September 10, 2026

Happy Birthday to Oliver

Wednesday

Kansas City, Missouri USA – Praha, Czech Republic

Slept ok but was up and down a lot. It really doesn’t matter the sleep rhythm will be complete disturbed by changing seven time zones. I did finally get up just after 05:00. Showered, continued packing, organized things, and finally got ready to go to Messenger’s Coffee for the morning cappuccino and brioche. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain. Coffee and brioche are important, so I ordered an Uber. A twenty-minute wait, probably due to the rain.

Arrived at Messenger’s just before 07:15. Got a cappuccino and brioche, picked up a blueberry muffin for Mary, and opened the Uber for a ride back, as it was still raining. The app said only four minutes until it arrived. One of the issues, and there are so many, with the Uber app is pricing. Previously a ride to Messengers was $10 - $12, but because it is raining, it is closer to $20- $25. Yes, demand pricing is important but just feel one if getting taken advantage of.

Once back at the back at the AirB&B, woke Mary up and made her coffee. Heated up the blueberry muffin and prepared a plate for her. Then we spent the next hour and a half scurrying around getting everything packed. We were a little concerned about how long it was going to take to get an Uber. So, at 09:00 we opened the app and ordered an Uber XL. Said one was only four-minutes away.

We headed to the elevator and out the front door. To our surprise by the time we got out the front door the Uber was here. Then it was a forty-five minute ride to the airport. We arrived at the airport just before 10:00. Went to the assistance required check-in line, since we are traveling internationally you can’t use the automated machines even to print the luggage tags. Besides, we are traveling comfort-class so we only get one bag, and we each have two.

The good news is the gate agent comped our extra bag, and checked all fours bags all the way to Praha. We got our boarding passes. For some reason Mary didn’t even have TSA pre-check, and not only had TSA pre-check, but was also touchless. Mary used clear, and I walked though touchless. Touchless is amazing. Just walk right through, stand in one spot for a minute and then move on to the luggage belt. Touchless took less than five-minutes to clear security.

Mary and I met up on the other side of security and headed to the Delta lounge. Serra had previously said it was a great airport lounge. As we checked in to the lounge we inquired why Mary wasn’t TSA pre-check. Turns out her known traveler number was truncated by two digits. Why? Who knows? The agent fixed it. We then asked about TSA Pre-Check touchless. The agent had no idea how to to that.

In the lounge we found a place to sit. I got some eggs and sausage for breakfast. The lounge is really very nice. The best thing about it is that it isn’t overcrowded, like the United Lounge at SFO is too often. The food and drinks are nice. I filled my Yeti bottle with water and ice.

We talked a bit about what to do at Christmas. We looked into going to Guadalupe, specifically the island of Basse-Terre where “Death in Paradise” is filmed. It is a definite maybe. Fly into Pointe-à-Pitre on Guadeloupe. Need to do more research on where to stay.

Time to head to the gate. There wasn’t a long wait at the gate before we boarded. The plane is a Bombardier CRJ900. The seating is, comfort class anyway, four abreast. There is little or no overhead cargo space. Everyone was made to gate check their roller bags. This is the airplane one thinks of when envision a flying cigar tube. Long, narrow and packed to the gills.

While we have generally flown business or first class, we are trying something new.  Delta Comfort Extra. This is a short three-hour flight. One can endure most anything for thee-hours. Sleep was upon me even before the plane left the tarmac. Two hours had passed before I realized we were in the air.

We landed at JFK, New York, just a little after it had gone 16:00. We landed at gate A21 and were leaving from B32. Both the A & B gates are in Terminal 1, so we didn’t have to change terminals. As we entered the terminal and began to make our way to the B Gates one of the men driving one of the elongated gold carts asked if we needed a ride. We had more than an hour and a half to get to the next gate, but just to be sure I asked him how far it was. His description of the distance made it seem it was a long way to walk.

I always wondered who those old people were riding in the golf carts from one gate to another. Today, I got me answer – US. I don’t know exactly how far the two gates are apart, but we could have probably made it in the hour and a half until boarding time. On the other hand, taking the cart did allow us to use the restrooms, get a coffee, and relax a bit before boarding.

The flight to Parah (Prague) is also on Delta and in Comfort Extra. The plane is a Boeing 767-300. Eight seats abreast. Two along the bulkheads, and four in the middle. We are fortunate to have two on the side. We each have a backpack and a purse. We are very thankful we didn’t even attempt to bring on one of the small roller bags we use. There will never be sufficient overhead bin space for everyone. Of course, there was one lady who obviously had a roller bag, a medium duffel bag, a plastic bag filled with her duty-free shopping and a purse. She was pissed there wasn’t enough room for all of her things. Shame on her.

The flight left on-time at 18:45. They almost immediately served “dinner”. We had pre-ordered but they didn’t have our orders. We still ended up with our pre-ordered meals. Mine was a cheese ravioli. It was barely eatable. Mary had a chicken dish which was equally as bland. The food in Comfort Class isn’t close to business; although I didn’t actually see what they were serving in business class.

We both tried to get some sleep. It was difficult. Business class is also often difficult. We both slept a couple hours, on and off, off and on. Watched Shrek the movie. Tried to watch a couple other things, but nothing really fit my fancy.

An hour and a half before landing they turned on the lights and served us breakfast. A “ “Mediterranean” egg and cheese calzone. Absolutely no flavor whatsoever. This was served with a Greek yogurt which even after mixing it thoroughly still didn’t look right. One bit suggested that was sufficient.

We landed at 08:12 Friday morning in Praha.   

Buonanotte and Ciao,

Enrico and Maria