Day 20
Location 4: Budapest
Nov. 20, 2022
12:01am | Somewhere in the Czech Republic
It's cold and dark and no one is around. "I'm supposed to get a connection train to Krakow" I plead with the lady. She cackles in my face, repeats "Krakow" while simultaneously rolling her eyes, and walks away. And she works at the station.
It's cold and dark and no one is around. The next train isn't for 5 hours. It's looking like I'll have to sleep outside at the Breclav station, a small town in the Czech Republic and a place I do not want to be. Things are bleak. Here are my panicked texts from the moment and Kelsea's sweet, but mostly unsuccessful attempt to calm me down:
Okay, let's back up. Here's what happened:
My train from Budapest to Krakow, Poland was scheduled to leave Budapest at 7:40pm. The route made one connection in the small town of Breclav, which I'd never heard of (but am now intimately familiar with). You can confirm my interpretation of the train/connection/schedule situation below:
The plan is to arrive at Breclav at 11:04pm, wait 46 minutes, and get on my new train that departs at 11:50pm for an early morning arrival in Krakow at 5:46am. Perfect plan. Really one of the best possible plans you can have. Right up there with I'm going to go the gym more on New Year's Day. Or I'm going to stop drinking so much when you're nursing a hangover in bed at 2pm on Sunday morning. Add to that list: I'm going to arrive to Krakow at 5:46am.
We pull into Lanzhot, the penultimate stop of the first train, at 22:49pm. I only have to wait one more stop to Breclav, make my connection, and live happily ever after.
5 minutes pass. 10 minutes pass. 20 minutes pass. Now we're late to Breclav. An hour passes. It's 11:49pm which means my connecting train leaves in 1 minute. Uh oh. I'm starting to get nervous when––all of a sudden, the train's engine starts breathing some life and we tip toe our way away from the station.
We pull into Breclav, the stop with my connecting train. Ahh, what a relief. I made it!
The realization only comes once I get off the train. There are no connecting trains to Krakow in sight. In fact, there is no train in sight. In fact, there is nothing in sight. Uh oh.
It's cold and dark and no one is around. "I'm supposed to get a connection train to Krakow" I pleaded with the lady. She cackled in my face, repeated "Krakow" while simultaneously rolling her eyes, and walked away. And she worked at the station.
I look longingly at the bathroom and consider sleeping there like that scene from Pursuit of Happiness where Will Smith convinces young Jaden that they're hiding from dinosaurs to distract from the fact that they have no other shelter for the night. Uh oh.
Like an insane person, I'm googling local hotels as fast as I can. Surprisingly, in the major city of Breclav, there aren't many hotels open at midnight. Huh, go figure. Wait! Here's one: Hotel Rose! Again, I'm relieved. I made it!
I dial the number. I hit call. I'm sorry, the number you have dialed doesn't exist. What is this, an episode of The Twilight Zone? I think to myself. Actually, I didn't think that at the time, I was too busy shitting my pants (only slightly) about my night's accommodations. Uh oh.
Eventually, I get ahold of Hotel Rose. The nice man (who lived in California for year–that's not important, just thought you'd find that interesting) says if I can get there right away, he has a room for me. I'm even more relieved than before. I made it!
My phone is opened, ready to order an Uber. There are no Ubers in your area. Those are the words the app used. But the screen might as well have read Where in the fuck are you right now lol? Uh oh.
Luckily, there's a single taxi outside. "Whew", I say with an involuntary sigh of relief. I made it!
I look into the passenger side window and the driver has his phone propped up horizontally on the dashboard while the nightly news plays on the screen. My gaze pans slowly to the left and reveals that his seat has been lowered to the maximum comfort position and he is fast asleep. Uh oh.
There is a 95% chance that if you asked this man his least two favorite things in the world they'd be (1) Americans (2) getting woken up. Sorry, bud.
After checking in and finding out that the guy working reception (the one who lived in California from before) was literally walking out the door when my call rang, I make it to my room. A smile containing my last few drops of relief finds its way to my face. I made it!
The day had actually started great. Some friends (including my McDonald's and bath buddy) went to an incredible market for lunch that was huge and wildly decorated. Then, back at the hostel, we watched Up and cried a lot.
This was a long one, sorry. Thanks for reading.
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