Another Adventure Far

And now I can relax. We made it past TSA and are awaiting our first leg from Boise to Prague stopping in Salt Lake and Paris. 

This trip was first planned to take place in 2020. Tickets were purchased and plans were made. Then the ‘rona stopped the world. 

I’m reminded of Eisenhower and D-Day. He spent a couple years planning Operation Overlord. After some delays, he finally gave the ‘go’ order. Soon he was left alone as his staff scattered to perform their duties. As the ships set sail he set his plans aside. Later he would say, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”. Ike had done all he could. 

I always feel better after I clear my first security check. Now I trust our planning is sufficient and trust the Lord will lead us through the various airports, train stations and terminals. 

We’ve been preparing for this most recent iteration of our trip since last February. So our plans are to fly to Prague and visit some old friends, take a train to Lanškroun where we meet up with Daniela and her family. After a couple days we travel to Slovenia for a visit to the Julienne Alps. Daniela will return home after putting us on a bus and train to Florence Italy. We have booked an all inclusive gravel bike tour through Tuscany with Trek Travel. I’m excited to ride on some famous Strade Bianca just like the pros. After 5 days we will spend a couple days in Cinque Terre before flying back to Prague, Brno and Olomouc, CZ where we will reconnect with many friends. A late addition to our plans is a hop over to Amsterdam to visit Jordan. Then we fly home. Stay tuned for the details and implementation of the plan. 

Part 2

We have arrived in Prague! All connections and transfers were as planned. No problems. We met two students at the airport bus stop. One from India who is beginning his university studies in Brno. The other from Peru who just graduated from university in Madrid. Both have huge smiles. We were all looking for the AirPort Express (AE) bus to the main train station downtown. We saw the AE approach and walked down to board and were disappointed when the driver closed the doors and drove off after he dropped off his passengers. We learned that there was a designated loading zone marked at the “G” stop 50 yards away.  A second AE bus made a drop off then drove right past us and the G stop. What are we doing wrong? Soon a crowd was forming. We were all trying to decipher the instructions on the placard. I read that as of July 2024, you must push the red button if you want the bus to stop. But there was no red button to be found. But just as if on schedule a third AE pulled up, stopped and the driver greeted us. We all boarded and soon we were weaving our way through town and to the train station. Next to my seat was a red button. It is for stopping the bus to get off.  Not on! After saying goodbye to our student friends we simply walked across the street and there was our Hotel, the EXE City Park. 

We have been awake for 30 hours or more and are exhausted. Apparently that is not lost on my eyes and face. But we should soldier on to get this jet lag business under control. After checking in we stroll towards Old Town and find a favorite restaurace, the Lokál Dlouááá. At 4:30 the only difference from 2018 is that there are no crowds this early. I enjoy my first Pivo and my weariness dissipates. All is good. I order a pork schnitzel and Rhonda gets fried Edom cheese and pickled mushrooms.  Heaven with a small “h”.  Afterwards we wander back to the hotel and crash at 6:30! I slept hard for 4 hours when my body told me it was mid afternoon. But soon I was back to sleep and did not awake until 6:30 am. The hotel breakfast was great, the coffee better. 

We bought our tickets for Lanškroun, locally referred to as LA, for early afternoon. We are now relaxing and soon will meet up with Martin for a visit and lunch. 

It is good to have landed on the Coastof Bohemia.