Prague Blog #2: In Which I Report I Made It to Prague Safely Even Though One of the Flights Was Cancelled

St. Louis to Washington D.C. The first leg of our trip was on a little jet called a “EMB145” operated by some no-name airline under the auspices of United Airlines. I arrived at the airport early, where I had time to eat a little lunch and drink some Sam Adams. Although I don’t mind flying, I have learned over the years that the discomforts of being airborne aren’t nearly as noticeable when slightly buzzed. 

In the boarding area, I saw an old friend and high-school classmate who’s a lawyer too. Like me, he became a plaintiffs’ lawyer late in his career. While I worked as a defense lawyer, he was a prosecutor. Now he was headed to Washington to meet an expert. We chatted awhile about the state-law tort "reforms" that will probably be happening fairly soon in Missouri. It's something that every plaintiffs' lawyer in Missouri is thinking about.

Once we boarded, Lanny and I settled in the plane’s last row. Flight time to D.C.: 1 hour, 40 minutes. Battery time on my laptop: 2 hours, 30 minutes. Although Andrea had encouraged me in a pre-flight phone call to forget about work (the partner of every guy’s dreams), I pulled out my laptop as soon as we were airborne and wrote a section of the book I’m doing for James Publishing. The usual formula is three sections a day, but I got ahead in preparation for the trip so I can relax in Prague.

Next, I started this post. Once finished, I settled in with my iPod, my  noise-canceling headphones, and a novel called Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam by Paul Clayton. Mr. Clayton sent me a copy a few weeks ago, hoping I’d mention it on my weblog. I’ll have more to say about the novel later. For now, however, suffice it to say that I’m very caught up in the story.

Washington D.C. to Paris Our flight was supposed to be from Washington, D.C., to Vienna, but Austrian Airlines cancelled it. That was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least. First, the flight agents told us we were going to have a "slight delay" due to some “paperwork problems,” then they said the delay would be a little longer due to a “mechanical issue.” This turned into a multi-hour delay when the flight agents announced the airplane needed a “computer chip.” They said they hoped the chip could be replaced by equipment existing at the airport.  I had no idea what they were talking about.

Finally, mercifully, after hours of waiting around, Austrian Airlines cancelled the flight—or, rather, postponed it for at least 24 hours.

It was going to be harder than that to ruin out trip, however. Fairly quickly, Lanny and I were able to secure seats on an Air France flight headed for Paris. After more waiting, we finally boarded. The flight was full, and I was stuck next to a window and packed in so tight that I had trouble removing my shoes. The two people next to me slept soundly, but I lost track of Lanny and his “sleep aids” and was up most of the night, trying to ward off an attack of claustrophobia by breathing deeply, thinking about my darling children, and listening to podcasts on my iPod.

Paris to Prague Finally, it was a flight that wasn't full, allowing me to relax a little bit after a rotten night. Here's a free tip for those of you who are planning to travel overseas: fly direct. We touched down in Prague at 7:45 a.m. St. Louis time, which added up to about 23 hours of travel time. The good news is the Internet hookup was no problem, which was why I was able to upload this post as soon as I got to my room.

The local time at the time of uploading was 4:50 p.m. The cancelled flight only cost us about five hours. I'll check back in later, hopefully with photos.

Comments

[Ted]

My favorite Thai restaurant is a few miles from Dulles; had I known you were stranded there, I would've taken a break from S.D.Ill. briefing to bring you some crispy duck, especially now that I have an EZ-Pass to sling through the tollbooths.

[Greg]

Perhaps flying could be another law related thing that sucks. I just visited a law school, had to take two flights to do that - that sucked, kinda. The school was great, but the flying sucked - it was crowded, and I'm taller than the body of the little plane, and the cute girl in the same row as me listened to her headphones all flight... but I'll digress. Either way, flying 'nicely relaxed' helps! Oh, and while on international flights it's fun to "get the best" of British Airways because they're gullible enough to let you pay in €, $ or £, and you know the exchange rate.

[Evan]

Ted: A brilliant plan. I'll let you know if I get stranded at Dulles on the return trip.