Pilsen to Prague: Transfer by Student Agency bus

August 23, 2015

SUNDAY in Pilsen is like Sunday in Cochrane. Nobody around and nothing open. We wandered around looking for a cafe or restaurant and ended up having to go back to the main square to find a wee cafe. And finally did.

Before the trip I had booked the bus back to Prague so all was set. That being said, since we were ready early, I wondered about catching an earlier bus - they run every hour. We loaded up the bikes and raced to the terminal. Yes, I could switch the tickets, but I had to cash out the old ones, and purchase new ones. There was no jumping onto the bus with the old ones. We had fifteen minutes.

The folders were quickly folded and put into bags while I switched the tickets. Bikes in bags and panniers were popped into the luggage compartment and on board we were and on our way on schedule to the millisecond. Fancier than our buses at home. there was a server who offered coffee and snacks, there was free wifi and the seats were comfy. Not that the local buses were uncomfy the other day, but this one was great. Student Agency (though not only for students) you are amazing.

I was under the impression that we were being dropped across the river from the old centre. Wrong. The bus ended somewhere in suburbia beside huge box stores. More importantly, beside a metro stop. Though a bit tricky to figure out, we got a bit of help, bought tickets for the metro then carried the bikes down to the platform. All kinds of room on the trains meant we could easily roll onto the train then headed along the track for a rather long ride to the centre. Probably a good idea that we did not ride. It was 17 km as the crow flies and I am not sure how fun it would have been in this section of the city.

We came to a stop that I thought was close to our hotel. Similar to other Eastern Euro metros, the escalators up were HUGE. Three long ascents. We must have been at the centre of the earth! I was not sure exactly where we were and the gps was mixed up either from the trip in the metro or because of the clouds. We ended up going in a small circle in really busy streets packed with tourists. Then the gps found itself and away we went. Past Wenceslaus Square. Eventually I saw the brewpub near our hotel and then we arrived, about 15 minutes later.

We were back to the apartment from where we left almost two weeks ago. This time, though, we had the loft room on the fourth floor. Cute room. But four flights of stairs up. And down.

So in the blink of an eye, another part of this tour is over. Nevertheless, we were still hungry so went down to the corner to the brewpub where I had not had the chance to visit last time. I ended up having a Vienna Red - I have heard about the style but never had one. This beer was alright, but again, as with this whole trip, nothing to write home about. With it, I had their signature hamburger and potatoes - all delicious, but I was a little concerned when I noticed that the burger itself was rather medium-pinkish. Knowing the way my stomach can be...

Sure enough, a few hours of walking later, my stomach was making funny noises. Nothing really bad ever developed, thank goodness.

Though we had walked a lot of it already, we took to the streets and went across the Charles Bridge, walked along the other side of the river where we sampled the mead (not grand), and back to the main square where we watched some of the performers and enjoyed the lights and such before returning to the room for the evening.

Today's ride: 4 km (2 miles)
Total: 327 km (203 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0