It was a better sleep on the train than the night before. The police only checked my tickets and passport once. When I woke up, it was already 7am, half an hour before the scheduled arrival time. My plan was to spend the first half of the day revisit some spots in Prague, and to take the train in the afternoon back to Dresden.
The temporary luggage storage boxes at Prague’s main train station was ridiculously expensive - it cost me 60 Koruna for a few hours, but I had no choice. After depositing my backpack, I took a subway straight to the Castle, again. My goal was to see it without the crowd, and it worked out well. The Castle in the early morning without too many tourists was quietly elegant. Every little detail in architecture design seemed to be more outstanding. I could sit down and take my time to appreciate this magnificent building more than the first time I was there. After another inside out tour around the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral, I walked down to Charles Bridge. The historic bridge was different to me with a smaller crowd on a hazy morning - again, more interesting to see the stories behind those statues than fighting through the tourists. My third destination of the day was Petrin Tower, also known as the Little Eiffel Tower because if strong resemblance of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, only much smaller. The two English girls I met at the hostel recommended me to check it out, and it didn’t disappoint. I took the funicular up the hill and climbed the tower, then it came the best panorama view of the entire City of Prague. It gave you the view from a different, but better, angle to see the city than from the Castle. From the top of the tower, you could see the entire city to the east, the Vltava River curved across the city skyline and made a U-turn to the north, the Castle on the hill to the northeast, and on the other side, a big stadium complex. It was a view that would ink in my head for the rest of my life. I got of the funicular half way down the hill and visited the cherry orchard for the last time for some fruit refill. My plan to revisit those popular spots worked out well, it was time to go pick up my backpack and head to the other train station to catch the train going back to Germany. Of course, with no surprise, Shane cut the time too close, again. So, I had to run out of the subway all the way to the platform. The exact situation I had when sending off Sijia 3 days ago: same train, same less-than-three-minute-before-departure, only to the opposite direction. Funny enough this time, just as I was gassed when I boarded the train, thinking how lucky I was again, I found out that train was the one which was supposed to be here an hour ago: the train was almost exactly 60 minutes late! It took me a while to get back my breath and sat in a section with a few other backpackers from Vienna. I was satisfied with my short Central Europe excursion and was then on my way back west again.
A couple of hours later, I arrived back in Dresden. I wanted to walk around my beloved Eastern Germany city once more, but had to take my first shower in almost 3 days first. I checked in the same hostel I stayed in a few days ago I was there, and was given the key to the same room; again, I was the first to arrive so I had the chance to choose a bed. After the shower, I met two guys in my room from Hong Kong. Then, I headed out for a stroll in a gorgeous sunsetting evening on the Elbe. I walked across Augustusbrücke, taking in everything from the Old Town waterfront. The Brühlsche Terrasse, Frauenkirche, Hofkirche, and Semperoper under the last orange rays of that day’s sunlight was another view one always wanted to go back for. Crossing the bridge, I walked onto Augustusstraße to see the Porcelain wall. It was just after sunset, tourists were gone, there were only me and the wall of paintings. A group of artists happened to be there to play some classical music, and it could not be more fitting. Coming back across the bridge after dark, I took some night shots of the city. Not wanting to go back to the hostel in an on and off light drizzle, I treated myself with a slice of cheesecake and a beer on the patio outside a cafe by the Golden Statue of Friedrich August II. Arriving back at the hostel, I found a new roommate - Mitchell, a girl from UW in Seattle who just came off an exchange term in Vienna. Meeting a West Coaster, again, in the same room of that hostel made the stay even more special. Instantly, we dove into endless conversations about our trips, home, and others. When we were all tired into late night and the last topic came in was inevitably what we were doing the next day. She said she was going to hike in Bastei. “Are you serious?” That was why I added this extra day here! That was where Caymin told me to go. What a coincidence! So, I didn’t need to plan for the next day any longer - I was going to hike this place, which was recommended by a Cali girl, with this Seattle friend I just made!
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