flying solo in Euro

Pat, pat, pat. That's the sound of me not-so-silently praising myself for accomplishing a grande trip goal yesterday: I took a train in Europe, alone. Since college, I've been hearing about jaunts that friends took while backpacking, and the personal growth tied to it. I'll be the first to admit that I could stand to grow a bit, and had been dying to try it myself. So I did...

I got up bright and early Wednesday morning (7:45am to be exact, which is a full 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of my current routine, thankyouverymuch) and hit the road. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous. What if I couldn't communicate with the ticket salesperson to buy a ticket? What if I got on the wrong train? What if I couldn't figure out how to get back? All silly questions, I knew, but I was a little uneasy, just the same.

I took the Metro to the train station about 40 minutes before the train's departure and successfully purchased a roundtrip ticket (thank God I'd written down my train info, since I had to show it to the salesguy that spoke verrrrry little English). I managed to find where the outbound trains (which obviously leave from a different locale than Metro trains) depart from, and I got to stand and wait and wait and wait for the platform number to be posted. I breathed a sigh of relief (really, what's the big deal?!) when I plopped into a seat.

success, round 1

After an hour trip out to Kutna Hora, I had one final obstacle to maneuver. The train I rode takes passengers to the Kutna Hora Hlavni Nadrazi station, the town's main station (hlavni nadrazi = main station - or something like it - in Czech...see, I can speak the language). To access the town, there's a teeny tiny train that goes to the Kutna Hora Mesto station. Cool. Now, Rick Steves briefly mentioned a transfer, but aside from six words saying that you take a second train, I wasn't sure what to expect. I scooted off the main train and attempted to ask the little train's conductor how to pay for my ticket, certain that he'd fine me 1,000K on the spot if I boarded without one. Since he spoke zero English, we did some wierd pantomime thing and I got on...without paying. Ugh. I thought to myself, "If he's trying to rip me off because I'm clearly a tourist, I'm going to go ballistic," and sat down. Luckily, you could actually buy your ticket on board, and I did, for the low low price of 18K round trip (approximately $0.85USD). Schweet.

mini one-car train

I got into the little town of Kutna Hora a whopping 8 minutes later, and was surprisingly surprised (yup, I meant to type that) at how itty-bitty it really was. I'd read that it was a silver mining town, and home to the first Czech mints back in the day. Like all European towns (I'm learning), it has a gorgeous church and a pretty courtyard somewhere within town limits. I'd also read about an alchemy tour, and a Vietnamese market (sidenote: in the running for oddest experience of my life = hearing a Vietnamese guy speak Czech. So weird that I'm shuddering a little as I type this). Other than that, I knew it was a little town where finding an English speaker wasn't likely...

I told you it was a little town...this is one of like 13 total streets/alleys

it appears as though some Western culture has hit Kutna Hora...the kid on the left was sporting saggy, baggy jeans and a faux-hawk. nice.

Finding the sights in town was easy, since it was small and I had a map. The market offered a smattering of random shoes and sweatshirts and jackets, a few canvas bags and scarves, and some wierd lawn gnomes and deer. There weren't multiples of anything, so it reminded me of a garage sale, or they'd just found the stuff laying around somewhere and chose to sell it. Oh-kay...saved my moolah for elsewhere. I wandered the streets and came across St. Barbara's Cathedral, which was beautiful (even if there were construction scaffoldings along one side). Did I go inside? Nope, I'm good...


I sought out to find the silver mine museum next, which was less than impressive. In a little tiny building off a random road, 7 or 8 people sat and waited for a tour. Um, is it a tour of a museum? Am I really not allowed to check out the museum without going on a tour in a foreign language? I'll pass...

I found some lovely views next, and then headed to the alchemy museum. As Rick suggested, the tour was run by an eccentric Englishman. I didn't expect, however, a one-on-one tour with a slightly smelly man, whom the term eccentric doesn't quite cover. Before we began, he mentioned that he had to leave for an appointment 10 minutes after I arrived, but managed to talk (waaaaay over my head) for a full 40 minutes. Most of the talking took place in a cool, leaning tower that the building had been built onto, with an amazing ceiling (what is that called, when it's all fancy? a facade?). I queried if it was wood or plaster, only to find out that it had been carved out of a single block of stone in 1513. Holy crap:


After our 10/40-minute tour, I was free to roam about down in the basement, an actual former alchemist dwelling. I'd had my fill of Kutna Hora at this point, and was ready to catch the train outta there. Knowing that trains left only every two hours, I hustled through the basement on my own and skipped on out. On my way back to the Mesto train station, I saw the Englishman tour-guy walking his dog. An appointment, eh?

a cool, random candy machine that caught my eye

I got back to Mesto with about eight minutes to spare, and was ready to rock. The ride back to Prague was uneventful, and I was so inspired by my new solo-traveling skills that I ventured to a teashop that I'd read about...

my chai n' mixed nuts at Dobra Cajovna

the place is adorable...you sit down and are presented a thick menu (which explains 100 teas in detail) and a bell. when you've selected your tea, you ring the bell and a tea-pro comes to take your order (and give suggestions, as needed). the shop is teeny, dark and awesome.

All in all, I'm proud of myself for my successful adventure...yay!