OFF TO CZECH!
It was a tedious process but we managed to get everything we
needed into 1 large suitcase ….my Oakley Women suitcase has two zipper
compartments – one for me and one for Karel) AND our bike case (with has two
bikes inside but only one set of wheels. It was very important that we met Delta
airline weight requirements so we wouldn’t have any delays.
With this being our first trip flying international, we were
extra careful to follow all guidelines from the Delta website (I also printed
out everything in case I needed to show documentation that we met all
restrictions at the airport. We both had a carry-on bag and a personal item
(backpack) with our race day gear and sport nutrition.
Because Karel had to be extra creative with meeting the
weight requirements (70 lbs without an excess weight fee) of our bike case, we
only brought one set of wheels (Karel’s front wheel and disc wheel) and I will
get a loaner set of race wheels from one of Karel’s friends in Czech. Karel
also put his bike seat (w/ cages attached) and bike box (with his spare tire) in
our large suitcase so that saved some extra weight in the bike case. Lastly,
Karel had a cassette and some extra tools in our large suitcase which helped
with the weight of our bike case (which Karel managed to find a way to put both
our Speed Concepts inside).
Tri Bike Transport (TBT) is a great investment if you are
ever traveling to a race! We used them for IM Lake Placid last year and then I
used them for the IM World Championship last year – just drop off your bike at
the nearest TBT pick-up bike shop (with pedals removed) and then pick up your
bike at your race venue. When the race is over, turn back in your bike (pedals
removed) and you are good to go. Super easy and totally worth the price!
However, the TBT fee for an international race is around $800 per bike and
since I travel with my bike mechanic, the $150 one way Delta fee was totally
worth it (although there is always the concern of the bike not making it to the
overseas final destination).
On Sunday, after an early morning run (45 min for me, 7
miles for Karel) in Greenville, we double checked everything, said good bye to
our cats and fish (a friend of ours is staying at our place while we are away
and Campy is at his “camp” in Charlotte with a friend) and we were out the door
at 9am for our 2.5 drive to Atlanta International airport.
When purchasing our flight to Czech/Austria, I considered
the pro and cons and every single option available so that we could pay for the
most affordable and practical trip. This was not easy considering that we were
flying in peak season for traveling to Europe (and we purchased our tickets
about 3 months out for the flight) so I went with a flight from ATL (instead of
Greenville) which only had 1 layover in JFK, in route to Prague. A little less
than 11 hours total of flying time (2.5 hours to JFK, 8 hours to Prague).
It was only 13 months ago when we made our first trip to
Europe together, which also happened to be Karel’s first time home in over 12
years. This time around, we decided to make the trip even more exciting by
combing our travels with an Ironman race. Of course, with every destination
race comes unknowns when traveling so I tried to be as prepared as possible and
to give ourselves lots of extra time for the what if’s and oh-no’s.
When we arrived to the international wing of the ATL
airport, we parked in the hourly parking ($2 per hour) so that we could just
walk our rolling bike case and suitcase to the international check-in for
Delta. We arrived at 11:45am for our 3:10pm flight so we had plenty of time for
any delays. Since I checked in online the night before for me and Karel
(passport information) and notified Delta about our bike, we were able to
bypass the short line at check-in (although
it was only a few people), pay for our bike case, receive our tickets, get the
bike inspected in oversized baggage and return back to our car by 12:05pm. We
get our first bag free on Delta (each of us) but a special item (ex. bike) counts
as a bag so we only checked one piece of luggage for free and then used our
other free luggage as the bike case without incurring extra costs. The bike fee
is $150 since it is a special item. If
we each had a checked bag plus the bike we would have to pay an additional fee
for another piece of luggage. Always review your airline policies before
traveling to a race because the fees can add up quickly if you are not
prepared.
We reserved off-site parking at Double Tree hotel (just a
few miles away) for only $4/day which includes 24-hour security in a gated
parking lot. This was the first time we have done off-site parking instead of
economy parking with a shuttle and it worked out great to check in ahead of
time so that we didn’t have to worry about feeling rushed with a hotel shuttle.
The shuttle ran at quarter past and quarter til each hour so
we parked at 12:30pm and we were on the next shuttle (with our carry-ons) at
12:45pm.
It was a 15 min ride to the international wing because we
were dropped off at Domestic and then had to take a bus to the international wing.
We arrived around 1:15pm or so and got in line at Security. Because this was an
international security section only, this entire process ran very smoothly (I
also think not feeling rushed also helped with this stress-free process). By
1:40pm we were all set for our first of two flights.
I packed plenty of snacks for our travel day/night,
including PB&J sandwiches, fruit (banana, nectarine, peach, grapes, apple),
KIND bars, Clif bar KIT’s Organic, trail mix and chex mix w/ pretzels and trail
mix. Oh and dark chocolate too for Karel and I always love to finish a meal
with dark chocolate. We both also had an empty water bottle to take through
security and we kept filled throughout our travels at the purified water
fountains. Karel got a wrap at Mexican place for lunch in ATL and I had my
packed sandwich w/ fruit and nuts. On the way to the airport I had Greek yogurt
w/ fruit and cheerios for I knew that would be the only opportunity to enjoy my
daily dose of yogurt (unless I bought it at the airport).
We had a smooth flight to JFK, even though our first flight
had a 25 minute delay before we boarded. Thankfully, I picked a flight that had
just under 2 hours of a layover in JFK in the case that we had any delays or
needed to take the shuttle to the international wing in JFK. I also wanted to
make sure TSA had enough time to transfer our bike case to the next plane and a
short layover is very risky for moving an oversized, expensive piece of
luggage.
When we arrived to JFK, the wing we were in was incredibly
crowded but of course, everyone was gathering around every TV possible to watch
the soccer game so that was exciting to hear the cheers.
Luckily, we did not have to leave the wing we were in for the Prague gate was
just two doors down from where we arrived. SCORE!
The food options were a little limited in this part of the airport and since we
only had about 40 minutes until we had to board the Prague flight, Karel and I
decided on pizza and it was a good call – what a delicious piece of pizza! I
got spinach, mushroom and olive (I gave the olives to Karel for I’m not a fan
of the taste) and Karel got sausage and spinach. We didn’t need a big dinner
since we were getting dinner on the airplane but it had been over 4 hours since
we had a meal and we were tired of snacks.
The flight to Prague was on Delta but was operated by Czech Airlines so it was
fun to see Karel’s expression when he
heard so many people talking Czech on the plane. Karel’s is very use to talking
English since learning how to speak English in 2000 when he came to the US with
only a back pack and the pursuit of living the American Dream. Karel’s brain
worked extra hard last year when we traveled to Czech so I hope he is up to the
challenge again for translating for me for 2.5 weeks.
For both of our flights, I booked aisle seats for each of
us, next to each other so that we could get up as often as we wanted (to
stretch and use the bathroom) and a little more leg room if needed. I am super
envious of the first class seating w/ seats that can recline to beds!
Thankfully this was our last flight (8 hour flight to
Prague), scheduled to leave at 7:35pm and to arrive in Prague around 10:15am.
However, due to congestion on the runway we didn’t lift off until 8:40pm.
After a smooth take-off, Karel and I each watched a movie (I
watched Labor Day and Karel watched Captain Philips) and ate our complimentary
dinner (dairy vegetarian requested for me when I booked our flights – steamed
veggies with orzo, fruit, a roll, butter and cheese) and Karel got the chicken
and rice standard option (although he said it was too salty and he wished he
would have had the pasta option without chicken which he had last year. I guess
they serve similar food each year).
I started to get sleepy around 11pm, and with complimentary
eye masks and ear plugs, I was able to get a little sleep (on and off) til
around 4am. The time difference is 6 hours ahead in Czech. Karel also slept, although
a bit longer than me.
We watched a little TV while enjoying our complimentary morning snack around
8:30am which was 2:30am EST (granola bar and banana for me – it was the
vegetarian option and egg and cheese on an English muffin and banana for Karel.
Both with Orange Juice. I would have liked the egg and cheese sandwich but I
guess the vegetarian meal didn’t include that. Oh well, we were almost to Czech
and I was super excited to land!
We ended up arriving just a bit past 10:30am which wasn’t so
bad considering our hour delay on the runway. Karel was really excited to see
his family for it had been 13 months since he was last in Czech and this will
be the 2nd time he has returned home in the past 14 years.
The best thing about this pricey, once in a lifetime trip (in terms of saving us money) is all the
connections that Karel has. If you are ever traveling international, consider
any options that you have to save money for all the little things (that are
really important) add up – food, rental car, lodging, plane tickets, race fee,
bike shipping, luggage, etc).
Karel had a relative pick us up at the airport in Prague
(which was a 2 hour drive for him) and not only was that a nice gesture but he
also let us borrow his car for our time in Klagenfurt (4 hours away). This
saved us a lot of money for renting a car (or van) big enough for us two +
luggage + bike case would have been pricey. We could have flown into Vienna
(about 1:20 away from Karel’s home town in Znojmo) but it was several hundred
dollars more per ticket so again, I weighed all our options.
We made a quick stop at the market at a shopping center for
some lunch and I was SO excited for the large fresh bread selection that I feel
in love with last year when we were in Czech.
Just like last year, I was OUT (asleep) in the back seat of
the car for a good 2 hours until we arrived at Karel’s relatives home, for a
relaxing cup of coffee and of course, pastries. I am not a napper but that
flight really gets to me.
Karel enjoyed his stick-shift 40K drive to his hometown from
his relatives house and after getting his mom some beautiful flowers at the
grocery, we finally arrived in Karel’s home town of Znojmo, Czech Republic (The
Moravia area is just beautiful!).
Karel’s mom was so excited to see us and after lots of hugs
and kisses, it was time to eat!
In Karel’s home, his mom never watches the clock for meal/snack time. There is
always food and we NEVER go hungry. She uses local and fresh ingredients all
the time. We ate our meal around 4pm which include all fresh ingredients from
her garden (and the neighbors garden). I had vegetable, potato and egg soup and
Karel had the same but with chicken. Karel’s mom knows I am a 22 year lacto-ovo
vegetarian but many of the meals she prepares have the option to include meat
or not so it is nice that she doesn’t have to go out of her way for me. I just
love seeing her cook food for us, she prepares everything with love.
After our soup we had an egg, potato and onion casserole (with included ham for
Karel) and then apricots for dessert (from a neighbor’s tree).
And if that wasn’t enough, by 5:30pm we were enjoying coffee with red current
cake that Karel’s mom prepared for us with her own fresh red currents from her
garden. Karel said that this was one of his favorite treats when he was growing
up and he really enjoyed it in the summer when red currents were in season.
Because so many people grow their own produce, a lot of the meals are seasonal.
Fresh bread is purchased daily from the local grocery (Karel’s mom just walks
there, a few blocks away).
Around 6pm, we drove a mile or so down the road to Karel’s
dad’s house with our bike case still strapped to the roof of the car (Karel
said that’s how “we” do it here in Czech) so that Karel could assemble our bikes
in his dad’s basement “garage” (aka bike shop). Karel’s dad use to race bikes
up into his late 60’s but his body is starting to wear down on him but he still
loves bikes as much as Karel. His dad really enjoyed seeing Karel in action in
his basement. It was really special to see those two together.
We are incredibly lucky to have family and friends here in
Czech for it is so nice to have a home away from home.
Although traveling to another country (especially for a
race) can be overwhelming, stressful, time consuming, expensive and exhausting,
I am incredibly lucky that I can make these memories with Karel and enjoy these
amazing experiences in life.
I love learning about new countries especially when I can
embrace their culture, their lifestyle and their diet.
I absolutely love Czech and I am super excited to see what the rest of this
trip has in store for us! One more full day in Czech before we head to Klagenfurt
Austria for the Ironman! Thanks everyone
for following us along in our journey!
Good by Greenville....
