Tag: travel
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Cluj-Napoca, a little known gem of Romania
We chose Cluj-Napoca for our last overnight in Romania as it has a good train connections to Budapest and Vienna. There is a delightful sleeper train in which dogs can travel in the sleeping car if you book a whole compartment. See below. Cluj turns out to be a lovely gently European city full of…
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Romania with my cousin, and a hire car
Romania is different to the rest of Europe, particularly in the South and Bucharest. Sighisoara is stunning, and the Torda Gorge gorgeous. We got rained out of Piatra Crailui National Park, so I will have to go back there someday. There’s a concerningly extensive infestation of Japanese knotweed in many places, I hope they can…
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Interrailing phone dependence: coping with phone loss, theft and breakdown
Phone dependence while traveling is a recent yet pervasive phenomenon. Here I talk about when my phone died and when someone had their phone stolen while Interrailing, as well as basic phone requirements. Interrailing on an open start date ticket is only possible with a phone app, Rail Planner. It’s a well thought out app…
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Romanian time warp
Traveling to Romania is time travel. From many young people smoking cigarettes, to hay stooks, to human train signals, to 3 ticket inspectors per 5/6ths empty train, to cash only small shops, to dilapidated brutalist architecture juxtaposed to 19th century ruins. My initial exposure to all this was in Baile Herculane, a spa town on…
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The intrepid Railway Dog goes to Romania, with some learning along the way
Budapest Kelati train station has a small number of long distance trains to Romania daily, to several main cities, particularly Timisoara, Arad and Cluj Napoca. Some go on as far as Bucharest. Several are sleepers (some described by the man at seat 61, as well as one from Cluj Napoca to Budapest not mentioned there).…
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Budapest underwhelms dog and human
For a dog, the Pest side of the river Danube has few parks, dirty pavements, and many oblivious legs. (When we returned a week later we discovered Buda is much nicer for dogs, full of greenery, paths and parks). The human found many things to look at, but the experience on the street is mostly…
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Bratislava to Budapest with a happy doggy hike stop-off on the way
We took an early train to Budapest so we could get out in the incised meanders of the River Danube on the way there, for a hilly hike. The international train between the Slovakian and Hungarian capitals fortunately stopped at the little station of Nagymaros-Visigrad. The viewing tower at the top is said to have…
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Railway Dog enjoys an overnight in Bratislava
The highlight of lovely Bratislava was a pancake shop, for both of us. Baspie was allowed on the high bench seat. He had a lovely view of cooking, which he patiently and hopefully admires. He loved his half of a peanut butter crepe. Bratislava old town is a delight to walk around. It feels safe,…
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Austria to Slovakia
Baspie the railway dog was again tucked under a table in his Nestbedz. I had a ticket for him from a platform machine, and my Interrail ticket sorted on the app for Graz to Bratislava. The change in Vienna was easy, with boards showing platforms and all on time. Austria seems a land made of…
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Graz – a happy stop
Graz was just a convenient inexpensive overnight stopping point near a train accessible hike. Yet it’s a nice place in its own right, full of flowers, pleasant people and strong signs of open mindedness.
Railway Dog 