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Published: April 14th 2006
That's it, I'm never coming back to this town again!!
I have been invited by a friend to Easter weekend at her place in Kaunas, Lithuania. So
last night I bought a train ticket from Krakow to Warsaw (while I was in Krakow still), departing Krakow at 8.00, arriving Warsaw around 10.45. The bus leg time I found online was departing Warsaw at 1.40 and arriving at Kaunas 9.00 next day (Saturday). Following so far?
After buying the train ticket, I walked over to the bus ticket place to try and buy the bus ticket from Warsaw to Kaunas. Well, turned out the bus ticket place had already closed, so I had to come by again this morning to buy the bus ticket.
So I left class during the break around 11am thinking that it would only take an hour, 1.5 max, to buy my bus ticket and get back to class.
When I got to the ticket place, there was one guy in front of me. No biggie, I thought, 10 minutes max. But of course it wasn't so. The guy was, like, telling the ticket seller guy his whole life story or something! And then his phone rang and he passed it to the ticket seller guy, wtf! I have no idea what they were talking about, but this went on for about 25 minutes. And there's another guy inline behind me who's almost about to crack (just like me). When it was finally my turn, I asked for the 1.40am bus from Warsaw to Kaunas.
... And the guy tells me that there's no such bus. AHH!! The internet lied! The only availble bus is one that leaves Warsaw earlier in the evening, at 8pm, and due to arrive at Kaunas at 4.00. See the problem here? I was already in possession of a train ticket that's arriving too late to catch the bus.
So I had to go back to the train station to change my ticket. But before I did that, I went and checked to see if it's possible to take a train from Warsaw to Kaunas, even though I knew I had checked it before online and there wasn't such a train. But since I was wrong online about the bus...
Ixnay. No train to Kaunas from Warsaw today or tomorrow, next one is like Sunday. I wasted another 10 minutes inline listening to another old lady tell her life story to the agent.
I go to the place where I can get my ticket from Krakow to Warsaw changed so I can make it in time to catch the bus to Kaunas (a ticket which I did not have in hand at that particular moment..). The lady writes down the available trains leaving for Waraw. The next available one is at 14.00, (at the time it was 12.30). I wanted to ask if there was a later train but one that would still arrive before 20.00 so I could catch the bus, but eh, that would've been too complicated. So I had to buy that 14.00 ticket and pay the penalty.
Then I ran (well, walked really fast, since I hate running) back to the bus station and bought the bus ticket.
By this time it was already 13.00, leaving me an hour to get from the station back to school to pick up my bags, home to get my gear, and then back to the station.
I ran (well..) out of the station with my train and bus tickets and head to the tram stop. I make it to school and get my bags and had to say a really quick goodbye to my classmates/friends. This wasn't the way I wanted to go but I had no choice, there's nooo other bus to Kaunas, if I don't make it to Warsaw in time to catch it, then I'm not going to be in Kaunas for Easter.
When I left the school it was about 13.20, when I made it home it was about 13.40. I asked my host mother to call a taxi for me to take me to the train station because my train was leaving at 14.00. She was like, 14.00??! yeah. Not the brightest idea. She called a taxi and they said they would be here in 8 minutes. What else can I do, I can't fly there, I have to wait for the taxi.
The taxi comes on time-ish, and he drives and drives. And as we were getting closer and he sees me wtching the clock in the cab he asks me what time is my train, and where I was going. I said Warsaw, 14.00, and he said (in essense) we'll make it. His clock was slow.
A few more minutes later he asked me which track, b/c he could drop me off at the track. I said I didn't know and then pulled out my ticket to show him.
He looked and said track 5, and then he said oh, it's 14.04, you have plenty of time. Really? 14.04? ok, whatever, he knows Polish, I don't.
He drops me off at the stairs above track 5, I check the time and it was exactly 14.00, I was so happy I gave him 20 (fare was 16) said thank you and then ran (well...) down the stairs to the track.
Now you have to imagine the place...
These are the tracks and above them are the stairs.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
---> in the direction of Warsaw
I came down the stairs and I looked to my left and I didn't see the train. But the LED display above my head showed the time, 14.00, and the destination of where the train that's supposed to be here is supposed to go, and it said Warsawa.
So I was really confused! I checked my time, checked my ticket... And then I looked to the right, and wouldn't you know, there was the train, not a very long one, parked to my right.
And it's pulling out of the station...
And there's no way I was going to run for it.
Man. I was so deflated. Why didn't I look RIGHT when I came down the stairs.
There's more to this traumatic experience, but now I have to go.
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Vala
non-member comment
Oh Judy. This is terrible. So are you not going to Estonina for Easter then? I'm still in Krakow, I leave tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll text you later tonight. Take care. Vala