The one where we got humbled by teenagers
Azure Route in Budapest, 06/06 - 09/06
Szia from Kadi, Alina and Phaedon, the Azure ambassadors!
Unlike our arrival, this time it was our departure to the next destination that turned dramatic. We left Zagreb in the middle of heavy rain, making our way to the station with covered backpacks and shoes that were rapidly losing the battle against the weather. While some of us did our best to shield our entire bodies from the rain, I chose a different strategy: a tank top, complete acceptance of getting soaked, and total dedication to keeping my backpack dry.
The journey to Budapest wasn’t entirely smooth either. At one stop in Hungary, our train suddenly started moving backwards. After a brief period of confusion, we were informed that we would need to leave our train and switch to another one at a place none of us could pronounce: Balatonszentgyörgy. To our surprise, however, it turned out to be a charming little station. Fortunately, Budapest welcomed us with a much smoother arrival. Waiting for us right on the platform was Anna, one of the wonderful locals from AEGEE-Budapest, who guided us through the city and to Virág’s apartment. Virág, a member of this year’s project team and previous ambassador, had kindly arranged for us to stay there, like many editions before.
And what an apartment it was. At this point of the route, any place with a bed already feels luxurious, but this one was genuinely lovely. After weeks of travelling, you start to appreciate the little things: a comfortable couch, a functional kitchen, and enough floor space to fully unpack your backpack. There was only one downside—a broken elevator, which meant climbing four flights of stairs every time we returned to the apartment.
Now, however, is the time to let you in on a little secret. We, the Azure team, are very conscious of being the calmer side of Europe on Track. Sometimes we even feel a little guilty about it. While the journey is often associated with constant activity and adventure, we’re often found taking naps, discussing upcoming destinations, doing laundry, or heading to bed at a reasonable hour instead of squeezing every possible activity into the day.
And we embraced that side of ourselves in Budapest. We made full use of the cosy apartment, spending plenty of time recharging. One evening, we even stayed in to cook dinner together and bake cookies. After weeks on the road, and with travel fatigue slowly catching up to us, Budapest gave us something we hadn’t realised we were missing: a sense of normality amidst the constant movement and excitement that is Europe on Track.
That being said, we did join some activities. During our stay there, members from AEGEE-Utrecht and AEGEE-Torino were also there for an exchange. One of the first activities during that exchange was a city tour. Together we explored the Buda side of Budapest, climbing hills, enjoying the views, taking group pictures, eating cottage cheese ice cream (?).
The next day (after the others had visited a water park) we met again and settled into a different kind of a park, a nice green area on Margaret Island for Climate board games. This time we had enough participants to test the two games at the same time. Alina masterfully held Echoes of Gaia, the storytelling game, during which one participant remarked “It’s a good game to do some critical thinking about what is the value of society now, and what happens if…” At the same time, Phaedon and I guided the other participants through debates, touching on subjects like green areas, climate refugees and banning space travel.
During the interviews with the participants, however, an interesting pattern began to emerge. When we asked people about eco-anxiety and how they experience it, their answers were almost always framed in terms of climate change itself or the environmental situation in their city or country. Much less often did they speak about their own emotions or personal experiences of eco-anxiety. And looking back that was also the tendency during previous stops. We decided to try and pry more into the emotions and anxiety side of it in the future.
The evening brought another classic AEGEE experience: European Night. By the scenic river view, participants from Budapest, Utrecht, and Torino introduced each other to their local foods, drinks, traditions, and cultural quirks. This was the moment we also received the Europe on Track flag from another this edition’s project team member – Zsofia. This was a very exciting moment and you’re sure to see more pics with it in the future. Unfortunately, unlike many of the exchange participants, we couldn’t stay out particularly late. The next morning we had something far more intimidating waiting for us. Teenagers.
The following day marked our first two full run-throughs of the workshop Slow Travel, Slow Living at a local high school. Walking through the hallways was strangely nostalgic. Students rushed between classrooms, PE classes ran across the schoolyard, and for a moment we were transported back to our own high school years. Mostly, it reminded us how grateful we are to have finished them.
Our workshop introduced students to the concept of slow travel. The workshop is built to discuss alternatives to fast-paced tourism, explore its advantages and disadvantages, and introduce practical tools for travelling more consciously and sustainably. The main activity included groups of participants planning their own eco-trips with destinations and roles given to them. Or at least that was the plan.
In our opinion, the first run through of the workshop was rough to say the least.
Participants spoke very little. We ended up answering many of our own questions. Random group formation was met with visible resistance. Awkward silences appeared with impressive frequency. At one point Alina leaned over and whispered: “I don’t think we’re going to get any quotes from this one.” We do think it was mostly due to shyness and not lack of interest or understanding. But the workshop took a lot out of us.
We continued bravely onward, motivating participants with stickers, encouraging them to complete feedback forms, and introducing them to DiscoverEU and Interrail passes, which many of them would soon become eligible for.
I never did understand how tired and drained, dishevelled I also looked on the outside until looking at the camera roll from the workshop.
After the session, we sat down as a team and reflected on what had happened. What worked? What didn’t? Which activities generated discussion and which ones created silence? We adjusted several formats, changed some facilitation approaches, emphasised some points more and came up with a new theory: the students could sense our fear. Therefore, our solution was to appear more confident. Whether this was scientifically sound remains unknown, but it made us feel better. And we’d say the second workshop run went along 50% better!
There were also some interesting highlights. As a part of the eco-trip formation the groups also had to create packing lists for their imaginatory trip, and one pair of students proudly decided that an essential travel item would be “two beautiful women.” It took all of our collective professionalism not to laugh during their presentation and instead analyse the consequences of enlarging your travel group and what it would that imply for the budget.
The rest of the day was significantly calmer. We headed home, caught up on some much-needed laundry, and enjoyed the rare luxury of rest and, once again, naps. After weeks on the road, laundry has become less of a chore and more of a spiritual experience.
In the evening, we made our way to Margaret Island, where we met up with exchange participants to enjoy music, good company, and one final scenic Budapest evening. Several participants had enjoyed the city so much that they decided to extend their stay. Unfortunately, the Azure route operates on a rather strict schedule. While others were planning more time in Budapest, we were already thinking about alarms, train times, and our next destination.
The following morning, we packed our bags once again and headed for the station.
Budapest became the stop where we learned that not every workshop goes perfectly. Sometimes participants are quiet. Sometimes activities need adjusting. Sometimes your biggest challenge isn’t logistics or travel, but a room full of teenagers staring at you in silence. And sometimes that’s exactly how you learn the most.
Written by: Kadi Värnik
(and the Azure team)