Well, I tried. I begged the coach office to put me on the coach to Paris..."look, I'll put on a big coat and sit in the baggage hold if I have to"...but it didn't work. I Googled flights, but the cheapest I could find was over 100€. I then went to the train station, only to find that there *were* trains I could get...but it would cost me almost 200€. So, I slunk back to the coach office, with my tail between my legs, and booked the coach to Budapest. Which is where I am now, in fact.
Once I'd done that, I had the task of finding somewhere to stay. My guidebook had plenty of budget accommodations...unfortunately I was unable to call any of them. I rushed off to an internet cafe and got searching. I eventually found this place. It's in the Pest part of the city, just off a delightful street of cafes and bars that looked really exciting when I was trudging towards here last night at 10:30ish pm. I was anxious about what I'd get, as after my last hostel experience in Amsterdam (where I paid 25€ for a night in a dorm full of men, sleeping on a top bunk with no ladder so I had to use the lockers to climb up, and once I was on my bed found I had no bedding or pillows so had to kip in my clothes with my bag as a pillow) I was put off a little to say the least. However, I was most pleasantly surprised. The hostel is LOVELY. The internet ad says that it's like staying in a friend's apartement, and that is exactly right. The staff members are lovely, the other guests are great, the decor is fabulous and the bed I chose (yes, I could actually choose one!) is comfortable. Last night I had a really fabulous sleep and this morning I was so delighted to be having a hot shower that I managed to monopolise the bathroom for somewhere in the region of half an hour. Ahh, bliss. There's tea and coffee available, there's a fridge to keep my salami and cream cheese in (cheapskate here has stopped restauranting, though I think I may just *have* to get some goulash while I'm here). There's breakfast rolls and stuff to have with them, and it's all good. Plus there's free internet, so I don't need to roam the streets hunting for an internet cafe.
Just to recap the rest of yesterday...
After finally getting everyting sorted out, I decided to finally see what Vienna was actually like. I wasn't disappointed. It was beautiful. Lovely buildings, pretty Christmas lights, lots of sculptures and all that sort of thing. I had another Glühwein (well, had to really) and roamed. I took many, many pictures and had a great time before heading off for my coach to Budapest.
The coach journey was only scheduled to be a couple of hours long and I was determined to stay awake for the duration. Of course, I failed, and I woke up in time to see people getting ready for our arrival. Handy, that.
I got off the coach and easily found the metro. Waited for the train, and was delighted and slightly amused to see that the trains are *exactly* like the ones on the Moscow metro...but with better decor ;o) Found the hostel easily, and then after a little faff around with packing and stuff went to sleep. For a good, long time.
Now I have two missions: 1) Get tomorrow's departure sorted out, 2) Mooch around this amazing looking city!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Walked in the cold air...
...freezing breath on the window pane...
Every time I hear Vienna by Ultravox, I'm always a little dubious about the descriptions used. I mean, surely it can't be that cold? Geographically it's stuck in the centre of Europe, and it's a heck of a lot further south than, let's say, Moscow. Still, it is indeed a lot colder than Moscow today: a delightful -4. It's a lovely city, although I haven't seen a lot of it yet due to the latest in my travel derailments. More on that later, however.
The journey here was...worrying. I arrived at the bus station in Münich with half an hour to spare, to find that my bus wasnät listed on the departures board and that there was NOBODY to ask. So, I waited in the delightful heated waiting room, and to my delight the bus arrived only 10 minutes late. So, I got on the bus, and found that there was nowhere to sit. I ended up having to wake some poor Austrian girl up so I could sit next to her. The girls in front were highly irritating and had their seats pushed RIGHT back so I had less legroom than an ant would require. I was woken up 3 times - 1st by the girls screeching in front, 2nd by the border guards doing the passport check, and 3rd by a stop at a service station, bizarrely occurring 20 minutes before we arrived in Vienna.
We arrived at about 5am, and after almost vomiting with cold I staggered to the U-Bahn, which was, mercifully, open. I got a ticket and sat in the train for about haf an hour, thawing out, while figuring out what to do. This eventually involved going to the Westbahnhof and locking up my bag, before taking another trip on the U-Bahn.
I was woken up by a knocking on the window, and turned to see a train driver grinning at me and motioning for me to stay on the train. Upon closer inspection I saw that the train was in some sort of station without a platform - just a thin strip for the driver to walk on. About 3 minutes later the train started up, and I heard "Gutenmorgen, schöne Dame!" over the loudspeaker. I sincerely hope I was the only one on that train...
Next I decided it was high time to find the Eurolines office, to book the next stage of my journey...
Hmmm...
In my guidebook, it says that Vienna has no less than THREE Eurolines offices. So, I decided to find one. I looked in the first location - the 'office' turned out to be a noticeboard. Number two turned out to be non existent, so rather than risk the other one in the book I asked a woman in the train ticket shop. It turned out that I needed to go back to where I'd been this morning at 05:00, so I did. I asked if it was possible to book a ticket to Paris, where I'm meant to be tomorrow - no. Prague? No. Anywhere in Germany? No. The only option is Budapest, which sounds fine to me but it *is* New Year's Eve tomorrow.
I don't actually give a damn about New Years to be honest - another year? Wow, what a surprise, didn't see *that* coming. A chance to get drunk? Like I'm teetotal for the rest of the year. However, I did want to see people and be in Paris, which is the one thing that annoys me. I'm going to look into train tickets later today, just in case it would be possible (i.e. cheap enough) for me to get the train to Paris via Germany today/tonight, but I'll see.
I'm now in an internet cafe, obviously, and literally just thought to put my phone and ipod on charge here while I can. That's the one problem about what I'm doing - it's relatively easy to get somewhere to wash (just bung a fiver in the direction of a hostel) and that. It's also easy enough to sleep on the transport between the cities (unless it's a well short journey). Nope, the only thing I've had any problem with is finding power outlets to charge my phone. I tried to pop to Starbucks yesterday for a cheeky latte and a bit of charging, but the queue was immense and people were waiting for seats after they already had their drinks. I swear one of these days I'm going to buy a pair of crutches so I can always sit down...
That's all for now - unless my phone's charge progress is so crap I will have time to write about my Talinn trip.
"The feeling has gone...in my fingers...and my toes..."
I promise, no more Ultravox puns. In this post, anyway.
Every time I hear Vienna by Ultravox, I'm always a little dubious about the descriptions used. I mean, surely it can't be that cold? Geographically it's stuck in the centre of Europe, and it's a heck of a lot further south than, let's say, Moscow. Still, it is indeed a lot colder than Moscow today: a delightful -4. It's a lovely city, although I haven't seen a lot of it yet due to the latest in my travel derailments. More on that later, however.
The journey here was...worrying. I arrived at the bus station in Münich with half an hour to spare, to find that my bus wasnät listed on the departures board and that there was NOBODY to ask. So, I waited in the delightful heated waiting room, and to my delight the bus arrived only 10 minutes late. So, I got on the bus, and found that there was nowhere to sit. I ended up having to wake some poor Austrian girl up so I could sit next to her. The girls in front were highly irritating and had their seats pushed RIGHT back so I had less legroom than an ant would require. I was woken up 3 times - 1st by the girls screeching in front, 2nd by the border guards doing the passport check, and 3rd by a stop at a service station, bizarrely occurring 20 minutes before we arrived in Vienna.
We arrived at about 5am, and after almost vomiting with cold I staggered to the U-Bahn, which was, mercifully, open. I got a ticket and sat in the train for about haf an hour, thawing out, while figuring out what to do. This eventually involved going to the Westbahnhof and locking up my bag, before taking another trip on the U-Bahn.
I was woken up by a knocking on the window, and turned to see a train driver grinning at me and motioning for me to stay on the train. Upon closer inspection I saw that the train was in some sort of station without a platform - just a thin strip for the driver to walk on. About 3 minutes later the train started up, and I heard "Gutenmorgen, schöne Dame!" over the loudspeaker. I sincerely hope I was the only one on that train...
Next I decided it was high time to find the Eurolines office, to book the next stage of my journey...
Hmmm...
In my guidebook, it says that Vienna has no less than THREE Eurolines offices. So, I decided to find one. I looked in the first location - the 'office' turned out to be a noticeboard. Number two turned out to be non existent, so rather than risk the other one in the book I asked a woman in the train ticket shop. It turned out that I needed to go back to where I'd been this morning at 05:00, so I did. I asked if it was possible to book a ticket to Paris, where I'm meant to be tomorrow - no. Prague? No. Anywhere in Germany? No. The only option is Budapest, which sounds fine to me but it *is* New Year's Eve tomorrow.
I don't actually give a damn about New Years to be honest - another year? Wow, what a surprise, didn't see *that* coming. A chance to get drunk? Like I'm teetotal for the rest of the year. However, I did want to see people and be in Paris, which is the one thing that annoys me. I'm going to look into train tickets later today, just in case it would be possible (i.e. cheap enough) for me to get the train to Paris via Germany today/tonight, but I'll see.
I'm now in an internet cafe, obviously, and literally just thought to put my phone and ipod on charge here while I can. That's the one problem about what I'm doing - it's relatively easy to get somewhere to wash (just bung a fiver in the direction of a hostel) and that. It's also easy enough to sleep on the transport between the cities (unless it's a well short journey). Nope, the only thing I've had any problem with is finding power outlets to charge my phone. I tried to pop to Starbucks yesterday for a cheeky latte and a bit of charging, but the queue was immense and people were waiting for seats after they already had their drinks. I swear one of these days I'm going to buy a pair of crutches so I can always sit down...
That's all for now - unless my phone's charge progress is so crap I will have time to write about my Talinn trip.
"The feeling has gone...in my fingers...and my toes..."
I promise, no more Ultravox puns. In this post, anyway.
Monday, December 29, 2008
A busy day...
Back in the cafe after a whistle-stop look at Münich. I had intended to get a City Tour bus, but as 'luck' would have it I got to the bus stop to find out that there were no more buses today. Worse still, I'd missed the last one by...5 minutes. Fail. So, I went to the stop where the *other* tour company was operating from. Seeing two buses, I stupidly assumed that I'd have plenty of time to grab a nibble to eat (I was pretty hungry by this point) and then get a bus. I went and purchased a pretzel with salami and a coffee, and went to the stop. Both buses had gone, but I thought it would make sense to wait. So, I waited. And waited. And waited a little bit more. I went for a walk to the Haupbahnhof back again. No bus. Eventually one arrived...and I was told that there were no more today. Inwardly cursing I decided to walk to the good places, but then noticed that the sky was turning a delicate shade of dark blue and, considering that this is winter, it would probably be light for no more than another few minutes. I thought quickly - dashing back to the Hauptbahnhof I bought a day ticket for all transport and then hopped onto a tram. I assumed that it would take me to the main square or at least to somewhere that was worth taking a picture of, as that's what my quick glance at the map and timetable had put in my head. Wrong again. I sat there for about 15 minutes, taking in streets that were, to be fair, pretty, and nicely decorated with lights and stuff, but not entirely unlike those of anywhere else I've been. When the tram started going down what appeared to be a country lane I knew I'd made a mistake. I waited until the area was more suburban and then hopped off. I visited a supermarket as I'm not anticipating a fabulous breakfast to be available to me at 05:30 in Vienna. Loaded with salami, bread rolls and cream cheese, I caught the next tram in the opposite direction. I did, of course, get off at the wrong place, so in despair and self-annoyance I ended up getting the U-Bahn (metro). AGAIN I managed to get off a stop early and, with it being pretty dark and me being pretty lazy I decided to just get back on it to get to my intended stop. Once there all was grand - saw some pretty buildings, visited some shops, went to the market. I was able to purchase my fridge magnet, and then treated myself to a huge mug of Glühwein while I looked in my Lonely Planet guide for somewhere to eat (I know it would have been better of me to just look for myself, but I was pushed on time!) I decided on a place, and hopped back on the U-Bahn. Clever me got off AGAIN at the wrong bloody stop, but luckily it wasnät far so I walked. Getting the number of the place wrong, I managed to walk right past it (after stopping to look in the window and at the menu and thinking, "hey, this looks nice..."). I retraced my steps and not only ended up back at the restaurant but also found the correct station in the process-yay!
I went in and was told that there were no tables unless I had a reservation. However, when the guy realised that it was only me, he said I could sit on someone else's table if I was quick. I happily obliged, and then enjoyed a plate of sausages, mash and sauerkraut, and half a litre of weissbier. Yum yum yummmmmmm.
I then had another little wander about before getting the train back to the Hbf. Thought I'd quickly check in here before I rush off to the bus station to get my coach to Vienna.
So, in short - I love Münich. I will come back. Hopefully soon. I shall catch my bus happy, sleepy, and, unless the effects wear off, slightly drunk. I'll be in Vienna in 9 hours' time, and will update tomorrow with the latest on my adventures.
Until then - Tchüß!
I went in and was told that there were no tables unless I had a reservation. However, when the guy realised that it was only me, he said I could sit on someone else's table if I was quick. I happily obliged, and then enjoyed a plate of sausages, mash and sauerkraut, and half a litre of weissbier. Yum yum yummmmmmm.
I then had another little wander about before getting the train back to the Hbf. Thought I'd quickly check in here before I rush off to the bus station to get my coach to Vienna.
So, in short - I love Münich. I will come back. Hopefully soon. I shall catch my bus happy, sleepy, and, unless the effects wear off, slightly drunk. I'll be in Vienna in 9 hours' time, and will update tomorrow with the latest on my adventures.
Until then - Tchüß!
On the road...
So, I finally began my travels yesterday at 13:30. You could argue that I had already started on the 21st, when I boarded my train to Tallinn, but hey, we can leave that for now. Rest assured I will get round to telling you about it later.
Getting here...
I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Münich. The weather is, apparently, -3 degrees today, but the sun is out and all the snow I can see (well, a partial dusting) lies upon the grassy verges and the island strips between the tramlines.
Getting here was an adventure itself. I boarded the coach at London Victoria yesterday afternoon at 13:30 as I already mentioned. I was expecting to be driven to the underground tunnel to get from Britain to France, but to my surprise and delight we ended up at Dover. I hadn't been on a ferry for years, so was pretty excited. As soon as the coach was parked in the boat, I rushed off, eager to explore. I was moderately disappointed by the diminutive size of the ship - I had remembered ferries being a lot larger the last time I caught one. Mind you, I was about 10. So, I relaxed for a while. Took some night time shots of the white cliffs, enjoyed a Coke, watched the dark sea licking the sides of the boat. Then disaster struck, and another side of seafaring I'd forgotten about reared its ugly head - yep, seasickness. Thankfully after a quick chat on the porcelain telephone I was feeling OK again, and made my way to the duty free shop where I purchased some perfume and a handy little bag that rolls up to fit in one's handbag (I hate the fact that my eye for practicality grows sharper by the week now I'm getting older...)
Anyway, an hour and a half or so later we were back on the coach driving through Belgium. Stops in Gent and Brussels, then a bit of a sleep was had. I woke up as the coach stopped at a service station near Aachen, just across the Belgium/Germany border. It was by now about 1am, and I dashed inside to a) Use the loo, b) Gobble down a fruit salad and c) Buy up about 10,000 litres of water. Back on the coach I fell straight back to sleep and was next woken up in Karlsruhe by some retard asking if he could take the seat next to mine. He was with his missus, and why they felt the need to sit by my seat (at the back of the bus) I don't know, as there were spare seats elsewhere. But...nevermind. They got off in Stuttgart, and then we made another bathroom break. Somewhere near Munich, the factions of travellers on the bus split and those of us going to Munich (god knows where the others were going) had to get onto a minibus for the remainder of the journey. It wasn't any old minibus either - it was the coldest minibus in world history. Seriously. The whole bus was just a symphony of chattering teeth. The driver tried to put on the heating, but as is usual in such situations it blew out cold air for the first 15 minutes before changing to warm. We finally reached the bus station which is right by the footy stadium (Allianz Arena). I'm sure you've seen it - it's the one that looks inflated, like some kind of big bouncy castle. Or like it's wrapped in a big snuggly quilted blanket. I think it's a lovely looking building, myself - it certainly makes a change from all the identikit new stadia springing up in Britain.
Anyway. To wrap up that part- arrived in Munich, at last. Got to the centre. Got rid of giant bag. Headed to travel agent to book the next part of my trip...and then I hit my first planning rut.
...Oops.
So, what I've done is bought a Eurolines pass for 15 days. It basically entitles me to unlimited coach travel across Europe. As many journeys, as many countries as I like. However, the one drawback, and what I just discovered to be a potential banana skin for my carefully planned itinerary, is the fact that except for the first journey (my trip from London to Münich), none of your travel plans are actually confirmed or reserved. This has to be done in the city of departure. I had assumed that I would be able to sneak aboard my chosen coaches with ease, as I wrongly assumed that everybody would be at home or whatever over the festive season. Turns out I was wrong. Very wrong, in fact.
I found the office easily. I waited for about 5 minutes, then explained to the lady that I needed a ticket to Prague, which *was* going to be my next destination. She politely informed me that there wasn't any space left on the coach, to which I initially (for about half a second) thought "shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!" before realising that in all fairness I'll have plenty of other opportunities to visit Prague. I asked her where else I might be able to go. After searching for about 4 minutes for different destinations, it eventually transpired that there is a coach tonight at 22:45 to Vienna. There was ONE seat left on it - which I took immediately. I haven't been to Vienna, either, so I am looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, I now need to plan how to get away from Vienna tomorrow afternoon/evening, and get to Paris for New Year's eve. Once I've done that, I can finally go and have a look at Münich!
Getting here...
I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Münich. The weather is, apparently, -3 degrees today, but the sun is out and all the snow I can see (well, a partial dusting) lies upon the grassy verges and the island strips between the tramlines.
Getting here was an adventure itself. I boarded the coach at London Victoria yesterday afternoon at 13:30 as I already mentioned. I was expecting to be driven to the underground tunnel to get from Britain to France, but to my surprise and delight we ended up at Dover. I hadn't been on a ferry for years, so was pretty excited. As soon as the coach was parked in the boat, I rushed off, eager to explore. I was moderately disappointed by the diminutive size of the ship - I had remembered ferries being a lot larger the last time I caught one. Mind you, I was about 10. So, I relaxed for a while. Took some night time shots of the white cliffs, enjoyed a Coke, watched the dark sea licking the sides of the boat. Then disaster struck, and another side of seafaring I'd forgotten about reared its ugly head - yep, seasickness. Thankfully after a quick chat on the porcelain telephone I was feeling OK again, and made my way to the duty free shop where I purchased some perfume and a handy little bag that rolls up to fit in one's handbag (I hate the fact that my eye for practicality grows sharper by the week now I'm getting older...)
Anyway, an hour and a half or so later we were back on the coach driving through Belgium. Stops in Gent and Brussels, then a bit of a sleep was had. I woke up as the coach stopped at a service station near Aachen, just across the Belgium/Germany border. It was by now about 1am, and I dashed inside to a) Use the loo, b) Gobble down a fruit salad and c) Buy up about 10,000 litres of water. Back on the coach I fell straight back to sleep and was next woken up in Karlsruhe by some retard asking if he could take the seat next to mine. He was with his missus, and why they felt the need to sit by my seat (at the back of the bus) I don't know, as there were spare seats elsewhere. But...nevermind. They got off in Stuttgart, and then we made another bathroom break. Somewhere near Munich, the factions of travellers on the bus split and those of us going to Munich (god knows where the others were going) had to get onto a minibus for the remainder of the journey. It wasn't any old minibus either - it was the coldest minibus in world history. Seriously. The whole bus was just a symphony of chattering teeth. The driver tried to put on the heating, but as is usual in such situations it blew out cold air for the first 15 minutes before changing to warm. We finally reached the bus station which is right by the footy stadium (Allianz Arena). I'm sure you've seen it - it's the one that looks inflated, like some kind of big bouncy castle. Or like it's wrapped in a big snuggly quilted blanket. I think it's a lovely looking building, myself - it certainly makes a change from all the identikit new stadia springing up in Britain.
Anyway. To wrap up that part- arrived in Munich, at last. Got to the centre. Got rid of giant bag. Headed to travel agent to book the next part of my trip...and then I hit my first planning rut.
...Oops.
So, what I've done is bought a Eurolines pass for 15 days. It basically entitles me to unlimited coach travel across Europe. As many journeys, as many countries as I like. However, the one drawback, and what I just discovered to be a potential banana skin for my carefully planned itinerary, is the fact that except for the first journey (my trip from London to Münich), none of your travel plans are actually confirmed or reserved. This has to be done in the city of departure. I had assumed that I would be able to sneak aboard my chosen coaches with ease, as I wrongly assumed that everybody would be at home or whatever over the festive season. Turns out I was wrong. Very wrong, in fact.
I found the office easily. I waited for about 5 minutes, then explained to the lady that I needed a ticket to Prague, which *was* going to be my next destination. She politely informed me that there wasn't any space left on the coach, to which I initially (for about half a second) thought "shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!" before realising that in all fairness I'll have plenty of other opportunities to visit Prague. I asked her where else I might be able to go. After searching for about 4 minutes for different destinations, it eventually transpired that there is a coach tonight at 22:45 to Vienna. There was ONE seat left on it - which I took immediately. I haven't been to Vienna, either, so I am looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, I now need to plan how to get away from Vienna tomorrow afternoon/evening, and get to Paris for New Year's eve. Once I've done that, I can finally go and have a look at Münich!
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