icourtland!

3 very full days later and here we are on the way back to Berlin on the train. Momma and Corie are fast asleep, and M and i are sitting and staring out at the countryside as it steams by.

the countryside is just so green, with rolling hills and field after field of bright yellow flowers. strange combinations of places long abandoned, new modern construction and places old and wonderful off the sides of the river that the tracks follow. large abandoned warehouse sized buildings with rows upon rows of broken windows, sitting right near a farmhouse or an old garden house still in use. just amazing. there is something so unique about seeing the world by train that no other form of travel compares with.

we passed the borders between Czech Republic and Germany about an hour or so back, so the teams of both Czech and German passport officers working to get through everyone in the train between stops. they seem to work pretty efficiently as they pass your passport from one to the other, one checking you out of one country and the other checking you into the next. pretty smooth operation all around – and we got stamped! so cool.

Prague (Praha) was nothing short of amazing. it is truly one of the most beautiful and amazing cities that i have ever seen. every time you look up or over on your walk from one place to the next, there is another “wow” moment. all of the classic gothic and art nouveau architecture works so very well together. mosaic and panted frescos on every other building – like i said – wow. and the metro system was amazing as well. clean, efficient, and very easy to use. San Francisco could learn a lot from these people. so easy to use, and damn was it fast! almost no waiting for trains!

the city has grown very touristy very very fast, and without planning to do so, but i think that they are doing the best they can at this point, it must be hard to go from a classic Soviet Block state to a democracy, and one not even part of the EU yet. having to deal with the sudden overwhelming stream of tourists must have been, well overwhelming, but i just saw a charming and beautiful city that was beyond any expectation that i could ever have had.

if i spoke the language i would have been tempted not to leave. Amsterdam holds a lot more appeal in the long run, but Praha is really something else.

in a couple of hours we will be back in Berlin, and will be there for a few more days. we are taking a boat ride around the city with a friend of my sister tomorrow, so at least we will be sightseeing, but doing it sitting down! sitting down is good! Saturday is another performance by my sister out of town. it should be a short trip – back on Sunday to pack and then airport Monday and damn-thirty in the morning.

we are really enjoying ourselves, but for me the trip is getting long and i am getting more than a bit tired. the next couple of days should be a little more low key at least, so hopefully we can keep our strengths up and stay happy.