Operation Volcano: potential trip plan destroyer's threat is lifted!

I wasn't going to post about it because I felt like maybe there would be some bad karma but I feel a little better now...so... YAY for all the flights that are finally being opened again in Europe's airspace!!

Airport Tracking

I've been following that link for the past few days watching slowly as all of the red squares slowly turned to green. Priority is being given to people who have tickets for future flights, which I can't help but feel a little guilty about since I may make it to Frankfurt before someone who has been waiting days will. Hopefully the backlog of passengers will get cleared up sooner than later.

The thing that has bothered me the most about this has been reading all of the comments from people who have been angry at Europe airlines or Europe for how they handled this event. Or pissed in general that there were not more options for them to get home or travel internationally. It's a freaking natural event people, we can't control it! Lost revenue is not ideal for the airlines but flying through volcanic ash and risking the lives of people who are pushy and need to get home is not worth it! I do feel a lot of sympathy though for people who have been stranded and don't have the money to afford staying anywhere and need to make the airport their home. If my trip is delayed a few days so some families can make it home I will understand but, of course, I'll be a little bit disappointed.

I can't believe I leave in a week. I'm excited beyond belief as many of you have noticed from reading all of my blog posts about silly packing lists. I've been trying to keep myself busy! There are only a few more things I need to get before leaving and one is a pair of comfortable open toed sandals. Target makes a cute, affordable pair that I've worn for hours that also looks great with a dress but I'm leaning towards more functional (Teva's) than cute. I also need to really go through my wardrobe and figure out what is the most useful to bring. A pair of pants that fit me last month is a little tight now but would be perfect for the trip... I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to bring since I'm pretty sure walking around all day and eating less will have me dropping some weight. Just more girly things to consider.

I posted on the busabout forums to see if anyone else wants to share the apartment I've booked in Prague for a couple nights. There's been talk about having my best friend Erin fly over and meet me in Dresden than head to Prague but I'm not going to bank too much on that til it's confirmed. I'd love for her to be able to go though and she can fly free on the military flights - it's just a matter of how feasible it will be for her to fly in 2 weeks using their service.

I haven't made any reservations for things to do in any of the cities I'm staying at (besides accommodations) except for in Prague. I'd like to wait for locals to suggest places and go with other travelers, plus where is the fun talking about it all now before I'm even there?

I suppose Prague is the city I'm most excited about visiting. I'll be two blocks from the National Theater in Prague which I'm already enamored with. It's so gorgeous!







I reserved a ticket for Dvorak's Rusalka Opera which was a bit pricey (900 czech crowns = ~$50 USD). The opera is a Slavic mythological fairytale.

Prague is also known for its black-light shows so I found a theater that has a show called "Aspects of Alice" which is based off of Alice in Wonderland and has some great reviews.

So these are some fun things to look forward to! I read that the busabout tour also hands out Lonely Planet guidebooks for the cities we're going to, which is pretty sweet. At this point I'm just busting with energy and I'm feeling impatient. I need to make a list so I don't forget anything and also print out all of my travel plans/confirmation info for hostels, bus and train tickets!

Also, before I forget I'd like to announce that I got a camera so there will be some quality pictures :)
This past weekend I got to use it for a nice rock climbing adventure with some friends. We went to Broughton's Bluff which is really close to Portland. The rock is pretty greasy basalt and there are a lot of hard routes and not much sport climbing (which means you need to have trad gear to clip into the rock wall as there aren't many anchors for the routes). There aren't any pictures of me in this set but some great pictures of friends climbing.
Here is a link to my set on Flickr

Hopefully my next post I'll be on my way to Europe!

And PS, in case anyone was wondering, I got my $80 parking ticket reduced to $6! Yay!