Get me out of Budapest before I scream!

Our bus left Prague at 6:30 a.m. that morning. The bus ride was uneventful and we arrived in Budapest around 1:30 p.m. We made good time because there were less stops going back to Budapest than going to Prague, but this is where our good luck stops.

We decided to take a taxi to the train station since we are not familiar with Budapest and didn’t want to spend hours trying to navigate the city. We hop in a taxi--the ride took less than 10 minutes and we arrived at the main train station. Easy right? Except the taxi ride ended up costing a small fortune! We reluctantly paid and went inside to get our train tickets. The man behind the ticket counter explained that there were no direct trains from Budapest to Debrecen. Ben asked, “So what your saying is there aren’t any direct trains to the second biggest city from the main Budapest station?” “Correct” was his reply. (It seems like nothing makes sense here). We had to go to a smaller train station a couple of blocks away to get a direct train ride back home. We said okay and then left. He told us to take bus 7 to the station.

We take bus 7....but it was the wrong bus...of course. So there we are standing in the middle of somewhere in Budapest, lost. Great, the one thing we had been trying to avoid happened anyway! We walk around a bit, dragging our suitcase through the slushy snow and trying not to scream with frustration. We end up walking all the way back to the main train station. Ben goes to the information office and asks them what bus we’re suppose to take again. This time the reply is 7E of course! So the first guy forgot one simple letter and it made us miss our train (and cost us more money).

So we leave the station again and this time get on 7E, which takes us directly to the station. We get there and exchange our tickets for the next train to Debrecen, which leaves in 45 minutes. As we stand there we vent our frustrations about traveling. It seems we can travel just about anywhere, except Hungary...and mainly Budapest. Plop us in the middle of a desert and we’ll find a camel, take us to the arctic and we’ll find a polar bear to ride, take us to Budapest and good freakin’ luck! We don’t hate Budapest, but it is not a travel friendly city for foreigners trying to come and go through it.

The train finally arrives and we get to our assigned seats. As the train left the station I put on my Ipod and the first song that came on was ‘Blue Christmas.’ It seemed rather fitting for the time. The train ride was uneventful and we doze on and off for the duration the ride. Once we arrive in Debrecen it’s around 6:30 at night. On our way back home on the tram looses power and we sit there for a full minute thinking, “Really?”

We finally get home and drop off our stuff and then head back out to get dinner because we have nothing to cook and have hardly eaten all day. We go to the mall for fast food, but just as we get there it closes (of course). We then get on the tram and who do we see...an old hungarian lady who seems to be everywhere we go in Debrecen. She likes to stare a hole into Ben every time she see’s him, and we can’t help, but laugh and think...”What’s next?” 

We end up at McDonald’s because it is one of the few places still open. We eat our ‘McAwesome’ food and then leave. As we travel the streets of Debrecen on our way home, we notice for the first time that evening the beautiful Christmas decorations. We sigh with relief that we made it back home to Debrecen and think, “Thank God we don’t live in Budapest.”