On our foreign travels we seem to create some sort of international incident on an almost daily basis. This is generally quite inadvertent and as a rule, we have no idea what we’ve done to create the situation. In Warsaw the other day we’d no sooner boarded a bus than a lady began speaking and gesturing to me in a quite emphatic manner and since my Polish is pretty much limited to pivo (beer) and Dziekuje (thank you) I was unsure of what she was trying to point out. I wasn’t sitting in a handicap seat; I wasn’t even sitting and I don’t think I’d bumped or stepped on anyone. As the doors were closing, she quickly exited the bus leaving me to wonder about my assumed transgression.
In Krakow on Monday as we approached a bus stop a lady barked at Laurel for a few seconds and then stomped off. Laurel interpreted the lady’s words as “that sure is a handsome guy you’re with.” I thought perhaps her meaning might be “not much of a bulge for a tall guy.”
By far the best incident thus far on this trip happened yesterday while changing trains in the tiny Polish town of Golkowice. While I waited on the platform with our bags, Laurel went to use the WC in the station. She was gone longer than I’d expected and when she returned I soon found out what had transpired. We’d forgotten that in Poland it’s common for toilets to be attended and non-gratis. I was carrying all the Zlotys and upon her exiting the stall she was greeted by a man who grabbed her arm and was obviously requesting compensation for the use of his reportedly shabby, soiled facility. She displayed the insides of her empty pockets which set off a litany of words probably aren’t found in Polish text books.
There does seem to be a transportation theme in many, but certainly not all of our mishaps. One of my favorites from several years back was getting yelled at by a Paris Metro ticket vendor for buying a 5 franc billet with a 100 franc note. The bill was all I had and had if I’d had coins I would have used the damn machine!
As far as I know, we haven’t made any real jackass moves today, but the day is young. As I write this we,re on the Czech SuperCity Pendolino Express train gliding from Ostrava to Prague. The steward just brought us another Gambrinus Czech beer and the terrain is becoming more mountainous and dotted with cabins and chalets. Travel on!