A journey to Prague begins with a farewell to Germany

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Prague has always been a dream destination, considered by many to be the most beautiful city in Central Europe, a fairy-tale of castles, towers and spires. Even more exciting for me is the fact that I can get there from Germany by train and bus as well as flying – somehow travelling has started feeling a lot more real when it is done on land, and despite my love of long-haul flights I now much prefer spending long hours watching the scenery pass outside the train window. That and sleeping – I never seem to be able to avoid dozing off, or sometimes even falling into a deep slumber for at least part of my journey. Something that is also much easier to do on a 10-hour train ride than on a short flights within the European Union. Avoiding the rigorous security search and passport checks is yet another reason to avoid excessive flying. In short, I didn't hesitate for a minute when I saw the special deal on the German Rail website – Nuremberg to Prague by coach for 9 Euros, bargain! For a while I couldn't quite believe my eyes – even taking into account the cost of my journey from Bonn to Nuremberg, the entire journey would still cost me just over 40 Euros, with the added bonus of a two-hour change in one of the most beautiful cities in picturesque Bavaria, a fitting way to say goodbye to the country of beer, sausages and Lebkuchen, that wonderful German speciality, which in Nuremberg is better than anywhere else in the world.

My train journey down to the south of the country is both fascinating and disappointing – most of the scenery is shrouded in thick fog, with only intermittent sunny spells. When I get to Nuremberg, however, the sun finally shows its glowing face, and this time it's here to stay, at least for the duration of my two hours changeover, which turns out to be long enough to discover the main sights. The city centre is only minutes away from the train station and dotted within its limits are most of the sight-worthy buildings. The old St. Lorenz church, the picturesque main square, traditional Bavarian architecture, countless Lebkuchen stores and the Nuremberg Castle a short distance up the hill – and all of this bathed in sunlight. It's not even the end of January, but I really feel like spring has come, and walking around in my winter coat already feels a little inappropriate. Thank goodness I thought of leaving my traveller's rucksack in a locker at the station – 2 Euros is a small price to pay to avoid sweat, fatigue and backache. Especially considering that the Castle, the one on the hill, is an absolute must see, if only for the stunning panoramic view from the top.

The smell of sausages follows me all the way back to the main station as I head over to retrieve my luggage and find my coach, which turns out to stop directly in front of the main entrance, with a very user-friendly sign and timetable the bus stop. The second leg of my journey to Prague is shrouded in almost as much fog as the first, so unfortunately I miss most of the scenery again, which is a shame – the coach route is surrounded by forests and rivers. The added bonus, however, is the physical moment of crossing the border. Granted, it manifests itself in little more than a sign on the roadside announcing our entry into the Czech Republic and a text message from Vodafone, which has become a symbol of travel for me, the fourth “Welcome to ” message in the past two months. Yet as soon as I hear the familiar beep of my mobile phone my heart starts beating a little faster – finally I have crossed the German border into a new, completely unexplored territory. As I stare out into the darkness, struggling to pick out any differences in the world on this side of the border (there are, of course, none yet!), I wonder what experiences the coming week will bring.

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