THE TRAIN TO PRAHA (PRAGUE)

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We are now on the train bound for Prague. First class travel on the Hungarian rail system is not quite the same as the OBB of Austria. This is more like Italian first class where you are in cars that seat 6 people with an isle the runs the length of the car. The seats are very comfortable and recline to a flat position, only if no one is sitting across from you. Jerry and I have windows seats so we are sitting across from each other. We are sharing our car with three German (I think) men, who haven’t stopped talking yet.

This is a long train ride. We left at 9:25 and will arrive in Prague at 4:30. There is a dining car so we will probably take advantage of that. Before getting on the train I purchased some water and a sandwich for us. I took one byte of the sandwich and threw it away; it had a very strange taste to it.

There is no wifi on this train or plug-ins, so I have to run my laptop of the battery. This new laptop has a much better batter and will last for about three hours.

So I just finished typing my summary of Budapest, Jerry is sound asleep and the Germans are still talking an hour later. We have stopped three times so I think that may be why it is going to take a while to get to Prague. This is not a TGV or even a RailJet, but a slow train, which is fine, once we get out of the cities and into the Country the scenery should be very nice. I believe that our route will take us through a large part of Slovakia.

I was correct; we did cross the border in to Slovakia. When we crossed the train stopped for passport inspection. The Slovak police boarded and checked everyone’s passports. They were very serious and it felt as if we were somehow doing something wrong, but all went well. After the passport check they left the train and we went on our way. Jerry awoke from his nap and we headed to the dining car for lunch. Eating on the train is always enjoyable, watching the country go by and enjoying some food. Its train food, but they do have a kitchen and actually cook it on board so while it isn’t great it is far better than airplane food. Jerry had a green salad with ham and cheese (lots of onions not as much lettuce) still trying to up our intake of raw vegetables. He also had a chicken breast Lescó style, which means vegetables and paprika sauce. I had a pork Schnitzel, a cup of goulash soup and a smaller green salad than Jerry’s.

While we ate lunch we passed through the Capital of Slovakia, Bratislava only saw a bit of it, but it looked fairly decent size. We also met an older couple (70’s) from Tucson AZ. They had just finished a Viking Cruise from Bucharest to Budapest on the Danube. We have been thinking about doing one of those in the future, but after talking with them, I doubt that we will. They were not impressed with the other people on the boat and they said it was just to group tour like for them. They did say that the service, accommodations and food were great, but putting up with the entitled Brits, Canadian’s and American’s was just too much for them.

After lunch, Jerry inquired if there was smoking anywhere on the train, the waiter first said no, then came back and said he could smoke in the kitchen. So Jerry took that opportunity and had a cigarette in the Train Galley.

We have about 3 ½ hours to go as we do make several small stops along the way.
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The rest of the train ride was uneventful, they came by with drinks and I purchased a small bottle of Hungarian Red Wine. I drifted in and out of sleep and Jerry read about Prague. As we neared the city, we realized that the train station we were suppose to get off at was twice as far from our hotel as the first stop in Prague. So we got off at the main railway station instead of the one on our ticket. This worked out really well, the main station is one of two places in the city you can was also a very easy connection to the metro and easy transfer to the metro nearest our hotel. The walk to the hotel was a bit of a hike, but once we drop the luggage off, the Hotel is conveniently located.

The Hotel

We are staying at Hotel Orion in Prague 2, which also just happens to be the gay quarter. We got this hotel through Trip Advisor. The room is huge, in has a kitchen and a huge bedroom with love seat and chair. It is on a quiet street and there are several restaurants nearby. Jerry has already been down the front desk and gave the reservation list to the front desk and they are making those for us now. She also recommended a pub for tonight right around the corner from the Hotel. This is good as the next two days will be pretty jammed pack so the first night being close to the hotel works out great.

It is a bit colder hear and jackets may be required during the evening. So far Prague seems pretty clean, the people friendly and a little less hectic than Budapest. The food is similar but with a slight variation, more on that as we experience it. More to come after dinner.

A bit more on the hotel, the staff is overly friendly and helpful, but they don’t like you looking around in the basement, maybe there are some dead bodies or something. In any event, they made all our reservations for our remaining nights and the place that was recommended to night was amazing and cheap. Everyone has it wrong, Budapest is expensive, Prague is cheap (first impressions only of course).

The pub was only a short walk from the hotel. The waiter was great, funny friendly spoke perfect English and recommend all of the right things. A friend of mine who was born here recommended a particular dish, Jerry had it tonight, it is called Svíčková, it puts a turkey dinner to shame. What it is is marinated beef with the best dumplings you have ever had in your life and gravy that is just beyond description. It also incorporates cranberries, so it is like a thanksgiving meal but so much better. I had a totally different version of garlic soup and wild boar with a lime thyme sauce. It was all so good and a great introduction to Czech food.

Now if you’re sitting down especially those that know me well, I drank a beer. The waiter recommended this particular Czech beer called Staropramen Ležák, Jerry really liked it and for me, well I could drink it which is more than I can say for most beer. At the end of the meal we had a shot of Czech rum, yes they make rum here out of potato skins and it is better than any rum you have ever had. We will be bringing some of that home. We also had a Czech bottle of wine with our meal. So let me be clear, I had soup and wild boar, Jerry had a salad (good sized) and the beef dish (huge), each had a beer, a bottle of wine and a shot of rum. All of this for just over $50. Tell me where in Portland can you get that deal and certainly every meal we had in Budapest cost at least 50%!m(MISSING)ore, although the portions were also huge there.

So we have had a great first night here in Prague. Two jammed packed days ahead of us so much to do, see, eat and drink.

Today’s Food

Lunch on the Train - Jerry: Chicken Lesco style and a salad with ham and cheese. Chris: goulash soup and pork Schnitzel.

Dinner at Hlučná Samota – Czech beer each, Jerry: Large salad and Svíčková (and there is so much more to the name that I left out), Chris: Garlic soup with croutons, ham and egg and Wild Boar (again the Czech name is just too long to repeat)

Wine Odrudové Vin Cervené – Cabernet Sauvignon.

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