Despite having barely settled in Aarhus, another adventure awaited already. This one involved a train ride through half of Europe, all the way towards the Czech Republic. Sightseeing was only a small part of what we set out to do, because the big goal of this weekend was a great Erasmus reunion.
It worked out incredibly well. Despite our busy lives, studying, doing PhDs, living in many different countries, our group of friends from my first semester in Aarhus was completely reunited. Sandra and myself are the ones still (or: again) in Aarhus, and Anna came from Sweden to join us for the train ride. About two hours of train took us to the border with Germany. We jumped off the train in Kolding, and after fifteen minutes of sightseeing – buying chocolate in the local supermaket – we went to find our seats on an incredibly long international train. The different train wagons, owned by different countries, would later split up into different destinations.
It felt great to see that ever-smiling blonde girl again, and we caught up with many stories as our train roared through the night. Many times I found myself looking out of the window, into the dark lands we crossed at high speed, sometimes alternated by an illuminated village or some cars waiting for our train to pass by. I have always liked trains, and now I felt very happy that we decided not to take an airplane.
I decided to walk around a bit, but not before I asked the train conductor at what time different parts would split – I was a bit worried about getting cut off and ending up in a random German city, without my stuff, even without shoes on. I found the bar wagon, which was filled with German people who lived up to every cliché: fat football supporters, drinking big beers and shouting and singing loudly. I enjoyed a beer and a currywurst, before heading back to my 'bedroom'.
About fourteen hours after our departure and almost in Prague, it was the sound of the smoke detectors that woke us up. Slightly annoyed I stuck my head out of the cabin to trace the origin of the alarm. As I slowly started to awaken, I scented a burnt smell. As smoke filled the wagon, the train continued unabated, which had the advantage that opening the windows proved to be extremely effective. After some while, the train stopped and we were moved to another railcar, before continuing on our last thirty minutes to the Czech capital.
The others were waiting for us. Guillaume had arrived earlier in the morning, by bus from Liège. Fabian and Katrin had both just arrived on German trains. They had already found Lucije, the great Czech girl who completes our group. After we had finished hugging and kissing, we went for a walk through Prague and we sampled some local food. We strolled through the city and all its pretty sights, while Guillaume photographed it all. We weren't quite alone on the famous Karluv most (Charles Bridge), and my grandmother would probably appreciate the majestic St. Vitus Cathedral more than I did, but we enjoyed the city, and each other.
A few more hours of train southwards got us in České Budějovice. That the language indeed is far from easy, we found out later that evening when we tried to order some food without Lucie's presence. At some point, the poor man trying to serve us literally walked away trying to pull out his hairs in frustration. Luckily we found out his German was better than his English, so Fabian and Katrin saved the day (and our food). We finished what had been a very long day, meeting some of Lucie's friends, having some beers.
Lucie's amazing place could easily accommodate all of us. After a relaxed breakfast, we explored the town. We learned about stones that would make you lose the way, and we enjoyed a children's playground a bit too much. Food, beers and Yann Tiersen on the background made it a great evening, with great friends.
On Monday, we headed back to Prague and there we took a night train back to Aarhus. After arriving 'home' on Tuesday morning, I was totally ready to go straight to work.
