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).

I can say that this is one of the best experiences I have had in Hungary. The 266 acre island pulsates with dozens of music stages and tents. I heard people compare the festival to Burning Man or the original Woodstock. (How some of them know, I am not sure, as much of the crowd is college-aged.)

The organization is incredibly well-run for an event of its size. I joked with the Sziget organizers that they should be running the country, since they fill a void of vision and leadership offered by Hungary’s Parliament. This year’s festival drew the largest crowd ever, an estimated 400,000 people participated, and no doubt many are already making their plans for next year. The festival’s website is in English here: http://www.sziget.hu/fesztival/?language=en

Train Tip: If arriving by train from abroad, a popular method, you will need to next get on the red metro to Batthyany ter. Here, you need to transfer onto a commuter train, a green train called HEV, five stops along the Danube river to Flitatorigat station. Note that the Eurail Pass does not cover you on the HEV train. Each one way ticket on the HEV train costs 300 Hungarian forints (about 1 Euro/ $1.50)

My train is leaving early in the morning, through Sweden, southward. Outside the train window, early morning fog is lifting from the countryside.

Train Tip: The train between Copenhagen and Hamburg crosses the sea by ferry at one point. You’ll spend the 45 minute trip on the ferry’s deck, outside of the train. But be sure to get back on the train as the ferry is approaching the port. The train is one of the first vehicles to leave from the ferry, and finding your way back down to the train from the upper decks may take several minutes. I saw several passengers running to jump on the train as it was preparing to drive off the ferry.

He gladly shares. It’s his Austrian brass band, and they had performed last week in Budapest.

Train Tip: If traveling in Central Europe, check your itinerary to see if you’ll be crossing into Slovakia. Slovakia is the missing link in terms of the Eurail Pass.
Czech to the North, Austria to the West and Hungary to the South are all covered by the Global Pass, but Slovakia is not. The fastest way to travel between Budapest and Prague is through Slovakia. You can easily buy a supplemental ticket that covers you in Slovakia, but I recommend buying it at any train ticket window, rather than on-board the train, where the price will increase.
There’s a train each morning at 5:28 from Budapest Keleti to Prague, en route to Berlin, that crosses through Slovakia. I was worried that 5 AM may be too early to buy the supplemental Slovakian ticket at Keleti station, but sure enough, ticket counters were open. The supplemental Slovakian ticket cost me 7750 Hungarian Forints, or about $35, and this is the ticket that I presented to the Slovakian train attendant on-board.

Train Tip: Consider NOT buying a bed reservation in advance. In the summer season, on weekends, and holidays, it’s a MUST if you want to be sure to get a bed. But one of the joys of traveling off-season, during the week, is that you can hop on and off trains, including night trains, more freely. During these non-peak times, I have found it’s more comfortable to walk on and buy the bed reservation on the train, because the conductor will often put you into an un-occupied sleeping cabin, whereas the computers at the train station will often automatically place you into free beds without consideration of how many people may already be in the sleeping cabin.

Easier would be to use your Pass for the 40 minute trip from Keleti station. Trains leave more than once an hour, and the Gödöllő stop leaves you a short fifteen minute walk from the center of town.

In the Marktplatz, you’ll find the bronze statue of the four musicians: the donkey, dog, cat and rooster. It was created in 1953 by a local sculptor, Gerhard Marcks.

Locals still today joke that the animals should be facing towards the town hall, not away from it as they are, because the “real robbers today are the politicians.” The animal musicians, you may recall, or read here, scared a group of robbers out of a countryside house by standing in the formation seen in this statue. The tradition in Bremen is to hold both of the donkeys legs, close your eyes and make a wish.

Walk into the square, across from the Roland statue, and look closely at the cobblestones. You’ll find a circular well that makes the sounds of the animals when a coin is placed inside. I’m told that the well has become part of a local drinking ritual: when out at bars and wanting to see who will buy the next round of beers, locals will go (stumble) to this well and bet which animal sound will be heard when the next coin is deposited.

The coin well has collected over 37,000 Euros in the last two years ($50,000), and all of that money is donated to charity. The well may be a good metaphor for Bremen’s connection to the Brothers Grimm tale. There’s not much to actually see in town related to the tale besides a few statues (and plenty of souvenirs), but what endures seems to be more of a spirit of solidarity emboldened by the tale, such as the donation of the money from the well to local charity.

During my visit, and throughout the winter and spring months, there are numerous tombola raffle tents raising money for a local park. And a former mayor established the Bremen Solidarity Prize, to acknowledge those who fight for freedom in the world.

The Town Musicians took to the road to Bremen seeking a more ideal life (the rooster, after all, was to have its head cut off and thrown in a soup the next day). Happily ever after, it may be Bremen that sought and found more ideal ways because of the Town Musicians.

My friends told a story about how the Italian train companies recognized these shabbier conditions, and placed the blame on people who bring their dogs and cats on the train. My friends were amused by this explanation, since they said they had never seen a dog or a cat on an Italian train (neither have I). Following that logic, you’d expect France’s trains to be nearly destroyed. But they’re not. It’s an Italian explanation that seems as dramatic as, well, anything Italian.

Southern Tirol was always part of German-speaking Austria, but as a concession after WWII, the region was annexed to Italy. The people were made to learn Italian. But rather than Italian becoming the dominant language, it became one of two. It makes for an interesting blend of cultures.


Autumn is a great time to visit this region, as the “new wine” emerges from the vineyards. Public squares in the autumn often host small festivals, where you can try the new wine along with crackling chestnuts. Or you can sample the local apple juice, and walk amongst the fields of apple trees. It’s said that 10% of the world’s apples come from South Tirol.

The region is great for hiking outdoors. My friends took me on a hike 1300 meters high into the Dolomites. We ended the afternoon at a charming family-run restaurant, Tschaufen. More than just a restaurant with incredible views, it is an example of European agri-tourism, where you can also sleep, ride horses and help on the farm. Tschaufen is situated between Nobels/Montoppio and Verschneid/Frassineto outside of Bolzano.