Back from Prague

To answer the question: Is Prague in the GPS? - Yes. Is the rest of the Czech Republic in the GPS? - Not so much. This made our trip down to Prague more entertaining than it already was - the kids were not happy to be back in the car again, and Tamara and I were pretty stressed out as it was.

What happened was that the main freeway running from Dresden to Usti Nad Labem (A17 in Germany) was not in the GPS. So the GPS kept telling us to exit the freeway and commonly showed us driving through lakes, and through the grass (green background instead of on a road). The A17 freeway looked new, but not that new. Once we got close to Prague and of course in Prague itself, the GPS performed beautifully.

The back-roading (according to the GPS) reminded me of my favorite parts of driving video games when I was a kid - going off the road when you are not supposed to. I used to see how long I could stay off road before the game died. I guess that was my first clue that I would someday go into software testing (my current role with my software consultancy). Unfortunately I'm testing telecom ordering systems and not video games, but . . . it's still testing.

Gas Price - Cheaper after 11:30 p.m.

Why is gas so much cheaper at night (usually 3-4 cents)? That is the 2nd question of the night. Gas was at an all time low tonight at 11:45 - at least an all time low for the last 6 weeks, 6 months, or let's say, as long as I can remember: 1.50 € per Liter.

This is a random phenomenon that I don't yet understand. Gasoline prices fluctuate wildly (up 3 cents, down 4 cents, etc.) throughout the day. But at night time the price generally tends to drop. Crazy, don't understand it, but tonight at 11:45 I took advantage of it.

By the way. Are you suffering in the good old US of A on gas prices? Well, check out the dollar cost of gasoline here in Germany (Holland was more expensive a week ago when I picked up Tamara from the Amsterdam airport).

Liters per Gallon = aprox. 4
1.50 € /liter * 4 = 6 €
6 € /gallon * 1.58 = $ 9.47

Ouch!

Recent prices have been at almost 1.60 € / liter (aprox. $10.10/gallon), so I was happy to see the 1.50 € per liter price

Is Prague in the GPS?

That is the question of the night. I printed out the Google directions just in case. We'll see tomorrow. The Czech Republic may belong to the Eastern Europe maps according to the navigation system and that means we'll hope that Google is good. It has been in the past.