EuroTrip 110416

Eurail pass train travel has been superb ... for the most part. The cheerful ticket agent in Amsterdam seemed almost excited to be helping us, an attitude we were later to look back on fondly. We were headed to Leipzig, in the former communist east, with a change of trains in Frankfurt. For our first lap we had a very nice 6-seat compartment to ourselves. It was modern, clean and fitted with smudge-free windows - terrific! Trains are indeed sleek and fast. But one downside is the difficulty of photographing a view that suddenly appears and is abruptly replaced. 
In Frankfurt's huge station we determined the connection's track number and grabbed a bite to eat. Suddenly Helen realized the track number had been changed, so we hastened to the new track and climbed aboard the first available car, soon to depart. I hoisted our luggage onto the overheard rack above empty seats. We were promptly informed by seated passengers that we had taken reserved seats. I pulled down our luggage and we searched for unreserved seats. Up go the heavy bags, and again - in German, of course - came perturbed voices. Down came the suitcases and backpacks. Helen and I had to sit separately, each by a resolutely grumpy person. After ten minutes or so the man next to me got up (kindness?) and moved to one of the verboten seats we had left under duress. Helen and I were reunited and I quickly made my way through several cars looking for 1st class quarters. We had paid a bit more for 1st class, but I found only occupied 2nd class cars. 
Several days later we were again traveling, having nestled into a pleasant unoccupied compartment. Now a bit wary, we took seats near the door, moving to window seats only after the train was well underway. After several minutes a young couple entered gently claiming we were in their reserved seats ... but no problem, we could stay put. Helen offered them chocolate which was declined. Then he offered us really good chocolate, which we readily accepted. We were heading to Prague with a change in Dresden, which I imagined must still be terribly depressing. The young couple were happily returning home to Dresden. He is an architect, she an art historian. Much of their home town has been rebuilt from complete rubble to look like Dresden pre-WW2. He regretted that the remaining architecture was obliged to be boxy and boring. He said that as we crossed the river we must peer out the other side of the train to catch the reconstructed vision of a Canaletto painting. Nice couple ...  and I'm always pleased to discover positive aspects of any place I've too easily dismissed.