Matt Visits Vienna, Prague and Berlin

I was now halfway through my itinerary, which had begun in Cologne before heading on to Munich and Budapest as described in my previous blog and, though I was looking forward to the prospect of visiting some new places, I was somewhat disappointed to be leaving Budapest and made a mental note to return at some point in the not too distant future. The next destination but one would be Prague, another first-time visit. Whilst you can travel directly from Budapest to Prague by train, at close to seven hours in duration I decided to break the journey and picked Vienna as being fairly close to halfway between the two. I was soon settling in the comfortable surroundings of the Railjet and retracing my steps towards Vienna. On arrival at Westbahnhof, I took a short taxi journey to my hotel, the K&K Palais. Having visited the hotel before, I was looking forward to staying there on this occasion, as despite being very central and a short walk from St Stephen’s Cathedral, the hotel is located on a very quiet square – a very attractive combination. Sadly on arrival, it was teeming down with rain. However, as I had been to Vienna before and this was really only a stop off to break the journey I was not as disappointed as would have been the case if another day had been washed out in a destination new to me. I decided to take an early night, as I had an early (for me) departure the following day and am no lover of early rising unless strictly necessary. The next morning after a hearty breakfast I allowed plenty of time to reach Simmering station using the underground. Compared to the “delights” of travelling on the London Underground at such an early hour, travelling in Vienna was a much more pleasant, and thankfully free of the dubious pleasures of fellow passengers' armpits interrupting your morning commute. I was glad I had allowed plenty of time, as it was not immediately clear which platform the train to Prague departed from. I was also grateful for my documentation to double-check the train number, as somewhat confusingly the final destination of the train was actually Hamburg, as it heads on into Germany after the Czech Republic. This is another good reason for allowing plenty of time so these things can be checked – especially if you have to change trains! I was soon settled into my seat and, once we had left Vienna far behind, much of the journey passed through some pleasant countryside scenery, as we headed towards Prague itself. On arrival in Prague, I was extremely glad that I had arranged a transfer to my hotel on arrival. Unfortunately in this destination, there are a number of “unofficial” taxis queuing up in the ranks outside Hlavni station, and it is quite easy for the unwary – or indeed, the wary- visitor to be overcharged considerably, especially on trips such as mine when you may change currency on a regular basis. The transfer was also very good value for money, and after a short journey, I had soon arrived at the Elite hotel, where I would spend the next couple of nights. Dating back to the 14th century this hotel has plenty of history behind it, and again is located within strolling distance of the main sights. I spent that afternoon getting my bearings and had soon ended up in the old Town square, with its delightful medieval Astronomical Clock. On the half-hour, a selection of carved wooden figures pass behind a viewing window and finally, a trumpeter from the summit sounded the hour, with a huge crowd gazing upwards. Next, I decided to visit the small museum dedicated to the life and works of Franz Kafka, which reminded me of my attempts to follow the plot of Metamorphosis in German many years earlier. After a pleasant, if unremarkable, meal washed down with a few glasses of local Pilsner, I decided to plan the following day. I decided to join a group tour in the morning, which was focused on the communist history of Prague following World War II. This proved to be an interesting trip, visiting several places of interest off the main “tourist route” and culminating in a visit to an underground bunker on the edge of the city, which had been designed for use in case of nuclear fallout during the Cold War. In this dark environment, with a selection of gas masks and contemporary posters on the walls, it was very easy to imagine a future that fortunately never came into being. That afternoon I crossed over the Charles Bridge, lined with local artists and musicians and also the statues of various figures from Czech history, and made my way to the castle district on the other side of the Vltava river. This is an interesting part of the city, with the changing of the guards at the Castle gates just one of many points of interest. As this was my last day in Prague I then hurried over to the Jewish quarter, which as the site of the former Jewish ghetto provided a contrast to the castle district I had visited previously. The following morning I asked the hotel to call a (reputable!) taxi to head back to the station, and soon found myself talking to an English couple at the reception. On making small talk, I found that they were in fact Railbookers customers on their way to Vienna and Budapest – as they say, it is a small world. In no time I was back at Hlavni and boarding the 1031 to Dresden. This journey featured some spectacular scenery following the Elbe river and came to an end all too soon. I had only booked one night in Dresden, so after quickly checking into the Intercity hotel close to the station, I headed off to explore. After the controversial bombing campaign of World War Two, some amazing restoration work has taken place in Dresden, with many of the main buildings and monuments being painstakingly rebuilt. I spent an interesting afternoon exploring some of the main buildings, from the imposing Frauenkirche to the baroque Zwinger Palace. It was also market day, and I decided it would be rude not to celebrate my arrival into Teutonic territory with a Currywurst. The next day I set off for the final part of my trip, the short journey to Berlin. Berlin is one of my favourite European cities, somewhere you can visit time after time if you are lucky enough to be able to do so. It’s a fascinating mixture of the contemporary and historical, and whether you like history, shopping, nightlife, or culture there is something for everyone. I was staying at the Arcotel John F, which is ideal for a first-time visit to Berlin as it is located a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate and many other places of interest in the former East Berlin. My first port of call was an interesting one. Bernauer Strasse was split in two by the Berlin Wall prior to reunification, meaning that many families were literally separated from each other. As well as some remaining portions of the Wall itself, there are reconstructions of watchtowers from that period, as well as a small, yet informative, an exhibition detailing the history of the divided street. Next, I took the S-Bahn to the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, where yet more fascinating stories were on offer from this turbulent period in Berlin’s history. The next day was spent in a slightly different fashion, with a pleasant Autumn day’s stroll through Tiergarten followed by a trip to the Zoo – as I said, Berlin has something for everyone! Sadly, this also mean that I was running out of annual leave and a return to the office was on the horizon. The following day, I headed off to Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof to begin my journey home. Thanks to good (yet comfortable) connection times, and the advantage of gaining an hour after arriving back in the UK, it was possible for me to leave Berlin just before 10 am and arrive back in St Pancras just before 8 pm. That said, it’s quite a long time of travel, so if time and budget permit it’s always worth considering a stopover en route to break the journey – or for an adventure, there is the nightly CNL sleeper train which departs nightly to Paris. With no further time available to me though, I made the connection in one go, and, thanks to the great travel experience on the ICE services to Cologne and then onto Brussels, was able to relax after a busy few days. I arrived at Brussels Gare du Midi in plenty of time to make my 30-minute check-in for Eurostar home. After a short underground journey in London, I was back home after nearly two weeks away, a little tired and yet with plenty of great memories (and photographs) of happy times and places.