Well this morning we got up and ventured back out into the cold. Mary, mom and I went to the Christmas market where we did a little damage. I got this gorgeous hand-painted platter that I'm still figuring out how to get home because it is so big!!
Well here is the travel adventure (because I'm sure you don't want to hear anymore about my shopping experiences!): We decided to leave the hotel at 12:45, so we got a cab and headed to the train station. The train station can be summed up in one way: meat-locker. It was FREEZING. Literally the coldest place I have ever been. We thought we were cold before we walked into the station, well- once we got inside the building where the walls had also begun to freeze, it was unlike anything we'd ever felt. At one point Mary looked at me and said, "Well... I'm pretty sure I'm on the verge of pure misery." But because we crack each other up all the time, and there is nothing else to do, we just kept laughing and jumping around. The humor
was heightened as we looked around at the sea of baggage that surrounded us. Summation: 5 large bags, 4 carry-on size bags, 3 purses. We were quite the scene, to say the least.
The sign posting the trains coming and leaving the station did not have our train or any others scheduled to leave listed, so we started to worry that there was a strike going on. We set up shop in a small restaurant that was somewhat heated where we got hot drinks. Dad kept peaking out to see if our train was listed. Then, he came running to the table and said it was go-time! We jumped up, threw on all of our extra layers and gloves, grabbed our luggage, and scurried to the train where it was a team effort to get all of us on (as in two Hungarian teenage boys getting in one more cigarette before we left, and one Hungarian man who was concerned with my abilities to help my father lift a suitcase into the over-head compartment). We just sat down in our seats right as the train pulled from the station. We were happy we made it!
The train ride was beautiful with fields of snow on either side of the train. Today is the shortest day of the year, so we saw the sunset at about 3:00. The ticket man spoke to me in Hungarian at one point, which was flattering. However, I still had to tell him I didn't speak Hungarian (one of the few Hungarian phrases I know.) Pecs was the final stop for the train, so we took our time getting everything off the train. No taxi would take all of us and all our luggage, so we had to take two taxis. The one my dad and I were in did not want to take us all the way to the apartment, so we trudged through the snow to meet up with Mary and Mom. Then we helped carry all the luggage up to our third floor apartment. We are now all on our separate computers, visiting, listening to music, wearing warm and comfy clothes, and drinking wine :) It's been a good day!
No comments:
Post a Comment