What is "tourist class?"

Tomorrow we are leaving for a week-long adventure with a grade-school group. Our friend Elena teaches 5th and 6th grade English, and she invited us along for their spring-break trip to Prague. We accepted right away, against the recommendations of all other friends who have ever been on a school trip. We figured Prague sounds like fun, and not only do we like Elena and her husband, but we also like as many of her students as we have met so far. How bad can it be?

To insure our sanity, we opted not to return with the class group on their 36-hour marathon return bus trip. OK, maybe it’s not 36 hours, but it’s enough more than 24 that I know I’m not interested. We’ll stay for a couple of extra days at a hotel of our choosing and come home on a first-class train. I’ve never been in a first-class sleeping car, so I’m excited about that.

I’m a little less excited about the hotels we’ll enjoy for the next three nights. They are “tourist class,” and I don’t actually know what that means. I’m sure it’s significantly different from first class, and I’m afraid it’s different from second class as well. How many classes are there? Elena offered to help us upgrade our hotel accommodations, but we figured we’d prefer to be with the group while we’re traveling with them. Relieved to know that we’ll have attached bathrooms, I didn’t think any further about what it might be like.

Now I have another clue. Elena called today to advise us to bring our own soap because we shouldn’t expect soap in our rooms. I can’t even remember the last time I stayed in a hotel that didn’t offer some kind of free soap. It’s going to be interesting, and I’ll be sure to post pictures whenever next I have internet access.