Interested in the route between the capitals of Hungary and Bavaria? Prefer to travel by night trains? Good news: there is a perfect candidate for you to be considered as an option! It has its own special charm, provides a relaxing mood and offers a comfortable ride.
Above and under the ground
This trip begins for me, rather unusually, not at some terminus. This time, my starting point is the station called Budapest-Kelenföld. It is located quite far from the center of the city, in the suburban district, full of tall block houses and construction sites where more of multistorey apartment buildings are going to appear in the future. If you need to get here from the central part of Budapest, the best option is to use the subway — it is fast, nice and comfortable. In case you are brave enough to walk the entire path by foot, it will take you not less than an hour.
Knowing that Budapest-Kelenföld is a busy and popular station, I am surprised to see what I see at first. It is a quite small house which looks neither busy or popular. It holds many signs of what I’d prefer to consider a graceful decay and does not offer much to a visitor, except for a couple of old wooden benches, a pair of ticket windows and — my goodness! — free Wi-fi.
As a matter of fact, the station consists of two separate, distinct parts. While the old building confuses newbies like me, all the main facilities are located under the ground. After two minutes of searching, I find a proper entrance — and it opens a whole new world to me.
There it is: a modern, crowded, multifunctional and huge transport hub! With various shops and cafes, a connection to the subway system, directional signs, bright halls, moving stairways, information boards and advertisements… Everything that makes 21-century travelers feel themselves at the right place. I am glad to pass the first test and readily go deeper and further.
Printing and waiting
Then, the second quest waits for me. This one is really important (yet easy): I have to find a way to print out my ticket. Please notice, it is necessary in Hungary to do this, an electronic booking confirmation is not enough. Well, let me tell you how to manage this. All you need is to find a yellow ticket apparatus. The rest is simple, especially since the interface has an English version here.
A few finger manipulations with a touchscreen — and I get what I need. One of the bright machines spits out a couple of pieces of paper. The first of them is the ticket itself. The second seems to be just a kind of receipt (this one is not required during the trip). Hooray! I am a 100% validated train passenger!
Now, I can wait for my ride at timetable screens in a relatively relaxed manner. Color coding makes it easier: departures are shown on the left, where the background is yellow. There is just one tiny fly in the ointment of my previously expressed excitement: no seats near the displays. So, it is physically impossible to check out the schedule and sit at the same time, but there are some yellow (yes, again — it is popular here) benches not far away.
While waiting, I also entertain myself by looking over the station scheme on a wall. It depicts the whole elaborate structure and also says which city buses and trains stop nearby.
I am still trying to figure out why the plan misses some track numbers, when my boarding time comes. Great, let the journey begin!
Meeting the train
The train that is already waiting for me and all the fellow travelers on the track 14, is known as EN 462. The abbreviation EN in its number stands for the EuroNight — a collective name of various trains, which operate, as the title suggests, during the nighttime on the territory of Europe.
The cars of the train have a stylish blue-and-white livery, which makes a beautiful contrast with ÖBB-branded locomotive of red color. The whole train looks great surrounded by artificial lights of the station and the natural gleam of the setting sun.
There are three types of cars: seat, couchette and sleeper. My intention is to try the latter — so, my trip promises to be as comfortable as possible. I get inside, eager to see and explore the space where I am about to spend the next few hours.
Although the exterior of the cars is modest, the inner design is more diverse in terms of the palette. You can see lots of colors inside: light-pink, ivory-white and different shades of red. This variety starts in the common area and continues inside compartments.
Reflections and rounded corners
I step into my three-bed section. Apart from all the colorfulness, it has an impressive arched ceiling and a metallic wall that reflects everything. This interior — which I’d call the most audacious among all the night train interiors I’ve seen so far — reminds me of the mirror-stuffed and fancy-looking style of cruise ferries.
Don’t get me wrong, I mean nothing but respect: those tones, materials and shapes make the trip more fun and interesting. And I can see many details here, which are amusing regardless of the color. For example, in the corner near the window, there is a sink which hides under the table with rounded corners. The sink itself is pretty much reflective. As well as the faucet. And the mirror above.
For humans and for things
The lower bed is already unfolded and, together with prepared bedclothes, ready to offer me a good sleep. However, I prefer to switch this fixture into its day position for now and sit on one of three textile chairs. And, as if it is trying to surprise me beyond all expectations, the upholstery pattern adds even more to the range of colors of the train.
After finding a comfy place for myself, I look for a proper space for my modest belongings. I find two suitable storages: above the door and near the sink. The second of these has a weight limit of 40 kilograms, so in case you are traveling with, let’s say, your favorite set of barbell plates, it’s better to use the first one.
The thing which will be definitely helpful in the situation of reaching the overhead storages (and the upper bed too) is here. It is a massive and heavy ladder. You can fasten it to the top using special brackets on the wall and then choose the amount of steepness which is more convenient for you.
Behind three locks
A conductor comes and, while checking the tickets, draws my attention to another quaint feature of the compartment. There are three different locking devices on the door: a lower lock, near the handle; an additional one, a little higher; and a security chain, above the first two. A serious setup!
What is more interesting, and the conductor warns me about this, there is no option to close the compartment door from the outside. You can feel overprotected, but only without leaving the premises. Well, at least the door has a peephole which generously allows you to see what is happening on the other side.
Knobs and other accessories
I stay in the compartment and look for more possibilities it can give me. And there are some. I can control the volume of the train radio and the temperature of the air. I also can turn the light on and off — with the fancy orange plastic knob which has two positions. And — appreciate the level of trust in my ability to act properly in case of emergency! — I can use the brake.
My power as a passenger doesn’t end there. I can also call the conductor using a special button. And, which is even more important, I am able to charge my devices — there are two electric sockets at my disposal.
Another action that I can take is to hang my clothes. There would be nothing unusual or impressive about this if not the looks of the hanger. I just have to highlight how simple yet elegant this thing is. I salute you, those who designed and made this neat object!
Into the night
It’s already late, and I am ready to move from feeding my curiosity to getting some sleep. I unfold the bed with one easy move. I turn on the night lamp, located at the head of my bed, right near the “No Smoking” sign.
I fall asleep instantly and start watching to a colorful dream, in which I find a secret door in the old building of the Kelenföld station. It is closed, but there is a peephole. I lean over slowly with the desire to take a look inside. But suddenly someone starts to knock.
Station of awakening
There are 12 intermediate stops on my way from Budapest to Munich. Most of them are short and almost unnoticeable, but one is different.
At half past four, when the train reaches Salzburg, all the passengers are getting knocked out of sleep. I am not pleased to be forcefully awaken, but this procedure is mandatory — due to a border control. A person in uniform checks my passport and luggage. After that, the train stays at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof for about an hour.
It is a bit problematic to easily fall asleep again, so I try to attract the sleepy feeling by counting passing wagons. And I have to admit, this works no worse than the traditional method with jumping sheep.
In the morning
When I wake up again, completely and decisively this time, the morning is already bringing the light into the picture. I lift up the rolling window blind and start enjoying two sunrises at once: the first is outside the train and the second is in the mirror.
Then, I catch a quick view of the very last stop before the destination point. It is München Ost, the station in the west of the most populous Bavarian city. The train spends here just a minute, and we continue to move.
Finally, after 9 hours and 15 minutes inside the colorful cabin, I leave the sleeper car of the EuroNight train number 462. I am at München Hauptbahnhof, and this is exactly the place where I was planning to find myself at this exact time. Success!
Before I leave the platform and go for a cup of coffee, I’d love to give you some refreshingly useful links. More details about the route, prices and service options are waiting for you at rail.cc. Tickets craving for being bought are available MAV and Omio. Thank you for reading. Have yet another great day!
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