My next stop was České Budějovice which, thankfully, had more vowels (and also more accents) than Ljubljana. It was a beautiful day to take the train from Ljubljana to České Budějovice - snow all around and not a cloud in the sky. I was looking forward to enjoying the view from the warmth of the carriage even though I had to change trains twice (at Salzburg and Linz). Since the first change was about three hours away, I decided to catch some zzzzzzs. Unfortunately the plan went out of the train window when the elderly Slovene lady in my coupe decided to practice her English with (on?) me. For the next 2 hours, till she got off at Villach, I had to hear her views on any and everything. And she didn't take the hint even when I was reciprocating with increasingly shorter 'hmmmm's and 'aaaaah's. The only insightful comment she made was when she was describing her family dog: "He must be English, because he eats only cake". Sunlight was wafting into the coupe and I really wanted to sleep badly but I had to hear all sorts of details of her life (which I usually enjoy hearing but that day I just wasn't in the mood) including how often she got drunk when she had visited London in the 1950s. Needless to say I said a silent prayer of thanks when she got off at Villach.
As they say, when you rid yourself of one trouble, another one manifests itself immediately. At Villach, the train developed some problems and was stuck on the platform for about 45 minutes which meant that I would miss my connection at Salzburg. I decided to cross the bridge when I would get to it etc. and dozed off. But, as soon as the train stopped at Salzburg, I ran to the nearest TT to find out where one could catch the train to Linz. And there was another Indian asking him the same question. Having got our answer, we both ran towards platform so-and-so. And in the process of doing so, we quickly exchanged what two Indians exchange as soon as we meet - our geographical origins. And we both laughed when we asked each other our names- he was also Anurag. And as we chatted on the train to Linz we realised that both of us have the same disease of wanting to incessantly travel - we figured it had something to do with the name. In his defence he is a Bengali so travel is in his genes, I have no such excuse.
Since we caught a later-than-expected train to Linz, I had to make an additional change at Summerau at the Austrian-Czech border before I finally got to České Budějovice. I was cursing ÖBB (Austrian Railways) throughout the journey right upto Summerau. But all that melted when we saw what was to get us from Summerau to České Budějovice – it was a one-carriage train that was straight out of the 70s. That, coupled with the fact that it was full of ticket checkers who were going home after calling it a day, made it feel as if we were really back into the Communist Era. That is the beauty of travel – when you have a bad or moderately uncomfortable experience, it is immediately compensated for by something totally pleasant and unexpected.
So after this bitter and extremely sweet experience I finally made it to České Budějovice – my namesake was going to Prague so he had to change a train yet again. The first thing I noted in České Budějovice were the 'high' temperatures (around 5-6 degrees) which meant that I had to take off my layers of clothing. Tired, I got to the hotel which was bang in the centre of town – I congratulated myself on having got it right for once. The receptionist at the hotel made my day even brighter. She was easily the most beautiful apparition (I am getting carried away) I have seen for quite a while. Delicately dressed, she was not too sure of what she was doing - after she fumbled with the paper work (which to me seemed in slow motion) and handed me the keys, I asked her a few questions about town (where can I find this? Where can I find that? etc). At every question, she would blush and nod her head with a ‘No, I’m not sure. Sorry’. For someone who looked like that all sorts of crime (let alone a petty one of ignorance) were forgiven. Sadly I never saw her again (maybe she made sure she wasn’t there when the creepy Indian who asks lots of questions was around).
Ok now a bit about the town. České Budějovice is in Bohemia (the western part of the Czech Republic, which also includes Prague). České Budějovice's German name is Budweis and the beer brewed there is called 'Budweiser Budvar' which is not to be confused with the extremely poor imitation made in the US. Because of the brewery, and the fact that it is not a very well-touristed town, the beer here is ridiculously cheap, even in the hippest of bars (there was one inconveniently close to the hotel where I was staying). The town has an extremely large square Naměstí Přemysla Otakara II which is supposed to be (like every other square in every other European city) one of the largest in Europe – it is surrounded by ornate Baroque buildings, including the town hall. The carillon which went off from its bell-tower every hour sounded as if it was being played by a child with no sense of rhythm and tune - and this would go on for at least 2-3 minutes. After being irritated the first few times I heard it, I actually started enjoying how bad (and charming!) it sounded.
I was pleased to note that there was an Indian restaurant in the heart of town – unfortunately I could not test how genuine it was since it was closed for X’mas and New year holidays! I had to settle for faux-chinese food.
On X’mas day, being in the Yuletide spirit and all, I went for a concert in the town church hoping to hear some good music. The lady sitting next to me gave me very encouraging looks (she was perhaps impressed by this non-Christian in the House of God) but those looks of encouragement were quickly replaced by disappointment when she figured that I didn't say 'Amen' or cross myself at the appropriate times.
From České Budějovice, I visited a couple of other Bohemian towns. The first was Český Krumlov, an extremely beautiful town. Since I was travelling there on Christmas eve, I was a bit nervous as there was only one bus running between České Budějovice and Český Krumlov. I checked with the driver (twice) at what time the return bus would be running. I reconfirmed whether it would definitely be running. Using gestures (he didn’t speak English) he convinced me that I would be fine. Armed with this borrowed confidence I decided to risk it. Český Krumlov (literal translation ‘Bohemian Krumlov’) is situated on a circular bend of the river Vltava (the same that runs through Praha). With its beautiful narrow winding inclined paved streets, it is like a miniature Praha (though prettier and less busy version). The castle, which seemed a tad too large for a town of its size, is perched on a cliff the other side of the river and looks quite daunting and beautiful at the same time. I spent my time walking around and pinching myself time and again at the inexpensiveness of the beer.
As I got back to the bus station to catch the bus back to České Budějovice, I saw the reassuring smile of the same driver I had seen in the morning. He said ‘See, the bus run’. And then I tried Italian with him (it always works in this part of Europe) and immediately be switched to fluent Italian (a little too fluent for me!) and explained that both his sisters are married to Italians and settled in Italy which is why he learnt the language.
From České Budějovice, I also visited Plzeň (in western Bohemia) which was quite industrial and dull. However, the centre of town (with a largish square with an even largish church surrounded by pastry-like pink, yellow, and pastel-coloured baroque buildings) was quite a nice place to amble around and savour the town’s speciality. The German name for Plzeň is Pilsen and the beer brewed here is Pilsner Urquell (Urquell means 'original source' or 'fountainhead'). You get the idea!
My Bohemian rhapsody over, I moved to Salzburg. As I waited for the train at České Budějovice (hoping that the train would be the single-carriage one), I realised that 2 trains left from the same platform at the same time (in opposite directions). Fortunately, I managed to get on the right one (and didn't find myself in Praha). A few hours later I landed in (to use an Americanism) tourist-central! While I was lucky enough to avoid seeing too many tourists for the majority of this trip, I realised that the worst for saved for the last. There were simply too many tourists in Salzburg (given that it was X’mas time - what did I expect?).
The X’mas market was nice (and ridiculously huge), so was the organ-concert I went for, as was the meal at the Indian restaurant, but the overall Salzburgian experience was spoilt by the presence of far too many tourists. Well, if you can't beat them.....So I went for (yes, I am embarassed to admit it) a 'Sound of Music' tour. They took us to some of the locations where the film was shot ('this is where so-and-so serenaded so-and-so' and 'this is where she got married to him' etc. etc.). And in between 'locations' everyone would break into a song. Fortunately the person sitting next to me on the bus was equally untutored in ALL the lyrics of ALL the songs of the film. Maybe I need to see the film for a second time (which is only about 500 times less than all the others on the tour!).
But I did manage to end my trip on a happy and calorie-filled note when I partook of a Sacher Torte (not once but twice) at Hotel Sacher (only two places in the world where you can get the original). Reminds me, I need to go for my run - the calories have still not been burnt off...
