We were sad to leave Budapest and had thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. However, it was time to leave and an early morning taxi had been booked to take us to the station. Just before the taxi arrived, we examined our tickets only to find that the train departed from a minor suburban station, Kelenfold, not the main station, Keleti. A quick consultation via the web showed that the train did indeed start from the main station but the next stop was Kelenfold. We thought this slightly odd but off we went in the taxi and upon arrival at Kelenfold we were relieved to see our train showing on the departures board. Kelenfold is truly the Clapham Junction of Budapest with numerous platforms and a long tunnel connecting the platforms.
The station had certainly seen better days but we soon found our platform and were considering how to find out where the first class carriages would be - first class on this train was only about £12 more than standard fare!
Then we heard them - two "elderly" over large Americans in pink tee-shirts, trainers and shorts - saying loudly to anyone who would listen, in a very uncouth way, "did anyone speak English".
They, unfortunately for us, were also looking for the first class carriage and we hoped desperately that they were not sitting next to us.
They had asked a railway employee who clearly did not speak English and could not be bothered to try to help and as they came close to us Ray acknowledged our nationality. And as you can expect, everything was wrong, including the fact that English was not the national language in Hungary. As it turned out the LLW asked another employee where carriage 26 would be but we think he thought she was simply concerned about the platform of the train and so we, and the Americans, ended up at the wrong end of the platform until a female employee came out to deal with some paperwork for a freight train and we asked again only to find that our carriage would be at the other end of the platform. In any event we were broadly in the right place when the train arrived, about 10 minutes late, Ray muttering this would never happen in Switzerland, Austria or Germany.
We found our seats, two rows in front (or behind depending on which way you see these things) of the said Americans and I doubt that they were silent for more than 10 per cent of the entire journey. The husband wanted to order something from the menu, but he would insist on ordering it at 10.15 for 11. We think he even wanted to pay in U.S. Dollars, but the main discussion was about payment in what he called "huffs". He had not seemed to grasp that HUF was the short form for the local currency of Hungarian forints. To constantly refer to Huffs seemed very rude.
The fact that the train was late (and in fact arrived in Vienna about 25 minutes late) was another major issue despite the fact that they had originally had a good deal of time between trains. These matters can cause concern but the whole carriage did not need to know about it.
It is difficult to convey the horror and embarrassment that we felt by the arrogance, rudeness and ignorance of this pair. If this was a typical example of Americans abroad then no wonder so many people across the world dislike them! It really is such a pity because we know many Americans who are intelligent, cultured and very courteous
Finally, we left them battling with their luggage (and arguing loudly about which direction they should take) as we arrived at Vienna station and after sorting out a change of ticket for our train journey to Salzburg, we took a taxi to our Viennese Hapimag residence.
Gosh it was hot in Vienna. The residence is reasonably close to the centre and having checked in we wandered into the centre keeping to the shady side of the street where possible. We know we have been to Vienna at least twice before, but probably not for some time and probably not since tourism has become such a feature of European life. Vienna was teeming with people, of all ages, shapes and apparently, native tongues.
The centre of Vienna has some of the most amazingly dramatic buildings (what we would call "diva" buildings) in any European city. They exude wealth and "in your face" opulence. It is important to look to the skies since some of the most dramatic statues are at very high level, including warriors on horse drawn chariots on the roofs.
We had a light lunch at the cafe in the Hofburg, a palace we visited on our first trip for a formal dinner when Ray was working at ICL. After a short walk around we decided we needed a break from the heat and headed back at about 4 pm for a short rest. That evening we ate locally, opting for Wiener Schnitzel (what else!) although in the case of Ray this was preceded by two whole bulbs of roasted garlic with melted cheese and cranberry sauce.
The station had certainly seen better days but we soon found our platform and were considering how to find out where the first class carriages would be - first class on this train was only about £12 more than standard fare!
Then we heard them - two "elderly" over large Americans in pink tee-shirts, trainers and shorts - saying loudly to anyone who would listen, in a very uncouth way, "did anyone speak English".
They, unfortunately for us, were also looking for the first class carriage and we hoped desperately that they were not sitting next to us.
They had asked a railway employee who clearly did not speak English and could not be bothered to try to help and as they came close to us Ray acknowledged our nationality. And as you can expect, everything was wrong, including the fact that English was not the national language in Hungary. As it turned out the LLW asked another employee where carriage 26 would be but we think he thought she was simply concerned about the platform of the train and so we, and the Americans, ended up at the wrong end of the platform until a female employee came out to deal with some paperwork for a freight train and we asked again only to find that our carriage would be at the other end of the platform. In any event we were broadly in the right place when the train arrived, about 10 minutes late, Ray muttering this would never happen in Switzerland, Austria or Germany.
We found our seats, two rows in front (or behind depending on which way you see these things) of the said Americans and I doubt that they were silent for more than 10 per cent of the entire journey. The husband wanted to order something from the menu, but he would insist on ordering it at 10.15 for 11. We think he even wanted to pay in U.S. Dollars, but the main discussion was about payment in what he called "huffs". He had not seemed to grasp that HUF was the short form for the local currency of Hungarian forints. To constantly refer to Huffs seemed very rude.
The fact that the train was late (and in fact arrived in Vienna about 25 minutes late) was another major issue despite the fact that they had originally had a good deal of time between trains. These matters can cause concern but the whole carriage did not need to know about it.
It is difficult to convey the horror and embarrassment that we felt by the arrogance, rudeness and ignorance of this pair. If this was a typical example of Americans abroad then no wonder so many people across the world dislike them! It really is such a pity because we know many Americans who are intelligent, cultured and very courteous
Finally, we left them battling with their luggage (and arguing loudly about which direction they should take) as we arrived at Vienna station and after sorting out a change of ticket for our train journey to Salzburg, we took a taxi to our Viennese Hapimag residence.
Gosh it was hot in Vienna. The residence is reasonably close to the centre and having checked in we wandered into the centre keeping to the shady side of the street where possible. We know we have been to Vienna at least twice before, but probably not for some time and probably not since tourism has become such a feature of European life. Vienna was teeming with people, of all ages, shapes and apparently, native tongues.
The centre of Vienna has some of the most amazingly dramatic buildings (what we would call "diva" buildings) in any European city. They exude wealth and "in your face" opulence. It is important to look to the skies since some of the most dramatic statues are at very high level, including warriors on horse drawn chariots on the roofs.
We had a light lunch at the cafe in the Hofburg, a palace we visited on our first trip for a formal dinner when Ray was working at ICL. After a short walk around we decided we needed a break from the heat and headed back at about 4 pm for a short rest. That evening we ate locally, opting for Wiener Schnitzel (what else!) although in the case of Ray this was preceded by two whole bulbs of roasted garlic with melted cheese and cranberry sauce.
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