Pat, I Would Like to Buy a Vowel ...

Kunta Hora, Czech Republic

August 31, 2007
N49°57.014
E015°16.437

We allowed ourselves plenty of time to navigate the Prague train station. We even had a dry run the day before when we purchased our tickets, this ended up being a blessing since the majority of the signs are in Czech and all announcements over the public address system are in Czech.

The signage in the train station was like a Pat Sajak nightmare; please, for the love of God, will somone please buy a freakin’ vowel! Deciphering the consonant laden words like: “Vlak”, “Jizdenku”, “Odjezd”, “Vchod” and “Vychod” was comical for the Czech challenged, like us.

After wandering around the grimy station for 10-15 minutes, we found the platform where our train would be arriving and moved towards the front; distancing ourselves from the large crowd of people congregating near the rear of the platform. When the train arrived, at a little before noon, we boarded and found an empty compartment, stowed our luggage and stretched out for our one hour journey east to the UNESCO city of Kunta Hora.

Fifteen minutes into our train ride the conductor came around to collect tickets. I handed him our tickets and gave him a nice smile. He said something to us in Czech, and now Marc and I were both smiling and nodding our heads. The other passenger in our large, comfy compartment apparently advised the conductor we don’t speak Czech. “Ahh,” the conductor said turning to us and now speaking English, “You need to move seats… this is first class cabin and you bought second class ticket.”

Not even realizing we had a first class option, we got up, grabbed our gear, and moved to the next car of the train. The second class compartments were packed, people were standing and sitting in the hallways, so we just grabbed a spot near the window and enjoyed the view for rest of the trip. Not a big deal, even second class on this train was heaven compared to the cramped sleeping compartment on the Night Train from Hanoi.

Arriving in Kunta Hora we realized we missed our short connection to the town center since our train left Prague ten minutes late. We figured we could jump on a bus, but we only had a 2000 Czech Crown note (equivalent to $100 bill). Since there wasn’t anywhere to change the bill in or around the station and no sign of a taxi, we studied the map a little and decided we would have to walk the two miles into town.

This is when we met Claire and Spencer, a young couple from London. Just as we were walking away from the train station I looked back and saw Spencer coming towards us. The two came from Prague on the same train as us and were in Kunta Hora for their friend’s wedding. They actually had a cell phone, called a cab, and offered to share the cab with us. We gladly accepted and graciously thanked them.

We figured we would share the cab to Claire and Spencer’s destination and then try to find a place to stay the night. When the cab pulled into the driveway of their penzion, we looked at our guide book and realized it was actually the same place we were going to attempt to find a room. We were a little worried there wouldn’t be any available rooms due to the wedding, but were pleased when the young receptionist advised us a double was available. After checking in we pulled on some warm clothes, since the weather was becoming cold and gray, and headed into town for a bite to eat.

On our way out we bumped into Claire and Spencer and we suggested they let us buy them a beer since we couldn’t pay them for the cab ride. We found a nice restaurant near the town center and enjoyed a simple meal, wonderful conversation, and shared a few travel stories.

As they headed off to enjoy the pre-wedding festivities, we went out to explore the village. We had a great time weaving our way through the small alleyways of the UNESCO town, admiring the churches, museums and other historical landmarks before heading back to our room for a break.

We’re delighted we had the time to visit this little gem and see a different part of the Czech Republic; meeting Claire and Spencer was just a bonus.