Adventures...in a Train???

As I alluded to you all, our flight was cancelled on Tuesday, the day we were supposed to head back to gay Paris. The night before we looked at the flight and supposedly it was to be one of the first out of Prague for the day. We were somewhat relieved but at the same time it made me anxious to be a little like a ‘trial flight.’ In any case, Marco woke me up the next morning with bad news – the flight had been cancelled. He is currently in the middle of an internship and wanted to get back to France ASAP (if he hadn’t had this, I would have been more than happy to stay an extra day to explore the city!). Instead of going to see the Jewish Quarter, supposedly one of the best things to see in Prague, we went to the train station at 8am to get the first train seats out. Normally the ‘international’ counter opens at 9am but because of all of the issues, there was a line by 8:30am. We knew it would be a rough journey, we just didn’t know the path it would take us! The fastest way to get back to France was to take the train from Prague to Berlin, then a night train from Berlin to Paris, then a last train from Paris to Nantes. Who knew that making a HUGE detour through Germany would be the fastest way!? In any case, I was excited because it gave me a chance to see a part of Germany in the train and then the afternoon in Berlin.

The train ride from Prague to Berlin was gorgeous. We rode right along the river for the majority of the trip and saw lots of quaint little German towns and houses like these.

We finally got off of the 5 hour train in Berlin. The train station is even impressive in Berlin! The city is very modern (since it was completely destroyed during WWII). It reminded me of the US in some ways. As you might be able to tell from this picture, Marco wasn’t very happy that we had to carry our backpacks with us around Berlin…. Not only that, but there were gypsies following us around trying to get money from us.

The first thing we saw was the Parliament (Reichstag). I asked Marco to take a picture with me in front to prove to Katie and Oli that I finally stepped foot into their country!

Nearby is The Spree River with cool modern buildings all around. We were still in West Berlin at this point but in about 100 yards we entered into East Berlin. Normally I make a guide for each city I go to, but unfortunately I did not have one with me since it was a surprise visit.

We next ran into the Brandenburg Gate. It is one of the biggest German symbols and is seen in many WWII pictures and communism pictures. This entire street has all of the major embassies in ultra-modern buildings. Directly to the left of the Brandenburg Gate is the American Embassy. I think it is the first free-flying American flag (and American soil) I have seen since being here! I *almost* felt at home! I do have to say, the Anglo-Saxon culture of Germany was much more like the US than France though. It was a nice breath of fresh air!

Along with all of the embassies, there were some pretty impressive cars. This is one of the most expensive in the world (Bugatti). I think Marco told me that it costs 1 million euro or 135 million dollars. He was like a little kid in a candy store – we had to keep crossing the street to see the cars on the other side of the boulevard…. I do have to admit, the Bugatti was pretty sweet!

We continued walking and decided to turn around at the Berliner Dom (a protestant cathedral) with the Fernsehturm (TV tower) in the background. It was just about at this point where the sky started to get really dark and the wind picked up. I got my umbrella out just to be sure and unfortunately, it was needed. It started to rain chiens and chats a few minutes later. There was nowhere for us to get shelter at this point so we booked it back to the train station which was still a good 30 minute walk away…

The rain finally ceased to a mere drizzle. We got slightly lost on the way back but it ended up bing a good thing! We got to see a part of the Berlin wall as a result. I loved Germany and Berlin. I was side I did not get to see my high school friend, Kathi, while I was in her city but since it was such an unexpected trip, there was no way to contact. Darn. Guess I’ll just have to go back again someday!

We got back to the train station and shortly thereafter boarded our train for Paris. We were lucky for the first few hours to only have to share our 6 person compartment with one other for the 14 hour train ride to Paris. Unfortunately, a few hours later, a few big military men joined our compartment. It ended up being a very uncomfortable and long ride back. Needless to say, I hardly slept at all. Marco resided to finding the bike room and sleeping on the hard floor. We were SO happy to get off the train in Paris. And to simply BE in Paris. We knew we still had a 2 hour train ride back to Nantes but after the 30 hours of train we had done in the past 3 days, it seemed like nothing……

All of this for a little volcano in Iceland that no one even knows how to pronounce. Let’s hope the winds don’t change and I don’t have a problem getting back to the US…there isn’t a 30 hour train for me to get back to Philadelphia….

This time you can seriously click on the pictures to enlarge them. I figured out the trick!

Here is the Wiki link to Berlin if you want to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin