God looks out for fools, drunks, little children and travelers

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There was an expression where we grew up that “God looks after fools, drunks, and little children.” After today I believe we should add “and travelers.”

We got up at our normal time and ate breakfast at seven. Kasha ate with us and we agreed that we would meet her outside our building at eight, load our luggage, which consisted of one backpack, and off we would drive to Krakow. Leaving at eight meant we should arrive in Krakow not later than four in the afternoon.

Traffic in the Prague area was terrible. We crept along at about ten kilometers an hour until we moved out into the countryside. Finally out of the urban area we cruised along toward Brno at 120 Kilometers an hour. The rolling Czech countryside is beautiful. Snow still lay in the woods and on the shaded side of hills. The rivers and ponds were frozen over, completely covered by ice. The highway between Prague and Brno is a four-lane road. On long upgrades a slow lane has been added for trucks and other slower traffic. Like I-81 in Virginia, this highway is very heavily traveled by big semi’s and double length trailers.

Every fifty kilometers or so there is a service area. These are like the mini-marts in the States; gas pumps out front, a grill inside, and snacks, magazines and newspapers for sale inside. Of course the most important feature of these mini-marts is the restrooms.

We had been on the road about two hours and Brno was nearby when Kasha suddenly whipped the car off the road into a service area.

“Did you hear that?” Kasha asked. “The car has a problem.”

I had heard nothing until the car had slowed almost to a stop. At that point I heard a “thump, thump, thump” coming from the front of the car. The thump sounded with each revolution of the front tires.

[Nancy- Kasha jumped out and checked all four tires since it sounded like a tire had gone flat to her. Then she realized the tires were all in good shape and looked sad.] “This happened before,” Kasha said. “If we can get someone to tow us across the parking lot it will probably snap back in place. But first let me check the gears.”

The car was a straight-stick. Kasha put the car in reverse, let out on the clutch. The car did not move. She put the car into low and let out on the clutch. Nothing happened. The same was true for all the gears. The drive mechanism was not engaging and though we “had wheels,” we were not going anywhere.

Kasha went into the mini mart to talk to the clerk and get the telephone number of a mechanic in Brno. She and I were walking back to the car when she spotted a car with Polish license tags. She ran over and quickly talked them into trying to help us. The three men drove to our car. Together they tied the two cars, ours and his together, with a rope.

“He isn’t going to tow us on the highway, is he?” Nancy asked.

“Oh no. That would be too dangerous,” Kasha replied.

The man slowly towed our car to a safe place near the mini-mart. After untying the rope he continued on his way. He like Kasha was from Poland, so they had no problem communicating.

“When this happened before it was easy to fix. But we will have to have the car towed. I’ll go inside and get the telephone number of a mechanic. Kasha called the garage with the number she had been given. Soon she returned to the car, “A tow truck will be here in about twenty minutes,” she said. We were all a little concerned with how she could communicate with the mechanic. Both Polish and Czech are Slavic languages and there are similarities, but most people can not communicate effectively between the two languages.

By now it was approaching noon. Nancy and I were hungry, but Kasha was not. I went into the mini-mart and looked over the sandwiches for sale in their cold case. I had to go totally on looks. I selected one that appeared to be a cheese and vegetable sandwich. Nancy and I divided it and had our snack.



Soon, the tow truck arrived. Amazingly Kasha and the tow truck driver could communicate. He had spent quite a bit of time in Poland and could change his Czech enough that he and Kasha could talk to each other.

He hooked a cable to her car and using a wench pulled it onto a trailer. I have been saying a tow truck, but it really was a trailer pulled by a large van. We all climbed into the van and off we went to Brno.

At the repair shop three mechanics looked at the problem and determined they could do nothing. Kasha’s car is a Subaru and there are no Subaru dealers in Brno.

“They say this is a rare car in the Czech Republic and it will have to be towed back to Prague or on to Krakow,” Kasha said.

“How much will that cost?” I asked.

“Seven hundred Euros,” Kasha replied.

Seven hundred Euros translates into about a thousand US dollars. Kasha really had no other options. This is not the type of surprise that helps a person's budget.

“I’ll have them tow it to Krakow. I know a mechanic there that I trust. He is a believer and is very honest.”

The repair garage is on the Brno airport landing path and four or five planes flew right over us, very low.

So we climbed into the van and off we went to Krakow.

Several hours later we crossed into Poland and change was immediately apparent. I will write about that in a later post.

It was gridlocked city as we approached Krakow. Infrastructure has not kept up with an increasing number of automobiles and trucks in Central and Eastern Europe. The result is miserably slow traffic into and out of the major cities. If I lived in a city like Prague or Krakow permanently, I would not even consider owning a car. Public transportation is so good that, in my mind, there is really no good reason for the average person to own a private vehicle.

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Photos

Little boy with a powerful stream
There is nothing wrong with his prostate. We thought this ad was quite funny.

Airplane landing at Brno
The landing path was directly over the garage where Kasha's car was inspected. Nothing to do but tow the car to Krakow.