InterRail-Event in Prague 2005

"Prague can be described in a few words: It has exceeded all expectations and was supercool (....)

Our InterRail-Event in Prague August 2005

In 2005 Pepsi was our sponsor for the event. It took place from 12. to 14. August and we had a lot of international travellers. We met on August 12th in Prague at the station and spent three days together. We stayed at the Hotel Tiepolo*** or Hotel Balkan *** for two nights, danced at the famous night-club Karlovy Lazne and went on a dinner-cruise on the river "Moldau". We also toured the city with a tour-guide.

Almost 80 InterRailers, ex InterRailers and other travelers by train come to Prague to get to know Prague and find new friends. Europe is getting closer – a noticeable trend. Lots of different nationalities - guests from Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, Bulgaria, Israel, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Thailand and the USA - were together and got on really well. Lots of things were discussed and lots of stories were told. In the end there was even a new couple.

Some of the InterRailers had parts of their tour ahead of them, for others it was the final last and most exciting highlight at the end of the 3 week tour. Others told stories of their trips from the past and compared routes and events. Others only came to Prague just for a fun weekend, just to flee from tedious studies or from working on the thesis - or just to escape from the stress of everyday life.

Friday, 12. August

Coming to Prague and the meeting point at the station were no problem for some participants, others were later guided to the boat or met at the Hotel Tiepolo later during the evening.

In the lobby of the Hotel Tiepolo met a group of "late arrivers" who spent afterwards almost all the time together later. They discussed prejudices about people from different regions and confirmed some prejudices, but also got rid of some. Isn’t it Nico, Robert and Frank?

The boat trip started with a photo shooting before the departure. All participants were asked to stand behind the big Pepsi banner "Welcome". What a fun picture. Afterwards we entered the boat and received a Schnapps as welcome drink. After a short speech from the team of bahn.de we declared the buffet open and it looked like it would not be enough food – but everybody got enough and was happy. Salads, Schnitzel, side dishes, fruit and delicious cake found its way into hungry stomachs. With drinks in their hands people started wandering about and new friends were found quickly. During the trip Teodora and Georgi and discussed the various locks during the trip and how the water gets in and out of the locks.

Our guides told us lots of interesting things about monuments, also about the Metronom. For our city-quiz the Metronom was quite important, because it was the end point and some people who listened carefully found it quickly on Saturday. Some participants went rather tired straight to the hotel after the boat trip. Others went straight into town to enjoy the nightlife. They did not get home till early in the morning.

Saturday, 13. August

Our first sightseeing tour on Saturday started a little late because of roadwork on the rails or the streetcar. Therefore we had to find the bus and it took a while to find the bus stop. We divided the group in two groups and started the tour. Our two guides Bety and Lydia are both rather short ladies, they used an upside-down umbrella or a stick with little bands on top to be seen. But sometimes they just disappeared into the crowd and reappeared elsewhere in front of everybody else. Quite a funny thing to watch.

After the tour Sabrina handed out the City-Quiz. The groups were quickly together. They gave themselves funny names like Tiepolosen, Travellers not Tourists, Bulthai (word composite of Bulgaria and Thailand) or PRAG-matics =) . Some groups started hastily to get the answers done as quickly as possible, others sat down for a nice dinner and - clever idea from Nico - went to the Tourist Information to get the questions answered.

For Sabrina and Monika some organization needed to be done. We had to take all Pepsi cans to the Metronom. With a little help from a friendly taxi driver we got it done. We were waiting for the participants of the quiz with nice music and cold Pepsi high above the city. We quickly found the winners and gave them their prizes.

The girls from Meininger - Sarah and Friederike - handed the vouchers for an overnight stay in one of the hostels to the happy winners and Sabrina handed over the online vouchers to the group who made it second. They were really happy!

In the end some Pepsi cans were left and they were happily taken by a group of German skaters, who were in Prague for a training camp. They were really thankful and on of them said: "You saved my life, I was so thirsty". All skaters had to promise to book future tickets online on bahn.de.

After the quiz we went to the hotel to get ready for the disco. We met in front of the disco and later inside we met at the chill-out-zone on the 5th floor. Later most people met again at the disco floor. Everybody was dancing and having fun. Most people did not get home till early in the morning. Others had lots of beers and later took a little nap on the very comfortable sofas.

Sunday, 14. August

Sunday after breakfast we continued our program. We went up to the Petrín hill with the cable car and went for a little walk. Afterwards we went to the mirror labyrinth and had lots of laughs inside. We continued to the Prague castle where the tour ended.

After saying good-bye to our guides with a big round of applause we sang "Happy Birthday" to Robert and gave him a cake with some candles. Afterwards we handed out our questionnaires and said good-bye to the first participants, who had to leave early. Sabrina and I also took the chance to say good-bye to everybody.

On the way back to the hotel plans were made until the time of the departure or new hotels were organized for the next days in Prague. Others met at bars or restaurants for dinner before they started their trip home.