London—Praha

Travel often starts with grumpiness. We're tired, I get grumpy, Bronwyn responds to the injustice of that (fair enough). We got over it. Finishing work off so I can go on leave always takes its toll though. On Sunday we made bookings for Rome (June), Scotland (August, with the Halses) and looked at Amsterdam (in a couple of weeks, for the Spring bank holiday weekend). So we'd better get better at setting out!

Snippets from our trip today:

• Workday-type wakeup time to start this holiday.
• On the tube read that the terrorist attack foiled here last week may have been targeted at Gatwick.
• Waiting for the Gatwick inter-terminal light rail (on tracks but inflatable tyres) I set off the intercom by leaning on the wall.
• Police at Terminal N carrying machine guns.
• First time out of Gatwick... it was nice.
• Wireless internet in the departure lounge, but the laptop was at home
• Electronic self-checkin, and we thought we picked an exit row, but we didn't.
• Leg room quite manageable on these planes anyway, just like trip to Berlin.

Landing in Praha (Prague) saw enormous apartment blocks stretching well over half a kilometre along a side, yet surrounded not by other blocks but mostly by green and parks. I guess no one can see the (thousands of) neighbours when you're indoors. Rivers dominate the countryside. Red roofs, steep roofs. Traffic jam on the motorway, with half of the vehicles being trucks...

Praha airport feels enormous ― like LA or Heathrow not Berlin. Major construction there too. Bus ticket machine requires exactly 36Kc (75p) for our two journeys plus luggage, so we buy postcards and chewing gum, and then discovering we were short-changed by 2Kč (4p) we got to another store to buy a Mars bar to get enough coins. Bus trip through industry ― “I know why Prague seems so beautiful,” Bronwyn says, “... because you drive through so much ugliness to get there!” Bus and metro a synch ― voice on the buses sounds like the same woman they used in Berlin.

Emerge from metro into the Wenceslas Square markets. 10 minutes sees us cover the 5 minute walk to our hostel. Pay over 7,000Kč cash for a strange hostel room which turns out to be in the basement of another building ― has firm bed, ensuite, fridge, and flash recessed lighting, but building is dingy, door has a gap at the top that haemorrages noise from outside, and the room has not been cleaned properly. Issued six keys to operate this home away from home.

Duncan sleeps. Bronwyn plans. Local pizzeria for dinner where we can read the menu because it is in our native Italian as well as Czech. Bronwyn drinks Czech beer and likes it. Praha, golden city of miracles.