Prague

Right from the beginning, when Kate said "it feels like we're here on a business trip", it went that way.  The 3 days became a blur and the whole focus seemed to be on getting to Vienna.

This was a new experience for them as even back in Hamburg where they stayed only 3 nights they were able to immerse themselves into the city.  In Prague it felt very different.

It is probably one of the most beautiful cities they've been to but as they strolled around in the cold the urgency to get to Vienna was palpable.  They had no idea why, except that it might be the Music - it was like Vienna had sprung up into the consciousness and made its voice heard, calling them on.

Kate's feeling to enquire about Vienna apartments back in Berlin served them well.  She was able to go through the list and write to them again with new dates.  The cheapest offer was EUR 400 for 2 weeks.  They were happy with this one... or so they thought.  The reservation was made but Dave felt very restless that night about the apartment situation and so at 1am they went back down to the PC at reception.  The next best offer was from the same woman - another apartment in the same area for EUR 450.  Only this time Dave spotted that a PC with internet was listed.  They hadn't seen that first time around.  They quickly wrote to the woman and switched apartments.  Now they could rest as the right one had been uncovered.

Another night in the aparthotel Dave was sitting on the bed absently singing away to himself when the next minute he found himself humming some classical music - a rare occurence.  He turned to Kate and said "that's Strauss isn't is?  Wasn't he Austrian?" and they were sure it was The Blue Danube - titles of classical pieces not being their forte.  And it was.  An anthem of Vienna and Austria.

ApartHotel Susa

Dave & Kate checked into the ApartHotel Susa in Prague on Sunday 30th January 2011 for a 3 night stay.  When they entered their room they were taken aback, but not really surprised, by the main picture on the wall opposite their bed...

It was like a confirmation again that they had landed in the right place.  The apartment served all their needs for those few days and even had free internet so they could sort out Vienna.  Inevitably, there were a few hiccups, confusion seemingly following them around wherever they went.  The woman at check-in, although pleasant enough, appeared to have been spellbound by them and then they found the room had only been set-up for one person and so had to be made up for two.

Later at night when Dave asked for a plug for the kitchen sink the guy took him through to the staff kitchen, rummaged around for about 5 mins looking for things, before eventually opening one of the cupboards and asking Dave "is what you are looking for in here?".  Dave pointed to the plug at the sink and said he was looking for one of those.  "Ahhh!" the guy said and handed Dave a new plug from a drawer.  What exactly he was lookng for in those 5 mins remains a mystery!

Still it was a worthwhile visit as it confirmed to Dave & Kate that they wouldn't bother with the free breakfast in the morning - exhibit A) dusty-looking cornflakes lying uncovered in a bowl being the main culprit.

Better news was when they took a walk to the supermarket that Sunday and bought all the groceries they needed for their time in Prague on debit card.  Other than this, the only money they spent was on coffee at Costa and their bus ticket to Vienna, and both could also be purchased by card.  This meant they didn't need to change currency in cash, spending exactly what they needed and no more.  It left them with a confidence that somehow things could work out smoothly even in circumstances that didn't look so favourable beforehand.

The Return Of Prague

On Saturday 29th January 2011, Dave & Kate spent most of the afternoon and evening in a newsagent within the Central Station perched on stools at 1 of the 4 internet terminals, hearing the chants of the Dynamo Dresden football fans, on their way and returning from the match, echo around the train station.

Not the most pleasant setting for trying to get down to the business of figuring out where and how they could  stay the next night somewhere.  It was becoming increasingly clear that going straight to Vienna was out of the picture.  The train tickets from Dresden, which had been around €58 all up at the beginning of the week, had now more than tripled in price.

They began looking at alternatives... maybe stopping off in Munich for a night or two, or somewhere else in Germany.  Each place they looked at there was a brick wall as they were so last minute in booking all prices were way out of their league.  Yet again Life narrowed it down to no choice to be made - the only option was to go to Prague for a few nights and then onto Vienna.

They had ruled Prague out after finding out it wasn't in the euro currency zone.  It was still going to be a lot cheaper than anywhere else in Europe at this point.  Pretty soon they started to come across very cheap hotels and then they saw this aparthotel at €20 Euros per night.  It was basic but importantly had cooking facilities.  Still they weren't sure about committing, continuing to look for a bit longer.  They were so absorbed in this that they forgot all about tea and when they finally got round to getting something to eat all they could find open was a shopping centre with not-so-nice bratwursts.

Then the right one made its appearance.  Kate spotted another aparthotel called 'Apart Hotel Susa'.  It was a few euros more per night but looked more comfortable inside with better facilities.  They made the booking and then set about looking into how to get to Prague from Dresden.  The train was something like €68 all up - great in relation to other fares.  But there was also the bus now an option.  It took the same travel time as the train and cost more than €20 less.  Only trouble was it was too late now to book online and the ticket centre within the train station had also closed for the day.

The tourist info girl told them their only option was to turn up in the morning at the bus and buy a ticket from the driver.  When they asked if the bus was usually busy she replied yes.

The bus station was just behind the train station and so they turned up early on Sunday morning in an attempt to catch the bus and if not they'd hope they could still buy a train ticket.  Luckily, it all worked out and they were on their way to Prague now by bus.

Dreads In Dresden

It was now past the middle of the week and nothing had shown up.  Dave & Kate carried on as usual, fully aware of their situation, but not overly phased by it.

When it came to Friday morning (they were due to check-out on Sunday) they took their clothes to a launderette down the road.  There was still no room for this Europe thing to fail.  They weren't doing anything from their own will to keep it afloat, they simply had seen enough times that something was going on.

They arrived at the internet terminal in the afternoon after a brief period of confusion and turmoil and discovered a gift had been given to them yet again.  A couple of SoulJah's, Brian & Agnes, had come to the rescue with funding to take them on to Vienna for a week or two.

Dave & Kate returned to the hotel that night not overly joyous but just extremely grateful for what had been given.  It still didn't change their situation.  As there was only effectively a day to sort out accomodation and travel to Vienna, they felt they still may be checking out the hotel on Sunday with nowhere to stay.  They knew they would not rush themselves just for the sake of it.

Europa Passage

Just round the corner from World Cafe was the shopping centre, Europa Passage.  On the floors were the names of various European cities.  This felt like the Paris Europe thing all over again.  Yet it was no joke.

Money was fast running out, time was ticking and they now had a train ticket to Berlin but with nowhere to stay there.  They played the lottery scratch cards and then put all hope on the Wednesday night lottery, knowing that on Thursday morning their train left for Berlin.

Was it a passage to Europe or a cruel joke?

With all this going on, they wandered around the markets, took a walk down the Reeperbahn and to the harbour area where the water at night really seemed significant and somehow necessary to be around again.

During this time the rainbow appeared for them again.  Going down the stairs in the hotel, one day Dave spotted a painting on the wall with a rainbow on it.  Then sitting at the computer at reception trying to find a place to stay in Berlin, the song 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' was playing on the radio in the background.  This song  would follow them around, appearing at auspicious occasions.

A Bus Called Suzanne

On being dropped off at Porte Maillot, Paris by the airport bus, Dave & Kate were sorting out their luggage and just as Dave looked up a coach passed right in front of him with the words 'Suzanne' emblazoned on it and three eyes.

They would encounter this same bus 4 times in total during their stay in Paris.  The next two occasions were in the heart of Paris;  once as they were walking past the Louvre at the end of an intense discussion (you could call it a satsang of sorts) and the next time as they sat in a cafe during another intense discussion, feeling a bit lost.  The discussions would end for a moment and one of them would look away in silence and there would be this bus going by.

The last time they saw it was on their final day in Paris.  Standing outside Galeries Lafayette, watching the window display and feeling a little strange on realising their time in Paris had come to an end, they turned to walk away and the bus passed on the street right in front of them (see image).

Paris Is Calling

They felt it was the right time to commit and book a flight to Paris.  They had no reason to go there and didn't even particularly want to go, plenty of other destinations were more appealing.  Around that time Paris was hit by strikes and protests over changes to the retirement age.  There was also violence in London over student protests.

They had to cut their stay at Susanna's apartment short by 3 days as their flight to Paris was for Mon 25th Oct.  There was no reason to do any of this but all they knew was the time was right to leave Barcelona and Paris was showing itself as the next place to be.

They had a week or two to sort out accomodation and didn't anticipate it being so difficult and expensive to find an apartment in Paris.  Eventually they had little option but to book themselves into an Ibis hotel in the 19th district, just on the outer edge of Paris city centre, for 7 nights.  After that, who knows?

The intense energy of Barcelona - good in short doses - was starting to feel a bit much and remembering their previous visits to Paris, they thought it might have a cooler, more open energy that was right for them now.

Before they left Barcelona they took a walk to the Font Magica.  They had fond memories of it from their first time in Barcelona but this time arriving around 9pm and looking over the city waiting for it to begin they discovered it was broken (more water blockages?).

They found themselves walking home late that night along Carrer de Paris.