Train to Prague

This blog covers the Monday night train ride to Prague through Tuesday evening, August 21, 2012 in Prague.

Wow. The couchettes are small, that's the first thing that crosses my mind as I board the train for Prague. It's funny as there is a well over 6 foot guy who is trying to get into something that's perfectly sized for me at a very short 5'8".   I'm in a couchette with a Malay family of Chinese descent who has taken up all but one bed across two 6 person rooms. It's been since 95 that I've spoken a lick of Chinese. Good thing they also speak English and better thing I got the bottom bunk in a six bed room stacked 3 high on each side.  Of course, the hardness of the bed foretells of not much rest to come. 

As the train pulls away at exactly 19:01, it's cool to watch as we pass out of Amsterdam and onto the rest of the journey. We will eventually cross through Berlin, Germany before making it to Prague. I was in Berlin 9 years ago nearly to the day for an MBA course I took. I always feel like whenever I travel around a city I find markers that lead me back to where I should be. Passing through Berlin feels like a marker saying I should be headed to Prague.  I'm looking forward to a few good days there before I go to the country I've wanted to see for over 20 years, Spain.

As we get farther into our train ride we follow another canal/river, alongside which is a bike trail. You can see guys out there pedaling away, passing others who have stopped to fish.  We speed through several train stops as those are not for us. Other trains pass us in the other direction presumably on their way to Amsterdam, carrying passengers of all sorts. Those on vacation, those coming home, and some just passing through to get to their next stop. Amsterdam feels like a transient town, almost college town. There is a whole industry, tourism, built around people who don't intend to stay long. And though there is more to Amsterdam, as it is to home to a large shipping industry as well as large businesses like Heineken, you can feel that without tourism, much of this city would be a ghost town. 

The train is going to make a few stops along the way. In some places we will pick up more passengers. In other places we will actually lose a few trains compartments as they will head to places like Copenhagen.  It's funny. Each group we pick up has a different story, a different reason for traveling, a different destination and yet for now we ride together, share stories. We will ultimately still part as strangers, but that doesn't lessen the experience of those short moments together 

About an hour and a half into our journey we have a stop at the German border.  A few of us get out to stretch our legs an we get a friendly reminder that bathroom waste doesn't stay in the train but rather makes its way into the tracks.  And a strange occurrence happened at the station, the German police came on board, looked in every cabin without any particular rhyme, reason or results. After they had been through every cabin they left and we were on our way. 

My Malay roommates were quite the partiers. They opened up the beer and wine and were just having a good time. They offered up some chicken flavored raman noodles and some wine and after multiple prompts I obliged and joined in a bit. 

It's amazing the simplicity of rail travel. Walk up to the train, get on, have your tickets checked later, and walk about the cabin as much as you like.  There's no such thing as fasten your seat belt or emergency procedures for a water landing. And I have to admit, the sites are better. You can watch the sun set, landscapes change, all while in the front row not in the bleachers. 

About 4:30 in the morning we arrived in Berlin. At the Hauptbahnhof station I'd been to before. It was cool to look around and see a familiar platform and building.  It also brought back memories of my roommate during my two week MBA study program. His name was Jake and he had a weird way of testing the quality of his marriage. He'd simply throw his ring up in the air. If he caught it or at least got it back, he considered his marriage solid.  However, he had told his wife that if he were to ever lose it, it meant the marriage was over. Hopefully he hasn't lost the ring, unless it's really for the best.  Speaking of separation, our train would make its final separation at our second Berlin stop, Ostbahnhof. One of my Malay friends was very concerned when we were moving backwards. I let him understand that we'd move forward again in a bit as we were only getting set up to be on the correct line for our journey to Prague. 

After some more sleep, we awake for the day still on our way to Prague. We are in the Czech Republic and riding along a river with a mountain range behind it. Definitely a great sight to wake up to. 

Of course with morning comes some of the usual activities. Putting in contacts is something I've done for quite a few years now. However, the "routineness" of this task takes on a different perspective when your world is moving in 3d. The train undulates with the imperfections of the track and as it embraces the tracks more deeply to keep steady through the slight turns left and right you feel yourself rocked all about.  Remember the old saying, it's all fun and games until someone gets an eye poked out? Definitely true about train rides and fortunately it's still fun and games for me. Contacts loaded!!!

As we finally approach Prague, I move ahead to make sure I've got the right station to get off on. I'd hate to get off too soon or too late. My target confirmed I returned to my section of the train to find out that all but one of my Malay friends disembarked at the wrong station.  I ended up acting as the English to English translator between broken Malay/Chinese English and broken Czech English, so that my Malay friend could give word to his family on where to go. Once done, I departed for my journey into Prague, unsure if they would all get reunited in time for their next train to Austria later that day.  By happen stance, as I was walking around town sightseeing, I ran into them all again. They had reunited and had enough time to get a bit of sightseeing in.  All is well that ends well. 

I spent most of the rest of the day taking it easy aside from a few quick hours of sight seeing, about an hour by myself and 2.5 hours on a free walking tour of the city.  I think all of the happenings on the train left me pretty tired and ready for another day of rest. 

Powder gate.  One of the original gates to the city wall that was built hundreds of years ago.  This is one of three that remain.  This has significance as the entry point that kings came through as they came to accept the thrown.

The square I'm staying on, site of the 1989 velvet revolution, where communism fell in Czechoslovakia.  

Cathedral in the old plaza of Prague 

Prague castle as seen through an arch

Frank's Kafka monument, I know nothing about him, but his monument is cool.  

I feel like I've heard this story somewhere, else as well, but I'll retell for the interesting legend that it is.  Apparently a thief came into this church hundreds of years ago and tried to steal whatever.  However, his plans were thwarted when the virgin Mary statue sprang into actions grabbed ahold and wouldn't let go.  In the morning the priest came in to find the thief.  Ultimately, they cut off the guy's arm and that's apparently what is seen handing in the pictures below.  

Of course, even without the arm, the church has a pretty cool interior

Back in the main plaza, there's a cool clock that's been working for nearly 700 years.  Every hour on the hour, it "comes alive".  I'm sure I'll see that later on and post about it. 

Monument in remembrance of one of Mozart's works was debuted here.  

People randomly with their feet in water with fish "nibbling at them" at a Thai massage place.

And to close out, a case of small worlds...  I arrive back from some sightseeing to meet one of the new roomies, Simon.  He's originally from Belfast, but is going  to school to be a vet in Bristol.  Well, turns out the next set of roomies to come in, are from Bristol, and the girl's mother is from Belfast.  Just strange the coincidences.