Bucharest Nord to Chișinău – CFR/CFM Sleeper ‘Prietenia’

With my time in Bucharest coming to an end, I was back at Bucharesti-Nord ready to catch the final train on this Meander to Moldova. The third overnight sleeper train of the trip would take me north through Romania and across the border into Moldova, before reaching Chișinău some 13 and a half hours later. Whilst sleeper trains have become almost synonymous with my January trips, this one would be the first crossing outside the Schengen zone and with the border formalities that would come with it. All that was still to come, but first the train needed to arrive!

Bucharest – Paris of the East?

My arrival in Bucharest had come in the form of the slightly late ‘Ister’ sleeper train from Budapest-Keleti, with my first impression of the Romanian capital coming in the form of the imposing architecture of Bucharesti-Nord railway station. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had a great night’s sleeper onboard the ‘Ister’ meaning I wasn’t quite raring to go and so my first stop upon arriving was the station Starbucks to grab some breakfast and get my bearings. Then, having dropped my bag at the staffed luggage storage for the bargain price of 17RON (£2.91) it was out into the city to begin exploring.

Budapest Keleti to Bucharest Nord – MAV/CFR EuroNight Sleeper ‘Ister’

After 36 hours spent exploring the Hungarian capital, it was time to continue my Meander to Moldova and so I was back at Budapest’s Keleti railway station ready to catch the second sleeper train of the trip. This one, operated jointly by MAV and CFR (the Hungarian and Romanian state railways respectively), would take me from Budapest to my first new country of the trip, Romania and its capital Bucharest. With a change of time zone as we crossed the border, I’d be spending around 14 and a half hours onboard the Ister sleeper.

Back to Budapest – The Heart of Europe

With a slightly later than planned arrival into Budapest onboard the Kalman Imre sleeper train from Stuttgart, I had stored my bag in one of the luggage lockers at Keleti station and headed to the metro to start my exploration of the city. I had visited the Hungarian capital before, on my first trip following the Covid pandemic but I’ve always thought that I hadn’t really done the city justice as the travel bug didn’t seem to reignite until I reached the second city on that trip, Bratislava. So, as I made my way to St. Stephen's Basilica where the walking tour I had booked onto would start, I was looking forward to giving Budapest the second chance it deserved.

Stuttgart to Budapest Keleti – OBB/MAV EuroNight Sleeper ‘Kalman Imre’

With 24 hours in the German city of Stuttgart under my belt, it was time to continue onwards with my Meander to Moldova. The third train of the trip would be taking me across Germany, through Austria and into Hungary, with the Hungarian capital Budapest being my next destination. Sleeper trains have become a key part of my January adventures over the years, and this year would be no different with this overnight journey from Stuttgart being the first of three sleeper trains of the trip

Stuttgart – The Swabian Metropolis

Having arrived in Stuttgart over an hour later than planned onboard an TGV service from Paris, I was immediately confronted by the giant building site that is Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof as is undergoes transformation through the ‘Stuttgart 21’ project. Unfortunately, this means that there is a very limited concourse area at the end of the platforms, and it is a 10 or so minute walk around the edge of the building site to reach the S-bahn station. Whilst it seems the works will greatly improve the station, both operationally and from the passenger point of view, the current arrangement really isn’t giving the greatest first impression of the city.