The first problem was the bus from Krakow to Budapest. I was taking Orangeways (Student Agency doesn't have a bus that goes this route), and my friend, Jill, had assured me that she'd taken Orangeways from Budapest to Vienna and they were fine. However, this particular journey was not fine. The bus was two hours late picking us up in Krakow. The bus station had no information so we were just standing out on a rainy platform for 2 hours wondering if all of us were in the wrong place. Finally, after waiting 2 hours a few people got an email from Orangeways saying there had been an accident and our bus was delayed by approximately 2 hours. The substitute bus showed up about 20 minutes later.
This put us leaving Krakow during rush hour, so traffic out of the city was wretched. And, the window by my seat...leaked. The saving grace here was that I was sitting next to a young Aussie guy (the Aussies, man, they are everywhere in Europe) who hadn't reserved a ticket and was only able to get on because of the delay. We talked most of the way to Budapest so at least it was pleasant company. He convinced me that if I ever go to Australia I should try something called a cheesy-mite scroll. I said I would, as I promptly crossed Australia off my places to visit list.
Because of the initial delay and compounded by the rush hour delay we arrived in Budapest more than 3 hours later than expected. We were scheduled to arrive at 9:45 p.m., but we actually arrived at 1:30 a.m. Here is where almost everyone on the bus was taken by surprise. Orangeways doesn't actually drop you off at the bus station. They drop you off at their own little stop across the street from the bus station. The bus station is kind of in the middle of nowhere. There is a metro stop right on the corner, though!
However, most of us had planned to exchange currency at the bus station. The bus station was now closed. Most of us had planned to take the metro to our hostel/hotel. The metro was closed. Small groups of bus passengers started to drift away. This group had decided to share a taxi downtown. That group was headed to the Buda side of town. That group had booked a place to stay very near to the bus station. This group was a long way from their hostel and had just (in the early 20-something fashion) decided to start walking toward the hostel and see if they could still catch a bus somewhere.
So there I was, in Budapest, in the middle of nowhere, with no money, no transportation, and (oh, yeah) no cell service (even though I had purchased a roaming package in Prague before I left). I had written directions to the hotel, but they assumed the metro would be available, and I had no money for a cab, and I was ALL BY MYSELF. As the last group got in their cab, I asked the cab driver to call me one as well, deciding just to wing it and hope I didn't die, get robbed, or thrown out when he found out I didn't have cash. I was assuming if I could make it to the hotel they would maybe pay for the cab and add it to my room bill.
As they drove off, another Aussie (seriously, they are everywhere) came walking up the metro stairs. He had gone over the bus station and metro to confirm they were closed. He also had no Hungarian Florints (HUF), and no idea how to get to the hostel. We decided to share a cab and he promised to get me safely to my destination. THANK YOU, CHIVALROUS AUSSIE! When the cab showed up he negotiated going to an ATM, paid the bulk of the taxi fare, and made sure I was safe.
Oh, yeah, I failed to mention that my throat got very scratchy on that bus ride and I woke up the next morning with a horrible cold.
So, the bus situation got us off to a bad start, being sick didn't help, and then I was stupid enough to book a hotel/hostel combination that required me to move every single day. That was really, really stupid. Although, both hostels I stayed at were horrible so I don't know if I could've done more than a night at each anyway.
And then to really finish off my Hungarian adventure, I fell and seriously bruised my tailbone. So now I was sick, tired, sore, and really very grumpy. This mixture of events actually caused me to flat out ignore something on THE LIST. Gundel restaurant - I was all set to go, but once I looked at the location (2 buses to get there + walking with a bruised tailbone), the menu (nothing sounded remotely appetizing), and the price (so expensive) I made the executive decision to not go. I don't regret it, either.
One thing I do regret is that I didn't get to see the shoe memorial dedicated to Holocaust victims. I thought it would be really cool, but I couldn't bring myself to search the banks of the Danube for it.
This is not the Marriott I stayed in, but as far as hotels go it is not a looker.
High water mark - 2013 wins the day!
One great thing happened in Budapest. The Marriott I did stay in had a rain shower head, and I had the best shower of my life there. I even thought that if polygamous marriages to inanimate objects ever become legal I will marry that shower and a Marriott bed. I would live happily ever after.
