On to Zagreb....

Where, unlike Budapest, they seem to know what air conditioning is and what curb let-downs are....

Would any trip of ours be complete without a commotion about the wheelchair and a train?  For this episode some background info.  We started contacting the Hungarian Rail company in January to discuss our travel plans from Budapest to Zagreb.  Every three to four weeks, another email sent, another acknowledgement, then nothing.  Finally about two weeks before we left we were assured they could get us on the train and we would be seated in the restaurant car but we would have to purchase the tickets in Budapest.  We arrived in Budapest, attended the international ticket office and after some confusion, purchased the required tickets; except the agent insisted we needed three seats in a compartment and one ticket without a reservation - OK, but we can still stay in the restaurant car?  Yes!

Today, they deposited us on the train in the restaurant car, 4 cars away from our compartment.  The train gets under way; then the fun starts.  The attendants in the restaurant car seem to have an issue with what we have been told; the conductor has an issue with what we have been told; lots of arguing between conductor, restaurant car staff, discussions with other patrons, etc. And me feigning all the while "I don't understand, I don't speak Hungarian".  They seem to want three of us to go to the compartment and laurel too (except she simply can't fit down the corridors, and if she could, would not fit in the compartment.  This all despite the fact the train is fairly full, the corridors are full and we are 4 cars away.  Then they want her to sit down a long corridor past the kitchen at the end of the car by herself pointing out the end of the train for 6 hours.  Finally a good natured English fellow arrives to purchase a drink and he speaks Hungarian.  More heated discussions and finally all is agreed we can stay.....  Much thanks to the kind fellow who was very good about the whole thing and seemed to think nothing of the commotion....  I guess this is normal?  The rest of the trip is uneventful except part way through we lost power in our car, again, just like in 2011 going to Prague, and didn't have any air conditioning, and it was 38+ degrees in the jolly tin can.  I managed to stay hydrated and sane with a steady supply of cold beer. The girls held up well through all of this and the 2K walk to the hotel in Zagreb; it had cooled down to a humid 35 in the evening..... G-nite!