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Berlin Hauptbahnhof
An incredible building, 80% self efficient Saturday July 4
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA! We woke up early this morning so we could pack all our stuff. After another quick breakfast, we rushed out the door to catch the bus, to catch the train to the main train station (Hauptbahnof). We got there with 15 minutes to spare. When the train arrived, we leisurely made our way on to the coach and we’re impressed with how comfortable and spacious the seats looked. Unfortunately, little did we know that we were actually in 1st class…woops. Kind of embarrassing. We hauled our luggage back four cars to our real seats, and found our cozy little six-seater cabin. A dumb Korean was sleeping in one of our window seats (good thing she got off about an hour later). The train ride was really nice, great scenery. For about an hour after the Germany-Czech Republic border we were riding alongside a river. The other people in our cabin were very nice. Shane (a screenwriter), his wife (I didn’t get her name), and their friend Derrick (apparently one of the leading editors of the magazine Variety) were very interesting and entertaining people. I had a nice conversation with Shane about Prague and LA.
Viv made the wife uncomfortable when she was left sitting alone with her in the cabin reading her book and shooting the lady dirty looks.
Finally after about 5 hours we arrived at Praha Holesovice. From there we took the 12 tram straight to our hotel. Our room here is again very nice. We’re on the first floor and within 20 minutes walking of all the major sites of the city. We were starving so we threw our bags down and headed to a restaurant recommended by the hotel. By this time it was raining, which didn’t help the fact that we were cranky. We eventually found the place (the streets through Prague are a little confusing), but it was fully booked (due to lack of seating because of the rain). Lucky for us, we found a restaurant right across the street. This was the best meal we’ve had on our trip!! We shared cabbage soup to start. Viv ordered beef with gravy and bread dumplings, I ordered a huge potato pancake with sauerkraut and roasted pork. It was so good!! After that we went back to the hotel. Viv took a nap and I went out exploring. I
went over to Kampa Island (right down the street). This had a great view of the city and the Vltava River. I went over to the John Lennon Wall, the only place in the city to legally graffiti on the walls. Afterwards, I went across the famous Charles Bridge. Unfortunately, they are currently doing construction on it so its not as glorious as it should be. I turned south past the tons of souvenir stores and walked down the eastern bank of the river. I passed the National Theater and found the Dancing House. This is also known as the Fred and Ginger building (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) because the buildings look as if the two were dancing (see pictures). After taking a few pics, I went back to the hotel. Though we had a big night planned, it actually turned out very uneventful. We ended up going to sleep early. We’re starting to get worn out from all this traveling (one of us is definitely exhausted).
Only two more full days in Europe…
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