This morning we said our final goodbyes to the crew and passengers on the AMABella. Our taxi arrives to deliver us to the train station Keleti Pu in Budapest.
The Station has a beautiful facade but inside is fairly grotty and of course everything is in Hungarian.
Because we stand out like 'tourists' we are an easy mark for a "porter". At first I said we don't need him but he was very insistent so eventually we gave in. We were quite a bit early thanks to the adventurous taxi driver.
Our 'new friend' who could not speak English took us to a waiting room and indicated he would take care of our bags and we could go for a walk around. No way was this going to happen so we took it in turns to stay with the cases and Liz as she wasn't moving either.
Our little Hungarian man came back to get us and our bags at the promised time. He delivered us to our compartment, loaded our bags and waited for his tip. The boys gave him coins at which he looked at and shook his head. "euro coin no good- you have notes Euro -euro coin not good" Milton gave him a 5€ note but he was still not happy. Glenn had a 10€ so he took that and the 5€ and the coin which he didn't want and took off!
On the train we have our own cabin with 6 seats, we all fit perfectly including our bulging luggage. It's air-conditioned and private.
The trip takes about 6 hours but it surprisingly passes quickly. Liz manages to sleep for a good part of it and there is plenty of differing scenery as we pass through the willages.
Our arrival in Prague is a little eventful as our 'transfer' is nowhere to be seen and when we do eventually find him, there is only one man and one car. He apparently came to pick up Milton and Liz 2 hours earlier! Weird when we are on the same train, there is only 1 daily train from Budapest and we are on the same booking number. He delivers us to our Hotel and returns to the station to get Liz and Milton. The Century Old Town Hotel is lovely. Great location and full of charm. Prague is a beautiful city from what we see in our short walk on the beautiful balmy evening.