From Berlin to Prague
In the summer of 2014 I went interrailing in central Europe- Germany and the Czech Republic. In a week we saw three cities, eating currywurst on Potsdamer Platz, staying in a hotel in Prague that used to house Franz Kafka's office, and visiting the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Despite the sights, one of the most fascinating aspects of the visit was the opportunity to see more of Europe because we traveled by train. The most beautiful part of this journey was probably the trip between Berlin and Prague, the subject of the writing below.
It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and we stood on the ground floor of the three-storey Berlin Hauptbahnhof, clutching pretzels and a copy of the 'Sueddeutsche Zeitung', waiting for the train to Budapest. After a twelve hour journey from London to Berlin three days before, we were looking forward to the slightly shorter journey to Prague, our stop, which would take perhaps four and a half hours.
The train arrived ,and we were instantly a couple of worlds away from the hyper-efficient, familiar Germany; the train seemed ancient, with six-seater compartments, and narrow corridors, which we struggled to push even our single suitcase through. There were also no lights in the dark station, and it was impossible to make out anything about the age of the train from the monolingual signs- in Hungarian only. I jokingly asked whether there was an imperial carriage on this train. We shut the compartment doors, and the train sped out from the station. I craned my neck for one last view of Berlin- the TV tower clearly visible in the distance.
There are no old buildings in Dresden, the second stop from Berlin, where our German companions got off. After this, the journey felt particulalry lonely- it could have been us alone, travelling the scenic route through Saxon Switzerland, watching people go canoeing right on the banks of the Elbe, right on the edge of Germany. Saxon Switzerland stretches between this corner of South Eastern Germany, and into the north of the Czech Republic.The German side is upstream of the Czech side, and beautiful, but the Czech side is littered with factories. Within miles of each other are a calm tourist resort resting beneath a castle, and high-rise blocks.
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| The view from my hotel room in Berlin |
It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and we stood on the ground floor of the three-storey Berlin Hauptbahnhof, clutching pretzels and a copy of the 'Sueddeutsche Zeitung', waiting for the train to Budapest. After a twelve hour journey from London to Berlin three days before, we were looking forward to the slightly shorter journey to Prague, our stop, which would take perhaps four and a half hours.
The train arrived ,and we were instantly a couple of worlds away from the hyper-efficient, familiar Germany; the train seemed ancient, with six-seater compartments, and narrow corridors, which we struggled to push even our single suitcase through. There were also no lights in the dark station, and it was impossible to make out anything about the age of the train from the monolingual signs- in Hungarian only. I jokingly asked whether there was an imperial carriage on this train. We shut the compartment doors, and the train sped out from the station. I craned my neck for one last view of Berlin- the TV tower clearly visible in the distance.
There are no old buildings in Dresden, the second stop from Berlin, where our German companions got off. After this, the journey felt particulalry lonely- it could have been us alone, travelling the scenic route through Saxon Switzerland, watching people go canoeing right on the banks of the Elbe, right on the edge of Germany. Saxon Switzerland stretches between this corner of South Eastern Germany, and into the north of the Czech Republic.The German side is upstream of the Czech side, and beautiful, but the Czech side is littered with factories. Within miles of each other are a calm tourist resort resting beneath a castle, and high-rise blocks.
Berlin and Prague both are so beautiful and having lots of places to visit. Berlin to Prague travelling via train is good way of traveling. Thanks for sharing all information about travelling from Berlin to Prague
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