September 12, 2010 - Sunday - Berlin to Prague

We enjoyed an nice breakfast at Hackescher Markt before boarding a train for Prague.

The train passed through Dresden. Dresden appeared to be a delightful and vibrant young city. We both would have enjoyed seeing some more of it.

The absolute highlight of this ride was the extremely picturesque valley that the river Elbe carved out of lower Saxony and the village of Bad Schandau. The intense beauty of the valley drew us out of our seats toward the train’s northern windows as the our path traced along the south bank of the river’s path. The river’s color was healthy. There was abundant green grass extending from the water up to a single row of classic German-style houses that spotted the valley. Just beyond the string of houses, the valley floor turned steeply into a forested mountainside, topped with castles and rocky escarpments.

Just southeast of this valley, we continued along the Elbe across the German/Czech border. The countryside was less mountainous but still very attractive.

We arrived in Prague in the early evening. Rather than use public transportation from the train station to our hostel, we decided to walk. Barring a few errors in navigation through the streets and alleys, we made it to the Old Prague Hostel. The hostel was satisfactory for our needs. We met a friendly pair of Canadian girls whom we would later accompany on a free tour of the city.

We were unprepared for the change of currency from the Euro to the Crown. One dollar is worth roughly 20 Czech Crowns.

We found a nice place to eat local sausage and pizza at a restaurant in the Old Town Square. As we ate, we scanned the square and observed passers by. We found Prague to be immediately delightful.

We spent the remainder of the evening walking past the buildings and along the river with the main goal of looking for an adequate venue for watching the Nadal vs. Djokovic final of the US Open. The final was postponed a day due to rain.

We were pleased to find delicious sausages for sale at the base of Wenceslas Square. Unique to Prague was the frequency with which we were invited to partake in vice: multiple marijuana salesmen, and several strip-club hustlers.