The Orient Express “Steams” Into Budapest!
I’ve been sharing stories of our anniversary trip through Europe on The Orient Express train, and here we are outside Budapest, as a new “steam engine” is attached for a retro entrance to this amazing Hungarian city!
There are many unique aspects of riding the Venice Simplon Orient Express, beginning with the surprisingly length of the train!
It’s not possible to capture the entire length in a single shot, because it’s more than 25 cars long in total…but you can walk through all of it while it’s underway, which I did several times, and the corridors of each coach look like this:
Time To Add Some Steam!
At several points in the trip, the train makes a scheduled stop that is long enough for everyone to get off and get more pictures, and in this case, it stopped for a very special reason: we were going “retro” by adding a steam engine to power us into Budapest! A large group of us disembarked and gathered at the front of the train to witness the arrival of the steam engine:
Even Paolo, the train’s phenomenal Maitre d’Hotel, took time to get a selfie out front – it really was a cool thing to see up close…in fact, once we were back on the train and “steaming” into Budapest, I managed to get “really close”!
Getting “Smoked Out” In Hungary!
I was so excited to have these pictures, I figured out a way to get shots of the train in action. Once we were traveling again, I decided to open our cabin window and hold my iPhone out the window to get this video of the train in motion…not knowing, of course, that we were about to go under a small overpass – so this happened:
Yes, I “Smoked” Alex Out Of The Room!
I admit that an open window at that time wasn’t a good idea. Once I realized I had smoked out our cabin, I stopped rolling, and it took a few minutes for our cabin to air out – but it was worth it for that “smoky” video!
This was just one of the many adventures aboard the train – here is a link to the overview of our trip – where I show you how you sleep on the train – oh, and how to go to the bathroom as well:
We boarded the train in Venice, after taking a few days exploring this magical city – with images that never stopped taking our breath away:
Here is some video showing us arriving by boat to Venice, passing under the famous Rialto Bridge:
More train travel adventures to come once we hit this amazing city – Budapest!
Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Enjoyed the short video too with the overpass 🙂
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Looks fantastic John! Thanks for sharing highlights of your trip.
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What a beautiful “ride!” Even with the smoke. Lol.
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Susie, I forgot we were the second car behind the engine!
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That took me back, John. Steam trains were still running everywhere in my youth, and are indeed impressive up close. We would stand on the railway bridge in London, on the way to school, and wait for them to pass underneath. But you had to be careful of the flying sparks and cinders. 🙂
The local Mid-Norfolk Railway still runs old trains here, for enthusiasts to see, and ride on. Their steam train excursions are always sold out.
http://mnr.org.uk/events
I have never been to Budapest, so will look forward to your impressions of that city.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, Paul Theroux’s book about traveling around Great Britain by train in the late 70’s is a time capsule of a period that is mostly gone now…thanks as always for your comments!
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What an awesome experience except for the smoke …lol… On my bucket list but at the moment it is the local train for me but that in itself could prove to be an experience/story… Looking forward to the next one 🙂
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Carol, thanks for the comment – yes, I didn’t really “think it through” before I opened that window!
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Thanks for letting us enjoy the sights of this great train in all it’s glory. I was watching Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express last night on TV, which brought out an experience of watching the train in the period where this story was written travelling to Istanbul, and now the pictures in your post competed that experience. Great post and nicely chronicled.
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Yes, I view the film differently now that I’ve been on the train – thanks for the comment!
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I have to say I am very much enjoying this trip. Impressed at the quality of the Iphone video. Too bad about the smoke but worth it as now you have another story!!
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Yes, it was fun to film out the window, but that low overpass gave me something unique for sure – lots more to come so thanks for reading and commenting!
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what a wonderful way to travel. I even ducked my head as you went into the tunnel. lol…
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Thanks for the comment! It was so incredible to take the train, and while I may have “mis-timed” by video, it was kind of cool to see unfold!
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It was a great video…I could nearly smell the smoke too 🙂
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I remember reading the previous post and commenting about my surprise on discovering that orient express indeed exists. This post was equally mesmerizing, vivid and the gorgeous pics filled in the gaps very neatly.
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Thanks for reading them and for commenting – much appreciated!
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Oh wow I bet this was amazing!!!
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Yes, I have posted two stories on this amazing trip and have more planned over the next few weeks – thanks for reading and commenting!
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Will have to check them out John
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What a gorgeous way to travel! Except for leaving the window open! 😉
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Yes it was fun, and yes, I should have kept an eye on that low bridge ahead!
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But then you wouldn’t have the story to tell!
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