Adventures in Traveling

Traveling always has some adventure to it, but I now have more experience with the adventures of traveling in Europe. My weekend started with a planned getaway to London for a little rest and relaxation with some friends. They were flying in from Amsterdam and I was going to fly from here in Budapest to meet them. I packed my things and headed out to the airport for a 9pm flight into London.

When I arrived at the airport I looked at the board to tell me where to check in and saw that my flight had been cancelled. Dismayed I walked to the information counter to find out why and what I needed to do to get on the next flight. Well I knew something was up when I joined a very long line just to talk to information. Come to find out that the grounds crew had gone on strike that very afternoon and no flights were leaving the airport for the rest of the night.

Traveling always has some adventure to it, but I now have more experience with the adventures of traveling in Europe. My weekend started with a planned getaway to London for a little rest and relaxation with some friends. They were flying in from Amsterdam and I was going to fly from here in Budapest to meet them. I packed my things and headed out to the airport for a 9pm flight into London.

When I arrived at the airport I looked at the board to tell me where to check in and saw that my flight had been cancelled. Dismayed I walked to the information counter to find out why and what I needed to do to get on the next flight. Well I knew something was up when I joined a very long line just to talk to information. Come to find out that the grounds crew had gone on strike that very afternoon and no flights were leaving the airport for the rest of the night.

As I was trying to figure out what to do I noticed there was a man running around who seemed to be in charge he told us to wait around for a little bit in case something changed. So I grabbed my book and a place on the ground and waited. About a half hour later the flight was reinstated with a two hour delay. At this point I am scrambling to find the phone numbers for my friends to let them know I would be late and to wait at the airport for me since I had no idea where we were staying. (We were going to take a taxi together to our lodging at my friend’s family).

Again I am sitting around waiting for the flight to check-in and for them to list which line we would check in at. Then minutes later the flight comes up as cancelled again. Every one runs to get into the information line to get on the next flight. While standing there the truth comes out that there will be no more flights until Sunday (the day I was to return) because of the strike. I also find out that the plane decided to land in Bratislava, Slovakia because of the issue with the ground crew.

Disappointed, sad but thankful I was not stranded in a strange city like so many others that evening I headed home. So frustrated I went to sleep thinking my vacation was over and very short lived.

The next morning I awoke and my roommate Lauren asked what happened finally, I had been calling her the previous evening from the airport to get phone numbers and information. Once I recounted my ordeal she said well lets go someplace else. So off we went to the train station to see where we could visit. Prague it was. We got our tickets and were off the next day for a couple of days of sightseeing in Prague.

So Saturday we took the night train to Prague and arrived at 6am on Sunday morning. Taking the sleeper car I got maybe 2 hours sleep but was able to rest and at least not worry about having my things stolen. It is actually quite nice with beds and even a little sink.

Prague was beautiful and a fun city to explore. Since it was Easter when we arrived we found an International Church for service. It was a place that many missionary families attend so that was fun. The rest of the day and evening was spent seeing the sights of the city.

The next day at breakfast we checked out the train schedule for the day and saw that a train was leaving at 3:30pm and the next was not until 11pm that night. So we opted for the earlier train.

The rest of the day was spent exploring more of the city and buying souvenirs. We arrived at the train station tired but having enjoyed a great trip to Prague. Little did we know of more adventures ahead of us.

The first part of the train ride was uneventful. But as we were approaching Bratislava, Slovakia our tickets were again checked and the agent said that our tickets were not valid and we had to get off the train in Bratislava. Through much confusion we finally understood that because we did not go through a town called Rajka (6km away) as we did on the first trip we could not continue through this route to Budapest. Very frustrated and still not quite understanding we quickly grab our stuff and get off the train. We ran to the ticket window to find out about getting the next train to Budapest and are told there is not one. Trying a second window we are told that there is one leaving in an hour. So thanks to MasterCard we purchase two tickets. Then the agent says no that the train does not leave until the next morning. So we have to get money back for the tickets and we rush off to find the bus station.

We figure out what bus to take from the train station to the bus station and arrive there to find that we had missed the last bus to Budapest by ten minutes. At this point it is 8:30pm and everything in the bus station was closed. (Easter Monday is a holiday in Europe, so everything closed early or completely).

Stranded in Bratislava we called back to Budapest to see if our friends could find out if there were any other trains leaving that night. Thankfully they had friends who lived in Bratislava and they called them. Brian and Gigi graciously allowed us to come and stay with them for the night and get a train the next morning. We jumped into a taxi and had just enough cash to get out to their house.

The next morning we arrived at the train station and again bought two more tickets to Budapest and then arrived back here safe and sound and extremely tired.

Whew! Now I know more about train travel in Europe. It is easy and challenging all at the same time. I am glad I am now back “home”.

Standing on the Charles Bridge

The Sleeper Car

Lauren enjoying our huge dinner on Sunday night.