Our last day in Germany began with pre-breakfast, because apparently an ordinary breakfast was not enough. Monja had baked scones, which we ate with strawberry jam and cream. For the main breakfast we made omelette wraps — something new that we could introduce to the Kraemers before leaving.

Afterwards we got on the bicycles for die rondte, the Kraemers’ usual Sunday loop: along one side of the Iller and back on the other. It was Saturday, but close enough. We rode into the centre of Kempten, where the Saturday market coincided with the start of the Kempten Festwoche. The town was busy and full of people in Lederhosen and Dirndl, which made our last morning in the Allgäu feel properly Bavarian.

Caro standing with her bicycle on a bridge over the River Iller near Kempten
Caro on a bridge over the Iller during die rondte.

We then followed the Iller to a swimming spot. It was a hot day, but the river had apparently not received the message. The water was ice cold — a shock at first, then wonderfully refreshing.

Caro wading into the cold River Iller beneath the trees
Testing the icy water of the Iller.

Back at home we ate crumbed Camembert and pizza, packed the last things and said goodbye. The Kraemers took us to Kempten Hauptbahnhof, where we made the 17:13 train with very little time to spare.

Caro seated on the train from Kempten to Munich
On the train to Munich, with no delays for once.

The trip to Munich ran without delay. From München Hauptbahnhof we took the S-Bahn to Ostbahnhof, then walked up and down the station looking for the luggage lockers. We eventually found them and squeezed our two big backpacks into an XL locker for €11 — twice the price of the same-sized locker at Hauptbahnhof.

Freed from the backpacks, we backtracked to Marienplatz and emerged into the middle of an enormous Saturday crowd. The square is the old heart of Munich, framed by the Old and New Town Halls. The New Town Hall looks medieval with its elaborate neo-Gothic façade, statues and famous Glockenspiel, although it was only completed in 1905. With all the towers, stonework and people filling the square, it was an impressive re-entry into big-city tourism after our quiet days in Kempten.

A crowded Marienplatz at sunset with Munich New Town Hall
Marienplatz and the neo-Gothic New Town Hall.

From there we walked to the Hofbräuhaus. It was founded in 1589 to brew beer for the Bavarian court and opened to the public as a tavern in 1828. Today the ground-floor Schwemme can hold around 1,300 people beneath its vaulted ceilings, and on a busy evening it seemed that every one of them had arrived before us.

We eventually found two open seats and joined a table of strangers, as one does in a Bavarian beer hall. We ordered a Maß of Sommerzwickl — one litre — and a Schweinshaxe. We shared the pork knuckle and were still completely full afterwards.

Caro drinking from a one-litre beer stein at the Hofbrauhaus
A Maß of Sommerzwickl is serious business.
Caro with a beer stein and plate of Schweinshaxe at the Hofbrauhaus
One Schweinshaxe, one Maß and two very full travellers.

Walking it off seemed sensible, so instead of returning directly to München Ost we walked to the final S-Bahn station before it. Even after our extended walk we still had an hour to wait on the platform, and then the night train was a few minutes late.

The train arrived as one long train, but would split into three sections at Augsburg, each continuing to a different destination. We had to make sure we boarded the right part; this was not the evening to wake up in the wrong country.

Our sleeper reservation added another small mystery. The original tickets placed us in berths 31 and 22, which sounded very much like separate compartments, but an email said that we could travel together in 31 and 35. We went into compartment 31 and found two beds made up, but snacks for only one person.

We showed the conductor the email and he took photos of it. A while later he returned with another packet of snacks and a towel rescued from berth 22. He told us that the other compartment was now empty. After worrying that we might have to share with strangers, it appeared that between us we had been allocated two compartments.

Hugo and Caro in their bunks inside the Nightjet sleeper compartment
Finally together in one sleeper compartment.

We went to sleep just before 01:00 and set an alarm for 06:30. Caro woke often; Hugo slept more soundly despite the green night light glowing in the compartment. We only discovered later that it could also be switched off.

When we woke, the train was in Vienna. We snoozed a little longer on the lower bunk until breakfast arrived at 07:30. We could choose seven items each. The portions of cheese, salami and ham were so generous compared with the two buns that breakfast looked more like a pair of burger patties with bread as an afterthought.

Afterwards we snoozed some more, occasionally looking out of the window as Austria gave way to Hungary. We reached Budapest at about 09:36, on time.

Caro looking through the train window while crossing the Danube in the morning
Morning on the train as we continued towards Budapest.
Caro carrying both backpacks inside Budapest Keleti railway station
Backpacks on and ready to navigate Budapest.

Google Maps got us through the M3 and M4 metro lines, onto the correct platforms and heading in the correct directions. At the bus stop, the bus to Visegrád was already waiting. Hugo bought the tickets on his phone just as we climbed aboard, and we settled into the back for the hour-long ride up the Danube.

Caro beside the yellow bus after arriving in Visegrád, with the citadel on the hill
Arriving in Visegrád, with the citadel waiting above us.

In Visegrád we walked to our accommodation and managed to check in at around 12:15. Our host, a very friendly older lady called Ági, spoke no English and only a little German, while our Hungarian consisted of considerably less than that. Between us we nevertheless worked out the keys and the important details.

Then, after bicycles, trains, metros, a bus and one night of interrupted sleep, we immediately fell onto the bed and took an afternoon nap. Hungary could wait a few hours.