Day 8 – Prague to Budapest by Train

Czech train from Prague to Budapest

We left Prague under overcast skies and a temperature of about 60 degrees. We had a reservation on the 9:42 am Czech EuroCity Slovan train to Budapest. This train was comparable to our last Czech InterCity train but with a slightly newer coach. Same 6-person compartment and we shared with several Czech, none of whom tried to speak to us. Then we had a very nice couple get on in Bratislava who spoke decent English and we talked with them the rest of the way. He was from Bratislava and she was Belarus and was working on her PhD.  It was nice to have a discussion with people who aren't just limited by the American point of view. They were headed on to Romania. The train stopped several times along the way at various points with no explanation and so we arrived about 40 minutes late, taking about 8 hours to cover roughly 360 miles. Arriving on time seems like somthing that never happens, but nobody seems to have any expectations of that so they just accept it.

St. Matthias Church

There were lots of hustlers around the Prague train station. Not sure what their con was, but in best case they are just looking for tips. One "helpful" guy told us  thetrain for Budapest always leaves from track 3, same place for last 10 years. We left from track 5. Another guy insisted on putting our bags on the train. I gave him some change and he said it was only enough for a small coffee so I gave him some more and he left us alone.

The train ride was mostly through freshly tilled farm land with an occasional orchard or patch of rapeseed with its tell-tale chartreuse color, a mixture of bright yellow flowers and the green of the leaves. By the time we reached Budapest it was after 5 and the we had left the clouds behind us and it was almost 70 degrees. It was impossible to tell Czech scenery from Slovakian or Hungarian. Even the occasional small town with its solitary church steeple looked the same. Only the lettering on the signs was a slight give away. 

Hungarian Parliment and the Danube

We reached our Hilton hotel on Castle Hill in the Buda section of town and it is in a fairy tale scene. It is right next to the beautiful St. Matthias Church overlooking the Danube and the Pest section of town on the other side of the river. The river and key buildings such as Parliament are well lit and reminiscent of Paris. Of course they like to call themselves “the Paris of the East” and who can argue with that.