Latest Hungary visit

[neilmc]

Just come back from a 2 week trip to Budapest, staying in Budapest, Tokaj, Eger (the main part of our stay) and Vecses. It was superb, especially as my wife has just turned 65 so now we are both eligible for free travel on all public transport! However, on IC (intercity) trains a seat reservation booking is still required which costs about £1.50. This was a bit confusing, as a local journey from Tokaj to Fuzesabony required a reservation as both stations were on the long-distance Budapest-Debrecen circular, but Eger to Budapest on a swishy double deck modern electric unit didn't as that was classed as IR (Inter reggio). The timekeeping wasn't exemplary, partly due to the volume of single track, but we only had one cancellation, our final train on the half-hourly service from Budapest to Vecses. Everything was clean and well-maintained if a bit dated (apart from the Eger service), never overcrowded and the lovely thing was the courteous manner of the rail staff when viewing our driving licences in lieu of tickets, and being able to saunter through stations with no nasty misprogammed barriers and surly jobsworths challenging your journey. Even if you have to buy tickets, it's hardly bank-breaking compared to the systematic fraud of the customer in the UK. When our train pulled in to Eger, we didn't have to lug our suitcases down a flight of stairs but simply walked across the track in front of the stationary train, but you can't do that in Budapest! What a lovely country to travel in!