Trip's end. Calendar traps - When does a week begin?

Calendars. Watch out.
SMTWTFS. That is us.
MTWTFSS. That is them. Maybe some of them.

The months are often familiar-looking, but not the days. So here is PUSCPSN, for MTWTFSS.

This was from a tourist office in Mostar, Bosnia, so the days are probably in their language, not Croatian at all.

The point is that you may not know what day begins the week in the country where you are, and may get a day behind in your thinking for the time to leave.

For example, if you are leaving on a Wednesday, and you use your American calendar, a Wednesday will probably show as the fourth day in. Check it out on your little plastic wallet one.

On a foreign calendar, however, the Wednesday may be the third day in. But maybe you don't know the country's days of the week yet.

Upshot - Remember your flight out by the number-day, so you can glance at newspapers and check how much time you have left anywhere.

If you look for where Wednesday "ought" to be, you may suddenly smash heel of hand to forehead and think you are a day late for your flight.

Happened with us. Wednesday was yesterday. We were semi-far away in Croatia. So we zipped back to the airport, from Verojdin and its lovely castle that remain to us unexplored. Beeline back to the ticket counter. What day is this? Egg on face. See www.worldwidewords.com, or www.phrases.org/uk for that one. I like the egg-sucking dog explanation best.

Where to start the week is not a new issue. See, as a start on the issue, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Calendars/Poll2.

Fair warning.