CZECH REPUBLIC

September 8-21, 2003

September 8-9, 2003

After orienting Phebe to our house, she took us to the airport where we boarded our 10-½ hour flight from Phoenix to Frankfurt, Germany. We managed having an open seat between us, which gave us a little extra space. After a short layover in Frankfurt we had a 45-minute fight to Prague.

We were met by our guide, Martin and were taken by car to our hotel. After check-in, we immediately set out for a walk of the city that we love so much. Since it was late afternoon and time was so limited we had some specific goals. They were to take some photographs of the interesting architecture, go to our crystal store where I have purchased pieces on two previous trips and go to the Charles Bridge. We accomplished all of these things as tired as we were. We did decide to forgo the purchase of the crystal at this time though because we did not want to have to carry it for the next two weeks.

When we returned to our room to get ready for dinner I noticed that my suitcase no longer had the lock on it. In its place was a plastic lock. We were unable to cut this lock off because the scissors we brought were locked in it. I had to go down to the reception to borrow theirs. Once I got my bag open there was a piece of paper inside stating that my bag had been inspected by the TSA and that they were not responsible for any damaged locks.

In the lobby we were given a glass of Champaign and introduced to our fellow passengers. There were 15 of us in all including three sisters who were all five years apart.

After dinner we went to bed at 8 p.m. and slept through until 5:30 a.m.