As a vegan, I don’t generally find my way
into too many McDonald’s. However, in this post I’d like to point out a certain
use I found for them on my recent trip backpacking across Europe.
 |
This fall, an Argentinian and I took several
long-distance trains in Europe. Each time we were ready to move on to our next
destination by rail, we promised ourselves we’d take the day train so we could
see the
countryside from the window, an opportunity that is wasted when one takes an overnight train. Yet somehow, the day train always seemed to leave at 7 in the morning… And each time we somehow found ourselves scrambling around our hostel dorm room at 6am, trying to avoid waking everyone up while frantically packing and looking for our passports and keys, something we had curiously always forgotten to accomplish the night before. About 20 minutes into this routine we would give up, go back to sleep, and decide to take the night train instead.
countryside from the window, an opportunity that is wasted when one takes an overnight train. Yet somehow, the day train always seemed to leave at 7 in the morning… And each time we somehow found ourselves scrambling around our hostel dorm room at 6am, trying to avoid waking everyone up while frantically packing and looking for our passports and keys, something we had curiously always forgotten to accomplish the night before. About 20 minutes into this routine we would give up, go back to sleep, and decide to take the night train instead.
 |
| Overnight from Novi Sad, Serbia to Budapest - ready with the chocolate! |
The night train, though lacking a pleasant view,
was always safe and comfortable. But, despite having had an entire day to
prepare, more often than not we would arrive in our next city at the crack of
dawn without any plans or clue as to where the nearest hostel was.
 |
| Waiting for the train in Belgrade, Serbia. Nothing is posted in English here. |
Luckily, every major train station we
arrived at seemed to have a McDonald’s conveniently located directly across the
street. And luckily, every single one had free internet, opened around 5 in the
morning, and didn’t mind when we threw our several backpacks and guitars in the
corner, sat at a table for 3 hours without ordering a single thing, and slowly
prepared ourselves to take on a new city and country. Sitting at McDonald’s
while reading Hostelworld reviews and figuring out directions out of the
godforsaken train station neighborhood became a routine we grew to look forward
to. And, comparing the prices and menus of McDonald’s in different countries,
even when you don’t plan to order anything, is always fun. With the comforting
knowledge that McD’s and its free wifi would always be waiting at the other end
of the train line, we never pre-arranged hostel accommodation again!
 |
| Do you see it? McDonald's at the station in Budapest, without fail. |
Note: Please be sure to find your
accommodation in Prague in advance. McDonald’s CANNOT be relied on. Prague is
The Land of No Wifi, and the wifi was terrible (usually completely nonfunctional)
in every single hostel, public place, restaurant, bookstore, etc. that we went
to.
On another note, you should also carry
around a map in Prague. In addition to being The Land of No Wifi, Prague is
also The Land of a Million Churches. We naively thought we could find our way
back to the hostel based on a significant-looking church on the corner, until
we quickly realized that EVERY corner had a significant-looking church on it!
I hope this didn’t discourage you from
going to Prague. Prague is gorgeous and somehow looks like a postcard at all
hours of the day. And the best part is that the river is full of swans! (And
you can feed them!)
 |
| I wasn't kidding about the swans... |
