KakiDonKriebel

Budapest, Vienna, Brno, and Prague. 2009 This was our most complex trip in a while. As Don said, three countries with three different monetary systems and three languages that we don’t speak. I got our tickets via Cheapo Air, and was dubious, particularly as they took us through Heathrow, which seemed out of the way, and then were altered when British Airways cancelled the flight to Budapest leaving at two and stuck us with one at 4:30. As our flight was leaving Philadelphia at 9 p.m., we assumed there would be no dinner and got a really lousy calzone at the airport. I couldn’t even finish it. Boarded on time, took off, and lo, at 10:30 p.m. they served us a very good dinner with wine. “Have two!” the flight attendant said cheerfully. Accustomed as we are to US Airways, we were astonished but pleased. In the morning we circled Heathrow for a time because of getting there early, but finally landed and had to go through their chaotic security for the ongoing flight. We...

Portugal, September 13-26, 2007 We were only an hour late arriving, due, as usual, to USAirways’ tardy departure. We found an ATM (Multibanco); we found the Tourist Information Office and bought our Lisboa Cards. Then we went looking for a bus into town. Rick Steves (henceforth known as RS)   mentioned a special airport bus plus a couple of others, and since we quickly saw one of the others we climbed on. We should have found something else: the bus was crammed with people and more kept getting on, while the alleged air conditioning was non-existent. Long, hot ride. Don amazingly managed to figure out on the map where we were, so we got off in Restauradores, walked through to the Eating Lane (Rua de Porto de Sao Antao), and found our hotel on the pedestrian street half a block up. It was quite nice; the room was small but fine, and after a momentary panic about air conditioning Don spotted a non-TV remote and pushed “on.” An inconspicuous thing at the ceiling level opened its...