From Budapest to Neûchatel - 13 1/2 hours by train
The 6:00 am train from Budapest left 16 minutes late.
I told the conductor that we had a close connection and asked if he could phone ahead. Originally there were 18 minutes between and the train seemed to be losing more time as it waited at a station near Vienna.
The conductor told us to go to the front of train before Vienna so as to be closer to platform 7 where the train from Vienna to Zurich would be. Since we were the last car on a long train there were a lot of cars to go through. We picked up two girls from Romania on the way to the front.
Seven of us had to RUN with people cheering us on the way. I tried to hold up the Zurich train by having my bag block the door but someone else came to pull it through. Carole and Roy arrived. The door was shut on an elderly lady and the train left with her still on the platform.
Now, I have to hope that a 25 minute connection on a train from France will be on time on August 6. Otherwise I could miss my flight home. Hervé says that the only problem with trains in France is if they are on strike.
I told the conductor that we had a close connection and asked if he could phone ahead. Originally there were 18 minutes between and the train seemed to be losing more time as it waited at a station near Vienna.
The conductor told us to go to the front of train before Vienna so as to be closer to platform 7 where the train from Vienna to Zurich would be. Since we were the last car on a long train there were a lot of cars to go through. We picked up two girls from Romania on the way to the front.
Seven of us had to RUN with people cheering us on the way. I tried to hold up the Zurich train by having my bag block the door but someone else came to pull it through. Carole and Roy arrived. The door was shut on an elderly lady and the train left with her still on the platform.
Now, I have to hope that a 25 minute connection on a train from France will be on time on August 6. Otherwise I could miss my flight home. Hervé says that the only problem with trains in France is if they are on strike.
Comments
BTW, Toronto is 6 hours time difference from Wavre. So, just because you can see that my computer is on (I was dozing to the BBC overnight news), does not mean that I am up at 1 in the afternoon (your time). The sun did not wake me up by 7 am today due to the fog (which will lead to morning thunderstorms!).
Nevertheless, Alicia has mastered the art of how to smile so as not to give offense, if you are going to call so early.
In fact, from Innsbruck to Feldkirch, it was the same route we drove with Maureen and Ramsay in 1968 - except now the train goes on a level route mainly through tunnels and then the road went up and over the mountain passes with many hairpin turns.