-domed brick ceilings. The food was wonderful, the wine even better, and our waiter was very kind.
Today is Monday; this means that most of the museums are closed. So our plan for the day is to walk around the central plazas and the historic churches. We will go to the farmer’s market to pick up goodies for a picnic lunch and in the afternoon we will go to the cemetery which is located on a hillside overlooking the city and is more like a park then just a resting place for the dead. There is an art gallery that is open (and admission on Mondays is free) so we will go there in the late afternoon. Tonight we will take the night train to Split…so, the adventure continues.
Thanks for tuning in and best regards,
Marcsi
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