- Letenske Sady, obviously
- One last Kozel Cerny for the road
- Night train to Krakow
Standard start to the day, Letenske Sady, followed by Kaficko (Brazilian coffee, followed by honey cake). There have been different staff every day at the cafe, and todays were my favourite. A friendly man and his young son, having a little banter and alternately serving me. It was empty again apart from two older German ladies who joined later on.
The day before, the Kiwi Nicola had looked at me like I was mental when I said I hadn't visited the tourist-infested old clock tower, and then was only slightly less shocked when I said I hadn't had a curled doughnut cake thing. So I reluctantly trudged along into the centre of town, unfortunately missing the big display on the hour (it's supposed to be BRILLIANT...) but locating a nice vendor of the doughnut thing. I can't remember the name of it, but it's made out of some leavened pastry, rolled round a metal rod and then cooked over some fire. Once complete, it's then rolled in sugar, vanilla and almonds. It was alright. It was no honey cake.
I'd booked to stay another night, but with my interailling pass, I'm allowed 10 journeys in only 22 days, so it seems wasteful to use them with long distance travel. I headed to the station and bought a cabin add-on for the 20.17 train to Krakow that night. 10 Euros. SIDE NOTE One thing I've noticed since travelling is that Americans and Kiwis have been using multiple Euro in the singular. That's not right, is it. Pound/Pounds, Dollar/Dollars, Euro/Euros. It really winds me up.
I leisurely strolled back to the hostel to pack up and plan my next steps, and bought a 10kc (30p) Kozel Cerny, my favourite Czech beer and then became distracted first by my book (I've nearly finished Kafka on the Shore - it's getting really good, and the character keeps listening to Prince and Radiohead) and then by a group of travellers in the bar who had just been sky diving. Whilst high the night before, they'd all agreed how much they wanted to sky dive and so first thing, they went out and booked it. Pretty cool. I don't think they liked my comment about how Felix' dive sort of stole their lightning. There was a guy from York (Harry Job) who was staying in Prague for a few months whilst some friends he knows work out here, and started with a "you're English too, aren't you? I heard your accent last night. He's just going to chill out for a few months, which seems to be what every traveller I meet is planning. I'd love to be going for a few months!!! An American girl who had a few loud Skype calls with her boyfriend and mum which I eavesdropped on (of course) and a Czech girl.
Three of the Aussie guys were also going to Krakow that evening. They were from Taronda (or something...) in Australia, and were travelling for a few months before starting uni. Adam, Henry and Sven were pretty spaced out, but we hung for a while and then I guided them to the station (I'm not sure they'd have got the train if I wasn't there). We parted ways as I headed off to my luxurious cabin, and they followed a huge group of Warsaw ice hockey fans (who had spent the past 30 minutes banging a drum and chanting, and going up and down the escalators; we presume they'd just beaten Prague). As the train departed and I snuggled down in my bed, I could hear the fans from a few carriages down. I was in a 6-birth cabin, sharing with a Polish man who wore glasses and had a hat like Thernardier from Les Mis, and a shy American couple, who seemed to shrink away from any comment I made (such as "Sorry, do you mind if I just squeeze past" and "can I turn the light off now?". Intimidating stuff). Slightly disconcertingly, the ticket inspector showed us clearly how to lock the door and advised we do it...
The train was arriving before 7am, so I was panicked that I wouldn't wake up in time and had a pretty crappy night's sleep. A bumpy ride into Poland as well.
End of day 13.
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