so, the flights back to the Czech Republic were miserable. well, they weren't unbearable, but they did suck. why, Iain? why did they suck?
well, to start off, i took a total of no fewer than four airplanes - three of which originated in the states. that is to say: i flew from Indianapolis to Minneapolis-St. Paul, from there i flew to Chicago... that's right, i flew from IND to MSP in order to get to ORD (O'Hare). from there it was a KLM flight from ORD to Amsterdam and then CSA airlines from AMS to Prague.
okay, but that isn't the entire reason why it sucked.
let me complain a little bit more. travelling during the holiday season sucks. every flight i took off an hour late but they all loaded on time. that's right, i was stuck on the ground in airplanes for a total of about 4 hours. this, of course, caused some tight connections in two or three instances.
okay, let me complain even more.
Northwest airlines is ridiculous. i've flown with them for awhile, since MN is a key stopping/layover point for me as family and friends provide plenty of distractions during purposeful prolonged layovers. this, of course, means i have to buy separate tickets a lot of the time since NW doesn't allow a layover to last over a nighttime, unless its a last flight in/first flight out thing.
anyway, since i like to stop for a few days every time i fly through MN, it means that i have to buy many separate tickets, as i've already noted. this is why i flew from IND to MSP in order to go to ORD. my first leg was the result of a return trip of a ticket i bought over the summer - the flight from MSP to IND i took on the 20th was the return trip, meaning that i had to buy a whole new ticket for the return to MSP. the subsequent 3 legs were all part of my winter trip - that is to say that this winter trip from Prague was round trip to MN, not IND. whoof. that's a lot of words to make that simple point. sorry, if that bored you...
now, i don't mind NW as i feel they are no worse, or even slightly better than all of the other big carriers. but they were absolutely incompetent when i checked in in IND - first off, i needed to combine the two tickets, so i wouldn't have to retrieve my luggage in MSP and re-check it... i flew on the 27th of December, peak holiday traffic time. what's more, NW had just expanded its service out of IND, adding a whole new selection of destinations...
so, what's your point, iain? well, they had THREE, that's right, count 'em, THREE agents there to assist with checking people in. and there was a constant line of about 500 people. because the line was so long (and one of the agents was absolutely incompetent), people kept missing their flights. having an e-ticket, i stood in line for about an hour and 15 minutes, about 6 people back from one of the three agents for a vast majority of said time, before i decided to simply check in and re-check my luggage in MN. this, of course, enabled me to actually catch my flight. but it also meant that my 3 hour layover in MSP would be a hassle of exiting security, grabbing my luggage, checking in again, and going through security again.
of course, since the line was so miserably slow in IND, it was a breeze walking through security because the crowd was caught at check-in, not security.
alright, enough bitching about the flights.
now to bitch about returning to PRG.. when i arrived in PRG, i hired an airport car - the most expensive way to travel, i found out. but as i was putting my luggage in the car, the driver started to yell at me (in Czech, nonetheless) about the fact that i was resting my suitcase on the bumper on its way into the trunk. he threw some monetary number at me, as in "this is how much my bumper costs"... if i hadn't already been travelling for 24 hours and had had real sleep - hence being more alert - i would've dumped the cab in favor of a nicer individual (and cheaper mode of transport).
and lastly, i can't seem to get on a good schedule. i took a nap on the 28th (the day i arrived) for about 2 hours. i then ended up staying up until about 12:30. after which, i slept until 8. i took a nap yesterday from noon to about 4:30 and ended up going to bed at around 2:30. i woke up this morning at 6. i read in my bed for two hours, hoping that i would fall back asleep, but alas i did not. now i'm feeling tired, but i'm going to resort to caffeine, methinks.
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after all of that, i would like to wish you all a happy new year!
Posted by iain at December 30, 2004 04:19 PM