Sep 20 - Budapest to Vienna: ... by train - Meandering the Donau/Duna (Tour 12) - 2011 🇭🇺 🇸🇰 🇦🇹

September 20, 2011

Sep 20 - Budapest to Vienna: ... by train

Renaissance Hotel, Wien. Euro 174 with no breakfast included, no wi-fi included.

SINCE we lose our base today we lingered in the room before going to eat. After breakfast we went over to the large market again so Kevin could get gifts for home then we went to the Gelert Bath and Spa over in Buda. What an impressive place. And it was there I realized that the Lonely Planet Easter Europe photograph was taken for my book. Very cool.

It was close to check-out time so we returned to the hotel to pack up and put our bags in storage at the hotel. It made it great for us so we could spend another day exploring without having to drag our things around.

The weather was gradually improving from misty clouds to a few clear patches. We returned to Buda where we climbed many steps up to the castle which had amazing views over the city and River Duna. We kept going which brought us down to the river and over to the funicular which we took up the hill to the palace. It was beautiful up there plus the views to the river were incredible. We had a little snack then walked back down to the riverside.

Coming back alongside the river we came across what looked like a war zone with Serbian-looking jeeps, smoke, bombed out cars and soldiers in combats and flak jackets with machine guns. When we asked we were told it was for the video game Call of Duty as well as for the Jeep Wrangler I later found out. There was all kind of prep work then the action was for about fifteen seconds. I cannot imagine what it must be like to make a movie if all of this waiting was for a few seconds of shooting.

Back at our hotel, we checked e-mails then had a beer and relaxed before collecting our bikes and our gear. The bikes were loaded in seconds so away we went to the direct route to the Keleti Pu Station. The traffic was crazy-busy but predictable so we just kept going and in no time were to the station.

Paranoid as always, I went around to the International desk to confirm that all was in order and it was. We sat down for a snack where I had a garlic cream soup which was excellent. The departures board soon showed our train on Track 9 so away we went - it was a simple process to get the bikes onto the train then we got into our compartment which was cleean and nice. I read 'The Help' as I want to get it done before the end of the trip. As it was dark out I could see very little along the countryside, anyway.

We arrived to West Banhoff a little late (10:14 pm) and that is when the fun started. Getting the bikes was no problem but when we checked the hotels in the area, they were all full. We ended up taking a U.Bahn to Philadelphia Station where we found a very posh Renaissance Hotel which had room for us. It was more than our regular limit, but by now it was midnight so we just needed a place to stay.

Tom and Kevin went down to the lounge but I decided to have a nice hot bath then read my book until I fell asleep.