The Thing About Trains...

Due to the fact that I don’t have a car to drive around wherever I want, I am limited to taking trains. That is, unless someone comes to visit and they rent a car or we hitch a ride with a Hungarian friend. We have used the buses of the local transportation system, but they are quite inconvenient and its nice outside now so I can ride a bike. Yes! I finally have a bike! I’ve had it now for about a month and got it from a teacher from the school I work at. She got a new bike. It’s nice being able to go wherever, whenever I want. How American of me, I know.

It’s nice to know we can go to other bigger cities in Hungary by train. It takes longer than going places by car, but you can’t have it all. A few friends have asked if I want to drive their car. Unfortunately, driving a stick shift is definitely not something I’m good at. I tell them I don’t want to ruin their car. Automatics exist in Hungary, but I don’t know anyone with such a luxury.

Back to trains, it is still a little nerve-wracking for me to take them. It seems like I experience something different every time I decide to take a trip. Budapest has several train stations. I go through a Budapest train station to go pretty much anywhere else in Hungary. Sometimes, changing trains several times is necessary. Several stops will be made before reaching the final destination. Sometimes taking a free train to a station close by is more convenient for continuing my travels. Is any of this on the ticket? Nope. Most of the time, I am waiting for the ticket checker to look at my ticket and frown because I did something wrong.

Sometimes, when I just make it to the station to buy a ticket and literally run to the train that is leaving, I don’t get a seat reservation. It is necessary to pay for the ticket and the seat reservation separately. Doesn’t really make sense to me, but it is the way it is. So, once I get on the train, I wait for everyone to sit before choosing my seat and hope there is enough cash in my wallet. Granted, it isn’t expensive, so I’ve never been in trouble with that. None of the ticket checkers know English. I recently had one start to talk to me in German. Eh, my German is beyond rusty. It still amazes me how I can say I don’t know Hungarian (in Hungarian) and they continue to explain something in Hungarian… Thanks for listening sir. Fortunately, there is often someone close by who speaks both English and Hungarian (most likely a university student) who can clear anything up if things get tense. I’ve avoided paying any fines thus far, so that’s good news.

Here’s a horror story for you. I had a friend with a son who was traveling to Budapest. She had bought her son a ticket before hand and it was discounted because he was a student. To his horror, the son forgot his whole wallet at home when he jumped on the train. The ticket checker was having a bad morning and decided to take it all out on the poor son who couldn’t show I.D. for his discount, nor could he pay the fine. He was traveling with a friend, who offered to pay the fine, but the ticket checker would not accept it. The son called his mother, who asked to speak to the ticket checker. He refused, but after a second time, he took the phone and said if the son didn’t pay the fine before they got to Budapest (a three hour train ride), he would be thrown into jail. My friend had a family member in Budapest and called him to get his butt to the train station to pay the fine before her son went to jail. He made it (halleluiah) and her son, although quite rattled, could do what he came to do in Budapest. My friend found she could get a refund on the fine if she could prove she bought the ticket honestly with her sons I.D. card. The woman working at the desk gawked at the outrageously large fine and remarked that she had never seen a fine so big. I pray that this never happens to me. Although, I have seen it happen with other American students traveling through Europe. In that case, it took an hour to resolve the issue. I’ve also heard cases where people have bought reservations for the train but not an actual ticket. Yeesh, there just seems to be too many ways traveling by train could go wrong. Or maybe I’m just a baby. I’m sure somewhere there are very direct, easy to follow, instructions on Hungarian trains, but I haven’t found it.

I used to be one of those people who thought she could figure everything out herself. “There must be logic to this, so I’m going to find it.” But I’ve realized, it saves a lot of time, money and frustration to just ask as many questions as you can and get more information than you need. I don’t care about looking stupid or naïve anymore. Most of the time, I’m not going to see whoever I ask ever again. And many times, nobody seems to know the answer either, so I end up asking questions that nobody has ever had to answer or they’ve been too scared to ask it themselves. Sam and I found that we seem to look pretty approachable, so if we have questions, asking nicely and smiling will help a lot.

This past weekend, Sam and I had the pleasure of riding in a CAR to Budapest. A friend of ours, Bob, who coordinates our plane tickets came to visit Team Hungary (all of the MCN missionaries of Hungary) and we had a great time together. He came to Nyiregyhaza and attended a 4th and 3rd grade class. The students are always so excited to meet new English speakers. So if any of you readers decide to come to Hungary, you can join me! We hit up a lovely Italian restaurant before head to the Brauns in Györ, a town 20 minutes by train from Budapest.

We relaxed and reveled in each other’s English speaking company and had a church service together. Bob, being a pastor, lead the service and we had The Lord’s Supper together. He had to leave early to preach in Germany, but the rest of us made it to Budapest to enjoy the sun on our faces and the lively big city atmosphere.

The Brauns frequent a delicious Thai restaurant, so we had to make sure their gushing was accurate. It was. Afterwards, we hit up an ice cream parlor by the Budapest basilica that shaped fantastic flavors into roses.

I had white chocolate lavender and chai ice cream. I wasn’t disappointed. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our friends. We hopped on a train back to Nyiregyhaza and here I sit in my kitchen thinking about the lessons I need to teach tomorrow. So, I’ll say goodbye, until next time.