The Start - Stuttgart

Our original plans were to fly to Zurich and then train to Prague via Stuttgart and Nuremberg. The flight went well (if long), and we had no trouble getting to the rail station and finding the all important coffee shop. The biggest surprise for me was the smoking - I had forgotten that smoking is not contained to designated areas in Europe, so we quickly learned how to seat ourselves next to doors nad windows for the most fresh air.

After a refreshing pastry and hot drink we found our train and our seats with no problem. We all sat in a post-flight stupor as the train ran through the Swiss countryside. At a particularly long stop, we caught a bit of an announcement, which upon further examination we found out meant that we would miss our connection in Stuttgart to Nuremberg. After arriving in Stuttgart and explaining our problem, the very diligent DeutscheBahn customer service rep got us onto a night train to Prague. All well and good - it didn't leave until 11:00 pm so we had 1/2 a day to explore the city.

After locking our bags up, we set out on foot to see what was around, and stumbled into one of the main squares of Stuttgart, The Schlossplatz. We spent a few hours wandering around enjoying the Neues Schloss (built in 1746) and the lovely Stiftskirche (Church of the Holy Cross). This Gothic church was built in the 15th century and incorporated the walls of the previous early Gothic church. It was damaged during WWII, but has been newly renovated.

After a dinner in a beer garden (our first of many dinners involving schnitzel and/or wurst) and a stroll through some shopping areas (which included a white muslin in full garb playing and singing "Summertime") we headed back to the train station to wait.

Starbucks is the same everywhere, and luckily this one had the big cushy furniture, lots of caffiene, and a wi-fi connection. Doug did some work, Amy and Steve read and napped, and I entertained myself, and eveybody else when they could no longer focus on their books by playing a game of solitaire. They must've watched while I played for almost a half and hour. I had plenty of help moving the cards.

Finally it was time to board our train, and because of our missed connections, I had to go find the conductor and sort out the sleeping situation. He said "Yes this train goes to Prague. Straight through, with a one hour stand in Nuremberg" and when I asked about actually sleeping, he said for 20E (euro) we could have a couchette. YEA! Horizontal after about 24 hours of travel. The train wasn't full so Steve and Amy got there own car. It came with clean sheets and pillows and blankets and large FLAT surface to lay down on.

We napped and read until Nuremberg, where we finally fell into a deep sleep. Mine was apparently too deep, because I was awoken with "There's a lady with a gun who wants to see your passport." Nice words to wake me from a deep sleep on a train on the Czech border. I never heard the pounding on the door or Doug digging out his passport and showing it to the border guard.

So the lady with the gun, who unfortunately reinforced all my stereotypes of Eastern Europe, waited not-so-patiently while her partner held the penlight so I could try to unzip my shirt pocket to get out my passport. Eventually they had to turn on the overhead light, and Doug had to deal with the zipper.

Finally the lights went out, my heart stopped pounding and I fell back into sleep - the sleep of the jet-lagged, gun-fearing American traveler. Best 3 hour sleep of my life.