After a last breakfast in Budapest, a tearful goodbye to Pam & Jane, we headed for the train station to head back to Prague. We left the hotel early since there wasn't enough time to go anywhere, so we might as well familiarize ourselves with the train station. We needn't have worried. Our first class tickets were worth every penny! Immediately upon arrival, a porter looked at our tickets and ushered us into the first class lounge. What a lovely lounge, with complimentary drinks and snacks, and very comfortable chairs & sofas. A half an hour before our train was scheduled was leave, I packed up my stuff (books & snacks) just when the porter came back to get us. I nudged Frank who still had on his headphones reading his iPad. I jumped up to follow the porter since he took off with our bags. I ran to keep up with him, but Frank was still packing up. What to do? I had to keep the porter in my view, and he was traveling fast among the throngs of people down the long row of trains. I didn't dare stop and wait for Frank, I didn't want to get separated from our luggage! I followed the porter what seemed a mile, and he finally boarded a train and plopped our luggage above our assigned seats. Clearly he knew enough English to get us to the right train, but not enough to understand - go find my husband! I waited a bit, checked on the luggage, peered down the mass of people. No Frank. Crap. I finally decided our luggage was ok, and started walking back to the lounge where I finally ran into a mildly panicked Frank. He had no idea where we had gone, and was trying to show tickets to different people as to where to go, but no one could help. Reunited and taking deep breaths, we boarded the train and tried to relax!
The train was delightful, except for the lack of snacks available on the train. Apparently, a whole bunch of backpackers ate them out of all their stockpile of food and drink. Luckily, we brought sandwiches and water. Late in the afternoon, we were forced to eat all the candy we had bought in Vienna out of pure desperation. So sorry none of you will be able to taste the delicious sampling of treats we had planned to share :) The views were mostly beautiful, and always interesting. At one point in the beginning of the trip, we were parallel with the Danube and even saw another longboat cruising up the river. I tried to follow our route with my map, we came north through Slovakia then west toward Prague. The conductor never said a word until we reached the Czech Republic, but we had to show our tickets multiple times, it looks like a passport now with all the stamps. Once into Czech, the conductor made all announcements in Hungarian, Czech, and English. Funny how he would carry on for five minutes in the other languages, and only two sentences in English. Hmm.
We arrived after seven hours on the train (doesn't seem that long on a train!), found our driver, and breathed in the familiar air of Prague. Something about this city just makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. I'm not sure it's because we have been here before (we are even staying in the same hotel), or the city is just more welcoming than others. It is certainly more welcoming than Budapest. It seems down every street, Prague opens its arms for us to have a peek at their beautiful city. We had dinner last night at an open air cafe right on the square in old town and people watched. As a goodbye to Eastern Europe, I had the Czech Plate, which was duck, ham, sausage, cabbage, and potato pancakes. It's not as much food as it sounds, Europeans do not pile on the food like in America. A nice dark Erdinger beer topped off the evening. I was forced to drink the entire 51ml glass without Jane to help!
Asthma has gotten the best of Frank in the last few days (he blames it on the bad air in Budapest) so I took the last of our Czech money and bought us lunch, pastries, and as many snacks as I could to spend the rest of the cash. We head to the airport soon and say goodbye to this fabulous trip. What a window into part of the world I only read about. To see the history is to empathize with our fellow man and the troubles we have endured as a people. If we would visit everyone in their homes, would we be so inclined to hate? Maybe it's our human nature, or maybe we should try harder to step into the shoes of those who have so little and who have struggled so mightily. I for one have been changed by the experience.
Ok, off to the pastry shops, I have a little coinage to get rid of before we fly!
I have to leave Prague with my favorite doggy stand. Yes, they have bags around the city to pick up after your dog!
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