For my trip to Prague from Amsterdam, I chose a train. It was a twelve-hour train journey which needed four transfers, some of them unnervingly close. Yet, when I did do those four transfers–in three different countries:
Czechia, Germany, Netherlands—they were all amazingly smooth, prompt, and clear. In fact, I realized that I am more able to follow the directions in an EU station, written in an unknown language, than in an NYC subway station, written in English! The thoughtfulness given to the public transport traveler in the EU is superb.
These were the directions given to me by the hostel.
From Václav Havel airport: Take bus 119 to the last stop “Nádraží Veleslavín” and there change for tram 20 and go to the stop “Malostranské náměstí” and walk from there.
I tried to read these words that read totally unpronounceable, and could not imagine myself asking for those directions and navigating public transportation at 11 p.m. at night. So secretly, I gave myself permission to take a taxi instead.
Yet, as I took my baggage from the surprisingly easy walk to the baggage claim, I also easily saw the kiosk for the bus tickets right in front of it. There was a trio of American girls who were also trying to go to the main station area, so I found myself too following their lead, and randomly clicking on the buttons on the screen to get a thirty-minute ticket for the ludicrously cheap price of 30 CZK ($1.50).
Amazingly, the bus stops were right outside the gate as well, and the bus showed up in front of the terminal in five minutes! I was blown away by all this efficiency and simplicity. Here I was on a public
bus speeding to the city center in less time than it would take me to get to the internal Airtrain at Newark airport!
From the bus I switched to a sleek tram system–there was also a metro system connected—I was not sure how to pay for this one but rode on for dear life anyways. The landscape passing by felt strange and desolate in the night, but the clear electronic signboards and the melodious announcements continued to give me confidence that I was indeed moving towards my destination.
In one final swing, the tram rumbled into the beautiful Old City and as I stepped out of it at Malostranske Namesti, I felt that I had stepped into a James Bond movie. It was a dazzlingly lit large cobblestone square (Namesti literally means square) surrounded on all four sides by gorgeous buildings and a lively scene yet ongoing even at this late hour. I had arrived.
For more travel stories, and the complete adventure: https://unmooredthebook.com/