Tuesday, May 25th: Passport Gone

The last day in Prague we had one business meeting. It was with a company that makes busses. The only thing memorable about this trip was the tour guide who was a nutty old man. This was followed by lunch at a pizza place, where once again I got to drink more beers.

When we got back two groups decided to check out one of the main attractions in Prague, the giant castle on top of the hill. It was kind of a hassle to get there and involved a lot of walking but it was quite amazing. It offered several great photo ops, including an overlook of the entire city.

After the overlook some people made wishes in a fountain. They were very superstitious and were really concentrating on their wishes. A few minutes later two seedy looking people came by and stole all the wishes from the water. Sorry ladies, your wishes are not gonna come true.

When the group arrived back at the train station by the hotel, one of the students realized that her purse was gone. Not only was it gone, but inside it was her passport, ID's, credit cards, cash, and her whole life. Everyone's hearts dropped and we frantically tried to remember where this bag could be. Reviewing camera photos we determined that the purse must be at the scenic overlook.

So the girl and her friend got back on the train and the rest of us headed to the hotel to call some embassies! The girl was not a US citizen and was there on a spousal visa and we had no idea what was going to happen to her if she didn't find her passport.


Our group was on fire, as another person didn't have a Visa to get back into the United States. He had to leave Prague days earlier to get to Germany and figure out a way back to the US...

At the hotel we waited and counted the minutes, making assumptions about what happened and playing out worst case scenarios. The plan of the day pre castle was to go crazy for the final night, but we were all severely depressed. We waited and waited and waited and finally the girl returned purse in hand.

Also in hand were 3 shopping bags, and apparently while we sat there worrying she was out shopping! Grrrrrrrrrrr. But at least all was good, the mood brightened up, and we were ready to have a great final night on the town.