RSSBudapest – Vienna – Maribor – Ptuj, Slovenia
I’m riding the new Rail Jet to Vienna, the high-speed train of OBB, Austria’s Rail Company.
In operation for only some months, it’s already become a popular alternative to the Hungarian trains that usually rattle out of Budapest. I transfer in Vienna, so I’m not sure what the top speeds of this train become. But on the older tracks in Hungary, I see 160 km/hr (100 miles) displayed on the train screens.
Unfortunately, not even the Rail Jet is invincible to delays. This train is 20 minutes late, causing me to miss the last train for the day on to Slovenia.
Train Tip: The OBB Information Office informs me that if a train is significantly late in Austria, and you miss a connection and are forced to overnight in an alternate city, then OBB will reimburse you for your hotel stay. But you first must get a certificate from the OBB Travel office. In Wien Meidling, this office is located outside, at the end of tracks 3 and 4.
From Wien, I took the next train that would get me in the direction of Slovenia. On a train to Graz, I meet Gernot, an Austrian who is traveling home for his father’s birthday in Graz. He tells me that my best bet to find a hotel would be in Graz, Austria’s second largest city. If I keep going towards the Slovenian border, he warns me, the towns are small and I probably won’t find a hotel as train service ends for the night. But it doesn’t feel right to stop before reaching my destination.
“What type of person are you?” I ask him. “The type who would play it safe, stopping in Graz overnight where you know you could find a hotel? Or the type who would press his luck trying to make it all the way to the final destination?” “I think I’d play it safe,” he answers just as quickly as I answer, “I’m going to keep going.”
From Graz, there’s a small local train that stops in nearly every town until reaching Spielfeld, on the Austrian border to Slovenia. It was getting cold, snowbanks were appearing, and the stars were shining brightly even from the train windows. The train stopped in towns that barely had train stations, let alone hotels.
I began speaking to the few others on the train. A Nigerian man was shivering. “I’m not accustomed to this cold. I’m hoping my girlfriend has the heat on in the car.” Car! Bingo! I ask him where they will be driving to, and he tells me over the border, to Maribor, Slovenia.
At the Spielfeld station, I meet his Slovenian girlfriend. She couldn’t be more gracious, allowing me to ride with them the 15 kilometers (10 miles) to Maribor. They drop me at the Maribor bus station, where I get the last bus to Ptuj at 10:10pm.
Benjamin Thomas
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6 comments to “Budapest – Vienna – Maribor – Ptuj, Slovenia”
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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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Dear Sirs,
How much time between train connections should be made available….some of the train itineraries only show 15 minutes between train arrivals and departures…is this wise?
Hello Molly — Good question. Most train companies instruct you to allow no less than 15 minutes. Assuming that your train arrives on time, then 15 minutes shoudl be adequate to walk through the station to your connection track. But I have transfered plenty of times with les than 15 minutes to spare, running through the station. You may want to allow yourslef more time if you’d like to stop in the station to get something to eat or read, or just take a step outside to see a new city. As a general rule, though, 15 minutes should be fine in most instances. Have fun! Benjamin.
It’s a very interesting subject I was looking around about more information but you got really what i was looking for in your article so thanks and keep it up you have a great blog , by the way Graz is a very lovely city I enjoyed it so much
Is there a train that goes from Vienna to Cleje or is Graz on the Austrian border or Maribor on the Slovenian side the last stop?
Hi Mary – I am not certain about Cleje. Put the city into this website and see what you can find: http://www.deutschebahn.de Benjamin.
Dear Benjamin,
Your contribution to others around the world is precious.
I am a Thai mother with an interior designer son. We, my husband, my son and myself, are planning our trip to my dream country, Slovenia. Your train trip from Vienna to Graz is greatly appreciated.
We plan to fly from Bangkok to Vienna, arriving on Saturday morning and would like to take the train all the way down to Maribor or Omoz on that day. Do you think it is possible? Should we make it to just Maribor?
We would like to visit and experience the local life style. Do you have any suggestions for the towns in the northeast of Slovenia? We are not typical tourists who want to see things. We would like to experience the way of life, the people and the country.
Again, your blog is greatly treasured.
Thank you for your contribution and kind attention.
Warmly,
Churaipon C. Klaijumlang
P.S i am working as a director of a non-profit organization which aims to support the less privileged chlidren with proper education. I do not have my personal website. Yet, you are most welcome to visit our foundation website and also the website we special create to honor the young artists who participated in our “2008 A World United through Art” in Bangkok and Chieng Mai, http://www.colorsfrommanylands.com
or visite our http://www.yuvabadhanafoundation.org