beyond the eurozone

 

A week ago we left the eurozone, leaving behind the more familiar countries and the places I have visited before.  We took the train (about 2.5 hrs) from Vienna to Budapest, where we spent two nights.  That was a speedy (180 km/hr) and comfortable train.

From there we took an overnight train (15 hrs) to Bucharest, where we spent another two nights.  Then we took yet another overnight train (24 hrs, with a 3 hr delay) to Istanbul, where we arrived at noon today.  We also took an overnight train from Venice to Vienna, so I put that on this map.

The sleeping compartments of the trains have been pretty much the same.  The seats fold to make 6 berths, though we usually have not had full compartments.  With such a long ride, it is important to bring enough water and food.  We slept but not too well.  On the trip to Istanbul, our passports were checked and stamped no less than 5 times and our tickets about another 5 (separate) times.

We’ve viewed the last few days as a slow trip to Istanbul, rather than a really fast trip to Eastern Europe, so we didn’t really do much reading or planning for Budapest or Bucharest.  Getting the right amount of a new currency for just two days in a country is kind of a pain.  It certainly made us appreciate the convenience of a single currency for the 3 months we spent in western Europe. 

Speaking of euro, we enjoyed spending our last 15 “bucks” on lunch and snacks at the naschmarket in Vienna.  They give out sooo many samples!  Also, we had the best kebab yet.

Schengen Shoulda-known

Fun fact: The Schengen agreement between most European countries means that Americans can visit the whole Schengen zone for 90 days without a visa.  We learned this when we entered Iceland, which is a Schengen country.  We had planned to spend about 100-110 days in Europe until that moment.  Read the passage below from the US state department page about entry requirements for France.

U.S. citizens may enter France for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. France is a party to the Schengen Agreement, which allows for visa-free travel between member countries.

I think if you don’t already know what the Schengen agreement entails, it sounds like you can visit France for 90 days and then Italy for 90 days and then Greece etc.  No such luck!

Anyhow, this marks a new stage of the trip.  More bartering and less complementary tourist maps.  We’re stepping out.