Our hotel in Dresden is only 800 meters from the main train station.  We were planning to walk but since it has been raining heavily since last night we decided to take a cab.  I am sure the driver took us the long way as we knew the route as the hotel staff mapped it for us.  But what do silly tourists know!

Boarding the train we discover that there are compartments.  This is the first train we have ridden with them.  Some have “Reserved” seats between specific stations.  Since we don’t know the intermediate stations it is difficult to know what seats are available.  We choose a compartment after asking the occupants if it is reserved.  We settle in.  Our compartment mates are a couple from Chile.  They endured a 17 hour flight to Frankfurt from Chile and face a similar flight back home.  They speak German as well as their Chilean Spanish.  The wife has a better grasp of English than her husband.  We enjoy conversation for most of the journey.

The ticket we purchased online takes us to the Praha-Holešovice train station which is north of the river and the main station.  We have no Czech cash and wander about the station for a bit getting advice a few times from a taxi driver who has offered to take us to our hotel.  We have no Korunas, there is no ATM at this station, the ticket machines take only coins and it is POURING RAIN.  He offers to take us to our hotel/apartment for 15 Euros.  Ok, Ok.  We bite.  A fixed fare taxi ride is definitely different that a metered one 🙂  We are whipping around Prague, over tram tracks, almost killing Czech citizens on our way to the address we were given.

He double parks in front of #9 gets his 15 Euros and is gone!  We go into the door of #9 and see a large stern looking guard type guy.  He does not look friendly.  I show him the email I have and he speaks and we catch “not hotel” and “is embassy”.  Okay then, this isn’t the place.  🙂  Good news is there is an ATM on the corner and we get some Czech cash, the smallest denominations the machine will dispense.  We get directions from a very nice young woman who points out that there is a metro station directly across the street and which station we need to go to.  Oh yes, did I mention it is POURING RAIN!.  The smallest note we have is 500 Koruna.  We have no idea how much the metro is, but the machines only accept coins.  We need change.  Stu tried to buy a bottle of water for 16 Kurona with a 500 Koruna bill.  The guys says he has no change and takes the water and puts it back on the shelf.  Hahaha.

There is a grocery store nearby, so I give it a go.  I find a bottle of wine for 109 Koruna (which I am pretty sure will not go to waste), and get 3 coins and some bills back as change.  I try to get more change for a 100 Koruna bill, but get shut down too.

Now with coins in hand, we head back to the ticket machines.  There is a button that says “English”  OK.  That changes the display to “Please select tariff”.  There are multiple buttons below with different zones, times and other things we know not of.  A kindly employee of the metro, who’s job isn’t helping tourists takes our coins, works some magic with 2 machines, coins in one, and out and in the other.  Voila, we have 2 tickets and a few coins left over 🙂

 

We find our place Anyday Apartments.  We are home!!

 

 

 

 

We have a kitchen,

 

A little eating area and dishes, glasses & cutlery for 3.  Nice.  We will go and buy some coffee and something for breakfast.  Maybe some beer for the little frig (lower door on the left below the coffee maker)

 

 

A nicer bathroom than some places.

 

 

 

 

The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow by noon.  Fingers crossed.