The Stress of Travel Connections

Wednesday, July 30, 2014--Kastheli, Hungary to Bratislava, Slovakia

Travel days are always a bit stressful.  But when there are two trains not running on schedule involved and a tight connection, they become more so.  Today was one of those days.

We actually awoke early thanks to a fly that had been in the kitchen and found its way into the bedroom sometime during the night.  I was so frustrated with it that I almost got a nose bleed swatting at it when it landed on the tip of my nose!  Eventually, I gave up and got up at 6:00.  When I left the bedroom to go into the kitchen to make coffee and get on the computer, it found Wes and started bothering him.  Within 10 minutes, he was in the kitchen, too.  So we had plenty of time to get ready before 8:45 when our landlady had said she would take us to the train station.

Our first train was from Kestheli to Budapest.  It traveled around Lake Balaton stopping at almost every tourist settlement.  It was 1 1/2 hours or more before it turned away from the lake shore.  We had pre-bought our train tickets and metro tickets for the day and had gone to the metro stops involved to be sure we knew where to go to avoid wasting time, because we only had 54 minutes to get off the train at one station, get on the metro, go 7 metro stops, get off the metro, and get on the other train at another station.  Arriving 15 minutes late with the first train meant that we only had 39 minutes to do all of that today.  That's where the stress is a factor.  But we made it.  Our second train was from Budapest to Bratislava and arrived 20 minutes late.  That was not a problem, though, since all we had to do is to get to the Saffron Hotel where we are staying.

Wow, Bratislava is not what I expected.  I thought it would be a pretty little city.  From the moment we left the train, it was obvious that I was mistaken.  There is graffiti everywhere.  Few buildings have been restored in decades, so there are lots of old communist buildings falling apart and many of the old pre-communist-era buildings are dark, flaking, and depressing.  Pavements are not smooth; sidewalks have gaps, cracks, missing cobblestones, etc., and streets have broken and slanted curbs and peeling layers of asphalt.  There are a few modern buildings scattered around, but even some of them seem cheaply built and look awkward set among the mess around them; the one that look good also look out of place among the other buildings.

The old town in Bratislava wasn't much different.  My first impressions were negative for many of the same reasons.  Also, there is poor lighting giving it a dreary look.  I almost felt like I had gone back in time walking down main streets without lighting.  But occasionally, there is something striking.  We entered the courtyard of the old Town Hall, and I felt like I truly was back in time--maybe in medieval times.  The experience was improved by the fact that a young man was extemporaneously playing pieces on the piano ranging from new age to jazz.  It was a magical moment--one of those travel experiences that makes one think how lucky he is to be there at that moment in that wonderful place.

There had been some rain when we were on the train, and the showers returned while we sat in a covered passageway there listening to the pianist.  When it stopped again, we rushed back to the hotel.  We have been having lightning and thunder since.