Busted Flat in Budapest, Waitin' for a Train...

We don’t speak or read Hungarian, but that didn’t stop us (though maybe it should have) from setting out to explore Budapest on our own. No guide, no guidebook, just a map from the hotel front desk.

It’s what we often do when travelling – just go! We like to have a bit of serendipity, even though that approach sometimes doesn’t work out. We like to use local public transportation if possible because it gives a more authentic feel for the layout and the rhythms of the city. And the people are usually friendly, though they can easily spot us as tourists: we’re the ones looking at the signs and then at the map and then at the signs again, pointing first one way and then the other, obviously lost or nearly so.

The trip started in Prague and ended in Budapest. On our first day in Prague, we set out with another couple who wanted to see the famous “dancing house” designed by Frank Gehry. We went to the subway station, looked at the map on the wall and jumped on the red line, intending to transfer to the yellow line. After getting off at the transfer station, one of us said that we’d made a mistake and we really should have gone in the opposite direction. So we ran to the other side of the station, got back on the train and returned to our starting point. Then we realized that the original plan had been the correct one. We eventually made it to the Dancing House, took pictures, and went in search of some Czech beer, which we eventually found off a pleasant path by the Vltava River (Smetana called it by its German name, the Moldau). Later, we learned that there’s a nice bar on the top floor of the Dancing House.

The subways in Prague and Vienna and Budapest all used roughly the same fare process: Go to a kiosk and buy a ticket, then scan or stamp the ticket at a little box as you enter the platform (see the orange box on the post in this photo.)

No turnstiles, nobody patrolling or asking to see your tickets. We obediently bought our tickets each day or each trip, and we noticed that (a) most riders had passes so they didn’t mess with paper tickets and (b) those with paper tickets never stuck them in the slot. Everyone just walked on and off and the poor validation boxes got totally ignored.

We still bought tickets, not wanting to be freeloaders, but after many trips over several days in all three cities, we no longer bothered to stick the little tickets in the little slots.

On the last day of the trip, we headed out to find the market in Budapest. It was nice. We ate on the patio of a small restaurant near the market. It was very nice. Map and tickets in hand, we figured out the best route back to the hotel and hopped on the subway again.

The exit we chose was monitored by three burly uniformed gendarmes, checking tickets. We happily presented our tickets, purchased less than two hours before. The official was not pleased. We expressed our puzzlement through confused expressions and frantic pointing at the tickets. He made it clear through gestures and scowls that we had failed to validate the tickets. We countered by saying ‘well, yes, but we do indeed have tickets, and besides nobody else seems to be validating them.’ This was unconvincing. He pulled us aside and made it clear that we couldn’t leave until we paid a fine. We didn’t have enough Forints [I don’t know how one could ever have enough Forints because it takes 2,600 of them to equal 1 US dollar] but the official was happy to accept a credit card on the spot.

The ride cost us about $40.00. Up the stairs to street level to discover that we’d gotten off one stop too soon.