Today's pictures are here on Flickr.
It's Columbus Day back in the US. Over here, it's "A
European allegedly discovered you 500 years ago? What were you guys doing for a
couple thousand years before that while we were over here building castles and
cool stuff like that?" Day.
Today was a little bit of finishing up some loose ends
and relaxing in the apartment trying to catch up on my writing and my planning.
I talked to my apartment host and he said that I could stay in the room using
the kitchen table and its internet (in the warmth and out of the rain) until
about 5pm since he had another set of visitors coming at 6.
I went down to the Havelska Market and picked up a
genuine replica of a Soviet-era fur hat (complete with Soviet hammer-and-sickle
star) for just $15 – cheaper than I’d seen elsewhere in Prague and cheaper than
in Berlin – and stopped at a bookstore that had old maps. Lunch at the Pizzeria
Modra Zahrada (Blue Garden) I devoured a pepperoni/ham/red peppers pizza with a
Stella Artois beer. Curiously, everyone here calls red peppers “paprika”.
It turned out that my decision to see the Castle Quarter
yesterday, despite my room and writing situation, was the right one in terms of
weather. It rained pretty much all day, from a light mist to a light rain, but
enough to make me use my umbrella for the first time since London. I certainly
wouldn’t have had the blue skies and unlimited visibility that I had at the
Castle yesterday.
I managed to get some writing done before I had to leave.
I caught a performance of the Astronomical Clock and then slowly started making
my way to the train station. I had dinner at Mr Sushi nearby (curiously, they
made their Philadelphia rolls with ricotta cheese instead of the usual cream
cheese). Then it was off to the train station a few hours early, as my train
didn’t leave until just after midnight. I found an electrical outlet and got to
work on typing up my Berlin notes.
The Prague to Vienna train left at 12:04. This time I
managed to get a compartment with only two bunks (I had the upper) – a little
more room per person, and slightly more comfortable beds, plus a small sink for
brushing your teeth. With an arrival time scheduled for 6:22am, that didn’t
leave a lot of time for sleeping since they were going to wake us up at 5:30.
Today's pictures are here on Flickr.
(Originally posted 10/16/11 at 1:20am, Hallstatt)
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