this is the flight that never ends

Happy Late Thanksgiving!!!

I’m home from vacation. Our flight arrived about 5pm this evening. It’s currently 2am in Prague, and therefore I think I’m going to be hurting tomorrow. I’m trying to force myself to stay awake until 9 or so, which is proving to be a challenge. I’m dizzy!

I’ve already mostly unpacked my suitcase and piled up a ton of souvenirs on my dresser. The cats are taking turns sitting on my lap. I should probably call my mom at gramma’s house before I go to sleep, but I’m afraid of that time commitment. Also, I have nearly 400 photos to edit!

The trip was incredible and I’m about to cry again thinking back on it. I will, of course, make a massive travel journal entry about it at some point in the next couple weeks, but for now you can check out the weird photos on Flickr, and my top-10 moments list that I compiled on the jam-packed DC-10 from Amsterdam, to distract myself from the fact that we were convinced the flight was never, ever going to end. But it did! 40 minutes early, too!

  • Walking across the Charles Bridge, and rubbing the tiny figure of Saint John Nepomuk being thrown into the Vltava for good luck.

  • Drinking absinthe.

  • Setting foot onto the tarmac at the Budapest airport.

  • Having dinner in the dining car on the way to Prague.

  • Walking the streets Franz Kafka walked.

  • Examining our stamps after one of several passport checks on the train, to discover we were entering Slovakia. It was like a bonus country. I got to see Bratislava and Brno, cities I’d heard a lot about in my Russian classes but never really expected to see.

  • The view of the red-tiled roofs and spires of Prague from the top of the clock tower.

  • Seeing the coastline of Europe for the first time in over 10 years.

  • Relaxing with a bunch of naked Hungarian women in the mineral baths at the Gellert Hotel.

  • The beginning of the Christmas festival last night in Old Town Square in Prague: fluffy, perfect snow falling, roasted chestnuts, a gigantic Christmas tree, grilled pastries, a choir performing the Carmina Burana, little booths with food and crafts, and a huge crowd of people from all over the world.

OK, now I’m really sniffly. I’m going to go make that call to mom and pass out for the night.

I didn’t want to leave there, but I’m still glad to be home.
Jenni

your questions, answered

q:
how much money do you make in a year? you go on lots of awesome vacations!

a:
It would be tactless of me to answer that with a dollar amount, but I will point out that I work as a contractor in a fairly lucrative field, and I’m single with no financial obligations other than rent and a car payment. So yeah, I have a decent disposable income, which I prefer to direct towards one of my biggest passions: travel. I enjoy collecting those experiences. I want to see everything. So instead of spending my money on a fancy house or big-screen TV, that’s what I do. And I love it.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: