We also had time for a quick bit of actual culture at the Ludwig Museum, an absolute epic collection of modern art that resulted in Holly and I biting off a bit more pretentious art than we could chew while Lucy walked the most we've ever seen her (what A level art does to a person).
A pretzel or two later to recover, we were off to the train station to break our sleeper train virginity. While sitting waiting train envy began to set in as all manor of exciting trains rushed past: super fast trains, coloured one and even double deckers. Being on an island we do miss out on a lot of crazy travel opportunities as well as some of the bizarre commuters lurking about the station - we had one women shouting at us in German while another ambled past with a rocking horse. We also discussed who could possibly be in our carriage - top of my list was Alexa Chung, Alex Turner, and of course Robert Pattinson. Ideally Robert Pattinson asks me out on a date while Alexa Chung walks past and tells me my outfit is amazing. We all agreed though that if R-Patz had appeared I would most likely have been done for assault so probably best he stayed home.
Our minds dreaming of celebrity encounters our train rolled in, all the way from Amsterdam. As soon as we stepped on it felt very Eastern European like something from an old movie all rickety with little cabins. Ours had six beds and a French couple who were very chatty and of course spoke perfect English. Everyone says you always meet Australians on your travels but we seem to be magnets for the French - who had kept us up the previous night with their riotous late night behaviour (getting into bed past 1am the crazy kids).The French couple were a bit more sedate luckily and when discovering we were geography students insisted on playing the capital city game - we were pretty useless! They also turned out to be pro-communist and encouraged us to start our own social movement, which he has just started in France. The future communist leader of France could have been only metres away - unlikely though...
As the train scuttled through Europe the night filled with new noises. The window had been left open for air and smell prevention (5 in a room the size of a sauna results in obvious difficulties) which presented a whole host of train related noises that proved surprisingly soothing. The beeps and movement of the train were further dispersed with people getting on and off, every time a station neared an alarm would sound and the conductor tapped the carriages of those leaving. This coupled with the constant fear of missing our stop resulted in a somewhat interrupted sleep. When we neared Berlin I awoke and found an empty carriage so as to glimpse the city at night. Even at 4.30am commuters were starting to spill through the stations mingling with travellers, while the clubs were in full swing.
As I sat it was amazing how much of the conversations around me were in English, the range of nationalities on board echoed the train's long journey yet just like the French couple in our little cabin English is the easiest language to speak. Even in Germany I could listen into conversations, Americans seem to enjoy telling everyone about the travels through Europe.
As the train pulled into Prague we wearily got up and headed off to find our next youth hostel. A slightly more old fashioned affair in old Prague but equally perfect. First stop of course coffee then a supermarket for more foreign delicacies - who knows what we ate but luckily its a fair bit cheaper. Prague even has a Tesco, Debenhams, and M and S for the very homesick that will of course be visited by us! Culture for the day so far as been very educational featuring a Communist museum (getting ideas for our new political movement!).
Now an afternoon nap is in order before some Czech beer - living the European dream...
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