The overnight train
During the first week of our trip Randy's schedule was tight. The day after he finished up in Kraków he had another meeting outside of Prague. We were not interested in trying to fly the route, but the train schedules out of Kraków meant that we could only leave in the morning. That is, unless, we would take the night train.
A sleeper train? Could we? Should we?
More after the jump
I was curious about how the sleeper train might work for our family. Had I limited myself to information found on some of the discussion boards for the major guidebooks, I would have been scared off by the specter of thieves on the train. Likewise, had I based our decision solely on Randy's one very bad experience on a Chinese overnight train (which was unique---a coworker thought it would be a good idea for five of them to share a four-berth compartment so they slept in rotating shifts--I kid you not)
But I took the question to facebook and my sister's former roommate (who lived for a few years in Prague) happily endorsed the overnight train, and on that route in particular. I also found the website Man in Seat Sixty-One which encourages rail travel in every country. I was less nervous.
Train tickets for the Polish or Czech trains cannot be purchased outside the country, but there are several services that accept train bookings for you and then buy the tickets, like Polrail and Czech-transport. I have to admit I have been spoiled by Bahn and even TrenItalia allowing me, an American living in China, to buy European train tickets by a phone app. However, Polrail worked smoothly for us.
I found the train we wanted, a direct from Kraków to Prague that would allow us to reserve two double sleeping compartments. The only other option was a couchette for three, but we needed to keep our arrangements to even numbers.
A few hours later I received an email from Polrail customer service that, unfortunately, the train I wanted was sold-out. There was an alternative, with a slightly later departure and a taking two trains, first a regular train and then a sleeper, changing in Katowice. It also would allow us to reserve a four-person couchette, for the same price. He sent along photographs of what the difference would be between the two types of sleepers. While I really wanted to keep our original plan, the change could still allow Randy to make his late morning meeting. Looking at the arrangements of the berths, we chose to stick with 2-person rooms. The beds seemed to be a little bigger, and the rooms came with sinks.
The next email I received from Polrail was confirmation of my order for four seats to Katowice and two two-bed compartments to Prague. I would be retrieving the tickets from the general delivery at a post office in Kraków near the train station. If I lived in the US and if there were enough time I could have them mailed to an address there. I felt better about picking them up in Kraków anyway. Polrail's instructions on how to pick up my package included very detailed directions, pictures of the post-office (including one showing the right door to enter), and one line of Polish requesting my package. The post office window was open 24 hours a day, though Polrail recommended I pick them up no later than a few hours before our departure. They even provided mobile phone numbers to call if I ran into any problems.
Picking up the tickets was a breeze. The only problem we had that night was that Myles and Brigid were already tired when we boarded at Kraków. About two hours later when we needed to change to the sleeping train we had to shake them awake and make our transition quickly.
After that, we were fine.
We slept one parent and one child to a room. Everyone had a chance to brush their teeth and wash their faces (flannel and soap provided!) before bedtime. I had dressed the kids with long underwear that day so they could sleep in those as well on the train. Both of the children fell asleep quickly and comfortably in the upper bunks, not stirring at all until about an hour before our arrival in Prague. They were certainly tired, but they also found the beds very cozy. After Randy and I took shifts using the restroom in the train car, we said goodnight and locked our respective cabin doors.
Randy and I, on the other hand, did not sleep as well as they did. I was comfortable and sufficiently tired. I was also wired, too excited listening to all the mysterious activity going with the train to allow myself to fall into a deep sleep. We changed tracks, we sped up, we slowed down, we stopped for an indeterminate amount of time. Something joined our train, and something else was taken off. I was much too excited to sleep through any of that. Isn't that ridiculous? But what exactly does an overnight train do? I had previously imagined it just rolled slowly and quietly from one place to another, but we made all kinds of stops and starts. I couldn't think what kind of secret life the overnight train had. Some of the movement did affect Randy, too, but he felt rested enough to go to his meeting the next day. I wasn't exactly exhausted either, but I did rely on coffee that morning.
As our train approached Prague, the porter brought round coffee we had ordered the night before (and was included in our tickets). Everyone brushed teeth again, combed hair, and repacked for departure. Randy had just enough time to make his next train.
While Randy was leaving for a suburb of Prague, the kids and I deposited our luggage in the station storage and found a cab to take us into Prague and the next part of our adventure. We would be staying in Prague that night, but it was too early to check into our hotel.
For the rest of the trip, Brigid was especially unhappy that this would be our only overnight train on the trip. I assured her that someday there could be others, but we needed to see if we liked it before we went crazy with overnights. Even Randy is now thinking that overnight trains (in Europe, mind you) are something we could do a few times again. As the activity becomes less intriguing I will probably sleep better. The time (and money) saved was so worth it.
A sleeper train? Could we? Should we?
More after the jump
I was curious about how the sleeper train might work for our family. Had I limited myself to information found on some of the discussion boards for the major guidebooks, I would have been scared off by the specter of thieves on the train. Likewise, had I based our decision solely on Randy's one very bad experience on a Chinese overnight train (which was unique---a coworker thought it would be a good idea for five of them to share a four-berth compartment so they slept in rotating shifts--I kid you not)
But I took the question to facebook and my sister's former roommate (who lived for a few years in Prague) happily endorsed the overnight train, and on that route in particular. I also found the website Man in Seat Sixty-One which encourages rail travel in every country. I was less nervous.
Train tickets for the Polish or Czech trains cannot be purchased outside the country, but there are several services that accept train bookings for you and then buy the tickets, like Polrail and Czech-transport. I have to admit I have been spoiled by Bahn and even TrenItalia allowing me, an American living in China, to buy European train tickets by a phone app. However, Polrail worked smoothly for us.
I found the train we wanted, a direct from Kraków to Prague that would allow us to reserve two double sleeping compartments. The only other option was a couchette for three, but we needed to keep our arrangements to even numbers.
A few hours later I received an email from Polrail customer service that, unfortunately, the train I wanted was sold-out. There was an alternative, with a slightly later departure and a taking two trains, first a regular train and then a sleeper, changing in Katowice. It also would allow us to reserve a four-person couchette, for the same price. He sent along photographs of what the difference would be between the two types of sleepers. While I really wanted to keep our original plan, the change could still allow Randy to make his late morning meeting. Looking at the arrangements of the berths, we chose to stick with 2-person rooms. The beds seemed to be a little bigger, and the rooms came with sinks.
The next email I received from Polrail was confirmation of my order for four seats to Katowice and two two-bed compartments to Prague. I would be retrieving the tickets from the general delivery at a post office in Kraków near the train station. If I lived in the US and if there were enough time I could have them mailed to an address there. I felt better about picking them up in Kraków anyway. Polrail's instructions on how to pick up my package included very detailed directions, pictures of the post-office (including one showing the right door to enter), and one line of Polish requesting my package. The post office window was open 24 hours a day, though Polrail recommended I pick them up no later than a few hours before our departure. They even provided mobile phone numbers to call if I ran into any problems.
Picking up the tickets was a breeze. The only problem we had that night was that Myles and Brigid were already tired when we boarded at Kraków. About two hours later when we needed to change to the sleeping train we had to shake them awake and make our transition quickly.
After that, we were fine.
We slept one parent and one child to a room. Everyone had a chance to brush their teeth and wash their faces (flannel and soap provided!) before bedtime. I had dressed the kids with long underwear that day so they could sleep in those as well on the train. Both of the children fell asleep quickly and comfortably in the upper bunks, not stirring at all until about an hour before our arrival in Prague. They were certainly tired, but they also found the beds very cozy. After Randy and I took shifts using the restroom in the train car, we said goodnight and locked our respective cabin doors.
Randy and I, on the other hand, did not sleep as well as they did. I was comfortable and sufficiently tired. I was also wired, too excited listening to all the mysterious activity going with the train to allow myself to fall into a deep sleep. We changed tracks, we sped up, we slowed down, we stopped for an indeterminate amount of time. Something joined our train, and something else was taken off. I was much too excited to sleep through any of that. Isn't that ridiculous? But what exactly does an overnight train do? I had previously imagined it just rolled slowly and quietly from one place to another, but we made all kinds of stops and starts. I couldn't think what kind of secret life the overnight train had. Some of the movement did affect Randy, too, but he felt rested enough to go to his meeting the next day. I wasn't exactly exhausted either, but I did rely on coffee that morning.
As our train approached Prague, the porter brought round coffee we had ordered the night before (and was included in our tickets). Everyone brushed teeth again, combed hair, and repacked for departure. Randy had just enough time to make his next train.
While Randy was leaving for a suburb of Prague, the kids and I deposited our luggage in the station storage and found a cab to take us into Prague and the next part of our adventure. We would be staying in Prague that night, but it was too early to check into our hotel.
For the rest of the trip, Brigid was especially unhappy that this would be our only overnight train on the trip. I assured her that someday there could be others, but we needed to see if we liked it before we went crazy with overnights. Even Randy is now thinking that overnight trains (in Europe, mind you) are something we could do a few times again. As the activity becomes less intriguing I will probably sleep better. The time (and money) saved was so worth it.
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