Ben’s Wild Ride to Krakow
3 Comments I was on my way out of Prague, on the 28th of June, on a train to Krakow. I unfortunately had to buy a ticket (yet another expense) because Poland was not covered by my pan-Europe EuroRail pass, yet the country was covered by a regional pass– go figure. So I reluctantly handed over some cash to get on Train A bound for that Polish city.
I generally like to be prepared through knowing what actions I needed to take whenever going from point A to point B, but all I knew this time around was that I needed to get off at the border (Ostava) and change trains once– I thought it was once, the website said once.
Anyways, I got to Ostava and hopped off onto the awaiting platform. Ok… Nothing (absolutely nothing) was in English and I don’t know Polish. This was my first hint that trouble may ensue. But instead of being dumbfounded, like I wanted to be, standing, with a blank face, on the platform, I set off to find the train I needed by heading towards the ticketing center (always by the main exit). After about five minutes, I got to the window and was directed to platform 2. I ran all the way there, which is a hard feat when burdened with a heavy backpack. I had, when I arrived to the platform, a sneaking suspicion that I had missed my train, but after some help I was ushered onto the waiting Train B to Bohumin. My ticket did say that I would be passing through Bohumin. Hope glimmered in my mind, “Ok, maybe I’m not screwed.”
BUT, the conductor told me that I needed to make a few more changes to get to Krakow. Ok, I guess I got on the wrong train. I was screwed. And to make matters worse, the new route would take me into Krakow by 20:30… I left Prague at 8:00 and was expected by 15:00, this would set me back about 5 hours! At that point, I sighed and was resigned to the fact that I needed to keep going. My only alternative was to be stranded and homeless for the night.
I got off Train B at Bohumin only to have an hour layover before Train C left. I waited outside the station in that super small town (from what I could tell) just trying to calm down from a near panic. As my hour was almost up, I went back to the platform to find Train C… Where was “Platform 1A”??? I see “Platform 1″… crap, I dashed down to the end of “Platform 1″ to the hidden (by the long building) “Platform 1A”. Ok, it’s not leaving quite yet.
As I was about to hop on, I heard a border officer say– “Passport”. I knew this was a border officer because he was with other border officers and they all had guns. I also knew that they were talking to me because I was absolutely the only tourist in that station. Crap, it was time for the train to leave and I was stalled here. But luck would have it that the conductor saw my pantomimed performance of, “I need this train, here’s my ticket” act and held up the train.
Whew, I got on board the train with a new stamp in my passport– I will have that thing filled with stamps just yet. Next stop… Katowice Ligota. At that point, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I were heading the wrong direction out of Poland. Either way, I had to suffer through the heat of the open-aired train with only a small hope of arriving in Krakow that day. The conductor of Train C came and asked for my ticket, which I happily produced.
“Oh no. No. No. Problem.”
Crap.
He pulled out a large rail map of Poland and confirmed my fear– if fear can materialize from pantomimes– that I was indeed going the wrong way. Well, it was sort of wrong. I would still get to Krakow (and late), but I was taking the wrong route. And that the route the conductor of Train B gave me was wrong. Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit. I normally don’t curse when I write posts, but shit shit shit was exactly what I was thinking. On top of that, my ticket was only good with the company that operated Train A. This train route was operated by a wholly different company– shit.
However, this conductor turned out to be more competent than the other. He gave me a new ticket and instructions (with backup trains) to get to Krakow. It turns out that I would arrive in Krakow only two hours later than originally planned, with only one other stop at Katowice– Ka-toe-viitz, I know how to pronounce this name because my hosts in Krakow made me repeat it until I got it right.
One may be confused at this point, but I would like to note that Katowice is not Katowice Ligota. This little tidbit had only increased my confusion during the trip.
But I was feeling upbeat that I would make it just fine. I even had a conversation with another passenger who was heading the same direction. With his help, I got onto the final Train C bound for Krakow. It turned out to be a very good thing to have had made niceties with a Polish local. It turned out that the ticket I got on Train B was only good up to Katowice. This third conductor said that I needed a new ticket. And more so, he was going to fine me the penalty! But damn, my new friend argued for me and I only needed to pay the 5 euro for the ticket, instead of the 25 the conductor was trying to shake from me. It was indeed a shakedown as I was told.
I finally made it to Krakow Glowny station:
Safe, got a host and place… I was ready to see Krakow.
Haha!
Thanks to you for fueling my fear of traveling Bennie!
I’m never freaking going anywhere dammit!
If I want to travel I’ll do it In-Game
Comment by Aaron — July 7, 2006 @ 5:52 pm
Good job navigating through it all, Ben! I often think that travels, especially unpredictable situations, are great life lessons. Helps us be less fearful when shit happens in life!
Comment by Auntie L — July 8, 2006 @ 7:58 am
[...] I arrived in the late afternoon after a harrowing journey. My obvious exhaustion did not dull my excitement to finally arrive and meet my host, Martin. That enthusiasm gave me a burst of energy for the twenty minute walk south, past the castle, over a river, and through the woods (not really) to Martin’s house (we go). I also got a running commentary of the city center as we walked along, which turned out to be a great way to orient myself in the city. And when I finally settled in, I was ready for something exciting. [...]
Pingback by Badpopcorn » Days in Krakow — July 10, 2006 @ 3:08 pm