A better night’s sleep. Must have worn the bobbles off the sheets. Another pleasant autumn day here in Prague but we have no time to dawdle. After breakfast we pack and cross the street to the Metro for our 6 stop, 1 change trip to the main railway station and the big train.When it arrives we soon find our seats and get settled in. Departure is prompt and we wend our way out via the suburbs of Prague into a quite pleasant rural landscape scattered with small villages and farms. Even the odd industrial town that we pass is freshly painted.
Dave keeps a check on the drivers navigation as we go. He seems quite competent, unlike the catering division who have failed to attach the promised dining car. We are worried that we might have to survive on 3 bananas and a bottle of water but eventually a man appears with a trolley. We purchase two “Dundee” brand sandwiches and two bottles of Budvar. Saved.
At a station on the outskirts of Ostrava we stop for an age while the Czech loco is removed and a Polish one put in its place. Somewhere most of the coaches have been removed and there are now only 4 left. The Polish loco looks well capable of whizzing us to our destination but once we are under way it becomes obvious that it has been fitted with square wheels. Dave has never known such a rough riding train and when we get into Poland it gets worse as the track is in terrible condition, waterlogged in places. Everything we see in the first hour or so in Poland is much shabbier than in Czecho.
Then we arrive on the outskirts of Katowice which looks absolutely awful. I’d rather go to Port Glasgow or Rotherham for a treat. Luckily we only have to wait there a few minutes for our connection to Krakow. A loco arrives pulling some rather ancient coaches - they still have compartments! We speed away for about two miles and then proceed at walking pace for the next hour. We are even overtaken by a goods train on a parallel track but eventually get there.
A brisk walk from the station takes us to the Hotel Chopin, a modern building catering mainly for French wrinklies. The room is compact but brightly decorated. After a cup of tea - it was worth carrying that kettle halfway round Europe - we walk into town to find something to eat.
We find a small bar where there is enough light for us to read the guidebook and choose a couple of likely looking restaurants. The nearest one is the "Peasant's Kitchen", which has customers and looks ok. Our complimentary appetiser arrives and then we discover our big mistake - the place has somehow lost its liquor licence and we are reduced to drinking water. Rosena has been missing dumplings - she orders pierogies - a platter of 15 of them. Dave orders casserole and is delivered a dish of bacon, boiled eggs and fried potatoes. Interesting. The photo shows the peasant's wife supervising the salad bar. Fortunately we had half a bottle of wine back at the hotel.
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