October 18 - Prague

Last night was our last night with the group I call the Cruise Crew. We went back to the Next Door restaurant. What a difference a day makes. The service was one of the worst I can remember having in a high-end restaurant. The waiter was physically abusive to a couple at our table, pushing them to get their attention. When I admonished him, he acted like he hadn’t done anything wrong. Only when Marg asked to speak to the manager did he apologize. We didn’t get served bread with our meal and Margaret did not get a table napkin. All this on top of being told that we had to vacate the table in an hour, which turned out to be blatantly false.

On the positive side, I tried rabbit kidneys, and it was delicious!

Today we are moving on from our fantastic Scenic river cruise with a trip to Berlin. It has been an amazing experience with lots of memorable sights and meals that will live with us for the rest of our lives.

But again, the highlights will be time we have spent with our friends, both new and old. Our regular cruise crew has been a rock in many of our vacations. It is hard to say goodbye to Coleen, Ron, Janet, Keith, Oliva, Debbie, Bob, Joyce and Jimmy. When we see them, it seems like no time has passed since our last vacation. It doesn't matter that this group spans British Columbia to the northern UK, we seem to be a united family.

Coleen and Bob

Janet & Keith

Joyce and Jimmy

Olive and Marg

Coleen & Ron

Debbie

We have also made new friends. Margaret and Twyla and their husbands from Saskatchewan. Both Margarets have the same uniquely coloured coat, so you could see them together from distance. Loretta, Bob and Anne Marie and Terry from the GTA shared their stories. Kathy and Peter from Australia provided that Aussie feel that each Scenic cruise needs. Each of them made our trip most memorable. Hopefully, we can meet up with these new friends on future vacations.

Our trip from Prague to Berlin was a long 5-hour train trip, but it had some interesting stops along the way. This area was the sight of major battles during the final weeks of the Second World War. Our first stop was the city of Dresden Germany. During the Blitz of England in 1940, the Germans launched a saturation bombing of Coventry that was aimed at the civilian population. In 1945 the Allies retaliated by launching a tweleve hundred bomber raid on the city and created a firestorm that wiped the city off the face of the map, with the lose of more than 25,000 civilians. As our train went through the center of the city, you could see a couple of old church spires, but the rest of the skyline was made up of new towers and apartments.

The train track followed the Elba River valley. Today it is a popular tourist attraction because of the fall foliage and rugged terrain. It reminded me of the Gatineau Park in the fall. During the late stages of WW2, it was the site of the first meeting between the Allied army and the Soviet army in the city of Torgua on the Elba River. The Elbe River served as a de facto boundary between Soviet and Western Allied forces at the end of World War II, but it was not the official postwar border.

Elba River

The train station in Prague is a beautiful building with a very classic feel to it. On the other hand, the main terminal in Berlin is an efficient terminal that manages the flow of hundreds of thousands of passengers daily. It is like comparing a beautiful castle to an ant hill. Each serves its purpose.