October 18th, 2026
Researching online about places to visit in Hungary apart
from Budapest, the small city of Győr came up. It’s located halfway between Budapest and Vienna,
and it was only a 1½ hour train ride.
The Keleti Train Station in Budapest.
I booked my ticket online on a site called “Rail Ninja”, but
then I found the proper, yet more confusing, Hungarian Rail website and
subsequently booked a bunch of other train tickets for future travel. I had a tough time deciphering my ticket and
didn’t see anywhere that told me that I had a designated ticket in a specific
car, so I just hopped onto a second-class car.
About ten minutes before the train was to depart, a school group
came down the aisle and the German speaking teacher pointed at my seat and it
was obvious that it was one of theirs. I
moved to another part of the car and re-examined my ticket. Oh yeah, I forgot that I had actually booked
a first-class ticket as it didn’t cost that much more. I knew that I was at least 4-5 cars away from
the closest first-class car and walking through that many cars would be slow
and cumbersome with people still getting settled in, but I didn’t want to risk alighting
the train and walking that far down the platform as we were about to leave.
I decided to stay put, but at the next stop, I hopped off and
made my way to the appropriate numbered car, which I had been able to figure
out from my ticket. I was still
uncertain about my seat. I randomly sat
down on one seat, re-examined my ticket and thought I’d figured out my seat
number. I relocated once again, but then
just before the ticket inspector arrived, I finally clued in and moved to seat
91…which amazingly happened to be the seat that I had randomly sat in earlier! The trials and tribulations of travelling…
Arriving in Győr
in glorious mid-October sunshine, I couldn’t help but feel very relaxed. It was only a 15-minute walk from the train station
to my accommodation along pedestrian-only streets. The old town was lovely.
Right near the train station was the Győr Town Hall Clock Tower.
I was a few hours
early for check-in, but luckily my room was ready. I dropped my backpack off and went for a walk
to check out Győr.
About 15 minutes
into my walk about, I realized that it wasn’t going to take me long to check
out the old town. I reached the main
square, stopped for photos, then made my way down to the Danube.
A big church formed one of the perimeters of the square.
A 360 panorama of the square.
The Kossuth Bridge...many things are named after him or Széchenyi in Hungary.
It just happened to be noon as I neared the Basilica of Győr...so the bells started to kick off.
The Basilica of Győr.
It might be hard to see...but Jesus' right arm is free. Not sure what that is about. It reminded me of a British 80s TV show called the Young Ones where one of the characters steals a crucifix from another guy who responds "Rick, that's a really negative way to kill yourself...besides, you'll never get the last nail in!"
My biggest
activity in Győr was climbing up to the top of the 40-meter-tall Bishop’s-Castle
Tower to get a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding area. The spot where the tower is located has had strategic
military importance for many years in the past as it is where the Rába River joins the Danube.
That the Rába in the foreground and on the right is the Danube behind those trees.
Looking to the east along the Danube.
The basilica.
It looks like a ski ramp, but in fact it is the National Theatre of Győr.
Checking out the view from the tower.
The obligatory selfie.
Afterwards, I crossed
a bridge over the Rába to a small island, called Radó Island, for a
short walk then I returned to the main square to sit down for long lunch, followed by a relaxing evening in my room.
I love the windows protruding from the roof.
It's a lovely old town centre.
Hallowe'een is coming!
What a great spot for lunch.
As I returned to my room, it was inundated with women and girls. Seemed like some kind of clothing swap.
Okay, Győr…check.
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