Day 6- On to Prague!

After our usual tradition of waking up confused and dazed, we packed up, checked out and finally found our way to one of the train stations. I can’t really remember which station it was because I really in the mood to care at the time. We were all very tired, as we woke up in the morning in order to have an early start on Prague. Anybody who has seen any of us wake up "early" will understand completely. Before leaving the hostel, I think the only thing any one of us said to the others were, "Get up," and, "Ready?" The space in between those phrases was filled with the usual grunting noises that can convey a variety of messages depending on inflection and context. Any attempt to be chipper early in the morning would have been quickly halted through attempted homicide.

We grabbed three beers, a giant water and a bag of chips at the train station in order to have something to eat and drink on the ride, as well as use up some spare Deutchemarks. The beers were pretty poor ideas, considering the cherryish taste, large size and toasty warmth. I think the best anybody did was drink about a quarter of his beer before pitching it. The other two drank more than that.

We boarded our train and grabbed a compartment. Incidentally, one of the perks of travelling with a Europass is the use of the first class. No, there are no free snacks and such provided to people on the train, this is not like a flight. If you want something, you buy it from the dining car. However, you can have your own compartment with seats facing each other, allowing you to have an easy conversation with your travelling companions. It is much more relaxing than the usual setup with all the seats facing forward if for no other reason than being able to put your feet up.

We headed into the Czech Republic and got our passports stamped by gentlemen in the sort of pale, olive uniforms that just say "Iron Curtain" about them. I’m not sure how to describe it, but something about the way the border guards were dressed seemed to announce to all arriving this is Eastern Europe.

The countryside could be pretty depressing. There were farms and such and there were some villages that made rural Alabama seem like a nice place to live. Should any of you have been concerned about there being a peasant shortage, I can most earnestly assure you there are still plenty to be found.

Another memorable feature of the ride into Prague were these mammoth windmills which, I assume, produce electricity. They were a bit surprising to view. They varied in size from probably between a 10 to a 15-story building. They were in the distance, so it is difficult to tell height aside from, "Wow those things are big". In any case, it is one thing to see a very tall structure. It is another to see a great big chunk of it spinning. It is one thing to see these things on the Discovery Channel. It is quite another to see it in action.

After an uneventful ride, we arrived at something we were informed was Prague.