PRG

Left Prague today, now sitting at the gate for the plane back to Detroit. Sounds like they're boarding...gotta go.

Update: Just made it home safe and sound. No delays, no lost luggage, hooray! It's now 22:00 our time so we spent about 24 hrs in transit. It's tiring. Couple of comments on the trip, for posterity:

• Started the trip in Prague via metro and bus. When we exited the metro I saw the 119 bus but of course close to the opposite exit (you can emerge out of the metro via several staircases, we picked the wrong one). So we ran to the bus and I started tapping on the door. The driver of the bus sitting right next to the 199 stuck his head out and starts yelling "Do przodu, do przodu!". He meant that the bus had to pull up ahead to the bus stop in order to pick people up. So a little further run up the road to get on the bus.
• The PRG airport looks new. Similar to the Warsaw airport but more established. As I recall, Warsaw's newer terminal 2 looked very similar (almost same design) but it had just completed and they were working on remodeling terminal 1 (departures). Prague's departures (what you see above) was already in use.
• The connections were such that we had little time to do anything at either Schipol or DTW. Which I suppose is just as well since we got home at a reasonable time. At Schipol they've recently introduced this new phase to the security clearance procedure. Now they conduct a one-on-one interview where the security fellow (I guess) tries to trip you up with clever questions, e.g., "why did you attend the conference", "do you have any battery operated devices, no? what about your laptop? aha!" and so on. A little silly IMO, but what can you do? You can't really joke with the guy.
• The Atlantic hop was on a 757. I thought and was hoping for the A330 for its personal DVD systems. I don't think they had enough people so they used the older 757. The 3x3 seating is not as convenient as the 2x3x2 of the airbus. And it's a long flight.
• In Detroit you have to pick up your luggage and haul it over to the X-ray machine. The only reason I can think for them doing this is in case they don't believe you when you tell them you have nothing to declare. So then they can make you open your suitcase to inspect. Otherwise, what is the point of having passengers move the luggage from one conveyer belt to another?
• The plane from DTW to GSP lacked air conditioning. Same thing happened on the way home from Warsaw. Maybe they figure, ah, the Eastern (or rather Central) Europeans don't use A/C anyway, so why bother. And they're going to SC where it's hot and humid anyway. Or maybe it was the same plane and they just haven't fixed it yet?

And that's it. If we retire now, we should be pretty much back on schedule tomorrow, with minimal jetlag. Then there's a one-hour window wherein we might be able to pick up the cats.