This morning was the last day in Vienna, and we awoke to a cloudy day with light rain which has been the ongoing theme these last few days. Norin and I caught our train from Vienna to Prague, Czech Republic with only 10 minutes to spare after my checkout ran longer than planned. After taking the local train to the main terminal, we arrived just before 9:30am. Fortunately our train was running a few minutes late, and those minutes were valuable. Aboard the comfortable train, I settled in to a quick nap. Prior to nodding off, the landscape of Austria was what I had come to expect. There were small populated cities, construction was abundant and the cars were German-made where Mercedes and BMW were most common. I awoke at a stop I imagined was just before we crossed into Czech. On the track next to ours was a classic train. It looked restored and luxurious; I believe it was heading to the west.

As I began to watch the scenery, it began to change drastically. I had not expected the difference between the countries to be so sudden. Where Austria appeared populated, cultured, and modern; Czech conversely was open, mountainous, and lush. It was common on the trip to pass by small towns with red and brown buildings. The train hugged a small river where the few bridges that crossed over it were no more than a few feet wide and were covered by earth and green grass, which could have easily been mistaken to be naturally formed. There were rolling hills and lush forests. For a long stretch there were blossoming yellow flowers that hugged the tracks for miles and miles. As I peered out watching the Czech countryside, I began to wonder if there is truly any better way than traveling through a country other than rail. For a country that has only escaped Russian control no more than 25 years ago, it appears as a place stuck in time. The cars were Soviet era and most appeared older than 20 years as did the buildings. When you look out the window, you feel as if you've been taken back in time and it is quite eerie. Earlier I had begun to watch the Prague episode of Anthony Bourdain No Reservations to get a crash course on Prague food but ended up watching only the beginning, instead opting to watch the beautiful scenery pass by. With my music playing, and the Czech landscape slowly passing by, it finally dawned on me that I was in Eastern Europe.

After our train ride we arrived in the Prague main train terminal while it was raining yet warm outside. We walked through a steady rain to our hotel, the Golden Tulip, which was literally only a few blocks away but we managed to circumnavigate the exact block we needed. When I later returned to Prague from Budapest I was able to see the hotel from the train on the way into the station. Our accommodation was a four star hotel. The room had a high ceiling, large bathroom, and a king size bed. After the difficulty in trying to find the Hotel Golden Tulip, it was nice to relax to such a great hotel. After settling into our rooms and showering, we decided to go out and explore the area.

We were able to find the city center which is just in front of the PragueMuseum. Also located in the center was the statue of the Czech Patron Saint. We settled on a local Czech restaurant where I ordered the smoked pork which was literally bigger than my head. This piece of meat is common in Czech and is smoked for days before being served, a similar meal in the U.S. would not only be extremely expensive but it would be hard to find a restaurant that would serve it due to the amount of time required to properly prepare. I also tried one of the two most popular local beers, Gambrinus. The waiter who served us spoke English really well but had difficultly recalling words because he learned English where he grew up in Australia and traveled to Prague at an early age, so his English is only practiced occasionally. Still, his pronunciation was perfect. While viewing the menu we both realized that we brought too little money out, fooled by the high numerical bills that were actually small denominations. We each had 400 krona which is about $10-15. I excused myself from the table and ran down the block in search of a ATM machine and luckily stumbled upon one only a block away. This time I withdrew a more appropriate and useful amount, 1,000 Krona.

Following the meal we continued to explore the area and ventured into the old town through to the new town, and then ended up under the famous clock tower in the city square surrounded by surreal sights. The night was clear and the buildings and famous sights were all lit in beautiful colors giving the city an aura like nowhere else I have ever seen. I once heard that Walt Disney got his idea for Disney Land from Prague, or a similar European city. Under the clock tower we waited to view the astrological clock hit the top of the hour. A large crowd grew close to the top of the hour but no show. We later learned that the clock stops the display of the saints after 10pm. We later saw it twice during our stay in the city. As the temperature dropped and we became tired from walking, we stopped to grab something to drink and have a desert at an outdoor seating restaurant. Even though it was about 11pm-12am, we decided to head back to get some rest to prepare for the next day.