Train travel was east to the Village of Tokaj, near the Slovakia and Ukranian border. Track 2. Depart 1:35.
Our train to Tokaj, with green plush velvet seating, was full. This was the Rozsa inner city line and we had reserved seats. Young, old, ladies with pearls, students with backpacks, mother and babies...we all had our seats..and our techi devices. As soon as the train pulled away from the station the devices went on, in unison, like the click, click of cigarette lighters in the back of planes after take off 30 years ago in the states.
Within 20 minutes the conductor, in his blue suit and side pack, began punching tickets. Julie had put me in charge of all three of our tickets. (little did she know that my "test anxiety" can pop up when you least expect it.) I had the tickets firmly held in my hands so that I wouldn't have to go searching in my little pouch. However, the conductor, in Hungarian hand gestures, told us "you'll have to get off in Szerencs and catch a bus because something is wrong with the tracks." I immediately started fumbling for the little white piece of paper amongst my receipts where the ticket clerk wrote down all the towns we would be traveling though: Fuzesbony, Miskok, Szerencs, then Tokaj. Found it! Szerencs, the next to the last stop.
The country side was not unlike the states; the lush green farmland of North Carolina, striped with yellow ochre wheat fields of Kansas, with a backdrop of California hills, all under the big skies of Montana. Little red tile roofs sprinkled in clusters like confetti every so often indicated little villages, most with a church and a soccer field. There was no graffiti or commercial signage that I could see. That was left in the city.
Never-lest travel tip. Never make friends with a thief lest you find yourself penniless.
Consider making reservations if your want to have a seat.
When we arrived in Szerencs, the bus was waiting to take us to Tokaj or beyond. Then we had another 20 minute walk (which became 45 minutes because we didn't know where we were going) to Bone Vendeghaz Borozo Tokaj, Bethlehem G.u. 20, our B&B for the next two nights. Our modest but spotless accommodations were 200 meters from the town square in the village center and were run by a charming young family who lived next door. We found it by the green umbrellas just outside its doors on the sidewalk.
No comments:
Post a Comment