Random thoughts from my journey to Prague

(Consider this a draft, pictures to follow.)

In the walkway connecting the hourly parking garage to the international terminal, the first ad you see is for Sun Microsystems. I haven't decided yet if that is happy, sad, or ironic.

Just ahead of the Sun ad was a Tiger Woods ad for Accenture, which provided some levity since Rhonda has been worried about my flight and that has made me nervous as well.

Rhonda used the restroom and said someone was in there crying. I said, "Don't be her." We browsed the bookstore and Sephora in a pathetic attempt to delay the inevitable. We said our goodbyes outside the security checkpoint, and to her credit, I didn't see her lingering around when I looked over my shoulder as the line snaked around.

Had a tonkatsu dinner at Tomokazu, a Japanese restaurant on the post-security side. For airport food, not half bad. Figure there won't be many Asian meals for the next week.

This is my first time flying Lufthansa, and I'm not sure I've ever seen this many German people before. (Duh, this flight is going to Frankfurt.)

Our plane is a 747. It doesn't have the screens in the back of the seat in front of you like on American or United; instead there are 15" or so ceiling-mounted standard-def TVs every eight rows or so. There is one right over my head, meaning I have to watch the one twenty feet away. Boo.

No one is sitting next to me. The guy next to the window and I are ecstatic.

On the plus side, Lufthansa has two Japanese music channels on their in-flight lineup. The DJ speaks in Japanese but repeats herself in English, so I don't have to guess who sings which song.

JERO, this is a good start. Although the music is a little too light for my taste, I am already napping on and off by the time we reach cruising altitude.

The snack is a bag of crackers with a picture of beer on them. I also have a Coke Light. Love how only in America do they call it Diet Coke, since it doens't actually help you lose weight. Wow, Germans really like to booze it up on the plane. I feel like I'm the only one not drinking around me.

Dinner is eh. Wait a minute, is the booze free?!? It doesn't dawn on me until after the flight attendants have passed me by that no one is paying for these drinks.

I notice that the J-Pop songs are already repeating - I've already heard Thelma Aoyama and AI, and we're only like three hours in. Lame.

After dinner, when they pick up the trays, they are offering Bailey's and cognac. I decide I will speak up and get a Bailey's, since they appear to be free, but apparently my flight attendant has pegged me as a non-drinker, since she offers my neighbor a drink but not me!

After dinner I try to get as much sleep as I can. I stow my iPod and listen to channel 13, the relaxation channel. It's a channel with meditation instructions in both German and English over new agey music. It does the job and I get about four hours in, and I am about to try to force myself to sleep more when I wake up right in time for (500) Days of Summer.

(500) Days of Summer is pretty good, although I'll have to see it again, since it was the "edited for television" version (somehow I don't think they were yelling, "panda!") and a couple parts have subtitles and split-screens that I couldn't see clearly on a little screen from twenty feet away. I'm not Superman.

The time on the laptop tells me it's 11:13 PM in California, which means it's 8 AM in Prague. To me it feels like I went to bed at 2 an got up at 6, which means I'm on Prague time, but I will need to stay up for at least another twelve hours. Methinks this jetlag is going to suck.

Sort of awake, so as planned, I am working on my resume. Again, not sure if that is ironic.

Breakfast was not bad for airline food. My first coffee in what seems like forever (when it was more like 14 hours) is going down nicely. Listening to Dashboard Confessional. Less than an hour until Guten Tag, Frankfurt.

Neighbor just got up to use the bathroom for the first time. We're nine hours in, I've gone three times. What is he, a camel?

BSOD on Departures screen at Frankfurt Airport. Never fails to amuse.

Frankfurt is a big, sprawling airport. This is the kind of airport that if you have a connecting flight, you want to have lots of time to get to the gate. And you don't want to be hauling a big shoulder bag, and you want to be in at least fair physical condition. Let's it put it this way: I've never seen people riding bikes *inside* an airport before.

The Oracle advertising presence in FRA is huge. They sponsor all the kiosks you can charge your devices at. Talk about your omens: a Sun ad in SFO, Oracle marketing dominance in FRA.

Short, packed flight to Prague. Got to give it to Lufthansa: they served a cheese sandwich for lunch on a one hour flight! American airlines sometimes don't even give you peanuts. I also noticed they ask if you want multiple drinks (e.g., coffee and juice, or soda and water). And I didn't get charged for my bag. Wow, do the American airlines suck.

Shared a ride to the hotel with a Sun colleague and wife, both of whom I just met. Nice folks, of course. His wife confirmed that all that booze on Lufthansa was free. Seriously considering Lufthansa for all future travel.

All checked into the hotel. Room is super nice. Rhonda will be very jealous that I have a Japanese TV channel; I plan to watch that ad nauseum while I am in the room.

Debating going for a walk, or sticking to my plan and using today to iron. Dinner is in a couple hours and I need a shower, so the walk is not likely. More to come later, I'm sure.