Unexpected Wonders

From Dresden I traveled to Prague and again I was exposed to an entirely new history. The Czech Republic is not a large country and hardly one that would be likely to make it into the history books in a high school in Texas. Americans are sometimes wont to feel that they are the originators and flag bearers for freedom. Such is not the case, as countries like the Czech Republic have fought through religious and political persecution as well as a blatant betrayal by its supposed allies in order to become the country that it is today. The country itself is in many ways only as old as I am. The history and spirit of its people stretches farther back into time, of course.

The adventure did not end in Prague, however. As a student it is often necessary to be fiscally responsible, particularly when you are in a place when assistance cannot be speedily sent. In an effort to save money, a friend and I purchased a ticket that was significantly cheaper than the other ones, but limited us to the slower trains with more connections. Even so, it seemed to be a good idea. Upon closer inspection, however, this ticket would require a trip lasting nearly eleven hours overnight, bringing us back to our hometown at six o’clock in the morning. This is, of course, including a wait from eleven o’clock at night until the next train at four in the morning.

My companion, unwilling to spend more money to buy another ticket that would get us home sooner, elected to try to take the trip herself. Annoyed, but unwilling to let her navigate Germany alone, I agreed to stay with her. I was able to come up with a makeshift plan to stop in a town called Nordhausen and get a room in a hostel. Everything was going to be fine.

Except it wasn’t. When we climbed out of the taxi into the pitch blackness of the night we quickly realized that the receptionists office was closed and the lights in the main building were off. At a suggestion from the taxi driver, we climbed up some steps to a second building farther off. There we found a group enjoying the evening over wine, beer and Pringles. We searched for someone who might work at the youth hostel and found no one. Thanks to the kindness of the people we encountered, one of them yielded his room to us for a night and there we slept.

The next day was spent leisurely. We slept until we were sated, woke and strolled through the town to a café that sat on a hill with an excellent view of the city and the hills beyond. The air was clear and every breath was like cold water. We took our time getting back to the station, taking time to look at a local market, to step into a candy store and another for all sorts of baubles. It was nice and well worth the stress it took to get there.