About me, the traveler

Travelogues

Trip 1 - India, Nepal, and China

Trip 2 - Southeast Asia

Trip 3 - Mongolia to Eastern Europe

Trip 4 - Middle South America

Trip 5 - Southern Africa

Trip 6 - Scandinavia, the Baltics, and Greenland

Trip 7 - The Balkans

Trip 8 - Morocco and Southern Spain

Trip 9 - Western India

Trip 10 - Outer Indochina

Trip 11 - Ethiopia and Dubai

Trip 12 - Iceland

Trip 13 - Japan

Trip 14 - Caucasus

Trip 15 - Central & East Asia

Trip 16 - Inner Indochina and Japan

Tales From the Tour (a running travelogue)

Top-five lists

New York City excursions

Cheap East Coast bus alternatives

Links


Trip 3 - Mongolia to Eastern Europe

16 September 1999 to 24 October 1999

It was not a well-planned trip. I had just moved into a new apartment, and I didn't even know whether I'd be able to take a month-long trip in 1999, so it wasn't until three weeks before that I started searching for flights and obtaining the myriad visas I'd need (and I still came up one visa short). Adding to the uncertainties of this trip was the fact that I left on the day of a hurricane, so I didn't know until my day of departure whether I'd be leaving at all.

Mongolia, Hungary, and the Trans-Mongolian Railway were my highest priorities when planning this trip, but I also very much wanted to see Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace) and other Eastern European cities. It was easy to take in Vienna and Bratislava, since they're so close to the Hungarian border, and the beauty and history of Prague were not to be missed.

Part 1: Mongolia
16 Sep Subway: C and A lines, 50 St to Howard Beach-JFK Airport
16 Sep-17 Sep Air: Asiana #221, New York JFK to Anchorage
17 Sep Air: Asiana #221, Anchorage to Seoul
17 Sep Air: Asiana #331, Seoul to Beijing
17 Sep Air: MIAT #224, Beijing to Ulaanbaatar
17 Sep-21 Sep Ulaanbaatar
21 Sep Van: Ulaanbaatar to Kharkhorin
21 Sep-23 Sep Kharkhorin
23 Sep Car: Kharkhorin to Ulaanbaatar
23 Sep-24 Sep Ulaanbaatar
Part 2: Russia
24 Sep-28 Sep Train: Trans-Mongolian #5, Ulaanbaatar to Moscow
28 Sep-2 Oct Moscow
2 Oct-3 Oct Train: Tisza Express #15, Moscow to Nyíregyháza
3 Oct Konotop (Ukraine)
3 Oct-4 Oct Train: #90, Konotop to Moscow
4 Oct Moscow
4 Oct-6 Oct Train: Tisza Express #15, Moscow to Nyíregyháza
Part 3: Hungary
6 Oct Train: #5115, Nyíregyháza to Miskolc
6 Oct Bus: Miskolc to Eger
6 Oct-7 Oct Eger
7 Oct Train: #5525, Eger to Füzesabony
7 Oct Train: #595, Füzesabony to Budapest
7 Oct-11 Oct Budapest
11 Oct Train: #800, Budapest to Pécs
11 Oct Pécs
11 Oct Train: #813, Pécs to Dombóvár
11 Oct Train #8046: Dombóvár to Pécs
11 Oct Train: #826, Pécs to Villány
11 Oct-12 Oct Villány
12 Oct Train: Villány to Pécs
12 Oct Train: Pécs to Nagykanizsa
12 Oct Bus: Nagykanizsa to Hévîz
12 Oct-13 Oct Hévíz
13 Oct Bus: Hévíz to Sopron
13 Oct Bus: Sopron to Fertőd
13 Oct-14 Oct Fertőd
14 Oct Bus: Fertőd to Sopron
14 Oct Bus: Sopron to Nagycenk
14 Oct Nagycenk
14 Oct Bus: Nagycenk to Sopron
14 Oct-15 Oct Sopron
Part 4: Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic
15 Oct Train and bus: Sopron to Vienna
15 Oct-17 Oct Vienna (Austria)
17 Oct Bus: Vienna to Bratislava
17 Oct Bratislava (Slovakia)
17 Oct-18 Oct Train: #374, Bratislava to Prague
18 Oct-20 Oct Prague (Czech Republic)
20 Oct Bus: Prague to Terezín
20 Oct Terezín (Czech Republic)
20 Oct Bus: Terezín to Prague
20 Oct-21 Oct Prague
21 Oct Bus: Prague to Kutná Hora
21 Oct Kutná Hora (Czech Republic)
21 Oct Train: Kutná Hora to Prague
21 Oct Prague
21 Oct-22 Oct Train: #375, Prague to Bratislava
22 Oct-23 Oct Bratislava
23 Oct Train: #400, Bratislava to Vienna
23 Oct Train: Vienna to Salzburg
23 Oct-24 Oct Salzburg (Austria)
24 Oct Train: Salzburg to Munich
24 Oct Air: US Airways #15, Munich to Philadelphia
24 Oct Air: US Airways, Philadelphia to New York La Guardia
24 Oct Bus and subway: New York La Guardia to 49 St