More trains – this time from Budapest to Miskolc, back to Budapest, on to Belgrade (Serbia) to Sofia (Bulgaria) – 24 hrs. You can tell I like trains!
Reality is – there are no direct flights from Budapest to Sofia – you have to fly back to London first and the cost corresponds with that silliness. I’d rather be on a train seeing the countryside.
It was apparent that Hungary is better off than Romania – stations in good condition, modern tractors, hard top roads. Many Romanian roads are still dirt.
Rail travel with a eurailpass almost always gives you a 1st class seat at the basic cost of the pass – that’s why they do it – to occupy 1st class seats. This time I have a lovely first class carriage all to myself with my ‘own toilet’ and adjacent to a dining car. What more could a traveler want?! 🙂 The only thing missing is wifi. Some trains have it but not this one.