A train journey to Budapest

Travelling via train in the Balkans is not really a recommended transport option. It is notoriously slow, rundown and just generally has a bad rap. When considered my options to getting from Belgrade to Budapest the only bus option was leaving at 9pm and arriving at 4am – not ideal.

The whole reason I was travelling overland was so I could see the countryside. This would not be possible at night, nor by air. So I bought a train ticket.

We left Belgrade at 11:10am. We were a small team of only 3 carriages I think and it was packed. We had a number of random stops for periods of time, but I just considered it all a part of the journey. I had a packed lunch, so it was fine.

One of the things I have really wanted to see this summer is a field of sunflowers. Guess what? I got my wish! Sort of. All the way from Belgrade up to the Hungarian border were sunflower fields - thousands of them! It was awesome. Except that it was end of season and they were all looking down.

Also I really wanted to stand in the fields, but oh well. It was pretty awesome. We made two border stops. One leaving Serbia and one entering Hungary. There was at least a hours time difference I reckon. Border control came on board and checked all of our documents.

After the Hungarian check we got an announcement to say that we would be waiting at this stop for an hour. Why? No reason given.

It was now 6pm and we were going to be 2 hours delayed getting into Budapest. So I jumped off the train, along with a few others and wandered into this sleepy little town looking for somewhere that might be open for food. It was Sunday evening, the chances were slim.

However, after finding a couple of drinking holes we did find a random little shack that was serving pizza. And after having to use Google translate The Germans, Hungarian waitress and myself all had hot pizzas and drinks.

But making a random stop always had the high-risk possibility of someone being left behind. As time was nearing for us to leave the teenage boy of the German family went to find a bin to put their pizza boxes in. He was off the train merely minutes and we started moving. The look of the parents' faces was quite funny.

After a few tense minutes going back and forth, trying to get into 1^st class – the door was locked, and the train speeding up, we eventually stopped. And then the lad appeared. He had scrambled onto the first class carriage as we were pulling away, I assume. I’m not sure how he got through the door to us, but he did and his mother was very, very relieved.

When he returned our cabin let our cheers and claps. He looked quite relieved to be there. Nothing like being left behind in a random Hungarian town where no one speaks English. With our entertainment over, I watched the sun set and watched a movie. Ah train journeys in the Balkans are definitely an interesting affair.Read more