A hot sulphuric bath

Got up and Mayumi was already all set to leave for another remote Hungarian town before she got an email to meet her friend in Budapest. Jeez, I thought I was making last minute plans, she was even more last minute than I thought! :)

As there isn't much else for me to see in town, I decided to head out to Harkány which is famous for the thermal baths since the 18th century for a nice dip in the chilly but sunny morning. Walked to the nearby bus station and paid 450 Ft for a 45min ride south close to a tiny little town/village off the borders of Croatia. Accidentally walked into the spa resort through the back gates (which was opened!) without paying and ended up been escorted by the pool guards to the official entrance to pay. Apparently the waters here have the most sulphuric content in Hungary and famed to be medically good for people.

After paying 1900 Ft which I found later that I was quoted double the price since I was only using the public bath area, I soaked myself into the comfortable 33 degrees water that smells horribly bad. Reminds me of the last and only time when we enjoyed outdoor thermal pool at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, only that this is not as good, and there is no special mud to apply on your face or body. As you might have guessed, I was basically surrounded by seniors and I think I was the youngest person in the pool until a little boy came along with his dad. A fitness instructor of some sort came along after and with the help of some very relaxing music, began to get the whole pool into some chilled exercises and stretching, which was very well received by the crowd.

By 12.30pm, I was back in Pecs bus station walking back to the hostel to pick up my bag. Stopped by a kebab place Oazis on way to the train station and had one of the best kebab wrap ever (2nd only to those that I had in Istanbul), and only costs 550 Ft - highly recommended! Bought a train ticket to Zagreb for 5180 Ft from a lady at the counter who took so much pride in her work that she was meticulously using a ruler to cancel out sections on the ticket above her extremely neat headwriting. Got onto a train full of students going back/somewhere for the weekend. Passed by large swaths of greenery as well as snow covered fields as the weather struggled to decide what it wanted to be. Stopped by a village called Gyekenyes, which was effectively the border between Hungary and Croatia. Waited for my connecting train for an hour and half before boarding the final train to Zagreb. Had my first passport stamps by the border guards as they inspected the train with the huge guns and dogs! I guess the "rotten eggs" smell from my thermal bath played a part to turn the dog away immediately!

Arrived into Zagreb half an hour later than original due to the long checks at the borders and spent another 30 min before getting to Hobo Bear Hostel which was in the intersection of the Upper and Lower Zagreb, about 800m away from the main Trg Jelacica Square. A bunch of backpackers from down under taking advantage of the 10 KN (€1 = 7.5 KN) local beer during Friday happy hours. Paid my outstanding for the 1 night stay and dropped my backpack off in the room before shooting out for a quick walk around town.

Surprisingly, it was rather quiet on a night leading up to the weekend. Unlike some of the cities that I came across, this was tame compared, which also means that there wasn't much option for dinner as well. Since it is expected to be a short stay in the capital, I did not want to draw too much kunas and ended up in a Italian place behind the hostel with a massively huge Funghi pizza, which did the job of overloading my hungry stomach, and not much else. No night shots tonight as the weather turned really chilly and felt like -5 degrees under the snow fall and lashing winds.

Following the Danube into Hungary

Got up at 7am, washed up and got ready to catch the 8.25am train to Budapest. Ashley looked at me with dreamy eyes when I bade her farewell and trotted along to Westbahnhof train station under the increasingly heavy snow fall. Paid €50.20 for the train to Pecs via Budapest, which is the most expensive transport that I have paid so far. Bought a baguette and another bad coffee for breakfast before the train started the 3 hour journey to the Hungarian capital.

Many including myself before this trip have probably not heard of Pecs (pronounced paich), but this sleepy university town is due to take over the European Capital of Culture from Vilnus come 2010. As I have been to Budapest and my other option of going to Lake Balaton doesn't make sense during this time of the year, this town sounds like the perfect "stay-away-from-tourist" location for me on my way down south.

The train rolled into Budapest's Keleti train station at 11.30am and almost miss my connecting InterCity train operated by Hungary's MAV leaving at 11.45am. From there, it is another two and half hours over flat plains to the south of the country, beside the borders with Croatia. On arrival, you can really sense the "local-ness" of the place, I seem to be the only traveller carry 2 huge bags, let alone an oriental one that doesn't look a bit like everyone else. Booked a night stay at Nap Hostel Pecs in the middle of the Town central and it was a quick 15min walk from the train station.

Once checked in, was told that I was the only other 2 people staying in the hostel - so far, all the hostels were pretty much full, even Bratislava had more people than this! Tamas Szep (owner) gave me a map of the town and pointed out key sights that I shouldn't miss. After an hour and half, I was already walking along their "high street" looking for food to eat. I do feel that the weather is not doing any justice to the place as it should be very pretty come spring or summer. Stopped by the local supermarket to stock up on my snickers bar supply before heading back to the hostel for a rest. Tamas later recommended me to this restaurant cum bar called Traffic within a cinema called Apollo, which was just a short walk away. Had a fusion type pasta with fried vegetables and lemonade and only cost 1400 Ft (€1 = 300 Ft), so cheap!!! I didn't stay for the DJ gig that was been setup since I thought of having a quiet night after.

The Japanese gal, Mayumi, came back late in the night after going to Harkány for a thermal bath in the afternoon followed by a music concert in the university. Chatted briefly as she was struggling a bit with English but was so courteous and kept apologising when she couldn't find the right word. Found out that she is student in Tokyo living in Shinjuku and travelling around Europe for 10 days - she chanced upon Pecs as a place to get away from after she quarreled with her travelling mate in Vienna!

Some of you asked me why did I stop couchsurfing - well, I think with more time and planning, I do like to arrange for more CS but the need to find a buddy and await for their responses, the arrangements to meet up, logistics on staying in the flat, etc make it very difficult for me on a trip like mine as I kind of plan my next cities as I go along. I do miss the knowledge and warmth that a host can provide, especially after my 2 amazing experiences in Vilnius and Warsaw, but I do feel that going to a hostel might be the best option for a tight backpacking trip like mine as it allows me the flexibility of finding one that is as close to the sights as possible to save me time on travelling, as well as making last minute decisions on when to go back/leave.

Link to all photos from Hungary.

32 hours in Vienna

Slept it briefly after too much walking the previous day. Left for Weltcafe behind the Votiv Church from a breakfast recommendation by the hostel staff. Students seem to form majority of the breakfast crowd and there was an overall relaxed atmosphere in the cafe. The cafe prides itself as fair trade and has detailed writeups about its philosophy in its menu. On offer were various types of breakfast such as Oriental (which I think is nothing close to been oriental), English, French, Continental, etc. Ended up going for a Mexican version as it seemed to be the odd one out from the menu. After 5min, I was presented with a plate of scrambled eggs with nachos and bread - pretty strange combi although I have to say the eggs were nicely done and went well with the nachos. Paid €6 + tips for the meal and coffee, seem to be the perfect fuel to start the day!

Popped onto the tourist tram 1 at the corner of the Ring road, which used to be Vienna's enormous city walls and bastions some 2 centuries back before they were replaced by wide and tree-lined roads and tram tracks. As I have bought the 24hr day pass, decided to try out the metro as well which turned out to be comfortable and efficient too. Switched back to tram 1 again heading towards the creations of eccentric Hundertwasserhaus, the architect who thinks that straight lines are wrong and everything revolves around spirals - "we always walk in circles but never end up at the same place...". His museum was dull but his other creation, a social housing project was really quite unique although I will loath to live in there with so many tourists coming round to 'visit' you everyday!

Headed back to the city centre before taking a peek into the majestic Stephans-dom, or commonly known as St. Stephen's Cathedral where it has been perpetually under construction since 1147, much like Sagrada Família in Barcelona. This is the main square for the Old Town and there are loads of horse drawn carriages parked beside the cathedral, awaiting for willing tourists. Heading southwards, I continued to the Wien Museum which was celebrating 50 years of its anniversary by having a New York Street Photography exhibition by a group of well known shooters in the 40s to the 80s. Entry - €7.

Made my way back to the hostel for internet access to check the train and bus tickets, as well as a brief rest of my tired feet. "See if there are any coffee houses in here that interests you, they are slightly more expensive but it is authentic Viennese experience", the hostel lady behind the counter kindly handed me a "Best of Vienna Konzert-Cafes" guide. One of the reason why I did a detour to Wien was to see and soak up the smoky coffee house experience that is so famous throughout the world. As the sky darkens, I hopped onto the U3 metro and headed to the northeastern end of the ring road.

Prukel sits directly out the exit of the station but moment I stepped in, the smoke was pure overwhelming and stepped right out immediately. Not good first experience, maybe I can try out the next one down the road - Ministerium, beside the nice looking art nouveau Post Office Savings Bank designed by Otto Wagner. The crowd was a lot smaller in this and I took up a seat right at the end of the cafe before ordering a coffee and chocolate cake, which ended up to be 2 slices of the cake when it arrived - it was probably the last piece and decided to give it to me anyway. I can see why it is so charming when you sit in one of them and watch businessmen go about their daily dealings and couples sharing a tender kiss under the cozy lighting. But unless smoking is banned indoors, I will probably not be one of them, and I still prefer cafes that are more unique in its atmosphere such as those in Brooklyn or the few I chanced upon while in Stockholm. Still it has been a good experience gained.

Made full use of my day pass and continued on to Spittelau, where U4 and U6 meets, to see the last work by Hundertwasserhaus. This time on a factory with oil like bunkers and a tower to match. The wind howled along as I spent the next 30min trying to capture a good shot before making my way back to hostel. Chatted with a Korean gal, Ashley, who was doing an exchange in Bonn in the room who thought I was a rude korean guy after I ignored her when she said hi (in korean obviously) yesterday. Her english was rather good and we followed with some beers in the lounge downstairs with a bunch of other aussies, kiwis, germans and surprisingly many japanese after I offer her to check the internet on my laptop. Apparently, Koreans have 2 ages when you ask them how old they are, the international age which is what we all use and the korean age, which is always 2 years older than the real age. Seems like it is counted the moment they are in the mothers' womb, but still did not quite figure out where did the additional year or so come from?

By 1am, I figured I should I should just go ahead to get to Pecs by train even though it will cost me €50. The alternative was to take a cheap bus, stay overnight in Budapest before buying the cheaper train ticket to Pecs directly from Budapest (Any train journey is expensive from Austria, but cheap in Hungary). A friend once chided me for complaining too much on my last train ride into Prague and said I am unromantic and should appreciate the joys of travelling on trains. Knowing that I have quite alot of train rides coming up in my next road trip, I decided I should prove her wrong :)

From Bratislava to Wien

Got up at 8.30am today. Bread that bought from Brno yesterday taste cold and yucky. Did not even finish even half of it. Sky is completely overcast and looks like it is just a matter of time before the rain falls. The taste of the free coffee from the hostel taste equally bad and decided it is best to head into the Old Town to get some proper breakfast.

I read about the blue church which is very popular with couples who are getting married and will hold their weddings there. It looks fairy-like and you can understand why they want to hold their biggest day in their lives in such a special place. Walked to the National museum and paid €7 to view the exhibits - was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Slovakia has actually adopted the Euros, saves me the trouble of exchanging another country currency although the rates are really bad at the moment! I was attracted to the photography exhibition which was very similar to the John Novis one that was happening in Prague, but this was more focused on Pavel Bem who reached the summit of Mount Everest, and also the cultures and people of Tibet, India and Nepal along the way. This is the 2nd photography exhibition that I have attended for the trip but both of them are so inspiring and just makes me want to start climbing as well.

Headed to a local eating place called U Jabuku off NAM SP 24 for lunch, recommended by LP. It turned out to be just perfect for people like me who doesn't understand a single word of Slovakian words as you can just choose what you want from the food display in front of you, much like a self-service cafeteria concept. I pointed to some rice that seems to be fried with some meat and vegetables. Gesticulated at nicely fried eggs on a separate plate to add to my mixture before the lady behind the counter added gherkins and asked if I wanted the soup as well, which I just couldn't refuse. You can see why there are so many working class folks coming here when I ended up paying only €3.90 at the counter. Turned out that it was rather nice too, would definitely recommend to anyone who needs a cheap and cheerful meal.

Strolled my way back into the Old Town again (this is probably my 3rd time going round some of the sights) and popped in a few galleries along the way before stopping by the chain Coffee & Co for a kava. Convenient to find out that it has free Wifi too which I used it to confirm the timings for the train to Wien. Headed back to the hostel to collect my bags shortly after and made my way for the 4.33pm train. Gave €2 to a little gal who came up the bus with 2 other older girls playing some musical instruments even though I know that she will probably not get to have the money for herself, or worse, they might be using it to buy alcohol or drugs...

As Wien and Bratislava are only 60km apart (they are the world's closest capitals), there is a train leaving every half an hour, but alternating between 2 train stations. Was advised to head to the Petrzalka station instead of Hlava Stanica as the trains in the former are newer and they cost the same anyway. Paid €0.50 (the price is based on how long your journey is, minimum is €0.25 for 5min ride) for a bus across to the south side of Danube River. At the counter, the lady quoted me €9.20 for a single ticket to Wien and €10 for a return! They really take advantage of travellers like me with such pricing although you could try to get a return and sell it for half price to someone on arrival for the return leg!

The train seems to stop at every place where there happen to be a house standing beside the track as it slowly rolled along the flat plains. Wind farms can be seen as far out to the horizon but nothing much else. The only indication that I have passed the borders was when 2 guards strolled down the train alley, took a look at me, and continued their conversation in German as if I wasn't there. After 6 countries, I have only got a stamp on my passport, on arrival in Riga 2 weeks back to show, which is a personal disappointment. I wonder how do they manage the flow of humans with such open border policies. Anyone can just come in and stay for years and not be noticed at all.

The train was new and comfy as described and only had a few souls taking the journey to the Austrian capital at that time. After 1 hour, we rolled into Sudbahnhof station in Vienna. Got onto tram 18 and headed in the direction of Westbahnhof station to Hostel Ruthensteiner. Single trip tickets for all public transport costs €1.70 and you will be better off with a one/two/three days passes for much better value. Checked into the hostel in no time and first impressions were quite positive as the whole place seem to have just been renovated recently and it is still working on a new garden in time for the spring/summer crowd, probably to have big barbecues! The staff over the counter is especially friendly too and directed me to some places to visit in the night. Only downside - price. So far, it is still the most expensive hostel that I have stayed in so far in my trip - cost €14/night and there are additionals like €1 for the bedsheet, internet terminals, etc. Found out in the end that the whole city is expensive, so this is no difference. Was however told by the staff that the tap water was probably better than evian as it comes directly from the mountains, hmmm...I wonder if I should believe him about the quality but drinkable is all that I need to know.

Spent couple of hours taking in the night sights of the Parliament building, Rathaus (City Hall) and the Votiv Church through my camera before my stomach to 'complain' by 10pm. Stopped by Steirische Jagastub'n behind the city hall as It looked like a really nice and cosy restaurant, and was eager to try out some Austrian food. The elderly woman who was taking my orders was really nice and I ended up ordering a Gulaschsuppe as starter and Reindlfleisch as main, plus half a litre of Gossen beer, whom she said will go well with the food. Meal was really nice but I think I had too much and was struggling to walk back to the hostel in the cold night. Paid €20 for all, which is fairly expensive in my opinion.

My Garmin watch indicated that I have walked 15 km for the entire day and my body was really feeling the strain of carrying 10kg bag all the while by the time I got back to the hostel. After a nice hot power shower (it was really powerful, another plus point), had a brief chat with the Kiwi dude sleeping beneath me who was complaining about the most expensive Burger King meal he ever had in his life, €8 for a meal!!! It happened that he used to be working in London too before and is also doing some last minute travelling in Europe before heading back down under. At least his trip is nicely covered off by his redundancy package. Seems like the exodus from the capital is not only limited to the Polish...

Link to all pictures of Slovakia and Austria.

Finish with Brno, crossing into Slovakia

Woke up at 7am and made it to catch the 8am bus to Brno. Paid 200 Kc (ouch!) for the two and half hour bus journey through small villages and stretches of beech and spruce forest. The bus stopped into front of Grand Hotel, a mini bus interchange secondary to the main bus station just south of another huge Tesco (that's how the locals recognise it by). I stopped by the train station looking to drop off my 15 kg backpack but decided to carry it around instead to avoid withdrawing more Crowns.

Brno is the 2nd most populated town after Prague, just under 400,000 in total and the town center clearly reflects it. Centered around the old town, it is a mix of cobbled walkways with brand new shops catering to the more affluent crowd. Wanted to visit the Capuchin Monastery only to find out the it is again closed for Mondays! The Pamassus Fountain has interesting figurines of Hercules restraining the 3-headed Cerberus, watchdog of the underworld, as well as 3 female figures representing the ancient Persia, Babylon and Greece with a lady standing proudly at the top representing Europe. There is a nice local fruit and veg market which I duly refilled my 5-fruits a day recommendation :) Apparently, live carps used to be sold from the fountain during the good old times!

The Cathedral of St Peter and Paul stands menacingly from the top of the nearby elevation and is worth strolling up for a view of the interior. Head towards the main square, Nam Svobody, and try to find the stone figure of a man bearing his buttocks in the direction of the Church of St James. I gave up after 10 minutes, see if you do better than me. After lunch (a McChicken meal this time round, and NO, I am not proud of it), decided to burn some extra calories by climbing up to highest point in the city center, where Spilberk Castle stands, around 150m high. After much panting and first sight of sweat beads, I was rewarded with a good view of the city, not great, but still a good workout.

Heading back into Nam Svobody, I found a sporting shop that was having a sales and got a pair of Merrell trekking shoes to replace my aging running shoes that I was doubling up for my travels. It is almost a must to get one that has Gore-Tex label on it regardless of the brand, or other equivalent technologies to keep the feel dry. A pair of merino wool socks will complement it nicely to draw the sweat away and keep the feet fresh from everyday walking. The shoes cost 1900 Kc, about £65 or thereabouts, which is reasonable since the original price was 2300 Kc. Tried to recycle my old shoes in a clothes bank but could not find anyone to understand what I was babbling about.

After another short caffeine refuel at the modern gallerie shopping complex in front of the main bus station, I again had to run to catch the bus with almost 30kg of load. Paid 150 Kc (about £6) for a local bus to Bratislava - it is worth again to check with the various bus providers for the best quotes; Student Agency is based in Brno and offers a much newer coach for an equivalent price if you are a student or under 26. The driver asked for additional 20 Kr when he saw my massive backpack and had to resort to paying him EUR1 instead as I have used up most of my Czech crowns. Reluctantly handed him the coin so that I can continue my journey.

Within 30min of leaving the station, the bus had crossed an empty border station and I am officially in Slovakia. The landscape remained pretty much the same and was generally flat and cultivated lands along the way before the capital came within sight. After an hour and half, the bus rolled into the main bus station beside a massive and unique looking glass tower that seems house BMW offices.

As night fell, I arrived at Hostel Possonium after 20 min walk which I had booked a night for €9.90 in a 8 bed dorm. "As the hostel is not full, would you mind if we upgrade you to a 6 bed dorm instead", the lady at the reception asked as she recorded the details from my passport. "I'm definitely not complaining", I replied with a smile. Dropped my bag and headed out straight to the old Town, which was just 10 minutes walk from the hostel.

If Brno was small, Bratislava is TINY! I literally covered the entire old town in an hour and half, stopping to take some pictures along the way. But I like it this way, the cobbled streets are really nice, with the dim yellow lamps covering the stone walls and the hardly any tourists! Made my way to the restaurant recommended by the receptionist, but instead of having bryndzove halusky, which was potato wrapped with sheep cheese, i went for a more traditional broccoli pasta/lasagna instead. I did order the recommended drink 'Silvovica' which turned out to be some brandy which was REALLLLLY strong and I was almost knocked out after! But you have to try what the locals do right? :) Found out later on the internet that it was actually some plum brandy.

Headed back to the hostel after and it is the first time that the hostel is so empty since I started my travel. Met my dorm mates who were from Italy studying in Berlin and chatted with them briefly. Found out that they were also going to Wien tomorrow but leaving in the morning. Maybe we might bump into each other!

Link to all photos taken in Slovakia.