RSSSziget Festival – Budapest
I have never seen so many foreigners in Budapest. For six days (or seven, or eight, depending on the hangover), a mix of Hungarians and foreigners converge on one of Budapest’s islands in the Danube: Obudai-sziget.
Campers fill the island all week here, the sight of Europe’s largest music and cultural festival (Sziget means “island” in Hungarian, hence the name of the festival).
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Stockholm – Copenhagen – Hamburg – Frankfurt – Vienna – Budapest
My train is leaving early in the morning, through Sweden, southward. Outside the train window, early morning fog is lifting from the countryside.
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In Hostinné
“I heard about you,” the woman who so kindly has been helping me with my family history in Hostinné says.
“Yesterday, you were on the train, standing up, taking pictures, having fun.” Where her tone was between approving and disapproving, I couldn’t quite decipher. It struck me as an odd statement, and I wasn’t sure how to respond.
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Prague – Trutnov – Hostinne – Klasterska Lhota – Liberec – Jilemnice
I’m journeying into Bohemia to research my family history, but I could just as well be researching train culture.
Leaving the cities (or the CITY, in the case of Czech), train culture changes dramatically. It feels a bit like journeying into Frontierland.
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In Prague
The former Communist countries love their public swimming complexes.
Each major city has at least one, if not several, of these complexes. Often open year- round, housing popular saunas and steam rooms during winter weather, the complexes open their outdoor lawns at the first rays of summer.
In Prague, I visited the Plavecky complex, on the outskirts of the city, and reachable by tram. One common feature of these former Communist complexes is the water slide. And another common feature: these water slides scrape people’s backs, as the connecting parts of the slides are not entirely smooth. It’s explained to me that in years past, it was meant to slide down on a mat. But the mats were abandoned (damaged or stolen more likely), a long time ago. So while I would usually enjoy an afternoon on the water slides, the skin on my back asks me to enjoy it only once.
Budapest – Prague
I hear music coming from the earphone of a passenger next to me as the train departs Budapest.
He gladly shares. It’s his Austrian brass band, and they had performed last week in Budapest.
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Zurich – Munich – Budapest
The train ride from Zurich to Munich is amazing not only for its views, but also for its smell.
The train meanders up close to farmlands and cows, proving a great trip for at least two senses (sight and smell), and sometimes for a third (hearing), as an occasional ‘MOO’ can be heard.
In Zurich
I hadn’t realized how beautiful Zurich is along the lake. Even in the overcast weather of the weekend, people spent the daylight hours outside along the water.
Both the lakefront and Hauptbahnhof are the nerve center of Zurich, revealing two things: the people of Zurich appreciate nature, and appreciate their rail system.
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About the Eurail Blog
Benjamin Thomas from the USA has been using Eurail Passes to explore Europe. On this weblog he shares his (train) travel experiences. Intro
This blog is recommended by Eurail.Com.
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