Alexander Zhidchenko - Budapest – Bratislava. Hungary and Slovakia. 2 cities in 1 weekend

Photograph Alexander Zhidchenko

© Alexander Zhidchenko, 2018

© Alexander Zhidchenko, photos, 2018

ISBN 978-5-4493-3401-5

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Budapest-Bratislava

Two cities in one Weekend

A trip to two eastern European capitals – Budapest and Bratislava, is, perhaps, one of the most memorable trips. The desire to go to Slovakia and Hungary for many years did not give me a generation, and the key moment came when one day I found a budget variant of flight – airline tickets through Wizz to Budapest and back for only 11 thousand rubles.

Yes, the price for a lowcoster is not as low as it is, but given that it is often difficult in Hungary to buy a ticket for 15,000 к roubles, I was pleased with the purchase and booked an inexpensive hostel in the center of Budapest via Hostels.com.

After that, I checked the possible options for moving from Budapest to Bratislava and back for one day, and it turned out that the most inexpensive and convenient option is a train that travels just 2.5 hours, and costs some 16 euros round-trip. But I did not manage to buy it on the Internet, and I decided to do it at the ticket office at the station, thereby not having lost.

My trip took place on October 8—10, 2015. It should be noted, October is the ideal time to visit the countries of Eastern Europe, especially if you are lucky with the weather. When I was lucky with the weather, I can confidently recommend going to these dates for an unforgettable vacation.

Departure of my flight was planned at 10—05 am from Sheremetyevo airport. And then something interesting began!

When you fly the airline Wizz, be careful of their cunning rules. When I went to the front desk, I was asked for a boarding pass. By habit, I never print a boarding pass, even if I register in advance. Somehow I prefer not to bother. And then there is such a surprise – you need a ticket already printed, otherwise you need 2 600 rubles. In the same situation as I was the majority of passengers on my flight.

Not to pay this money there was no chance, there was not much time left before the flight. I already learned later that they had detained the plane for 2 hours. Scandal was also useless. And in general, my advice to all people whose rights at the airport are violated, not scandal at airports. The airline staff will call security, you will be late for the plane, and nothing good will end there. It is better to ask at once all the details, collect as much as possible all information about the violation of your rights, find out the names of the employees, and tell them about where all these materials will be sent, and what awaits unscrupulous carriers. There are, indeed, a lot of structures, where you can then turn to collect what is due.

But in my case it did not work, because I bought a ticket through an intermediary company – Aviakassa, which was supposed to warn me that if a passenger did not register in advance, he would pay a fine. So, Aviakassa worked very well – they registered me in advance for the flight and sent me a boarding pass with a window seat. Of course, the staff at the front desk knew this, but there was nothing to tell me, forcing me to pay money. I missed this letter with a boarding pass. I had to pay a large sum, but at the same time the place was not at the window.

You know, such events can often cloud all the mood before any trip. I think many will agree with me that this behavior of the airline is simply unacceptable.

In the waiting room, girls of the student sat next to me, and one of them called Mama on the phone and cried, saying that these two and a half thousand rubles paid by her were exactly half of what she took with them on the trip, and did not know how now to be.

In general, we put two to WIZZ on a ten-point scale!)

The first thing on arrival was to exchange a few euros for the forints to buy a bus ticket at number 200E and the subway. At the airport of Ferenc Liszt, the rate was rather profitable (as shown by comparison with exchange offices in the city).

The bus takes you to the final station of the Budapest subway – Kyobanya-Kishpesht.

It should be noted that there were a lot of passengers on the bus, almost all of them were carrying suitcases and bags, which means that there were very few places on the bus. We drove about half an hour.

From the final bus stop to the terminal metro station it was necessary to walk about 200 meters. I do not know with what it was connected, with a temporary repair or with a plan originally planned for such a route, but my first impression of Hungary fits into this distance.

Budapest Underground

The first sensation from the entrance to the metro of this European capital is “you got to Moscow”.

The idea of building a metro appeared here in 1870, and the first line was opened already in 1896, that is, 39 years earlier than the metro in Moscow appeared. Then it was the first subway on the continent.

Map of Budapest metro.

Source: http://think-differ.by/images/stuff/budapest_metro_map.jpg

Today the Budapest Metro iclude 4 lines and 52 stations, and the average passenger flow exceeds half of the city’s population.

What reminds in this Hungarian subway about Moscow is the rolling stock. Here, so-called letter cars of the type “Ev” are used. Today in Moscow you can see cars of this type, but a similar model of the “Hedgehog” on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya metro line. They are also called “Hedgehogs”.

Basically, as in most European pages, the metro stations in Budapest are the most ordinary. Somewhere tiled with some works of modern art, some elements of socialist constructivism, but mostly billboards decorating platforms, vans and vestibules.

I left the metro station at the central station – at the intersection of three lines, at Deak Ferenc Ter.

The first impression is the noisy, talkative, classical capital of a European country. The lunch time of Friday promised to see all the city’s vanity and everyday life in all its diversity.