RSSBudapest – Salzburg – Ljubljana – Rijeka – Labin
I am on my way to meet friends in Labin, Croatia. Traveling first from Budapest, I am greeted by the Hungarian dining-car woman who I first met at Christmastime. She had given me an orange, and I had dug some chocolates from the bottom of my backpack for her.
In Salzburg, I find only one kiosk open at midnight, on the train platform. When I try to buy a pretzel, the man throws it into the trash where it lands with a hard thud. Waiting for the next train connection, I meet Robert, who serves in the Austrian army. He’s been in the mountains for days, training to live in emergency snow caves in the Alpine terrain.
From Salzburg, I board a train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. A Croat and I find an empty cabin, and we each lay ourselves across 3 seats, our makeshift beds. I find it easy to fall asleep on these moving trains, as the world passes by outside. It reminds me of being a boy, when my parents would pull down the car’s back seat so my sister and I could sleep as the hum of traffic blanketed us.
As dawn breaks, I am concerned about making the next connection from Ljubljana to Rijeka. Our train is about 20 minutes late. And the schedule I’m on only allowed only 10 minutes to make the connection to the train to Rijeka. But luckily I find the train is being held across the platform for our arrival. It’s still quite early, so I slump into the plush, over-sized seats once more.
Train service from Rijeka is limited. But luckily there are many cheap buses that will make up the distances. The central bus station is about a 10 minute walk from the train station. I board a bus for the final leg of the trip, to Labin.
Benjamin Thomas
« In Budapest| In Labin, Croatia »
6 comments to “Budapest – Salzburg – Ljubljana – Rijeka – Labin”
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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
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This summer 2009, we want to go from Budapest to Ljubljana via train. Can we buy tickets in advance on-line or do we have to buy in Budapest?
We need to return to Paris about a week after arriving in Ljubljana. Suggestions of where to go in between? Can we buy tickets in advance on-line or do we have to buy in Ljubljana?
Great Blog, thanks!
Hello Jean. Are you interested in a Rail Pass to cover your travel? With a Pass, you don’t have to worry about tickets beforehand. Only some might need seat reservations. There’s plenty to see between Ljubljana and Paris. Check out this interactive map for some ideas: http://blog.eurail.com/index.php/eurail-blog-map
Have fun! Benjamin.
I would like to know if it is possible to get from Budapest, Hungary to Halstatt, Austria in one day by train.
Hello Lynne – It seems that you can. The best on-line train schedules can be found at” http://www.deutschebahn.de Have fun!
Hi.
I will travel from Ljubljana to budapest by car and plan to stop somewere in the middle, do you have a tip about a good place tostop by?
Cheers
Vinny from Brazil
Hi Vinny – Lake Balaton in Hungary may be nice to see. Have fun! Benjamin.