Saturday, September 1, 2007

Touchdown in Prague

90% is usually a pretty good score... it will get you an "A" on most tests. Unfortunately, when the 10% you're missing is the one bag out of ten that has all the kid's toys, the baby formula, Erin's house shoes and perhaps most importantly, my toothbrush, you're not doing too well. Missing bag aside though, our trip to our new home for the next three years was great! Kyler was a superstar on his first trans-Atlantic flight, and Jad and Danna sacked out on my lap most of the way over.

United Airlines seems to have slipped a couple more notches lower on the customer service scale, offering a nondescript glop of vaguely noodle-like material and a couple leaves of wilted lettuce for our evening meal... along with glass of wine or beer for $5 to those desperate enough for the alcohol. The flight crew had permanently affixed fake smiles, pasted over faces with two or three layers of makeup... and issued perfunctory "I'm sorry"'s as they rolled their carts up the aisles through elbows, and over toes and any other appendage which happened to be in the way. We switched to Lufthansa in Frankfurt, and the improvement - even on the short one hour flight was remarkable.

On the ground in Prague, parked at the gate, we discovered another use for the airsick bags in the back of every seat. Jad needed to go pee as we approached the runway, and as the plane got closer and closer to the gate, he got more and more frantic. The plane finally came to a stop, but the lavatory was still painfully out of reach, behind the masses queuing to exit the plane. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. Let me just confirm that yes (thankfully), the bags are waterproof, and can hold a bladder full of liquid!

Our sponsors met us at the airport, and drove us and our baggage (9 out of 10 pieces) to our new home - just about 15 minutes away. So we're here! At home! Finally! More soon.

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