Blog: News and Views
Off to Prague!
11:30PM,
Saturday, June 28: Gabriela, our Czech guide, is giving us a cheerful
introduction to the beautiful city of Prague along with a short language lesson
as we bus from the airport to our hotel. "Not all Czechs are angels,"
she cautions us. "Keep your valuables out of reach of the
pick-pockets," - good advice, along with tips on where to get cheap
beer and the best exchange rates. "Dobrou noc (good night)," she
wished us as we arrived at our hotel ready to flop into bed.
Oh, the joys of transcontinental travel!
23 hours earlier, 41 of us plus a few fellow travellers began our check-in at
Vancouver International Airport.
Everyone was in high spirits in anticipation of the musical and cultural
experiences in store for us. But first, the reality of air travel:
lineups, security checks, airplane food, hours through a night confined in an
upright position, adjusting to a shift of nine time zones, sleep deprivation.
As we took-off around 6PM, I set my watch eight hours ahead. Trying to convince
myself it was 2AM I hoped to get some sleep before landing at Heathrow. I
figured that by the time we arrived at our hotel in Prague, it would be 31
hours since getting up Friday morning. A big chunk of that time would be spent
on our layover at Heathrow's terminal 5.
Advised not to attempt a trip into London in less than six hours, and having to
be ready to check in again in less than five hours, most of us decided to
stay in the terminal.
Terminal 5 is touted as the latest and greatest but one hardly needs more
than a couple of hours to check that out. I'll take Vancouver's airport, where
art trumps commerce, any day.
Once through another security screening, I gave the terminal a perfunctory
once-over, somewhat in awe of its sheer size. Accepting a taste of champagne
and sample chocolates from two young women dressed in the same colours as the
confections they were promoting, I asked them if they could recommend a
restaurant. On their advice I was soon enjoying a nicely prepared filet of
salmon in the relaxed atmosphere of Gordon Ramsay's upscale restaurant away
from the noise and bustle of other food options. Pricey but worth it on a
stressful day.
I spent the next several hours exploring the terminal, a vast space with high end shops where most people browsed without buying.
Before long, I found the Holletts drifting off to sleep in their chairs. I didn't have the nerve to dlsturb them but really wanted to tell them about the lounge I had discovered where you could stretch out on comfortable padded recliners.
At last our gate was posted and we boarded our plane for the relatively short hop to Prague. By the time we took to the air we had been on the ground for almost eight hours.
Finally at our hotel and waving goodbye to Gabriela we tried our Czech: "Dobrou noc!"
Bob
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