Prague

Days 24 to 27 - 8 to 11 June
The 8th of June dawned and we were excited to be catching a train to Prague - Budapest was great but we had heard that Prague was even more impressive. The first adventure we had was touring the border region of Hungary.

The train station in the lovely Hungarian town of Vasutallomas

Not long after boarding the train we were given a quick refresher course on how not to run a tourist-friendly transport system. A young, dreadlock-haired ticket inspector checked our tickets and informed us that we didn't have stamps on our Eurail Passes. Even though we had tickets for the train, with our carriage and seat allocations, we didn't have a simple stamp on our Eurail Passes, so we had committed a crime in his eyes. He offered us two options.
Option 1: we could pay a paltry 42 Euros each, comprising a fine and the cost of the ticket from Budapest to the Hungarian border; but we would still not have a stamp on our Eurail Passes and he told us we would have to deal with petty bureaucracy again in Slovakia and again in the Czech Republic.
Option 2: we could get off the train before the border and get our Eurail Passes stamped at the ticket office. Then we could catch a later train.
In fairness, and for the sake of accuracy, Dreadlock-Stalin didn't actually say "petty bureaucracy". I can't remember his exact words but they were probably something along the lines of "beloved brother and sister comrades from former glorious worker's paradise". We chose (after an increasingly frustrating discussion with Dreadlock-Stalin) to leave the train.
Vasutallomas is not somewhere you'd normally choose to visit if you were travelling from Budapest to Prague, but we made the most of it. Firstly we got our Eurail Passes stamped. There was no fee - we just needed a bloody stamp! Dreadlock-Stalin could possibly have endorsed our Eurail Passes, but he couldn't get past "you have broken the rules".

John and me waiting in line at the ticket office

Waiting at the ticket office was made more bearable by watching the problems the people in front of us had - they had also been kicked off the train. Our free stamps acquired, we went back to the platform where we had left Rhonda, Lea and the luggage, and decided to experience Vasutallomas during our remaining one-and-a-half hour wait for the next train (once again, there was no fee, we just needed a stamp!). It was actually a very nice train station and so new that the lifts weren't yet working, so we had to carry all our baggage down about five-hundred steps from the platform, along a corridor and up five-hundred more steps back up to ground level exit the train station.

Rhonda not happy to find that the lifts were not yet working

Lunch completed we returned to the station and waited for the next train.

It's a double thumbs up from me - the train is coming

As our train pulled out of the station we toasted getting out of Hungary, with a little 'bubbly' 

The rest of our journey to Prague went almost without incident. Somewhere in the Czech Republic Lea's camera parted company with us. John reported the disappearance at the lost property office in Prague, but we didn't hold out much hope of a reunion. The following morning John and I went back to the Prague train station and John reported the loss of the camera to the Czech Police - they were very understanding and helpful, but it was a disappointing way to start our time in Prague.
While John and I dealt with the Police, Rhonda and Lea did some exploring, and discovered a very interesting apple strudel.

Impressive square near our hotel - it offends my preference for symmetry that the right-hand tower at the back is bigger than the left-hand tower- it really is, trust me

Impressive former strudel, or formally-impressive strudel - either version works

Reunited, we set off to explore more of the city.

The Astronomical Clock Tower - beautiful

Rhonda and me wondering where the Astonomical Clock was (it was behind us)

Lady making gigantic soap bubbles in the square to amuse the adults - the children also liked them

Photograph by Rhonda - perfectly capturing a bubble in front of the towers at the top right

Another building - by now we had worked up quite an appetite

Lea with her version of junk food

Rhonda tried to temp Lea with something a little more wholesome.

The horror, the horror

The rest of us, with healthy hot dogs (not actually made, we were told, from real dogs) admiring Lea's amazing willpower

Colourful arcade near the square

Me, trying to get a clear photograph of the next bridge, wondering who the two grinning people were in front of me

The historic Charles Bridge - that's the one I was trying to photograph

Lea standing in the entrance to an alleyway so narrow that access to it is controlled by a pedestrian traffic light (no kidding)

A couple of mounted Police near the river

The Charles Bridge - only open to pedestrian traffic

A band playing music on the Charles Bridge - note the musician second from the left

How Robin might look in years to come - that's an in-joke for those who know Robin

Looking back over the Charles Bridge - you can see the Prague Castle Complex on the hill in the background, we're going there tomorrow

Near the bridge

Rhonda saw this bride wearing comfortable shoes during a photoshoot

A cafe with tables that rock back and forth as you move your feet on them - good for old people

The best crepes I've ever had - we each had a serving

After walking around Prague, Lea was too tired to engage in retail therapy - she's waiting while John buys a shirt

Day 1 finished with all of us feeling tired but happy - Prague is a beautiful city and, in my opinion, a more-interesting city to stroll around than Budapest. For day 2 we planned to go on a Segway tour in the morning and visit the Prague Castle complex in the afternoon.

Taking a Segway tour of Prague - our guide Adam was great

At the John Lennon wall - give peace a chance

Lea writing a message

Love & positive relationships are what it's all about! Lea & cruise co - Oz!

My message (I think I misheard the guide) - Give peas a chance. And other vegetables. R&R

Back in the main square - we finished our Segway tour soon after

Back on foot we came across this interesting building in the Jewish quarter

Repairing cobblestones

My old Volkswagen Beetle didn't look this good

View of the Cathedral from the entrance to the Prague Castle complex

Just inside the Prague Castle complex - it covers a huge area and contains a Cathedral, churches and other buildings

Closer view of the Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

The Cathedral had the best stained glass I have ever seen - photographs do not do it justice

View into an inner room in the Cathedral

Lea refueling after the Cathedral visit - in fairness all of us ate lunch

Impressive hall - apparently we weren't supposed to take this photograph - oops

Exit from the impressive hall - love the ceiling

Another church-like building

Lovely atmosphere and light inside

A bit spooky down here

Back outside

Cannons

Quaint alleyway - those are little houses built against the wall

Somewhere else in the Prague Castle Complex - by now we were keen to have afternoon tea

Just in time

Final view of part of the interior of the Castle complex

Final view of one end of the Charles Bridge as we strolled back to our hotel

That brought our visit to Prague to an end, and the next morning we set out by bus for Munich (we had been booked on a train but the rail line was being repaired and it was simpler for us to get a bus all the way to Munich). One of the other passengers seemed to like the colour orange.

Very colour coordinated

The next post will be 'The Return of the King(s)' recounting our return to Germany, and ending my gratuitous references to the works of Tolkien.