Luckily, I'm adept at sleeping on planes, so DFW to JFK was a breeze...and JFK to our connection in Helsinki...even better. We flew on FinnAir...a first for me, but actually a great airline. The seats were spacious and the food was good and we landed without emergency vehicles, what more could we ask for?
Of course, no trip on "we three" can get by without at least one embarassing blunder.....and since Aunt Joyce is not on this trip, that leaves the blunder up to me. I usually manage to keep up the Lucille Ball antics by putting gas in a diesel engine...but since we aren't renting a car this trip I had to go way outside of the box to embarrass myself this time.
As I said, I have a cold....a really bad cold. A cold that involves a deep and frequent cough. My ribs hurt from coughing so much and so hard. But the worst part about having such a bad cough is dealing with a problem that most of the people who read my blog can relate to. Once you have had a child....and reach a certain age....the deep coughs can spasm your abdomen enough to cause another issue......yep...makes me pee a little at times. Those times include when I'm walking! So while in Helsinki, we were grabbing a quick bite to eat and I decided to go to the ladies room before we boarded. About halfway to the ladies room I felt a cough attack coming on. I DID NOT want to have any pee issues, so I was hurrying a bit....and the more I hurried the worse I needed to cough.
I rushed into the bathroom, just as I could feel my throat start to contract...I knew I was about to cough like a crazy person, so I jerked open the door, ran into the stall, spun around while locking the door with one hand and pulling down my pants with the other. I was proud of my ambidextrious abilities and feeling very self satisfied as I sat and started coughing....and of course, peeing. Until I realized I was sitting.......ON MY PURSE! My cute little bright red Baggalini bag! Sitting on it meant that....well, yes....I was peeing on it! OMG....some of you know I have issues with purses anyway...but now...really? So I have to precariously grab my bag, hang it on the door of the stall, finish up ....then completely wash my bag in the bathroom sink. Peeing on your purse makes a little leak when coughing seem like a minor incident!
Oh well, purse washed.....slightly damp boarding pass given to surly gate attendant with a smirk...and the flight from Helsinki to Prague was otherwise uneventful!
Prague was exactly as it should have been upon our arrival. There was a fog, making everything look very cold-warish. We are staying in old town, so the buildings and roads are all from centuries past.
Our hotel was built in the 14th century and has been wonderfully kept up. We are in a "room" that is actually four rooms, a foyer, two full baths and a big room with beds, a sofa and three big chairs! The ceiling is the most interesting part though, it is original and carved and dyed oak beams. I am not sure the photo does it justice but its amazing. The best part is it located in the heart of Old Town Prague, just blocks from Jewish Town, the Astrological Clock, the Charles Bridge and all things yummy and inviting!
Our first day was mostly spent just getting our bearings and an overview of the city. We decided to live on the wild side and took an tour of the city in an antique BMW convertible. The guide assured us he had a very strong heat....and he was not wrong. We were toasty and he let us bring our street food finds along for an open air moving picnic. So we ate potato dumplings with cabbage and bacon and roasted ham with rye as he told us about the city he obviously loves.!
This is why these two are so much fun to travel with. Mom is game for anything and Cait never thinks she is too "cool" to do silly things with us! I love these two! One thing that continues to amaze, and somewhat embarrass us, is the fluency with which other cultures speak multiple languages. Our guide, Evsen, apologized for his poor English skills, yet spoke very fluently and had only one year of English classes. He did say his wife spent 5 years in London and made him practice a lot!
The only thing we saw up close and personal today was the Jewish synagogue and cemetery from the WWII era. The synagogue was plain and somber.....but inside the walls were inscribed with the names of the tens of thousands of Prague Jews who were killed in the ghettos and concentration camps. You can hear stories, but to see wall after wall of inscribed names really helps you realize the numbers of people who died innocently.
Part of the synagogue grounds is the cemetery that was used during that period. They were allotted only a small area for burial, so as more and more died, there was soon no room for burial of the remains. They were forced to bury bodies on top of one another and the result is a cemetery full of crowded and uprooted grave markers.......very surreal to see.
They are in various stages of upheaval and dissaray because of the top soil that was carried in by hand to try to build up the cemetery enough to increase the layers of bodies. The result is that the cemetery is almost a full story above ground level!
So far, Prague is beautiful and fascinating. We are going to the castle tomorrow and off to the healing waters later in the week!
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