The Train to Prague

A few minutes to midnight we were able to board the City Night Line to Prague.  I was able to book room in a Couchette - this is the economy version of a Cabin - but one with 6 beds, good for our family.  First question - where does the luggage go - the train attendant said it had to go in the Couchette, it wouldn't be safe elsewhere.  So I begin to load in luggage to the tiny space when I notice a man sleeping on the bottom bunk on one side!  The ticket agent wasn't kidding - the train was full, every sleeping spot taken up. So much for a family only space.

So as quietly as possible we load our luggage and ourselves in, people crawling into their bunks and trying to settle in for the night.  We were able to put some luggage overhead, and a little under the bottom bunk, but some things (smaller bags) had to take up room on the bunks we were sleeping on.  I felt sorry for Joshua who had to squish his tall frame into a short bunk.  We all tried to get some sleep, but between the stops at various stations and the cramped conditions with a stranger sleeping below us it wasn't very restful for anyone (hence why we are letting everyone sleep in today).

One half of a Couchette - imagine a narrow aisle and the same thing repeated on the other side.

The stranger left us shortly after 5 AM - not sure which stop that was, but I was somewhat relieved - now we had the couchette to ourselves.  We all started stirring around 8 AM, and eventually we took to converting the bunks into seats so we could enjoy the scenery.  At this point we were traveling through a part of the Czech Republic that was somewhat mountainous - very beautiful countryside.  A train attendant came and asked if we wanted coffee or hot chocolate and thus we got our morning caffeine fix - a good thing after a restless night.

By 10:30 AM we were in Prague, standing on the train platform waiting for our local host to meet us.  Our Prague adventure had begun and everyone was getting excited for what we would discover in this city we've heard such rave reviews about - would it live up to our expectations or would it disappoint?  To give you a brief preview of posts to come - it hasn't disappointed, we fell in love with the place right away and it looks like a perfect place to spend the last chunk of our family vacation.