Greetings from Berlin, Germany. July 15, 2010.
Yesterday, we arrived in Berlin, after a hot, all-day train trip from Prague, Czech Republic. Today was pleasantly warm and we walked around Berlin to Brandenburg gate and other close sites. Tomorrow the 16th, we plan to take a guided tour of Berlin and then fly home Saturday the 17th.
In the past, we’ve had pleasant experiences with train travel throughout Western Europe. However, our Rail Europe experiences on this trip have been something to write home about—and we don’t mean that in a complimentary sense! I guess we’d advise caution to anyone considering train travel in mid-summer in Eastern Europe—this has been a real adventure in international travel for us.
We traveled all day Sunday by train from Passau, Germany, to Prague, after disembarking from our Viking ship. We had chosen trains and made First Class reservations from Passau to Nuremberg, Germany; and then to Prague. All went well getting to Nuremberg where we changed trains. The Nuremberg main station has 20 tracks, and our train was posted to leave on track 9. However, this is the former East Germany, and the Soviet-era infrastructure hasn’t quite caught up with the rest of Western Europe. There was no electronic posting of the train schedule and track assignments—it was only in printed form in a cabinet at the station.
So we went to track 9 where our train was posted on a small electronic sign over the track. Departure time came but there was no train. Then in a few minutes we saw the electronic sign over the track change to list a Munich train. Not a good sign. Being the sophisticated veteran international travelers that we are, we right away suspected that something was awry. :-) So we went back to the station and inquired at the service desk. Seems that they changed our train to track 20 at the last minute and announced it only in German (even though they had been making some other announcements in both German and English.) So----our train departed on track 20 without us.
This meant we had to take whatever trains were available, without the First Class reservations. We had to settle for a later regional train with two train changes en route. Thankfully we were able to find First Class seats on two of the three trains, but on one 2-hour leg in the Czech Republic, our train was the local chicken run. The train consisted of one single car with its own engine. It was probably built around 1918, and had the comfort level of a Bronx subway car—straight backs and hard bench seats, and no food or drink service on board.
The temperature outside was about 95F and higher inside the train. There was no AC on any of these 3 trains. We eventually arrived in Prague around 10:30 Sunday night, and after we checked into the hotel, Betty said, "I need a beer!" And those of you who know her well, know that she’s not a beer lover. :~) The good news is that we saw the last 3 minutes of the final World Cup game while enjoying that beer in the hotel bar!
Then the story gets better. From Prague to Berlin yesterday, we were expecting a smooth, comfortable trip with lunch and drinks on board in the dining car. We had First Class reservations for an InterCity train with no connections, scheduled to arrive Berlin in four hours. After settling into our seats we noticed that it was quite warm in the car and no air seemed to be coming from the A.C. system. The outside temp was climbing to near 90F again, and higher inside the car.
As we progressed through the countryside and everyone was complaining to the conductor about the heat, he informed us that the A.C. needs electrical power supplied by an overhead wire — and the Czech Republic doesn’t provide that. He said the A.C. would be OK when we crossed the border into Germany. And unlike the chicken-run train we had coming to Prague, the windows in this train did not open.
At the German border, we stopped for a while and engineers tried to repair the A.C. without success. By the time we reached Dresden, now three hours from Prague, we’re certain the temp in the train was over 100F. At this point, the conductor told his management that he didn’t want to continue with this train unless the A.C. could be restored. So they had everyone get off and wait on the track platform. The conductor made a long explanation on the loudspeaker in German, then in a one-sentence English translation, said "Ladies and Gentlemen, the air-conditioning is kaput."
After some delay, they decided to cancel this train and put us on another Berlin train that was delayed into Dresden, but due to arrive within an hour. This worked, the new train was cool inside, and we arrived in Berlin only 3.5 hours late!
We’ve posted the following 10 new photos since our last post on July 4:
Bratislava Castle, Bratislava, Slovakia
St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna
Gardens at Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna
Original Budweiser Brewery at Budweis, Czech Republic
Europe’s largest pipe organ (17,794 pipes), in St. Stephens Cathedral, Passau, Germany
Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral on Vltava River, Prague, Czech Republic
Betty at the Charles Bridge Tower, Prague
Charles Bridge in Prague
Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate, site of Berlin Wall from 1961-1989.
Prague is beautiful. The famous Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle were both built beginning in the 14th century, and other sites in Old Town Prague give it a medieval look. We’re also quite impressed with Berlin and are enjoying our visit here.
Best wishes,
Bill & Betty
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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