Word Of Mouse

We got the bus back to Algeciras from Gibraltar and then booked our couchettes to Madrid with no problem. We had a pleasant journey, sharing a compartment and travel stories with two young Australians also on their way north from Morocco.
We didn't have long in Madrid, just enough time to make what turned out to be an unwise decision (for all train go to Paris) to make our journey via Barcelona. We booked our ticket and got on the train, for quite an uneventful journey to Zaragoza where we had to change. Here it all went foreign. We got chased out through the station exit by security who seemed not to care that we were making an onward journey. I guess things are tense since teh Madrid bombings.Anyway once we went out and had our bags scanned and came back in they left us in peace.
We did not get left in peace on our next rain however. A very strenge family with loads of kids and a peculiar assortment of adults, none of whom seemed to show any responsibility for the kids, were seated all around us. As there was no provision made for the children and nobody with them seemed to be very interested in them , we were unwillingly their major source of entertainment (apart from ripping up the headrest covers). The little boy was staring at Malc with his face about six inches away at the point Malc tried to eat an unruly sanwich. This caused him to choke til blue in the face, a sight which only brought about even closer observation and yet more interest. Trying to play a game brough three of them out of the wood work including a girl who leaned over mee kicking me as she swung her foot to and fro absent-mindedly. Perhaps we weer just feeling a bit grumpy, but I was glad to be off the train.

At Barcelona we needed to cross the city to another station for our onward journey, though we already doubted we would be able to catch a night train that evening. We couldn't but at least booked our tickets for the following day. The journey got a bit frustrating here as we couldn't book onward travel to Geneva, but we made a reservation to Montpellier and decided to take it from there. The whole rail booking system seems very complex and inefficient and is not designed for ease of use at all. The heoght of my frustration was reached, however, when the helpful man in the ticket office suggested that we would be better off going by ryan Air back to the Uk and then on the Budapest. We tried to explain why we were going by train, but we might as well have been teling him we didn't eat ham. It was a moment of no understanding.

We found a pricey but pleasant place to stay near the station, grabbed a quick falafal supper and crashed out. Sadly, that was all we saw of Barcelona.

If Barcelona was frustrating Montpellier station was infuriating. We had to watch the train to Lyon we would have liked to be on pull out of the station as we had not had time to reserve seats (a necessity for travel). these were the ones we couldn't book til we got to France. We then queued for about an hour to get to somebody who could make our onward reservations. this didn't help much as every train we wanted to take was fully booked. In the end we had to decide (rather than going back to Paris or waiting for days in Montpellier) to catch the night train to Strasbourg. we also took the precaution of booking a service for the following day to Munich. At least we would have a day in Montpellier and be assured of being nearer our goal by the end of the following day. Finally we were only paying booking fess too. i was starting to feel frustrated as having shelled out for a rail pass to give us free travel taht we were paying huge supplements on all Spanish trains. last ime I interrailed I just got on whatever train and didn't need to book or pay more. this was starting to feel contraining instead of liberating.

Montpellier was lovely. We enjoyed a walk round town, some lovely food and film before heading back for the night train. the film was a bit disappointing "the Queen". We thought it was going to be in English, but then it would have been more boring still. At least this way we got in some French practice. It was certainly beter than our Gibrlatar film which had been total trash (Miami Vice) and full of local "youths" living up to the worst that the term could conjure.

We squeezed on the train, two of six people, but soon fell asleep in our comfortable beds and found oursleves in Strasbourg by morning. We found time here to go out and buy breakfast which we took to the cathedral and enjoyed on the steps listening to the bells ringing and echoing around us. having bought a new book (from a more limited selection) we caught the train to Munich. It was a spacious and clean German train and carried us smoothly to our destination where we arrived mid-afternoon. We booked our onward travel, the night train to Budapest and then set about filling up the time til our midnight departure.

It was freezing (literally) but hopes of buying warm clothes were thwarted by it being 1st Nov and a public holiday. Still, we enjoyed a walk round town taking in the cathedral and a wide range of other impressive, if a little imposing, buildings. We ate curry (making teh meal last as long as possible) and found a film in English, Perfume, which we enjoyed, then headed back for a final two hours at the station. It was bitterly cold and we discoverd there was no waiting room. We paced around and snow billowed down the stairs off the platforms. I have rarely been so glad to get on a train.

The night was quite interrupted by stops at major stations adn borders tec, but we got some rest before pulling in at Budapest Keleti to meet Edina. We were delighted to be able to say to all the touts that we didn't need their help and that we were meeting a friend.