Phil & Rachel's Shenanigans: Christmas Trip-Prague

For Christmas break this year, we had three weeks off of school. Being in this part of the world, it is so much cheaper to go to Europe than it would be from America. After lots of planning and looking and saving, we took two of the three weeks to take a trip around Europe by train. With our train passes, the kids were free. We also found ways to save by staying in hostels (Since we had kids, we got our own room.), one air b&b, and we used hotel points to stay in a few hotels along the way. Also, we could get groceries and take food on the train. We only went out to eat a few times and were able to save that way as well. We used Rick Steves' travel guids and Phil and I planned the route, places to stay, things to do, and how to get around. This was such a great opportunity for our kids to see another part of the world that we would never have been able to do or might not be able to do in the future. The kids were each able to pick one place/thing to do along the way and Phil and I planned the trip based loosely on what the kids wanted to see/do.

We flew into Budapest on the 16th, but quickly made our way to Prague by train. We had train passes for ten travel days (Some of the cities we stayed in a few days and didn't use our train passes on those days.). I took notes on Google Keep of what we did each day. I am just going to copy and paste in order to not have to redo the notes I took.

Dec.16th: Got up at 4:15. Beth drove us to the airport. Had to turn around to get Rachel's two breakfasts and food scale I forgot at home. Made it through security and got to the gate just in time for boarding. Rachel and John were seated beside John Otawnawa from BIF seats 5 b&c. Phil and girls seated in row 11. We switched halfway through the four hour flight. Rachel and Kate played games, Anna and John played on their Kindles.

Budapest was confusing to get to the right train station. Took a bus and tram to one station
Validated our eurail tickets, but had to go to another station to catch the train to Prague. We then took the metro and had to transfer lines before making it to the right place. We barely made it on the train and it left a few minutes after we boarded. We hadn't written down the date yet on our eurail ticket and the guy said it wasn't valid. He was about to charge us 50 Euros for new tickets. He said we need to write down the date before we get on the train. We are now on a 7 hour train ride from Budapest to Prague.

Got in to Prague around dinner time. Got food at the market at the train station and ate at the hostel. Hostel was very close to the train. After dinner of sandwiches and chips, went out to explore. Saw two Christmas markets (wensceslas and old Town square). Kids and Phil ate chimney stacks with chocolate. Went to bed late (kids were so tired from being up so early to fly).

Dec. 17th: John woke up at 5 am (his body was still on Baku time-3 hrs ahead). After a restless hour with him, I (Rachel) got up and took him to a 24 hr market. We got bananas and juice. Went to another market for cheese and pastries. Had breakfast at the hostel around 7:30. After breakfast and packing up, we went out to do more exploring. Were able to leave our bags at the hostel to pick up later. Listened to Rick Steves' walking tour of Prague. Kids and Phil had another chimney stack. We ate sausages, corn on the cob, and a bowl of potatoes, cabbage, and bacon for lunch. We went back to get our bags and headed to the train.