Monday, January 7, 2019: Trip Summary

Today, I am spending the night in Jonesboro, AR. I should arrive back home tomorrow.

Overall, I enjoyed the trip and I believe I can speak for Gavin in that he did as well. Gavin was fun to travel with and he quickly became something of a mascot of the group. I was very proud of how he handled himself and his willingness to try new experiences. I hope he is even more excited now about future travels.

Accommodations:

The Golden Eagle train was very nicely appointed and well maintained. As I predicted, it was nicer than the US Amtrak cross country trains we have previously taken, but nowhere near the opulence of the Royal Scotsman. There were four sleeper cars, one dinning car, one club car, one staff car and the "generator" (engine). The train was electrically powered. It was interesting to see apparently all the domestic trains are electrically powered, even in the "remote" areas.

The Superior Deluxe stateroom was comfortable and the bathroom adequate. The dining and club cars were good as well. The only annoying issue with the accommodations was the unreliable Wi-Fi/Internet service. The company had cautioned that we might find the Internet services intermittent when traveling in remote areas. Whether or not that was true, we never found out because after the first day or so, we never had reliable service anywhere, even when in Vienna or Prague. The problem appeared to be a hardware problem. At one point, our Tour Director said they had changed a "card" and now had service, but only in the Club Car. That worked for less than one day and then nothing more.

Food, Comfort and Train Life:

Good food, nothing really spectacular, but it was good. Had several "first-time" dishes of local cuisine.

The train was not an overly rough or bumpy ride. There were a few occasions where there were sudden jerks. You needed to be aware of what "might" happen when shaving and showering.

Neither Gavin nor I had any problems sleeping. Overall, we were very comfortable.

Other than the black tie night in Vienna, attire was whatever you wanted. Both Gavin and I took a sports jacket and tie, but never used them. Several gentlemen wore coats and ties during evening meals, but we did not feel out of place.

Service:

Excellent! From the Tour Director to the room attendants, everyone seemed bent on making sure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves.

Third party guides:

Every excursion utilized a local guide. With the possible exception of the last stop in Kosice, Slovakia, these guides were friendly, knowledgeable and patient. The last guide in Kosice was not very patient, urging us to "hurry up".

Itinerary:

The pace was, at times, exhausting. We would return to the train and have a late dinner, get to bed around 10:00 pm with a 8:00 am platform rendezvous the following morning. After the New Year Eve gala, when we did not get to bed until 2:00 am, we got to "sleep in" and didn't have to be on the platform until 9:30 am on New Year's Day. As usual, no one had to attend all the excursions and there were several who did not.

Excursions:

They were all interesting and I am glad I attended them. There was only one excursion in which you actually needed to make a selection. That was in Vienna where you chose between visiting the Schonbrunn Imperial summer palace or the monastery of Helligenkreuz.

Weather:

What can I say? It was Winter in Central Europe! The day time temperature typically was around freezing. We had a couple of snowy days. Overall, we were very lucky with the weather. We had plenty of clothing to stay warm.

Air flights:

Flew Turkish Airline both to and from the trip. Both directions were non-stop between IAH and Istanbul, with a connecting flight to/from Budapest. We flew Business Class over and Economy Class back. Turkish Air is considerably lower cost than many of its rivals, but they really try hard. I thought they would never stop feeding us while flying Business on the way to Istanbul. Even the Economy flight home was not too bad, but I have come to the conclusion: NO MORE ECONOMY CLASS LONG HAUL FLIGHTS!!!

Group size and constituents:

There were 22 guests on the trip. There was a wide range or ages. Gavin was not the youngest. The average age however was probably in the low 60's. They were mostly from the US, but there was a couple from Australia, some Canadians and some from Spain.

Luggage:

I had a large checked bag, a carry-on and my computer bag. Gavin had a checked bag and his computer bag. There was plenty of space for all the bags in the cabin. Once again, I took more clothes than I needed, especially the business casual evening attire which I never used. No problem this trip with respect to overweight baggage costs.

Overall:

Ready to go again. I have talked with Laura and family about joining me on a trans-Siberian rail trip in the summer of 2020.

Saturday, January 5, 2019: Day 9; Going home

We end our journey with the journey home. We arose at 5:45 am and were down in the lobby to check out at 6:30 am. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant and had a shuttle waiting for us at 7:00 am. It took about 30 minutes to get to the hotel. The shuttle driver was insane and decided to ensure our last moments in Hungary were either exciting or, literally, our last moments anywhere. Before we set off, I had decided to offer him a 5 Euro tip. I did not do so at the end of the trip. We were lucky to be alive.

We had no issues with check in or getting to our boarding gate. The flight was about 30 minutes late in departure. There was a pretty heavy snow in Budapest and that probably contributed.

The flight arrived safely in Istanbul about 45 minutes late. The original schedule showed us to have a 70 minute layover in Istanbul. I did have some concerns about missing the flight out of Istanbul and spending the night in Turkey. We arrived and got off the plane ASAP. We went through no less than four layers of security and got to our Boeing 777 for the flight to Houston with less than 10 minutes to spare.

The flight home was uneventful and very uncomfortable. NO MORE ECONOMY CLASS!!!

I may have one more entry to summarize the trip. For now, I am tired.

Friday, January 4, 2019; Day 8; Kosice & Budapest

Today we begin our final day of the trip...short of the journey home. We arrived in the eastern Slovakian city of Kosice at 8:00 am. Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia. At 8:30 am, we met on the platform to begin our tour of the city. The weather is relatively dry with the temperature again around freezing.

It will be a relatively short day. The first half day will be in Kosice. Then we get back on board for the final leg back to Budapest.

We departed from the station by private historical tram and arrived at the Eastern-Slovakian Museum to explore its treasures including its collection of gold coins. These coins were discovered during building construction in the city.

Coin Vault

We then took a through the city pedestrian walk, followed by a visit to the Elizabeth Cathedral.

After visiting the church, we had a nice lunch at the Slavia, a famous bar/restaurant in Slovakia. There, we were serenaded by a really good three member band.

We hoped back on the trolley and headed back to the rail station. The train pulled out of the station around 12:20 pm for Budapest. We had our final lunch on the train and packed out bags.

We arrived at the Budapest Western Railway Station at 4:30 pm. We loaded the bus along with our luggage and were transferred to the Four Seasons. Our room was next door to the one we had when we arrived a week ago. Soon after our arrival in our room, an attendant showed up with a tray of soda water and elder flower syrup and black cherry syrup.

This hotel room was slightly different from the one we had last week. Shortly after our arrival, Gavin came out of the bathroom exclaiming that there is a baby's bath tub in the toilet. It turned out to be a bidet. I explained its usage to him.

At 6:45 pm, we met in the lobby for our farewell dinner. This dinner was a short bus ride away.

Yes, he sipped a little sparkling wine!

During the meal, the owner of the company showed up for a free meal.

Train Staff

Budapest Eye

Four Seasons

Tomorrow, we fly home. We are flying Turkish Air from Budapest to Istambul and then to Houston. We will  be picked up at 7:00 am with our flight leaving at 9:25 am. Not bad, other than we are flying Economy all the way.