6.25.2004 ||>
So I have not been able to write about a couple of places I went to recently, so I will try to make up for that.
We went to some pretty memorable places around Central Bohemia in the Czech Republic, but the place that stood out for both of us was Kutna Hora. When visiting this picturesque town, one word of caution: don't go on Mondays and travel by train. We didn't heed this advice and everything was closed. Of course, it was printed in the Lonely Planet guide, if I had bothered to look. But what we did see was nice, and the souvenirs were cheaper than in Prague. Then we missed the bus. After copious whining by me (I think I could have shattered glass with one or two of those "Kellleeeeyyy!"s) Kelly took control of the navigating and we got on the train home. Then we got off at the wrong stop. It seems that the power that comes with navigating corrupts. (Although I'm sure he'll shy away from culpability) Anyway, it was a funny memory and a town that will live in infamy.
The second place that will live in infamy for me is Istanbul. So, at the time, I didn't want to come back to Uzbekistan. (Can you blame me? Does this make me a bad person?) I'd been feeling a bit foul-mooded (is this even a adjective?) for a day or so because everything in me had been telling me to not go back. Then I had the Layover That Would Not End. It seemed that events conspired to make me even more unhappy.
The first event was that not only did Czech Airlines not serve vegetarian meals, but treated me like a pariah because of my lack of meatiness and I had to yell to even get a crust of bread (Imagine me as a poor orphan in Oliver: "Please sir, can I have some more?" only more pitiful). Not to mention that the people in the Turkish airport have no sense of humor (and let's leave that one as that, shall we?).
Finally, during the Layover of Eternity, I missed all the tours of Istanbul and, as it was raining, spent the time watching CNN and MTV. But then I was rescued at the airport at the duty free stores where I drowned my sorrows in shopping and Burger King. After all, no one likes a complainer, so what is there to do but eat Western food and shop?
