Week 30 - Prague and Home

As if the salad bar and non-chicken from the night before wasn't enough, I found mini wheats when I went down for breakfast on Monday. Yay! Could this hotel get any better? It was the last week of the trip and I was snotty (a cold?) but I'd be sleeping in my own bed by the end of the week.

With a belly full of mini wheats, our first stop was a walking tour of downtown Linz, which was Hitler's favorite town. Go figure. We were going along with the tour but the guide had a really obnoxious voice and seemed to go on and on so when Anne found a yarn shop, we snuck away and went yarn shopping. After the first shop, we bumped into our tour guy and Dom pointed us to another yarn shop that had no online presence. It was small but we found more yarn, of course, and then headed to Starbuck's for yet another frapuccino. Two new friends from the tour joined us and we sat outside until it was time to walk back to the bus. That afternoon, we drove to Mauthausen - a Nazi work camp. They didn't gas people because they worked them to death. Needless to say, it was a sobering experience. We had another yummy dinner in the hotel and our time in Linz was done.

This was the point when our time on the boat would have been over so we were back to the original itinerary, which meant no more 20 euro handouts for food. On our way to Prague, we stopped in the prettiest town - Cesky Krumlov. I'd never heard of it but it was gorgeous. We had another walking tour then had some time on our own. Anne went off to take pictures and I went with Tom and Jill to get some lunch at an Italian restaurant Dom had recommended. I got a yummy pizza and Anne and another friend joined us after a bit and ate some of it. It was the first meal of my own choosing that I'd eaten in a week and it was delicious. From there we headed to Prague.

I don't know if it was because I was tired, snotty and ready for home but Prague was my least favorite city of the trip. There was no greenery anywhere and it just seemed grubby with dirty buildings and lots of trash. And so many people! Anyway, we started with a walking tour in the morning, another in the afternoon and when we were set loose for free time, Anne and I went to the river and did a one hour boat tour, which was lovely. We both thought the tour company missed an opportunity by not having a dinner or cruise during the trip, which would have been nice since it was supposed to be a river cruise. Anyway, we stopped at a cafe for a big piece of cake and went back to the hotel to get organized. Thursday would be our last day in the city and of the trip.

We went across the river Thursday morning and had a tour of the castle district. Even the gardens there were nothing special but we sat in them to knit and watch people. There were shuttles but, as usual, Anne and I walked back. We'd been doing 16-17k steps most days and since we'd be sitting all day Friday... Back at the hotel, we had a farewell talk with the 4 tour managers and then dinner. Then it was back to our rooms to finish packing. It had been a good trip but I was more than ready to head home.

We didn't have an early morning on Friday, only needing to leave the hotel at 10:30. It was just the 2 of us in a taxi and we were facing a long day. We flew from Prague to Munich and then had a 10.5 hour flight to Denver. It was SO long. I watched a short movie and then decided to watch Godfather 1 and 2, which took me almost to the end of the flight. By the end of it, I couldn't sit another minute. I got up and went to the galley (we were at the back of the plane) and did some stretching. We buzzed though Denver thanks to Global Entry (worth every penny), rechecked our bags and headed to our flight to Lincoln. By the time we arrived, we'd been awake for 24 hours. Despite us rechecking our bags together, Anne's arrived and mine didn't. I filled out a lost baggage report and went out to the curb where Andrea was waiting. 

Andrea hadn't seen Rosie the entire time I was gone and I did have contractors going in and out of the house so I was worried that she may have gotten out but when I got home just after midnight, all 4 cats came running. I let them out and proceeded to unpack my my carry on and take a shower in my gorgeous new bathroom. By the time I was ready for bed, the cats all wanted in to get some loving so I went to bed happy to be in my own bed and with all my cats safe inside.

Despite total exhaustion, I only slept 4 hours. Sheesh! I was a zombie but filled the day with talking to friends, catching up on computer stuff and going through my mail. My luggage arrived at the end of the day so I unpacked and got laundry sorted to do on Sunday. I got all the laundry done, talked more on the phone, stashed all the yarn I'd bought, prepped all my fair entries and called the contractor about a few things he needed to fix. I didn't trust myself to drive to Lincoln for swimming so bailed on that.

So, it was a successful trip despite not being the cruise and so feeling longer than I'd hoped (taking a bus from hotel to hotel is not as relaxing as sitting on a deck with a fancy drink watching the scenery along the river) but I'd seen cities I'd never been to and had lots of fun. As always, it felt wonderful to be home and I had high hopes to get over jet lag and the last remnants of my cold so I could enjoy the next week at home. Life is good!