I was flying to Prague. Next to me in the airplane sat a young couple. We started to talk. They were from the US and travelling through Europe. They were enthusiastic and very happy with their journey. I asked them whether they had already been cheated or robbed. They looked at each other with a smile. Yes, they answered, we have.

They had also been to Moscow. They needed some roubles and down at the subway they saw a barred counter, above which it was written Bank, Exchange. They handed over 100 dollars and asked for roubles. Behind the window the man looked at the note and said that it looked like a counterfeit. He would check it shortly. He closed the window and was gone. The two of them waited. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, but nobody came. After 15 minutes and lots of knocking on the closed window, the man went to fetch the police. Then the three of them with the policeman continued knocking but the window remained closed and the 100 dollars were gone. They were upset but finally took it with humour. And then we better started talking about the beauties of Europe.