{"id":1868,"date":"2023-05-08T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/?p=1868"},"modified":"2025-05-23T10:50:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T08:50:31","slug":"interrail-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/interrail-9\/","title":{"rendered":"My crazy Interrail journey – Chapter 9: Prague and Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<< Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<< Chapter 8: Budapest, Szabadk\u00edgy\u00f3s, P\u00e9cel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey from Budapest to Prague lasted eight hours with a train change in Vienna. The hostel I booked was in a perfect position on the large and central Wenceslas Square, but my bed was the top one of a shaky triple bunk bed that did not feel safe at all. Anyway, after putting down my luggage I quickly went to take some pictures in Jungmann Square, my first Loona place in Prague (read more about my tour of Loona places in Europe here<\/a>). I went on to see the statue Head of Franz Kafka<\/em>, a sculpture made of rotating layers. I stopped by this statue three or four times while I was in Prague but I was unlucky with the timing and never saw it when it was rotating. Another peculiar statue was located inside the nearby Lucerna Palace, a sculpture of Saint Wenceslas sitting on a upside down horse. Actually there were quite a few curious statues all around Prague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going south, I crossed the park in the large Charles Square and then I moved toward the Vltava river, passing by the quirky Dancing House. I walked along the riverfront, seeing the richly adorned National Theater and crossing the Legion Bridge, while getting some amazing views of the city and the river at sunset. After walking through the busy N\u00e1rodn\u00ed avenue, I was back in Wenceslas Square, which was full of food and drink stands. I took this opportunity to try a Czech-style hot dog with a paprika sausage followed by a trdeln\u00edk<\/em>, a version of the Hungarian chimney cake that is popular in Prague but originated in Slovakia. Needless to say, both of these were absolutely delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my second day in Prague I explored the truly delightful old town, starting from the Powder Tower, a large Gothic city gate. I visited the Church of Saint James the Greater, which among an ornate interior, also features a centuries-old mummified arm hanging from the ceiling, which appearently belonged to a thief who tried to steal from the church. I reached the historic Old Town Square and I spent some time there to enjoy its fascinating beauty. On a corner of this central square is the Old Town Hall with its renowned and outstanding astronomical clock. On the north side of the city center I saw the so-called Old New Synagogue, the oldest one of its kind still active in Europe and, according to a popular legend, the place where the Golem of Prague was hidden, awaiting to be restored to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, I walked on the Vltava riverfront until the decorated music hall and art gallery known as Rudolfinum, and then I passed by the New City Hall. I went back to the heart of the old town for lunch and I tried the classic Czech sv\u00ed\u010dkov\u00e1 na smetan\u0115<\/em>. I liked the meat and the dumplings but the topping with cranberry sauce and lemon was not for me. The same could be said about the two huge ovocn\u00e9 knedl\u00edky<\/em> I had for dessert. These were bread dumplings with strawberries covered by a vanilla cream, it sounded great on paper but I didn\u2019t like them much, and I struggled to finish them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"View
<\/a>

View of the Vltava river at sunset<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"National
<\/a>

National Theater of Prague<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Powder
<\/a>

Powder Tower<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Old
<\/a>

Old Town Square of Prague<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"The
<\/a>

The Church of Our Lady before T\u00fdn seen from the Old Town Square of Prague<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"The
<\/a>

The Prague astronomical clock<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Sv\u00ed\u010dkov\u00e1
<\/a>

Sv\u00ed\u010dkov\u00e1 na smetan\u0115 and ovocn\u00e9 knedl\u00edky<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My next goal was reaching the Vy\u0161ehrad hill and, since it was still early, I decided to walk, after all it was just three kilometers. Soon enough I was at the imposing Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul that dominates the area. The internal ornaments of this church were stunning but the decorated doors on the exterior were also truly striking. I didn\u2019t miss the opportunity to take a photo sitting there, just like Loona 1\/3 did for their album cover. After walking down the hill, I passed through the Garden of the Bastion and the Folimanka Park, where I saw the air vent that was painted to resemble the Star Wars<\/em> robot R2-D2. I kept walking but I was feeling more and more nauseous, and I had to stop multiple times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I reached the huge National Museum that dominates one side of Wenceslas Square. This museum includes a very varied collection, starting with a big geology hall filled with numerous types of minerals and an entire room focused on meteorites. Among the many different areas of the building, the large historical, paleontological, and zoological sections were truly remarkable, and this was overall one of my favorite museums of this journey. Being inside a museum, I was able to go slower and rest more but my nausea kept getting worse, so I returned to the hostel to rest. Thankfully, I soon felt better and I was able to take another walk around the city center later in the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Basilica
<\/a>

Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"One
<\/a>

One of the doors of the Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Interior
<\/a>

Interior of the Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"An
<\/a>

An air vent painted like R2-D2<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Inside
<\/a>

Inside the National Museum of Prague<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I was feeling much better the following day, and I started my tour from the iconic Charles Bridge, which is adorned with many statues and towers on both sides. Walking around this part of the city, called Mal\u00e1 Strana, I firstly visited the Kampa Park and I saw the peculiar yellow penguins that adorn its riverfront. I went up the hill to the Strahov Monastery, getting some amazing panoramic views of the city on the way, before finally reaching the Prague Castle, which is a very large area with numerous attractions. Inside the castle, I firstly visited the Saint Vitus Cathedral, whose impressive decorations are absolutely breathtaking both on the interior and the exterior. Next was the Old Royal Palace, which features the window where the famous 1618 Defenestration of Prague that led to the Thirty Years\u2019 War took place. After visiting Saint George\u2019s Basilica, a Romanesque church and oldest surviving religious building of the castle, the last stop here was the Golden Lane, a street with many traditional colorful houses now hosting museums and shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After coming down the hill through the nearby gardens, I stopped at a small restaurant to have a dish of local sausages and then some delicious pala\u010dinky<\/em>, the classic Czech pancakes. I then passed by the Wallenstein Palace, which now hosts the Senate of the Czech Republic, and I visited its gardens, before moving on to the riverside panoramic point with a view on Charles Bridge. Another park area was next, the Pet\u0159\u00edn hill, a large green space hosting various monuments. I ended my tour of Prague by returning to the old town and resting there, as by this point I was getting really tired. Throughout this day I was also able to take my last Loona-related pictures of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Old
<\/a>

Old Town Bridge Tower and Monument to Charles IV at the start of Charles Bridge<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"The
<\/a>

The Prague Castle seen from Charles Bridge<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Mal\u00e1
<\/a>

Mal\u00e1 Strana Bridge Tower on the other end of Charles Bridge<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Yellow
<\/a>

Yellow penguins on the riverfront of Kampa Park<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"View
<\/a>

View of Prague from the road leading up to the Strahov Monastery<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Saint
<\/a>

Saint Vitus Cathedral<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Saint
<\/a>

Saint Vitus Cathedral<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"View
<\/a>

View of Charles Bridge and the Old Town of Prague from Mal\u00e1 Strana<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With many beautifully decorated buildings and impressive landmarks, peculiar sculptures and a likeable atmosphere, Prague was truly one of my favorite cities of this trip. The next morning I was able to take some rest as my train was after midday. After a four-hour-long journey, I was in Berlin, for a special stop that wasn\u2019t actually initially planned. Since going from Prague to Lyon, my next destination, was not feasible on a single day, my plan ended up with this one-night gap that I had to somehow fill. I originally looked for some place in Germany that I could explore quickly, like Mannheim, Karlsruhe, or Augsburg, but I wasn\u2019t sure. The problem was solved when my friend from Hamburg told me that she moved to Berlin and, after a look at the train times, I realized that I could for sure squeeze in a quick stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I met my friend in the central station, we left our things in the luggage storage lockers and then we enjoyed a walk past some of the most famous landmarks of the German capital. We passed by the historic Reichstag building and the iconic Brandenburg Gate, then we walked down the Unter den Linden boulevard to reach other important landmarks such as the Berlin Cathedral and the tall Fernsehturm, or Television Tower, finally arriving in Alexanderplatz, where we saw the outstanding World Clock. It was a bit surreal walking around this area, since these are all landmarks I have always really liked and I did not expect to see them during this trip. In a short time I saw so much history and culture that I was already thinking about how and when I could come back to witness all of this properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving Alexanderplatz, we had dinner in a nearby restaurant and then we went back to the central station to retrieve our things. Finally, we took the subway to my friend\u2019s house, since she was kind enough to host me for the night. Sadly my quick stop in Berlin was extremely short and already over as I had to leave early the next morning. This short visit surely makes me want to come back to see my friend again and explore this fascinating city, I truly had an amazing time there. Once again this was not a \u201cgoodbye\u201d, but a \u201csee you soon\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reichstag
<\/a>

Reichstag building<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Brandenburg
<\/a>

Brandenburg Gate<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Berlin
<\/a>

Berlin Cathedral and Fernsehturm<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"World
<\/a>

World Clock in Alexanderplatz<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 10: Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Vichy<\/a> >><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The journey from Budapest to Prague lasted eight hours with a train change in Vienna. The hostel I booked was in a perfect position on the large and central Wenceslas Square, but my bed was the top one of a shaky triple bunk bed that did not feel safe at all. Anyway, after putting down…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":5,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-300x100.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-scaled.jpg",2560,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-300x100.jpg",300,100,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-768x256.jpg",640,213,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-1024x341.jpg",640,213,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-1536x512.jpg",1536,512,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-2048x683.jpg",2048,683,true],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-18x6.jpg",18,6,true],"xs-thumb":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-64x64.jpg",64,64,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-300x100.jpg",300,100,true],"minimalistblogger-grid":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-350x230.jpg",350,230,true],"minimalistblogger-slider":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-850x283.jpg",850,283,true],"minimalistblogger-small":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_9_cover-300x180.jpg",300,180,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The journey from Budapest to Prague lasted eight hours with a train change in Vienna. The hostel I booked was in a perfect position on the large and central Wenceslas Square, but my bed was the top one of a shaky triple bunk bed that did not feel safe at all. Anyway, after putting down...","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Travel<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Travel<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 11 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 8, 2023","modified":"Updated on May 23, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 8, 2023 3:00 pm","modified":"Updated on May 23, 2025 10:50 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1868"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12290,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions\/12290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}