Transport and A View
of a Gracious Past
It’s always amazing to me all the little stuff that needs to
be accomplished before leaving on a journey, and how much stuff you actually
think that you can get done in that time.
The math is bad. Errands were
run, the house prepared, and bags were packed.
Taxi Magic didn’t do its magic this time, a big disappointment, but
Luxor did get me there on time. I waited
in the lounge a bit and then ran to get water and chocolate – two absolute
necessities when traveling. I ran into
Jim Kowalski while searching for the chocolate.
It was good to see him. Then to
the gate, with a small amount of waiting and on board. I had a front row seat – “lots of leg room,”
they said – wrong. My “Neuschwanstein
knee” bothered me for the whole flight.
The sun never really sets when they take the wide ark over Canada. We actually flew through the mid point of
Greenland. Shades were down most of the
time since the window was facing east.
Frankfurt was absolutely effortless, since we landed at the
new terminal (AZ) and my connecting flight continued on from there. The passport control officer was amused that
I spoke a little German. “Viel spaß!” he
said as I continued on, with a big grin on his face. Nice.
The flight to Dresden was uneventful as well, and I am always amazed how
Lufthansa can have in-flight beverage service on a 45 minute flight. Dresden airport is quite nice, and the S Bahn connection (€2,20)
can’t be beat. I had a three hour
layover waiting for the train to Prague, and the station in Dresden is a bit
dreary. I think that I semi-dozed.
The trip to Prague was just amazing as we trained beside the
Elba river with its deep river valley walled in by steep cliffs on either
side. The trees were that spring green
that defies description, and there was a mist in the air due to the recent
rain. In Bad Schandau there were many
gracious 19th century buildings, which begged for exploration. The train continued over the border to Dečin,
and then much later into Prague.
The hotel was an easy walk from the main train station,
although I had difficulty finding the proper address. A porter from another hotel saved the
day. I took a walk into town, and then
returned back to the hotel for dinner (a bad choice). Very tired, I went to bed.
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