Tuesday, December 11, 2012

In Preparation - Prague

So, the next destination on the menu is a New Year's sojourn to Prague and Berlin.

Because while XLDRs (Extreme Long-Distance Relationships) embody their fair share of suckage, the one good part is that when you do get to see one another, it usually involves international travel which is pretty much my most favorite thing ever.

When The Gentleman learned that he could take leave over New Years, we set to work figuring out what to do. Flights for him to come to the States are ridiculously expensive, and since I was just out in Abu Dhabi a month ago, we basically looked at a map and decided that Europe was pretty much smack in the middle.

Except Europe for New Year's Eve is blacked out. And if it's not blacked out, it's ridiculously expensive. 

Except for Prague.

For some reason, Marriott points translated to Prague, and for some reason flights for both of us were reasonable, and for some reason we put our finger on a map and landed on Prague, a city neither of us has ever been to. 

We were able to book a jazz cruise on the river in Prague for New Years Eve that includes champagne and dinner (score), and we have a long list of suggestions of things to do from friends. Apparently to go to Prague is to fall madly in love with it: I have yet to hear someone say anything slightly less than passionate about the city.

Since we were already in the neighborhood, I lobbied for and was granted two days in Berlin. Berlin is one of my favorite cities in the world - I studied abroad there twice, once in high school and once in college. I was there in 1999 and again in 2002, and I am eager to see it again, ten years later. In 1999, they were still in the stages of rebuilding. Between 1999 and 2002, it was as though a whole new city had sprung up. I can't imagine what it looks like now, and I can't wait.

And also, of course, to spend time with my boyfriend. We are two days short of five months into this long-distance thing. Part of me can't believe it's already been five months, and part of me wonders when time slowed down to a crawl. Leaving Abu Dhabi a month ago was incredibly hard. Like...cry in public hard. 

That was embarrassing.

Except I made friends with the German couple sitting beside me on the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Boston.

If you're reading this - thanks for the wine, and the tissues. And for sharing your personal experiences with a long-distance relationship. That flight home is a doozy, no?

Anyhoodle.

So, Christmas is two weeks away, and I leave on the 27th for Prague, and then on the 2nd for Berlin for a couple of days. I promise to take more food photos. 

Suggestions for what we should do? Leave a comment!

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