The chan came with a cold plunge pool and a private dining room. It was heated by a wood fire and was full of leaves and twigs. I lowered myself into this forest soup and let the gurgle of the mountain stream wash over me too. Fortunately not a frog, I noticed the temperature creeping up. There was no thermostat so I opened the cold water hose. A minute later the overflow pipe added a faint splash to the gurgle. Heaven.
Back to reality. There was no shower and we’d already checked out of the room. At least we’d be carrying the sweet aroma of the forest… or a freshly disinfected toilet.
Mukachevo was much nicer than it had appeared at night. Air conditioned coffee shops, a lovely park, and a gratuitous red phone box. We spent the afternoon at a half empty Olympic size lido near the river. A brand new waterpark nearby had clearly poached all the screaming kids.
The trains were full again. The late evening coach would cross the border at midnight and we’d wake up in Budapest and take trains to Munich and then Cologne by late evening.
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