The river flows...

[m1903a3]

Originally Posted by Mac Cat

I took that train to Prague in June 2016. It was full of happy Soccer fans singing all the way the Regensburg. The trip east out of Regensburg, however, got more dreadful with each town we passed.

The graffiti got more obvious and more buildings looked like they had never been repaired since WW-2. At one point, in Pilsen, the blue uniformed boarder police passed through and checked a few passports, but then then a second group of inspectors came through dressed in khaki uniforms and they dragged off a teenager seated in front of me. I will never forget what they said to him, "We are controlling your papers. Come with us... " Nightmare.

The soot coated train station in Prague was equally frightening - I was sure we were in the wrong place. It was beyond dirty - signs were not working, it was full of vagrants and trash was piled up everywhere. The taxi was a Mercedes - a 1960's diesel sedan spewing black smoke everywhere.

Fortunately, they have a modern subway system - you only have to watch out for pick-pockets.

. . .

Wow, WOW! We must live in parallel universes.

Where did you start your trip? That day I was in Berlin going to Regensburg. The train to Prague I pointed out doesn't go anywhere near Regensburg, it goes south through Dresden.
My train to Regensburg went SW to Nuremberg where I had to change trains to get to Regensburg.

These days you can't get to Pilsen from Regensburg without changing trains at least twice. I can't say what that trip would look like. I've been to both by train, but never from one to the other. I will say, however, that in my experience the closer you are to an urban area on a train, in Europe or the US, the shabbier the scenery and the more plentiful the graffiti. Taking AMTRAK from Washington to NYC is uglier than any train trip I've had in Europe, but not by much.

I never experienced any border guards or passport checks between Germany and Czechia, nor would I expect to. The Czech Republic joined the Schengen Area at the end of 2007 which abolished all passport and border controls within the 26 member countries. I've been to Pilsen and Prague several times with my Czech housemate who is from Pilsen. It's a clean lovely little city. The industrial area is obviously more "industrial" than scenic, but it's the home of the very modern Skoda works. Czechia has seen a lot of economic improvement and modernization since the fall of communism and joining the EU.

As for Prague, what can I say. It's one of the most beautiful and popular tourist cities in Europe. I can't imagine where you were that made you describe the train station as you did. The new station was built in 1977 and refurbished in 2012. Personally, I find electric trains remarkably "soot" free and this station, like so many in Europe, clean, modern, well maintained and very attractive.

Here's the Prague station: https://youtu.be/s7Akj18Hlqg

And here's a video of Pilsen and Prague. We drove this trip. Andrea borrowed her step-father's SUV to haul her belongings from Berlin to Pilsen as she prepared to move to Regensburg.

https://youtu.be/RJm7WbL_SSM