Another day, another country! Today, we embarked on the 8.5 hour train journey from Budapest to Katowice in Poland via Vienna. One began by taking the M4 to Keletei station. As this is the terminus for said train to Vienna, one thought it wise to jump on at the start just in case of assistance issues. This was a wise choice as we discovered that the on board lift malfunctioned meaning that the train was subsequently delayed. However, the manual lift came rather quickly.
It was surprising how helpful the train staff in Vienna actually were, two guys greeted us at the train door and then remained with us until we were safely on the train to Katowice. One would highly recommend train travel in Austria.
On this trip, all the trains that one has travelled on have been fairly modern and accessible. This was until we saw the train to Katowice by PKP. If one conjures up an image of an Eastern European train dating back to the 1950s, that is what Superbunny had to contend with!
As the train was already a little late, Vienna boarded us in the coach in front of the ‘accessible’ coach hence it was necessary to move between coaches. It is worth noting that said coaches merely had a thin piece of rubber lining to bridge the gap between vehicles. Pulling out of Vienna, it was possible to see the track below as we crossed points. Bear in mind that one had to try and cross in an electric wheelchair. The only way to do this was to look out of the window and try and predict when the thing would be travelling in a straight line!
Now, let’s discuss the ‘accessible’ coach. Akin to many old fashioned coaches, it is formed of many compartments connected by a narrow gangway. The only difference between a conventional compartment and an ‘accessible’ compartment is that the seats in the latter flip up…
It is worth noting that the turning circle to enter said compartment is non existent meaning that one had to, essentially, shove Superbunny into the thing…
Due to staff shortages, there was no catering for our 4.5 hour journey meaning one thing once we reached Poland, McDonald’s!
For the next few days, we are staying at the Novotel in Katowice which is around a 25 minute walk from the station. In terms of accessibility, it is what one would expect from a Novotel, a spacious room and a decent size wet room.
Tomorrow, we head to Auschwitz. One has mixed feelings, however, it feels important to experience the place.