We realised fairly early that the nice lady who had made the reservation for the train had nodded and said reservation for Wednesday, and happily booked us for the train on Tuesday.
Rather than try to explain what had happened, and also that we had not simply missed the train on Tuesday, I just coughed up another 11 Euros for new reservations. It was a lesson - that you need to really check things carefully.
There was another moment of concern when we got on the train and found a person already in one of the seats we had reserved. We smiled and told him that he was in our seat, and he smiled and said "No, I have seat 34 reserved". There seemed to be plenty of seats, but that can change very quickly, so I rummaged around in my bag and pulled out the reservation card. He did the same.
High five. He did have seat 34 reserved - in the next carriage.
The trip was uneventful except for the appearance of an American family. The bloke did not stop talking - loudly. I had my MP3 player going and could still hear him. After about two hours, the ticket collector came along and sent them off to 2nd class, for which they had tickets. Peace. . .
We arrived in Prague and were immediately struck by the contrast to Berlin, where the main railway station built for the 2006 soccer world cup was huge, shiny and new. Praha-Holešovice on the other hand was simply dirty and run down.
We found the hotel very easily, and of course the first thing we asked was where we could find a laundry. Kristina, our hostess, dubbed "The whirlwind" by Fiona, for her enormous energy level, said that she was the laundry manager. "Just bring it downstairs when you are ready"/ Hallelujah! It's a miracle!
We had a traditional Czech goulash for dinner at the restaurant / bar next door and then went for what we intended to be a wee walk down to the end of the street to look at the river. In the end, we walked up to the Charles Bridge and through the "old town" to the main square, and on to the Namesti Republici. It was party time in the main square as the Czechs had just defeated the Americans at the Ice Hockey World Championships. 4-0. Having walked for several kilometres, we were very happy to discover that there was a tram that stopped where we were that would drop us just around the corner from our hotel. As we were walking from the tram, we passed two homeless old men having an arguement. They stopped to ask me for money in French. When I said "No understand" he grumbled as we quickly walked away, then brought out what I assume to be the only English he could think of. He started shouting/singing 'Do ya do ya do ya do ya want to dance ? Do you want to dance?" repeatedly, in a rather aggressive tone. We hurried on and slammed the door behind us.
For the rest of the stay we were afraid of meeting Fred Astaire again.
Next day we did the same walk again. This time with cameras and daylight. Lovely.
Everywhere you look, there are vistas that would make good photos.
Next day we had planned to do some souvenier shopping in the morning and go up and have a look at the castle in the afternoon.
The old town is both engaging and chaotic. While we were shopping, we had seen an advertisment for "Sun Galleries" with some examples of extremely clever and funny work. Unfortunately, I can't find any on the net. An example is Vincent van Gogh's self portrait with bandaged ear - with a sort-of Homer Simpson look-alike. We had a map, and tried very hard to find the gallery but eventually gave up.
We thought it would be interesting to walk up to the castle from the "lesser town' as the guidebooks call it.
It was interesting alright, but it was seriously hard work. As we need to proceeed slowly, we stopped and had a look in St Nicholas church. What an over-the-top experience.
We made it up to the castle just before they closed for the day.
The next day, we got the tram up the hill and had plenty of time. In the castle grounds is St.Vitus Cathedral. It is a wonderful old gothic thing, started in 1344 and finished in 1929, You do the sums. It's a long time.
The stained-glass windows are brilliant. Sadly, they do not photograph well at all.
P.S. We eventually found "Sun Gallery" with the aid of a better map, but you will have to wait until we get home to see Homer/Vincent as I don't have a scanner with me.
Cheers
P.P.S. The beer here is really good and really cheap - about $2.00 for a half litre. Cheers!
.
Rather than try to explain what had happened, and also that we had not simply missed the train on Tuesday, I just coughed up another 11 Euros for new reservations. It was a lesson - that you need to really check things carefully.
There was another moment of concern when we got on the train and found a person already in one of the seats we had reserved. We smiled and told him that he was in our seat, and he smiled and said "No, I have seat 34 reserved". There seemed to be plenty of seats, but that can change very quickly, so I rummaged around in my bag and pulled out the reservation card. He did the same.
High five. He did have seat 34 reserved - in the next carriage.
The trip was uneventful except for the appearance of an American family. The bloke did not stop talking - loudly. I had my MP3 player going and could still hear him. After about two hours, the ticket collector came along and sent them off to 2nd class, for which they had tickets. Peace. . .
We arrived in Prague and were immediately struck by the contrast to Berlin, where the main railway station built for the 2006 soccer world cup was huge, shiny and new. Praha-Holešovice on the other hand was simply dirty and run down.
We found the hotel very easily, and of course the first thing we asked was where we could find a laundry. Kristina, our hostess, dubbed "The whirlwind" by Fiona, for her enormous energy level, said that she was the laundry manager. "Just bring it downstairs when you are ready"/ Hallelujah! It's a miracle!
We had a traditional Czech goulash for dinner at the restaurant / bar next door and then went for what we intended to be a wee walk down to the end of the street to look at the river. In the end, we walked up to the Charles Bridge and through the "old town" to the main square, and on to the Namesti Republici. It was party time in the main square as the Czechs had just defeated the Americans at the Ice Hockey World Championships. 4-0. Having walked for several kilometres, we were very happy to discover that there was a tram that stopped where we were that would drop us just around the corner from our hotel. As we were walking from the tram, we passed two homeless old men having an arguement. They stopped to ask me for money in French. When I said "No understand" he grumbled as we quickly walked away, then brought out what I assume to be the only English he could think of. He started shouting/singing 'Do ya do ya do ya do ya want to dance ? Do you want to dance?" repeatedly, in a rather aggressive tone. We hurried on and slammed the door behind us.
For the rest of the stay we were afraid of meeting Fred Astaire again.
Next day we did the same walk again. This time with cameras and daylight. Lovely.
Everywhere you look, there are vistas that would make good photos.
Next day we had planned to do some souvenier shopping in the morning and go up and have a look at the castle in the afternoon.
The old town is both engaging and chaotic. While we were shopping, we had seen an advertisment for "Sun Galleries" with some examples of extremely clever and funny work. Unfortunately, I can't find any on the net. An example is Vincent van Gogh's self portrait with bandaged ear - with a sort-of Homer Simpson look-alike. We had a map, and tried very hard to find the gallery but eventually gave up.
We thought it would be interesting to walk up to the castle from the "lesser town' as the guidebooks call it.
It was interesting alright, but it was seriously hard work. As we need to proceeed slowly, we stopped and had a look in St Nicholas church. What an over-the-top experience.
We made it up to the castle just before they closed for the day.
The next day, we got the tram up the hill and had plenty of time. In the castle grounds is St.Vitus Cathedral. It is a wonderful old gothic thing, started in 1344 and finished in 1929, You do the sums. It's a long time.
The stained-glass windows are brilliant. Sadly, they do not photograph well at all.
P.S. We eventually found "Sun Gallery" with the aid of a better map, but you will have to wait until we get home to see Homer/Vincent as I don't have a scanner with me.
Cheers
P.P.S. The beer here is really good and really cheap - about $2.00 for a half litre. Cheers!
.
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