Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Back in the Czech Republic (2) There and Back Again and Christmas in January

My hoards of fans are on my case to continue the story of adventures on the bus, so where was I? Ah yes, leaving Prague. I got on the bus, I sat down next to a girl, considering this to be the safe choice, the other was some strange manele-listening, jerking off kind of guy. Besides, sitting next to her must be some sort of camaraderie as we were the only girls traveling alone, the other two or three girls were with boyfriends or husbands (there was one more girl traveling alone but she was one head taller than the tallest guy so she could fend for herself).

I don't know how this happens but I always find myself talking to the person sitting next to me in the bus or train. I guess I get bored. Maybe I want to know more about my fellow traveler because we are crossing roads for a while, be it shorter or longer. So I can tell you that the Czech grandma in the Student Agency coach was going to visit her 3 granddaughters from her daughter. They live in Prague and love cookies and being read stories. Mihaela, the Romanian girl on the coach home, also has a daughter; a toddler living with her grandma and aunt which hasn't seen her working mother in several months. The Romanian is working here in a laundry, with other Moldavian and Romanian girls, speaks no Czech, gets a minimum salary and lives in a Ubitovany (like all workers) with her husband, also a worker.

So off we are, one or two passengers more than the number of seats, but at least I have an OK place: behind the driver. Of course the drivers smoked all the way and so they kept the window ajar and I was cold and smoked almost all the way . Had some conversation with the girl but dosed off now and then, that's how it is when you're traveling by night. Ate the delicious sandwiches my boy had made for me, drank very little water, read a bit of my book, Czechs in a Nutshell and that was about it. But really, Bulgarian music and weird looking guys with strange names (Trifon, he had a number plate with a name, that's how I know), I was like in a mafia bus taking girls and pimps to the West (only I was going East).

And just like they would do on the way over, they stopped in odd places like in gas stations in the middle of the road (to let people off or change drivers) and gave no toilet brakes (I managed to snack out). Yeah, I know, I talk a lot about toilet brakes but people, it's a necessity, really basic stuff that Eurolines drivers have to give every 4 hours and these guys had to be begged to stop the bus.

On the journey to CZ, I took the bus from Brasov and not Bucharest because there were no more places so I had to take a bus coming from Chisinau. Ludmila, from Prague, the Orlan girl, was traveling with us, again bossing everyone around and spreading wafers. Luckily she did stop the bus more than the first time. The trip you've all been waiting to hear about, was boring people. I had a Slovak seat mate, a blond that spoke English so we did talk a very bit. And I can tell you my mom's chicken schnitzel sandwiches were delicious. Other than that: boring, nothing to read, cause too dark, I just slept, listened to some radio and called the police when I got bored. Well, yeah, there was a truck on the side of the road, with nothing to signal it apart from a dim blue light that I might have imagined, so I called the cops, cause maybe someone was hurt there, right? Yeah, you've guessed it, false alarm...

20 Hours later, after snow blizzard in Hungary and police stopping us after the border we finally arrive in Prague, right on schedule (it helps not giving pee breaks) altough it would have really helped being late: no bus to Plzen for about an hour and a half (and the one I got was backed) and no boyfriend (back home only in 6 hours).
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you one last detail : no keys either. I had absolutly no keys of the flat or of the car so I would have been stranded outside in the cold if it wasn't for a friend who picked me up.

When the boy came and we finally went back home we had Christmas number 2, exchanging presents we had each got from the other one's parents. He got an apron fit for a chef and some scarves (he's French) and I got a lunch box and we both got tea mugs and a tea pot. I'll post pictures, promise.

That is more or less the account of my winter travels. Any questions? Feel free to ask.

1 comment:

  1. hmmm, bine merge, dar vad ca nu te-ai incurcat cu detalii inutile... cam scurt :p

    ReplyDelete

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