two backpacks and a diaper bag

Friday, March 30th. Krakow-Prague. We left the apartment around 9:30 this morning to catch our 10:30 train. The walk to the train station only took us about 15 minutes, but we wanted to leave early so we could inquire about family compartment at the ticket counter.

When we got to the train station, we straightaway waited in line to speak to one of the ticketing officer. Five minutes into our wait, I realized we were waiting in line for the domestic tickets. While Sean waited in line, I went to check out if there was a different line for international tickets. Sure enough, about 30 meters away, there was another set of windows for international/domestic tickets. I signaled for Sean to come over. This line was shorter and there were more officers at the windows.

When it was finally our turn, we asked the officer if there was a family compartment aboard the train. She said there wasn’t. Since our seats were generated automatically, we asked if she knew what type of seats we got. She said we had two seats in a six-seater compartment. We asked if we could be moved to a different seat that would be more comfortable with a baby. She said she wouldn’t be able to do it because we already had the seats reserved. We asked if she would be able to see whether the seats around us are occupied. She said she couldn’t.

Essentially, nothing happened to our tickets. Unlike the Warsaw-Krakow train, traveling with an infant meant that we wouldn’t get an extra seat. So Arthur would have to sit on our lap for the 7-hour train ride. Even if we were to buy an extra ticket for Arthur, at this point the seat would not be near ours. Well, there was nothing else we could do.

Before we headed to the platform, we went to buy some sandwiches and juices for our long journey. By the time we got to the platform, the train was already there waiting. We got on board and found our seats. Our seats were actually two seats in a group of four. My seat was across from another person. There was no luggage compartment so we had to place our bags on the overhead compartment.

I took Arthur out of the car seat and Sean placed the car seat on the overhead compartment.

As I sat with Arthur across this stranger, Sean thought he should ask the train conductor who was waiting outside the train if he had a recommendation for a more comfortable seat for us. Sure enough, he was able to offer us an empty six-seater compartment. Sean quickly went back to our seat, and told me to carry Arthur to the compartment. He would carry all the other stuff. I quickly walked to the other carriage to compartment number 3. It was empty. I made myself comfortable. Sean went to grab all our things.

I wondered if any point of the trip, we would have to move back to our seats. After all, it was a 7-hour journey and the train had about 14 stops. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to. The problem with taking a seat that is not reserved for us is that we would be wondering throughout the journey. But… what if this whole compartment stayed empty the whole journey? Then we would be super comfortable. It was better to take the chance, especially since the train conductor had given his permission.

The first train stop was two hours later. And no one boarded the train. Yay!

For the next two stops, we had the whole compartment to ourselves again.

Then we crossed the Poland-Czech border. The train stopped at Bohumin for thirty minutes. Sean and I took Arthur and walked to the dining carriage. We grabbed a couple more things such as chips, drinks, and pancake dessert from there.

Long story short, we had the whole compartment to ourselves for the whole journey.

There was one stop when a random stranger came in and tried to speak to me in Czech. She had a big language and a backpack. Sean was not in the compartment as he was checking on the stroller that we had to leave outside by the exit door. I said I could only speak English. She didn’t seem to understand English. She pointed at the seat closest to the door. I didn’t respond. She sat on the seat. Sean returned and looked at me with a surprised look. I shrugged. Sean entered the compartment, hopping over the lady’s luggage. We sat there together for about a minute. Then the conductor came around to check tickets.

This conductor was a different conductor from our original conductor. In Poland, the conductor was male. When we crossed the boarder, the conductor changed to a lady. When she came on board in Bohumin, she had checked our tickets again. Arthur was awake at that time and Sean was playing with him. The lady smiled at the interaction and wished us well on our journey.

When she came around to check the tickets of those who just came on board, she got to our compartment and asked for our stranger’s tickets. After checking, they had a back-and-forth conversation. The conductor pointed at the other carriage. She pointed at our compartment. The conductor pointed again at the other carriage and the stranger’s bags. The stranger got up from her seat, asked a couple more questions. The conductor pointed at us and then the other carriage. And the stranger took her bags and exited the compartment. The conductor smiled at us and nodded.

I think she just kicked out the stranger to give us the whole compartment. We were so very lucky. And the conductor was so very nice.

Arthur slept twice during the journey. We changed his diaper four times. He was actually a very easy baby during the trip. We played with him. He talked to us. He sat and watched and observed.

Towards the end of the journey, he had slept for two hours. I woke him up to feed him thirty minutes before we arrived. We then changed his diaper one last time and placed him back in his car seat. Then we exited the train.

We took an uber to the Airbnb. The driver told us he is from Kazakhstan and he had been living in Prague for two and a half years. He had just finished his studies and he was now working there. Arthur was quiet throughout the car ride.

When we got to the Airbnb, Jana, the owner, welcomed us and showed us around. We then went to the supermarket, which was only a block away, to grab the essentials, and we had a home-cooked meal and an early night.