A young woman was left stranded overnight at a desolate petrol station in Hungary after her coach took off without her. Kirsty Hillier, 22, got stuck in the western town of Balatonlelle during a FlixBus journey. The driver for her Budapest to Zagreb trip had stopped at a petrol station, so she went to get a hotdog.
But when she returned there was no sign of the bus - or her luggage. Kind locals came to her aid and she managed to book another journey - and locate her suitcase. Kirsty said: "One minute I was at the service station and everything was fine. Then I walked round the corner and the bus, with all my luggage on it, had gone.
"From that point on, I relied solely on the empathy and kindness of strangers to help me. My experience has really restored my faith in humanity."
Kirsty set off to travel Europe by herself on August 11 last year. Two weeks before the end of her trip, on December 27, she booked a Flix Bus from Budapest, Hungary, to Zagreb, in neighbouring Croatia. But what was meant to be a simple four-hour drive turned into a nightmare.
Kirsty claims the driver said he'd be leaving the petrol station in Balatonlelle in 15 minutes, so she got off, went to the toilet and bought herself some snacks. But when she returned 10 minutes later the bus had gone - with all her luggage on. Kirsty said: "I came out the shop and couldn't see the bus, and my heart just sank.
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"I was trying to speak to people and explain what had happened, no one spoke English. It was freezing and I left my coat and trainers on the bus, so was only wearing sliders. Thankfully I had my iPad on me and I was able to charge it in the shop, but the Wi-fi was barely working.
"I was sat waiting all night, not knowing what to do with myself, and I was starting to really panic. During the night two coaches passed which I tried to get on - one was going to Slovenia which was no good, and the other going back to Budapest was full."
Kirsty slept in the station and finally got the help she needed at 7am the next morning. A woman who finished her night shift at the petrol station offered to take Kirsty to Ballontelle train station. From there she travelled back to Budapest, where she reluctantly booked another FlixBus to Zagreb.
She was then tasked with locating her luggage which had travelled to the Croatian capital without her the previous day. Fearing she'd never see her bags again, Kirsty posted on a Facebook group for Zagreb locals appealing for help. And, to her delight, Antonija, a complete stranger, saw her plea, and retrieved her luggage from the bus moments before it returned to Budapest.
Kirsty says Flix Bus have apologised about the situation but have failed to offer her any compensation for the driver's careless error. She said: "When this lady offered to take me to the station I felt so relieved - but I still had a lot to worry about.
"I was convinced I'd never see my luggage again, but after reaching out on Facebook, a Croatian woman called Antonija vowed to help me. She was a total stranger, but she offered to look for my bags at the coach station, and I trusted her more than I did Flix Bus at this point.
"And, by some miracle, later that day, she sent me a selfie with all my belongings in her hand - I couldn't believe the kindness I'd been shown."
A spokesperson for Flix Bus said: "We are in contact with the customer to understand the circumstances of the journey in order to provide the right support through our customer service protocols.”
