Prague - Prologue

The big day has arrived! After days of wondering, the TME excursion to the Czech capital has finally begun. After a (literally) sleepless night and a 2am start, the car was loaded and off we drove into the sunrise.


No hiccups en route and, save for the satnav sending us down a road that didn't exist, we got to Robin Hood airport in good time. The parking system at Robin Hood airport is quite brilliant. It's right in front of the terminal building so easy to find, and if prebooked it's possible to gain entry with the card used to book it. It even greets you by name, which is nice.

A swift breakfast and a long wait later, we boarded the plane and set off across Europe. The flight itself was uneventful, so nothing exciting to report. A cup of tea and a gentle doze and we were notified of our imminent descent! Possibly the least hassle of any short flight ever.

Getting from the airport to the town centre was to be by the AE, or Airport Express. After a short scout about we located the stop and headed across town. It was a very pleasant journey and we saw a lot of the city, but a little panic set in when we drove past our hotel and the station we thought we were supposed to get off at.


Silly fools that we are didn't realise that the hotel is near the other train station. Actually there are quite a few. So after alighting we set off across town. In entirely the wrong direction. On the plus side, we got to see a decent amount of the city, gained our bearings (after accidentally stumbling into Wenceslas Square) and learned our first practical Czech word: nádraží. Train station.

So here we are, thoroughly settled in our cheapy hotel. We're right above the train station and look down on the roof, we can hear our neighbours through the plumbing, and there's no kettle. But we're happy. The room itself is nice enough, the snooker is on the telly live from Sheffield, and best of all, we've arrived!