You Know What’s Scary? Exhaustion
I just heard on the radio that being exhausted is as dangerous as being drunk. I believe it.
This is a journal entry that was written a few months back after arriving in Prague.
I’m trying to write this while I’m still a bit tired – while I can still feel at least some of the fog of the last few days. I want to explain to our older selves how mad-making it is to be exhausted, how the charm of Prague has tested our initial resolve to dislike it and how the ying and yang of life led us from being about as tired as we’ve ever been to, quite possibly, the best non-home bed we’ve ever landed in.
A couple-day stopover in Seattle on our way to Prague from Hawaii allowed us to power through a lot of work in order to get semi-caught-up before jumping on Delta’s uber-popular Seattle to Amsterdam run (on our way to the Czech Republic). Our stopover also presented the opportunity for us to overextend ourselves in an effort to tie up a lot of loose ends.
Already pooped after D.C. and Hawaii, we got only 4-ish hours of sleep for a couple of nights – not cool in the midst of some heavy travel. So, we headed off to board our red-eye flight exhausted. At the Seattle airport, a group of women, talking excitedly as they prepared to jet off to Paris, sounded like nails on a chalk board. That completely mis-calibrated annoyance should have been my first clue.
Energy-less, we were oddly happy to see the inhospitable place where we could be still for ten straight hours – our tight, nondescript coach class seats. Tiny pillow, bagged blanket, seat belt crossed on top. Thankfully, we snagged bulkhead seats and were able to revel in limitless legroom (and the occasional peek into the activities up in First Class). But the flight brought no comfort, no sense of rejuvenation. In fact, neither of us slept a wink. There was a constant ruckus in the galley, not to mention the regular bing – bing – bing from passengers hitting the call button.
Then, in the middle of the night, an eager 20-something thought she’d brazenly take the opportunity to conduct a ceaseless informational interview with the attendant in the jump-seat located at our toes. “So, do you like flying?” we overheard, as the airline-employee-to-be launched into her questions.
In Amsterdam, we likely could have slept – even leaning against a wall. The problem? We had to wait several hours for our connecting flight. We knew that if – at this juncture – we tried to nap, we would have woken up six months later with two computers missing. It wasn’t good enough to simply drink coffee; we had to do it while walking. The caffeine was both helpful and a big mistake. It threw me into sort of a psychedelic spiral. My mind was ready to finish my taxes, but my body still cried out for rest. These eyes tell it all.
On the quick connector flight to Prague, my head bobbed so much that I’m surprised it didn’t lead to an injury. Out the plane’s window upon decent, we saw the region’s villages and felt as though we are landing in 1512. Was this a dream? Winter-beaten branches stretched to the blue sky and looked to be mere days away from breaking into a showcase of color.
Next, we were at baggage claim – just 2 bags and a quick trip to our hotel away from sleep. We pondered whether other passengers thought we might be drunk. They didn’t know what the last several days had been like. Why wouldn’t they think the stumbling, the eye-rubbing and the poorly muffled groans were more than sleep deprivation.
At the busy central metro station, we flew off the train with hundreds of other people. It was so crowded that we huddled by a concrete column to let the crowd pass. I wondered how out-of-it we must have looked. In the distance, I saw two police officers winding through the barrage of metro-exiters. Through tired eyes, we smiled at each other and remarked how in need of help we must have appeared.
But we weren’t getting help. Instead (we would later learn) we had been targeted by the metro police as tourists and would have to pay the price for one of their “random” compliance searches. Things turned sour fast. We had tickets, so we pleaded for an explanation. “We don’t understand,” we say over and over. What did we do wrong? They, in turn, are not very good-cop-like “What… You don’t understand English?” they said. They told us to shut up and pay or they’d use their authority to increase the already ridiculous fine 10 times over.
Hours later, on the walk up to the hotel after finishing up with the police, we were fuming. Irate + exhausted = not a good combination. As if the exhaustion alone wasn’t rough enough.
When we arrived at our little hotel and plopped down in the check-in chairs, I could feel that rest was only minutes away. The chill vibe of the hotel was just what we needed and was a welcome reflection of the minimalist aesthetic we love.
However, because our police encounter gave us an adrenaline rush, we couldn’t come down and decided to walk around town for a bit in an effort to decompress and “get on Prague time.” Good thing we didn’t bring anything valuable on the walk. I would have given my camera away had someone asked. We floated around the streets, intermittently rambling about how – although not bad – Prague was looking much different than we expected. That’s ok though; we knew we’d figure it out. That’s why we love travel.
Back in our room, the most tired we’ve ever been, we were greeted and pleasantly surprised by what’s believed to be the best bed in the world – made by Hastens in Sweden. We crawled in, hoping that we’d soon forget the rough corners and grainy context that shaped the last few days.
In that moment, though, we just needed sleep.
UPDATE: See the comments section for details on how to avoid a similar run in with Prague’s metro police.
Excellent post – all stories about exhaustion should culminate in a big fluffy bed
Wouldn’t THAT be nice!
Oh, I so know that feeling of utter exhaustion. For me it tends to manifest itself in sleep deprived confusion and an upset tummy where the only solution is to get horizontal as fast as possible. It’s not pretty and it seems to hit me more and more lately (harder to bounce back as we age, no?) because I’m one of those people who cannot sleep sitting up.
Did you ever detail out what happened with the Police in Prague, how you handled it or how future travelers can avoid the same fate?
Good question, Kristina. Since this started out as a journal entry, it doesn’t include much about the police situation. Here are some more details…
The whole thing was actually a big deal during our visit, as we were determined to figure out how/why Prague (police) could be so tourist unfriendly. What we learned – from a back and forth with the tourist bureau (and others) – didn’t make us feel any better. A couple big take-aways…
1) in Prague you have to have a ticket AND machine validate it. We had the ticket but it was not validated. This is because we bought the ticket at the airport (where the need to validate the ticket is not make clear).
2) The real problem is that we – and other tourists – were targeted by the police. They came straight for us (through masses of people). Because we had tickets and were clearly tourists it was, of course, clear that we had made an honest mistake by not validating them. They didn’t care. We fought back pretty hard because, even in our intense exhaustion induced fog, we knew we had been targeted. You should have heard the things they said to us. Not cool.
Bottom line for tourists… When you visit Prague and use the metro 1) purchase a ticket and 2) validate it. And, if you’d like, do us a favor and 3) give the metro police a dirty look for us.
I love this post! “Miscalibrated annoyance” is my choice for best phrase of the year–very funny. Thanks and stay happy, Nancy
My brain was being very mean to that group of women in that moment. They were all so rested… and happy… and heading to Paris…
Prague is known for being a place where everyone, even the police, will cheat you. I’m sorry this happened to you. Were these “police” in uniform? I’ve been asked to show my ticket before, and I just pushed past the guy and said F off. Usually works.
At least the bed worked out.
Yes… we later learned that in our determination to have the situation made right. Even locals (heck, even our hotel at check in) told us that metro police are tough on tourists.
And they were in fact official police which is why the situation became a very long and difficult one. We demanded to see their identification, wrote down the details, etc. etc.
I’ve been there before – i feel your pain through this post!!! yikes!!
Thanks, Jen – We wanted to post this simply because exhaustion is often such a big part of travel but not often talked about.
all the worse when you have to deal with that sort of crap when you’re half-dead. sorry to hear these stories about prague too, its always been a place i have wanted to visit.
And you should have seen us with those police. We were a hot mess because of the exhaustion but determined to not accept the fine (and especially the treatment) without a fight. It was a scene that unfolded around hundreds of people passing through the metro station.
Exhaustion is a terrible feeling. I know that when I hit that point, I must find a way to sleep…. and for a long time, not just a nap. It took me 3 days of travel to get from Quito, Ecuador to Nicaragua. When I finally arrived at my hostel, I went to bed before the sun went down and didn’t wake up for 12 hours! I felt great the next day.
12 hours! That’s great.
The worst of it, for us, was probably being at the Amsterdam airport – too scared to sleep but SO messed up physically from the exhaustion. #NotPretty
We just arrived in Prague and had such a hard time figuring out the metro system… and we weren’t even that tired! It’s just way confusing and there isn’t really a lot of clear signage… or people willing to help. If we hadn’t just come from Berlin (where you also have to validate your ticket) I would have had no idea that was required.
And I just assume it would be understood as an honest mistake, you know? Prague’s police aren’t doing the city any favors by alienating tourists. Sheesh.
On the plus side, the city is very pretty.
No joke about alienating tourists. The fine came to over $100 for both of us. Seriously, it was a scene. The police escorted us to the bank machine.
It’s important to repeat that our big (really only) issue is that we were targeted and that we were treated horribly. Upon having it explained to us, we easily accepted that we should have had the tickets validated.
Oh how I hate having to deal with metro police! Budapest metro tickets need to be validated to. They actually have police standing there which is also very nerve wracking. We had to pay a fine in Paris when my husband couldn’t produce his ticket when the other 3 of us could. Come on, 3 would buy and 1 wouldn’t. Left a bad taste in his mouth!
You would imagine the police would take a little pity, but instead I think we look like big dollar signs.
Ahhh EXHAUSTION is DEADLY… I know the feeling… Some times it gets so bad… you don’t even know how to recover. About the police…oh man that must have been scary… cus in Prague the police looked so scary… and then it’s a language that just sounds rough.
Jaime, you crack me up.
When we connect I’ll do my Czech / English impersonation. It’s pretty rough.
Asking a flight attendant if she likes to fly is like asking a drag queen if she likes to [lip] sing.
And if you are flying Southwest, the flight attendant might just be a drag queen.
It’s funny I’m reading this post now considering Scott and I have been talking about this very thing. I just told Scott that we are no longer allowed to make big decisions when we are exhausted. We are always extremely emotional and when I look back, the thing I was emotional about doesn’t even seem like a big deal anymore. I can’t imagine having to deal with the police in that condition! I would probably start bawling.
Such a good point Christy. Having a “no big decisions when exhausted” rule is very wise.
Not tears over the police – not that either of us are “above” tears. Interestingly, we were so surprised and then enraged by our police interaction that the real emotion of it didn’t hit us until we were able to take a breath.
However, prior to our NVR life, I would find myself so exhausted from work that Kent would say something totally innocuous and I would break into tears. That is a horrible feeling and one I am glad to say I have not had in a long time.
I guess we don’t really need scientific studies to tell us that your brains just works differently when we are exhausted. Tearful reactions and ridiculous arguments are proof enough.
Well the benefit of awful situations is a good story later.
Exhaustion can also be used as a free drunk, so remember that. You can harness the power of exhaustion and let your inhibitions down… then you just may surprise yourself in a new creative fashion…
True and true. I suppose it could have been worse (better). We could have ended up in a Tijuana prison.
I’ve been exhausted like this before and it’s a weird feeling. Sure, you want to sleep but I catch myself actually replaying the thoughts I have and how little they make sense. I shake my head and say to myself silently “yep, I’m exhausted.”
It’s actually good to recognize that because it can keep you from making some dumb decisions. If you know you are tired and recognize it, you are already wary of…well…yourself.
It’s so easy to get mad, frustrated, and over the top emotional in a variety of ways. Being exhausted can make for some great stories, but not great experiences or memories.
Erratic behavior and dramatic mood swings are definitely a side effect. That’s why I think Christy and Scott’s rule to make no big decisions when they are exhausted is a very good idea.
I think you left out the last few sentences. “Surprised we checked our clocks when we woke, and….”
Interestingly enough, our sleep schedule is so regulated when we are not traveling, that we didn’t sleep for days. Given how tired we were, no one was more surprised than us.
I had a similar experience in Prague. I bought a ticket and validated it, but I accidentally purchased the wrong ticket. I was fined around $20 or so US. I had been living in Germany and knew that train compliance is something that is often checked. It makes me careful of double checking my ticket for trains now.
As are we. Grrrr.
Sometimes when I come home from teaching kindergarten I am so tired I can barely think. I have a hard time speaking.
Seriously. I feel I am inapt to make decisions after 4pm. Is that fair to say?
I am glad it all worked out for you in the end. Hope you both are doing great!
Happy travels!
There is “international travel” tired and “teaching little kids” tired. Suffice it to say, you are bona fide hero.
Oh, what a great way to finally get some rest — in the best bed in the world in a great place like Prague! I know that scary exhaustion thing you’re talking about — been there! It’s kind of surreal.
I’m started to get tired just reading this post. But my rage at the Prague pigs woke my up pretty quickly.