Friday 18th of July
The day began with breakfast in the cellar at Hostel Budec. To say the least, a feeling of sitting in a school cafeteria. You were offered a tray with yogurt and various bread pieces, as well as coffee or tea. Today I have an appointment to fit. Since I knew in advance that I would be alone in Prague for a number of days, I had decided that I would meet a Czech penpal that day. Her name is Dominika and she lives in a small village in the north of the Czech Republic. She was going on a day trip to Prague with her friend Katarzyna this day. I met them at the Masarykovo station in central Prague. Before they appeared, I had two mishaps with ice creams. First I bought an ice cream stick. It was so melted that the stick detached from the rest of the ice cream and all the glory went down onto the asphalt. However, I changed tactics and bought an ice cream cone instead. I had to let it go when a big dog bit at it. I dropped the ice cream. The dog ate it. There was no more ice cream that day. After I met the two girls, the rest of the day consisted of kilometers of walking around the central parts of Prague, including to the castle area. After the two traveled back on their bus, I enjoyed the evening's dinner, a sausage at Wenceslas Square. It was really delicious, but it has to be eaten standing up. When I got back to the room in the evening, the news came. Peter had been banned from traveling and I realized that the travel plans had changed drastically. After some thinking, I came to the conclusion that the best solution was still a slow land-bound return journey to the north starting on Monday.
The astronomical clock in central Prague..
Saturday 19th of July
Started this day by oversleeping so there was no breakfast. This was the day when Prague was to be seen. The heat was also palpable. I made various purchases, including a cheap travel guide to Western Europe. The one over Eastern Europe was purchased in Sweden before for significantly more money. Research into the journey home was also done. Started sketching a route home. It is leaning towards a ferry from Poland (Swinoujscie) or from Germany (Sassnitz). These researches were done in a modern but expensive Internet cafe in the city center. I had a good dinner at a restaurant located on Jachymova, near the square in the old town. Also found some Czech beer glasses as souvenirs.
Charles Bridge in Prague.
Sunday 20th of July
The day started with a breakfast and then a visit to the railway station, Praha Hlavni Nadrazi for ticket purchase. The queues for the ticket offices were long, Japanese, Australians and Spaniards ahead of me in the queue. Finally I got my ticket. Then I went on an excursion to Vysehrad, the old castle area in the southern parts of central Prague. It was really hot but cozy and relaxing up in Vysehrad. On the way there I found a small park where I also managed to sunbathe for a while. As I sat there, a small dog came running and started licking the face of a sunbathing elderly man. You could say he was quite surprised. Then when the little dog's owner came, an old lady, well then the man had fallen asleep. The last evening in Prague was devoted to some photography and souvenir shopping, including two bottles of Becherovka. Also ate a good dinner consisting of goulash at Restaurant Jindrisská Vez. For food, a good dark Velke Popovicky.
Monday 21st of July
An early early morning... When I was going to check out from Budec, there was no staff at the reception. I had to put the key on a stool by the front door. Either it's still there or it ended up in the right hands. I traveled by fast comfortable north from Prague towards Dresden in Germany. At the border, some Indian passports were examined with optical equipment, but in the end the Indians in the compartment were also allowed to enter Germany. It was with a certain sense of déjà vu that I arrived back at Dresden Hauptbahnhof. I bought a ticket to Wroclaw and bought some German magazines as travel literature. The next trip from Dresden to Wroclaw in Poland was tough, very tough. The only highlight was when a Dutch girl in the compartment sat next to her seat and ended up on the floor. Around 17.00 the train slid into Wroclaw and I headed once more to Piast (see 11/7). This time too there were rooms, but with windows facing the courtyard instead of the street. In the evening I thought of eating at the Armenian restaurant again but it was closed for the holidays. Instead, I headed towards the center of Wroclaw and found Restauracja Sphinx on the main square, the Rynek. Sphinx is a Polish restaurant chain that has the same menu in all cities. I ordered grilled meat, saffron rice and cabbage + a large beer (Okocim) for 40 kroner. Incredibly tasty and exactly what was needed. Also managed a quick visit to Albert Supermarket for some evening food.
Tuesday 22nd of July
I woke up wondering who was knocking on metal every day. Slightly irritated, I went back to sleep but the tinkling continued. When the sleep slipped out of me, I realized that there was a real thunderstorm outside. I continued to sleep, a good morning of sleep. Another full day in Wroclaw. This time I am much more energetic. I have planned to do a number of different things, but first of all I have to check all the facts about the trip home. Right after the visit to an internet cafe, my ice cream problems started again. I had bought a large ice cream cone which of course broke at the bottom. I got ice cream in my shirt pocket, in my trouser pocket, inside my sandals...well, in short, on every article of clothing except my underpants. Return train to the hotel next. On the way there I bought some strawberries that were sold in small boxes, SEK 6/piece. After changing into ice-free clothes, I made a hike out to Ostrow Tumski, where it is close between churches, monasteries and Catholic institutions. There is a calm peaceful atmosphere there. The area used to be an island but not anymore. I also got to see some in the main square who parodied communists. Many laughed, but they were better at Polish than I was. Also bought a ticket at the railway station. For company I had a toothless man who kindly stood and chatted with everyone who bought train tickets. The next destination will be Szczecin. The return journey will go via Swinoujscie i northwestern Poland.
Wednesday 23rd of July
Today it's heading north. I had to wait a long time for my train to Szczecin. It was over an hour late. Luckily, I got a fairly empty compartment. Went north via Leszno, Poznan and Starogard Szczecinski. Finally I arrived in Szczecin and of course it was pouring. Finally I made my way towards the center and was lucky enough to find a tourist information almost at once. Their phone was special. It couldn't be dialed out but they could receive calls. This meant that they could not book a room for me, but I was advised of a good hotel, "Hotel Slowianki", which was centrally located. I went there and rooms were available. I checked into a small room with wooden furniture and a TV on the ceiling. Later in the evening I waltzed around the city without finding any real center. At least I found a Sphinx restaurant and ate the same thing as in Wroclaw. Still good!
Thursday 24th of July
A quiet long day in Szczecin. To begin with, I spent time in internet cafes to find out all the details of my journey home. Later in the day I also bought my ferry ticket Swinoujscie-Ystad. Most of the day I walked around and bought some small things, including a mug with a Szczecin motif. I also went to the railway station and bought a ticket to Swinoujscie. Also visited a shop called "Netto" which seems to be Poland's answer to The surplus company. Food, clothes and other things in a blissful mix...and cheap. In the evening came one of the worse thunderstorms I have seen. It was torrential and before it broke the sky was purple black. The rain was so hard that car alarms screamed over half the city. We had to take shelter at a high-rise building and then the dinner was indoors this time, but still at the Sphinx (the third time).
Szczecin
Friday 25th of July
Then it was time again then. If I have calculated correctly, I have 29 hours of travel ahead of me. It started with a long morning walk to the railway station, Szczecin Glowny. There, my yellow plastic bag was visited by a bunch of wasps. I just have to hope that everyone has flown out before I get on the train. The train is model slow, yellow and blue and full of graffiti. It took me over two hours to reach Swinoujscie where I will take the ferry to Ystad. I got off a station too early but was still close to the ferry terminal. There I waited for just over an hour outside a Swedish (!!) restaurant before I got on board. It felt a little odd to be offered discounts at the cocktail bar when you were standing there with a lead-heavy backpack and a worn-out body. I had to leave the backpack in a luggage compartment, but I had to drag the body on. Most of the trip was spent on a chair in the sun on the deck but managed to get some pasta and visit the duty free shop. I was let ashore even though I didn't speak the local language (Scandinavian). When I came home to Sweden again, the problems started. I had ordered the train tickets online from Poland, but they could not be picked up in Ystad, at least not in the evening. Thanks to a nice conductor, I still got to go to Malmö to collect my tickets from a machine there. Once I arrived in Malmö, I also took the opportunity to rent a shower for SEK 20/half hour. It was absolutely wonderful and necessary in that situation. I also tried to find some food. I aimed for hamburgers and went to a kiosk outside the station. When I asked for hamburgers, I was immediately asked.. Do you ride a motorcycle?.. When my answer was no, I was told that no hamburgers could be had, but a falafel. It was a cooked sausage. I sat down inside the station to watch Danes and other loose people passing by. At 22.45 I boarded the night train to Stockholm. It's hot in the cabin. Puff! There is still a long way to go!
Saturday 26th of July
The train is completely stationary in Hässleholm. I'm tired, the seat hard, the lighting bright. We will be standing here for a long time. We are waiting for some travelers to be delivered by taxi. Irritated scoundrels around me. Some are going to Osby a few miles north but got stuck here for an hour. In the end we rolled on, I was neither asleep nor awake, but have a memory gap between Nässjö and Norrköping and a vague memory of rain against the window pane. At six in the morning I hurried off the train to get some provisions for the journey to Östersund. That train left at 07:30 and during the journey I had to change seats fifty-one times because my unbooked ticket had no seat reservation. Shortly after At 13 I finally arrived in Östersund, where I had a pasta lunch and then continued on towards Föllinge and later Laxviken, but that's another story.... Thanks for reading!