Hungary – Walking without a donkey

Overland travel from Edinburgh to Greece 2

July 2023 Backpacking

Nowadays, I travel overland. This is a personal choice based on the disastrous climate situation in which we know, absolutely, that air travel contributes so much to the amount of carbon which is in the atmosphere.

The first time I went to Greece this year, it took me 10 days to travel back to Edinburgh from Athens, though I broke my journey at each place named. I went from Athens, o/n by bus, to Budapest via Belgrade – Berlin (bus) – Amsterdam (bus) – Hook of Holland (metro) – Harwich (ferry) – London (train) – Edinburgh (train). I announced on social media that I was doing this and asked if anyone wanted to do a Shiatsu-hospitality swap. I received invitations in reply, so it took longer, however I was able to renew friendships, give Shiatsu, see new places and much more besides.

It was more expensive, but more fun than flying, when I’m picked up and put down without seeing the places I am travelling through and am discombobulated by the speed and height.

Some people go slow because their body doesn’t go fast or because they have small children who wander and stop a lot to smell the roses. I tend to walk slowly a lot of the time, meandering and following my fancy, heeding the landscape ‘s call like psychogeographers do. You can’t rush easily with a huge rucksack anyway, not unless you want to rupture something.

It’s a privilege and a choice. I do usually travel as cheaply as possible, exchanging as I go where possible, and I giving up work to do it, hoping that I will find a way to live somehow. One day, who knows, my book will get published and I’ll make some money with it! In the meantime, I consider myself to be lucky.

There is plenty of time for rest, reflection and reassessment which is vital for a satisfying life. Instead of rushing from one place to another, there is time to look and smell and have good conversations.

Overland from Edinburgh to Greece, return.

The second time I made the journey, I went by train and ferry through Italy.

I bought an Interrail ticket: 7 days used within 1 month costs £352. In retrospect I suspect it was not worth it. It is a great deal of hassle trying to understand the system and negotiate the website, plus I turned into a Senior traveller in the middle of this period and they were unable to cope with that. It’s cheaper if you’re older or younger.

Day 0 Edinburgh to London

Edinburgh to London – the Northumbrian Coast

Edinburgh Waverley – London Kings Cross by LNER train (not included). Prices vary – easy to use website.

Day 1 of the interrail ticket: London to Paris

London St Pancras – Dover by South Eastern Trains (free) on time. It takes 30 minutes plus to walk to the port though there is a big Marks and Spencer food shop on the way (just a little detour) and sight of both the castle and the sea.

Dover – Calais by P&O (free) on time. Cost: £30 one-way, for foot passengers.

You can, of course, take the Eurostar train which is efficient, but to use the interrail, you must book months in advance. It is also very expensive and beware their promise of ease of cancellation and transfer to another journey. It is easy, but can only be transferred to a journey in the same direction, and is very expensive (a last minute change I had to make due to a bus delay, see below, cost an extra £130).

Calais – Paris Est (East) by SNCF train (free with the Interrail ticket) delayed

Calais to Paris through the train window

I stayed o/night with a friend – very many thanks for the bed and patience at the lateness of my arrival.

Day 2 Paris to Bari

The Paris to Milan journey is scenic and spectacular

Paris Nord (France) – Milan (Italy) – Bari (Italy) by SNCF and Trenitalia trains, all booked in one ticket, but BEWARE the interrail website did not allow enough time to cross from one side of Milan to the other, so I missed the connection. Remember to check! There is a Last Minute Ticket Booth at Milan and after quite a time in the queue, the woman managed to book me onto the later train without charging me a second seat booking fare, for which I was immensely grateful.

What you could do in Milan – bask in the sun, fill up your water bottle using the safe fountain in the square outside the station, eat a tuna salad at the Pizzeria near the station (good salad, stale bread, patchy service).

The Milan to Bari train also has great views, especially the second half which travels down the coast

There are industrial attractions on the Milan to Bari route too

The Movida Blablabla hostel, Bari, Italy

I recommend Movida Blablabla, a hostel for E35 in a 6-bed all-female dorm. They accepted my very late arrival (after midnight) when I explained that it was due to the train delay though they did ask for €10 extra initially. +kitchen, dining room decor, better than normal toilets and shower (hand-held in the bath). – only the usual heat and noise from a dorm sleeping situation.

Day 3: Bari, Italy to Igoumenitsa, Greece

There was a repeat of the previous difficulties in finding the right booking office to transform your online ticket into a paper one (see Overland travel from Edinburgh to Greece 1). It was even worse this time as I hiked in seriously hot sun (despite the early time) and I walked for 1.5 hours and then had to go part way back. There is a free shuttle bus from the Albanian ticket office to the Greek one, but it’s hard to find out when it comes. There’s also a little cafe and toilets very near the Albanian ticket office in the port, but otherwise it’s a great big car park with no pavements. Though the ferry leaves at lunchtime (the summer timetable has a Sunday crossing), there was no time for sight-seeing in the morning. Instead of walking, you could look for a bus from the centre of Bari to the enormous port.

This is the building you are looking for in Bari, Italy, to get the boat to Igoumenitsa, Greece

Bari – Igoumenitsa by boat with Superfast Ferries. The outgoing route was paid via Interrail, the return not, as the over 60s fare was cheaper. Severely delayed. I booked a Deck Seat (you have to book somewhere – note that cabins work out as more than a posh cruise ticket!). Deck seats are not on deck, they are inside. A shower (not clean) is available – ask at reception and a man will take you there with the key and wait until you finish. There is a cafe with stressed staff and 2 restaurants which open later: one self-service (decent prices), and one other.

Sunset from the Bari to Igoumenitsa Ferry. I didn’t see a whale, nor a dolphin

In Igoumenitsa, I stayed overnight at Maria’s rooms CHANTZARA SPYROPOULOS Flats to Let-City Center via booking.com. I don’t like the site (I had a bad experience that was never addressed in Finistere and there is excessive advertising) but they have a monopoly. Remember to check every detail you can think of and read the reviews before booking. Cost €45.57 +kitchen balcony clean, has Wi-Fi. – when I arrived there was no-one there and although it was clearly marked I couldn’t initially find it in the dark and was slightly discombobulated. The host arrived soon afterwards. He was understanding re. my late arrival, but it was awkward.

Day 4: Igoumenitsa to Psarades

At this juncture I realised that I had made a big mistake thinking that Ionanina was an alternative name for Igoumenitsa. It seems really stupid now, but I didn’t doubt and so didn’t think to check. This meant that I had to take a bus to Ioannina and there aren’t that many so the woman who was kindly driving me from there to Psarades had to wait for me and we were both late arriving as a result. I was so embarrassed by the situation that I went into shops in Igoumenitsa asking if anyone knew how I could get there more quickly, having visions of myself travelling in a fish delivery van or something, but to no avail. Thank you so much to Korina for her kind acceptance of the situation and the great conversation during the journey.

There is a very nice, cool bar opposite the Igoumenitsa bus station. Note: it’s an uphill walk from town.

Western Macedonia

View of Lake Prespa from Psarades village

I was in Greece for the Walking Arts Encounters in Psarades / Prespa / Prespes which is a very small village by a big, beautiful lake in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is surrounded by mountains and has lots of cafés / restaurants, a church, a small shop with gifts for sale, and some air bnb / B&B / hotel rooms. There is no public transport, but is a branch of the University of Western Macedonia (at the old station). Swimming: fantastic. Bird life: amazing. Walks and trails abound.

Return journey

Prespes – Florina by taxi. €75 divided between 3 people, but the price changes randomly and it is recommended that it be negotiated with the driver before he starts driving.

Filareti Hotel, Florina. A clean double room for €28, booked at the very last minute on booking.com. + bed, kind staff, clean, fluffy white towels, soap and shampoo, air con, location, balcony, Wi-Fi . – Drains smelly, no kitchen facilities.

Florina – Kozani by KTEL bus. €8.70 7am. Takes approx. 1 hour.

The alternative route from Psarades to Igoumenitsa is via Kastoria and Ioannina which cuts down 3 buses to 2. The taxi, however, is even more expensive from Psarades to Kastoria. Alternatively vía Thessaloniki – that’s a very long was round.

KTEL

You cannot book tickets online with a UK bank card and don’t bother emailing as they don’t answer. If you know someone who speaks Greek, you could ask them to phone on your behalf to get the times, or even possibly to book tickets. They are open on Sundays. See below before you do this.

KTEL buses and website: although the website translates some information into English, it doesn’t cope with English variations of place names or days of the week. D=Monday and so on. One way is to look up the place names with a translate app so you recognise them in Greek and then look at their drop-down menu. If you cannot find somewhere, that is probably because you’re on the wrong version of the site. Each bus station/place has its own version, so I suggest you put ‘KTEL Kozani to Ioannina’ into Google for example, and go from there. The same applies to their phone numbers: you must phone each individual bus station for the place of departure if you want information / to book tickets.

You may now understand why I suggest that you check how long it takes on the bus for a particular journey using Google maps and then allow an extra hour each side. Next, go to the first bus station and buy a ticket in person (everyone seems to speak some English) for the next bus which isn’t full, and so on down the line. Take (in other words) one step at a time, poco a poco. This is slow travel; there’s no point in going over land if you want to get there quickly; there are too many variables. Until all the different countries decide to co-operate and work out a way to make an efficient website which allows us to book all of this, it will be SLOW!

Note: there are no phone chargers, toilets or WiFi on KTEL buses as far as I can tell. They do stop to let folk on/off so if you were desperate they might oblige.

Kozani – Ioannina by KTEL bus €20.40 10.45 am. Takes approx. 1.5 hours. Lunch in Ioannina (see below) opposite the bus station (a kebab place: Greek salad, good wholemeal bread, a beer and a very clean WC.)

Ionanina – Igoumenitsa by KTEL bus €9.80 14.15 (2.15pm). Takes approx. 1 hour 45 mins. I arrived far too early (8 hours) for the midnight ferry, although remember that you need to book-in for the ferry early – see your ticket email for details.

There is good ferry port info. for Igoumenitsa (and more) here.

Superfast ferry from Igoumenitsa, Greece to Bari, Italy. Frecciarossa train from Bari to Milan, Italy

If you are also travelling overland in Europe, rather than flying, and have information you’d like to share, please add a comment below.

Hungary

Budapest on foot

Budapest is a city of contradictions: of dilapidation and shiny surfaces; of slow, leafy suburbs and frantic roundabouts; of climbing frames for dogs, vending machines for books, fast food and deliciously prepared brunch, kindness and dismissal, a really great synagogue and more than one scary-to-walk-over bridge. I came across all this by simply walking.

There are many blogs about the tourist sights of this Hungarian capital city, so I will try not to repeat too much. (You will find some of the links below.) I came by bus from Athens, overnight, arriving half a day late due to a five-hour delay at the Serbian border (I’m told it’s to do with gangs and cigarette smuggling). I came and went a few times, but despite that I saw a fair amount of the place in quite a short time.

Budapest-keleti, the main train station. To book tickets, go to MAV direct. The website is slightly annoying, but workable, and is also in English

As a UK pedestrian, I had to keep reminding myself to look left before stepping off the pavement, and to beware motorbike and bicycle food delivery guys as they come upon you (often on the pavement) from behind, unexpectedly. I walked everywhere, from bus station to hostel to train station to a different hostel, and so on, meaning that I saw outlying as well as central areas. However, I’ll start with the more famous middle.

Liberty / Freedom Hill, Budapest, Hungary

Budapest sits either side of the River Danube which you can walk along, but don’t think Paris and the Seine, nor even London and parts of the Thames, as it’s bordered by busy roads and tram/train lines. I stayed at two cut-price hostels: The Heart of Budapest on Dohány útca (street) and the Maverick Urban on Lónyay utca. Because they are cheap, they are both east of the waterway which divides Pest (where I was) from Buda and Óbuda. It is worth knowing that Pest is the party side and Buda the quieter, sight-seeing part (more about the hostels below).

Szabadság hid or Liberty Bridge and the Gellért Spa Baths, Budapest, Hungary

The Budapest sights and architecture

My first early morning walk took me to the near bank of the Danube from where you get impressive views of the Budapesti Müszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem (BME, the University of Technology and Economics) opposite, with its deep terracotta, mosaiced roof, the Gellért Spa / Baths, the Citadella Fortress on the wooded Gellért Hill and the Liberty or Freedom lady-Statue on top holding her palm leaf aloft. Between, are the bridges: the green (London Tower-type) Liberty Bridge with its golden crown, the Elizabeth Bridge (no, not our Queen, we don’t hold any sway here, for once, thank goodness), the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and more. I crossed two of them and they’re scarily high above the water. On one, bikes whished past my ear, and on the other there was an army of older men with white hair and beards cleaning its white girders. I got a light spraying!

The Erzsébet hid or Elizabeth Bridge with the statue of Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary and the Schoch-Hegedüs Villa, Budapest, Hungary

Some of the architecture is grand, not unlike that in Vienna (remember your school history and the Austro-Hungarian Empire?), with royal statuary on the external facades. Some is old, buildings which haven’t seen a lick of paint in a while, but are active. Look through the dilapidated outside, and there are green living quarters where children safely play inside.

Typical glimpse of courtyard hidden by what seems to be a derelict building. District VIII, Budapest, Hungary

Then there are the more modern places like the enormous Modern Art Gallery with it’s smart cafe, plus miles of half-built apartment blocks going up between the gallery and the bus station.

Ludwig (modern art) Museum Budapest, Hungary

Some, like the skating rink on the river bank, are squashed between older red-brick edifices. I thought it seemed to be sailing out like the prow of a great ship, leaving behind the huge bar / restaurant complex and shopping mall which flank it.

There are lots of turquoise church steeples in the Central European Baroque style; some Catholic, others Orthodox, and numerous other steeples, new and old.

The Saint George Serbian Orthodox Church, Szerb ut 4, Budapest, Hungary

The Great Market Hall, Budapest, Hungary

Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church near Szenes Iván ter, Budapest, Hungary

As an older woman alone here, I was struck by how numerous are the ‘sex palaces’ and other sex shops / references, and this was replicated in Siófok, a town on the bank of Lake Balaton which I also visited. I met with a lot of surly male responses to questions like, ‘Please can I fill my waterbottle?’ – scowls, disinterested shoulder shrugs, and turnings away without bothering to answer. A couple of times men just stood close by and stared for too long, but I was never approached nor subjected to anything worse than that. I felt safe walking around in the day and evening. Indeed, I witnessed the same sort of men being kind and loving to their wives. The younger men who worked in the cafés I ate in, like their female counterparts, were polite, very helpful, and spoke excellent English.

Hostels

The internal courtyard off which The Heart of Budapest hostel is. Find it on booking.com Budapest, Hungary

The Heart of Budapest hostel on Dohány útca is okay. It consists of two spacious rooms, one for women only (sadly, it’s very unusual to find such dormitories at hostels nowadays which doesn’t encourage us to travel alone), but you do have to go through the mixed dorm (4 beds) to get to it. There’s one toilet / shower for everyone, and a self-catering kitchen with small table and facilities (both moderately clean, not bad). Although it’s on a main street, it takes some concentration to find it, even with the detailed instructions. The room was warm, so the window was open, meaning it was unavoidably noisy.

Sculpture: Barbarian Struggle with the Romans, Március 15 ter, Budapest, Hungary

There’s no washing machine or drying area, not even somewhere to hang damp towels after a shower, though there is a ‘super’ quick launderette almost next door which provides automatic powder and has driers. Cost: 1800 Forint (HUF) for a wash, 700 HUF per dry.

Interesting relief beside the river, Budapest, Hungary

Currency – forints

Forints are the local currency – they don’t use the euro. At the time of writing, you would get approximately 427.5 florints to £1 stirling. It took me a while to get my head around the conversion.

A beautiful oak worth visiting on the banks of the River Danube, Budapest, Hungary

I booked the room late, so was with the men. A Ukrainian ex-soldier (retired) dressed only in his boxers, told me about himself – how things were so bad at home with bombing and children being killed, that he thought he might as well go touring, look for beautiful places, after all he didn’t know what would happen next (by which I understood him to mean that he may not survive into old age). He was very enthusiastic about the war museums he had seen, and he sat (uninvited, but friendly) on the edge of my bed to show me photos of himself beside tanks and holding guns in the places he’d visited. The other two were quiet (apart from snoring) and smiled politely.

WeHummus is very close to the hostel, an independent (sort of fast-food) place with cheap, good fare. I had an excellent chat with Adam who was serving, a highly competent high school lad who talked interestingly about history, politics, and Budapest of course.

The hostel is in the Jewish Quarter, very close to the beautiful Great Synagoue, and opposite Magveto book cafe (just drinks and snacks, but good to sit and write in).

The other place I stayed was the unfortunately named Maverick Urban hostel, and it is near the top of my list of good, cheaper places to stay in Europe. It can be found on a street corner with tables and chairs outside, and you go through the bar to the reception. It resembles an Ibis-type hotel, but that’s a good thing for a hostel because it means it’s clean!

Each bunk has a curtain round it, a light, and a phone-charging socket inside. The mattress was comfy, the bedding clean. There are big, safe lockers which emit quite a loud buzz in the middle of the night when opened (as does the door when returning from the toilet) with the key card, but they are also clean. Importantly for a backpacker, there is a clothes drying rack next to a hot radiator in the women’s toilet which is a few doors down the corridor. There was hot water. Bliss. The kitchen I used was very small – okay – and there was a separate table to eat at. My food was stolen from the fridge, which is pretty normal. Finally, there is a “chilling-out area” on the roof which I didn’t see.

There is quite a lot of Art Nouveau architecture in Budapest, Hungary

The modern approach to the stately train station, Budapest, Hungary

Petofi Irodalmi Múzeum – this is an historic museum of Hungarian literature with a lovely courtyard and garden. The cafe opens at 10am. “Sandor Petofi was a passionate young poet who during his short life (he died at age 26, presumably in battle) created an enduring literary work that motivated the Hungarian people during the rebellion of 1848 against the Austrian domination. His poetry continues to be taught and recited today.” (from Trip Advisor by Gabriel H, Bellaire).

Pocketbooks machine and free book library, Budapest, Hungary

It backs on to Károly-kert, the oldest garden in Budapest which has one of the city’s many dog playparks (yes, you read right!) as well as one for kids. There is also a Pocketbook machine (sadly there was no literature by women, although there were a few female faces pictured on the outside of stories by men, including Lina and Panni (YouTubers), Juhaksz Anna (cultural manager), and Eszter Horgas (flautist). George Orwell and Shakespeare featured.) Two men bought books while I was there, so it is used – a great idea. Beside it was one of those free book shelves where you can put your finished one (mine: an interesting but curiously unsympathetic biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning by Margaret Forster) and take a new one. There’s a map of all the similar places around the city. Unfortunately the city library was shut.

One of Budapest’s dog playparks, Hungary

I also came upon the lovely Bástya park (V District) next to the Pest city wall, squashed, apparently between office buildings, Budapest, Hungary

Beside it was a sign about the Towering City Wall and the Murder Chamber (in Hungarian) and it was established in 2022. There is a city history museum here, another good (children’s) playpark, and a great place to sit and listen to the fountain and enjoy greenery in the middle of the city.

Cakes at Portobello (Coffee and Wine) Budapest Hungary

I have always been an early to bed /early riser and so, once again I went for a morning stroll. When hunger started to call, and because finding somewhere which was open at that hour and was good for breakfast took me some time, I will share what I eventually found: Portobello (good title!) The green tea and sourdough with miso roasted mushrooms, sauerkraut and walnut muhammara were excellent. There was also an impressive range of cakes. Walking back to the Maverick with a contented tummy, I found a great barber who spoke English and kindly shaved the back of my neck for free (see below). There were other possible breakfast places (Mantra was one) which opens at 8am.

TimarT Hair, Veres Pálné u. 27, 1053 Budapest Hungary. Find them on Facebook

Some trees had colourful streamers flying from them. This was because of the recent Mayday / Labour Day (1st May) and it is traditional to have a May Queen and to decorate in this way.

Hungarian coat of arms – a white Lorraine cross with a crown at the base on three (green) hills

Budapest is famous for its outdoors street food areas. They are teeming with life in the evenings but quiet early on in the day.

If you don’t want to walk or can’t, here’s a link for travelling in other ways.

Budapest by Locals – history page

Budapest City Guide

Architecture, Budapest

Offbeat Budapest 10 best Ruin Bars

10 Weird things to do in Budapest

May 2023

Category: Hungary