Day 4 - a brief account of the final day in Prague is now up ...

Day 3 of the trip to Prague is now up ...

I've added a couple of things to earlier pages too.

Day 2 of the holiday web-site is now up at http://uk.geocities.com/goldfired/holiday/day2.htm

For all those who have very kindly asked about our holiday -

I am starting to put together a web-site - with pictures (and maybe links later). Have a loook - Day 1 is up!

The address is: http://uk.geocities.com/goldfired/holiday/prague.htm

I'm back ...

Just

to 320 emails ... (and that's just my personal email box).

Anyone who wants to give me updates on EW and SoA will be loved and cherished.

And I shall post more about Prague too tomorrow.



Mel

All being well, we'll be off to Prague tomorrow - and I'm starting to pack.

Why can I never pack properly? Either I arrive at my destination with too few clothes of too many. So either I'm stuck in the same three things all the time (like when I went to Bosnia for a five day conference with all my nice business suits - and ended up living in the two cotton dresses I'd chucked into my bag at the last minute because it was so amazingly hot.

Then last year I ended up dragging half my wardrobe over to Germany via Prague - I was adequately clothed - but the journey nearly killed me.

I was travelling to a remote place called Seinhennersdorf in Wast Germany - right on the borders of Czechoslovakia and Poland, in the Zittau mountains. I flew via Prague (I'd done Berlin before). And I had my large heavy bag - and Millie, my faithful laptop.

I landed, and cleared customs with 40 minutes to catch my train. No problem. I wandered over to the information desk and asked where the station was.

In the city, I was told cheerfully. Did I want to catch a bus?

My eyes bulged slightly.

They checked my details. Oh, they said. That was the other atation. The one on the far side of Prague.

I ran out - as fast as I could run with my huge suitcase and grabbed the first taxi I could find. I told him my destination. I told him the departure time.

His eyes bulged.

He was terrific.. He threw me and the case into the car and set off through rush hour Prague. We passed landmarks (dazzling fast). He called out their names to me. I nodded and cheered.

He dropped me off with ten minutes to spare, and both of us glowing with satisfaction. I went to the ticket desk.

Then I went to the international train ticket desk. I asked for Seinhennersdorf.

Where?

I had to change trains in Dresden - could I buy a ticket for Dresden? Oh yes.

Well, a least that put me in the right country ...

The train was amazing. Not because it was luxurious or swish - just because of its route. It started out, I think, in Sofia ... then wound its way through Plovdiv, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague ... up to Dresden ... Berlin ... It was like a litany of the Hapsburg and German Empires ... a itinerary of romance.

And border guards. I like border guards on trains ... it gives you a real sense of travelling. The Czech ones were nice, but a little alien. The Germans, of course are (despite cinematic history) one of us. Our Europe. Euro-land.

That had a reassuring feel.

At Dresden, buying the ticket was no problem. But ... it meant hauling the huge case up and down several flights of stairs.

And so a little commercial train chugging through the night ... stopping at every wayside halt. It was rather exciting - especially as I could only hope the hotel would remember to meet me. They did - and took me to a lovely hotel, the core of which was a C14th converted inn ...

But the journey home ...

Well ...

I made it down to the south coast where he lives in 2 and a half hours. He looked good - although very weak. Moving about in the bed was something of a struggle - and he was also wired up to monitors, which didn't help. But he was delighted to see me.

I spent something over an hour with him; the ward was hot, but he had his own personal fan, which helped. They think it was the heat that caused this ...

It could have been a heart attack; more likely it was angina. He hasn't had many angina attacks since his heart bypass six years ago - so it's not good news if he's now getting them again. They'll be keeping him in a few days and running tests, but all looks well. We're going to Prague if things continue to be steady over the weekend, and then I'll see him as soon as we get back.

Mel

Yes ... you guessed it.

Because the system was down most of yesterday, I had to do Double Work to make up today. Two journals to format and put out ...

Oh well. One more day to go and then ... Prague!

Well, a weekend and then Prague.

I want to use my digital camera but I've lost the instruction book ... So I went to the Hewlett Packard site - and there were lots of How Do Is and manuals for the model. So I'm purring happily now ...

And I have a new memory card too ...