Prague to Berlin

August 4, 2009

One last note on Prague--we really did like it, I think we just hit a point of exhaustion where we needed some rest! It was great to be able to use Russian again, though. As we were leaving for the train station--which was another adventure trying to get the correct tram to it--we stopped to get a bottle of water. I started speaking in Russian for some reason, and the woman turned to her co-worker and said, "She's speaking Russian!" She was excited to hear it, and I was excited to speak it! She was so nice! She was very impressed that I spoke Russian at all, and I managed to say everything correctly, which is always nice. She said I spoke better than Czech people--more clearly and correctly. So at least my Russian works out for me in Prague!

After all the running to the station, our train was 80 minutes late. We met some nice people while waiting--a German girl and a guy from Mexico. Then when we got on the train, we were in with some really nice Hungarian guys who loved everything American. At first we didn't even know they spoke English, but about a couple hours in, we started talking with them, and they spoke really well. I can't believe how many people know English! Then a bit later I met a nice man named Can (pronounced Ken) who was born in West Germany near Dusseldorf, but whose parents are Danish. We talked for quite a while, which was nice because the train ride took about four hours. We talked about how it is a great experience to be able to travel. His English was nearly perfect, and I really liked how he used the word adorable. He kept saying, "Your life is adorable, just adorable! To have been able to travel, to have lived in Russia. Adorable!"

Then we said goodbe to our new friends, except for one German girl who was nice to enough to show us how to use the subway (S) to get to the subway (U) so we could get to our hotel in Berlin. When we arrived, the man at the desk told us the hotel was booked, but that they had made other arrangements. The thought of hauling my baggage to another hotel wasn't pretty, but before I could even think about it, he told us they had already arranged for accomodations at the 5-star Marriott hotel in a great location--near many of the sights we wanted to see! And he ordered up a taxi for us. It was there within minutes, and we were on our way!

A 5-star Marriott for the inconvenience--by jove, I love inconveniences! I will definitely be making a purchase of sheets, pillows, and blankets to match the ones we slept on at the hotel. I had no idea such comfortable, adorable pillows even existed!