If you're ever going to read almost an entire short history of the Balkans in one sitting, let me caution you against doing it on a near-empty 12-hour train ride when you don't speak the right language and your phone doesn't work. First off, it's complicated and confusing, and on the aforementioned train you won't have the internet, or anyone to ask or, in my case, even good maps to look at. I wanted to ask "Did I misunderstand something, or is that completely absurd?" about 40 times, but there was no one to ask. (I also had a lot of "How come I didn't know that?" moments. I wish I knew more about the world.) One thing that's not confusing, though, is that it's depressing as hell, and that's the big problem with reading it all alone on the train: There's no one to make you laugh and remind you that the world isn't so bad. Whine. Don't worry, I didn't throw myself from the train or anything, but I did really want a drink and a hug at the end of the trip. (And a proper toilet--why do train bathrooms always smell so terrible?)
Only the first two cars of the Budapest-Sarajevo train go all the way to Sarajevo. The Hungarian cars are air-conditioned; the Bosnian cars are not. Which was fine, it wasn't super hot, but I guess it's dandelion season and with the windows open the train kept getting blizzard-y with dandelion (or whatever flower) fuzz.
And that's all I have to say about the Budapest-Sarajevo train.
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