From my journal:
Today we leave for Krakow. After our weekend houseguests, two charming young couples who are friends of our son and daughter-in-law), checked out of Hotel Krich, I stripped the beds, did several loads of laundry, and packed my luggage. This is a challenge, since Lot Airlines allows only one checked bag and one carry-on weighing no more than 13 pounds per passenger, and we'll be away three weeks. I'm always a little spacey before I travel--"raizeh fever," me parents called it. Travel angst. I'm certain that I'll forget something, that the clothes I'm packing are all wrong. That our bags will be overweight, not because of the clothing, but because we are shlepping with us five La Briut kosher meals, a jar of peanut butter, crackers, trail mix, and more than thirty South Beach granola bars. All this for Krakow, because there isn't much kosher food available there.
Finally, we're off. We say goodbye to our son and daughter (their original flight having been cancelled because of weather conditions in Dallas, they're scheduled to take an evening red-eye--business class, so they're thrilled--but a false text message telling them that the evening flight has been delayed causes them to miss their flight. Long story. Much frustration).
We used mileage for first-class seats, which turn into actual beds. I watch "Notes on a Scandal" (excellent and disturbing) and take an Ambien tablet, but it's a while before I fall asleep.
At Heathrow we meet up with my brother and sister-in-law, whose delayed British Airways flight has now made them miss their Lot flight from Vienna to Krakow. In Vienna, we take a shuttle to the EuroHotel, where my husband and I had reservations. On the website the hotel is advertised as being 5 kilometers from the airport. I don't think so!
The surly desk clerk tells us that he has no vacancies, and that there is a shortage of hotel rooms that night-in Vienna-probably because Barbara Streisand is performing. I'm not kidding. So the four of us share our room, which is small and spartan, but clean and serviceable. A sign on the door cautions not to leave the bathroom door open when taking a shower, as the heat may set off the smoke alarm. There is no phone in the room--tough, when you want a wake-up call. Only later do I notice a note on the door that says cordless phones are available upon request. It doesn't matter, really. We're just here to sleep a few hours until our morning flight to Krakow--although the truth is, we laugh more than we sleep.
Not a bad thing, actually.
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