It is Sunday morning and I already managed to get to Dresden. I am waiting for the EC171 train. Coming from Berlin, it will take me via Praha and Bratislava to Budapest, my first stop on the way to the Middle East. The train is very spacious and virtually empty and I check whether I accidentally boarded a 1st class coach. I am happy when I find that I am indeed in 2nd class and that I had not bothered with a seat reservation. If you can plan at least three days ahead, it is amazing how little you pay for these international train connections. The whole 815km from Dresden to Budapest only cost me 29€! The first section of the 9 hour journey is particularly scenic because the train follows the river Elbe which is cutting its way through the Elbsandsteingebirge.
Part of my travel gear is a portable fridge. It really is just a vacuum flask in which I stick a frozen gel-pack, but it does the job of providing cooling for my temperature sensitive medication rather well. About half way through my journey I head down to the restaurant cart, hoping that they have a freezer in which I can recharge the gel-pack. After some gesturing I manage to convince the guy in the cooking section that my flask is not a bomb but a device that my health depends on and he is happy to help me with my cooling problem.
Despite an engine problem somewhere in the Czech Republic we arrive with only 30 minutes delay in Budapest. Here at the station I will meet up with Ági, a friend of a good friend who was kind enough to invite me to stay with her for a couple of days before pushing on south into Romania.
For most of the 9 hours of the train ride I had all this space to myself.
Although the only goal of this first leg was getting to Budapest, taking the day train meant I got to fully enjoy the nice scenery along the way.
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