I have previously posted that we were riding on vintage train cars in Poland and that was all we had witnessed in our Polish journey. I spoke too soon. This morning when we got on our train from Krakow to Katowice, I discovered it was a very new train. It was all spiffy and new in grey and blue. It had a high tech board for room ambiance, train speed, next stops, etc. Since we have a long day in front of us as we travel to Prague, Czech Republic, it was pleasant to have this train. We reserved seats to make sure we had window seats going in the forward direction, and we were also in our own glass room so we could close the sliding door for cozy privacy.

We stopped at the border of the Czech Republic and changed trains. Our new one was elegant. I went to the dining car and sat on velvet. We met a Czech University professor who received his doctorate in international finance in Illinois. He gave us great information and we had a wonderful conversation. His Czech beef goulash recipe is the one used on a major Internet site, so we now have that recipe for home use. Our train glided through beautiful countryside. Since we were heading south, we turned back the clock on the fall colors and were once again mesmerized by the beauty. The train followed the course of a valley for over two hours, its steep hills rising above us and a river flowing beside us, cascading into lakes occasionally.

When we neared Praha (Prague) I was immediately captivated by the towers that stood out in the valley below us. I cannot wait to explore this majestic city. WEG