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Published: January 28th 2011
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Poland at last!
I spent my first night in Poland at this truck stop. You can just see my car behind the center truck. October 11 and 12, 2008
My trip started from Seattle with some space available tickets that I got from my mom, who is retired from United Airlines. Probably the first one hundred or two hundred flights in my life were space available, when I was a dependent of my mom. Flying space available is kind of an acquired taste. It can certainly be nerve-racking and it is not for everyone. But, in spite of the obstacles. it is an affordable way to go away land I have been able to do this on a few occasions.
My plan was to get to Germany where I had a car rental to drive to Poland (via Prague if I wasn’t too tired!). I had no problem getting to Chicago where there were three flights to Germany. The first one was way overbooked and I was quite disappointed because the others weren’t looking very good either. While mulling over my options my sister, Mary, called. Mary also works for United and has access to cool computers that let her know exactly how many seats are on a given flight. She says, “There are lots of seats to London, why don’t you go
there?” Well why not? So I went from wandering around O’Hare airport like a lost puppy to sipping champagne before takeoff in business class (similar to domestic first class) on a flight to London, all within an hour or so. I have always prided myself on not worrying too much about the creature comforts but I must say that there is something to be said about sitting back and having to decide between two red wines, neither one which I could pronounce (I picked the one on the right). Maybe it was the wine and the champagne but listening to ZZ Top sing La Grange on the earphones kind of made me reflect on how many things have happened and how much has changed in the last thirty years or so since that song came out.
The only drawback to going to London was that I would have to get a full fare (shudder!) flight to Warsaw. This was accomplished for around $400 but in the process I found that my credit card didn’t work. This made me very nervous because, although I could use my debit card for most things, I was pretty sure I would need the credit card to get the rental car in Warsaw in a few hours. The 800 phone number on the card didn’t work from London so I called my dear wife, Sandy, and got her out of bed. This didn’t really thrill her since she wasn’t a big fan of the trip in the first place. But she called the number only to find that the computer was down so the whole credit card deal was still up in the air. I pride myself on not worrying too much but not having a credit card on the first day of a two week trip did make me a bit nervous.
Meanwhile my flight to Zurich and on to Warsaw was delayed because of that famous London fog. Among my few regrets on the trip was that I didn’t hop on the Tube (the London subway system) and go to the city. It would have been cheap and London is always a fascinating place. But I was hesitant to spend even the $10 or so it would take to get there until I knew the credit card hassles were cleared up. And I was tired and the idea of dragging my bag around town just wasn’t too appealing. In the end it worked out fine since Heathrow airport is probably the most interesting spot for people watching that I have ever experienced. People from every corner of the world go through there and there is always something to see. And besides I had a good P.D. James novel. So I found a chair and settled in for a few hours. By now I was kind of hungry but I still was scared to part with any money. I even bought a mocha later and tried to pay for it with the credit card to see if it was working yet, but it still didn't work. I don't think the barista dude was too impressed when I walked off without my drink but I imagine he is over it by now. I was sitting near a duty free shop and a young girl was outside giving away samples of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Every half hour or so I would make eye contact and she would come over and give me a little jigger of the stuff and that got me through just fine.
The communication at the airport was poor and so there was really no estimate on when my flight might take off. It was kind of a weird feeling, not knowing if I was going to end up spending the night in England, Switzerland or Poland. But finally we were off to Zurich where the airline had booked me on a later flight to Warsaw. I decided that the uncertainty is just part of the fun, or at least that is what I decided only after I got on the plane and the uncertainty was over for the time being.
I feel that I am almost always lucky and the Warsaw airport was no exception. After the delays there were two big obstacles to me getting my rental car. First, since it was around 11:00pm, only two out of about eight rental car companies were still open. But you guessed it, the company that I had a reservation with was one of them. So, with a pounding heart and sweaty palms, I casually handed over my credit card. And lo and behold, no problem! My darling wife had resolved the issue and life was good again. Bless her heart.
So now it's about midnight and I'm driving in Poland, hungry, with absolutely no idea where I am or where I want to go. After a quick stop at a AM/PM style store for a hot dog, I found myself in a old neighborhood. I ended up taking a short walk. After returning to the car I found an instrumental version of "Shaft" playing on the radio. I don't know why but it struck me as odd. Finally I dug out a map and started south toward Krakow until I got tired. I pulled into a truck stop, snuggled up behind a big semi and go a few hours shut eye.
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