Trains in London

So, after shocking the whole of Gary's family with my big beard I found myself standing on the train platform heading into the city where I would switch lines and then head to the airport. There's something about being in train stations that makes my heart flutter. It's such a shame that so few people in the United States get to experience this feeling. The bigger, more obvious implication is that we dismantled our streetcars and discontinued affordable train travel options in favor of the automobile which is now destroying our way of life. Funny, that the invention which was once the universally accepted symbol of American freedom and independence is now a very large monkey on our backs!

In the distance I suddenly heard a whistle blowing and my heart began fluttering again...

Ramblings from the Rambler...

Here in my Cubist apartment facing the Vltava River I sit on my bed and gaze out on the river as tourist boats glide by with cameras flashing. The tour guide is explaining the history of the buildings in my neighborhood.

When we first moved here, I couldn't distinguish the flashing cameras from the spark of the tram wires. And now, though both are continuous, neither are noticeable. For me, the rumbling of a tram is the perfect background noise. It puts me right to sleep.

Well, after a perfectly sunny weekend spent hiking around the parks that surround Prague Castle and stopping (twice) at the brewery attached to the Monastery complex behind the castle...I feel it is time to gloat.

Sorry, but this is truly a dream being realized. I've wanted to do this (live in Europe) for so long and I'm having a great time! So, no real news. Just smiles from afar.....(is anybody reading this)?

Lednice-Valtice

The combined area of these two small villages, or 'willages' as my students would say, is protected by UNESCO. 17th Century dukes or princes from Liechtenstein owned vast land holdings in southern Moravia and the chateaus were built there as summer palaces.

We approached from the south and began to wind through the very rural village. We were not expecting much from the run-down homes on the outskirts and old men grimacing as they rode their bicycles past, but that scene changed abruptly as the road took a sharp right.

Suddenly elegant spires soared towards the heavens and trees abounded. The estate house in Lednice is incredible! It's surrounded by a massive English garden and greenhouse with the Dyje River quietly winding along beside it. The building had quite a collection of ornate sculpture jutting out from every possible space. As well as a handful of sculptures scattered throughout the gardens. From its 'backyard' you could see the late 1700's Turkish minaret across the lake in the distance some 7km away. I believe the minaret was given as a gift to the ruling Liechtensteiners.

Beckov Hrad

First, this place was a stark reminder of the struggle of Jews in the Diaspora.

Also, it was an awe-inspiring castle clinging to a wonderfully colored rock formation surrounded by rolling green hills at the base of the Lesser Carpathian mountain range near the Czech-Slovak border.

With respect to the first point, the Jewish cemetery adjoining the castle complex is merely the latest example of my growing awareness of the ongoing hatred of the Jews throughout Europe; particularly in the central European countries.

As the evidence piles up, I'm left feeling a tremendous amount of shame for the human race in general. This past weekend was full of cultural and natural beauty, but garnished with revolting reminders of the despicable deficiencies of the global human spirit. In the shadows of this magnificent castle was an appalling assemblage of annihilated gravestones and burials, some of which had actually been eerily exhumed and their contents removed or scattered about the surrounding area.

The gravestones that bore inscriptions in Hebrew were the most molested:

Some of the older less sophisticated headstones were just ripped right out of the ground:

As my stomach turned and the clouds covered then uncovered the sun sending random bursts of sunshine across the hills illuminating grisly scene after grisly scene, I awkwardly placed stones on top of the few intact graves to honor the deceased hoping to bring some element of peace to their tortured afterlives.

YMCA: "The color of a person's skin reveals only one thing. The color of a person's skin."

Bob Dylan: "How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?"

Trenčín

New adventures in Slovakia!

My Slovakian adventures were limited to Bratislava and the nearby castle of Devín prior to last weekend and my Lonely Planet (not a plug for those Brits!) described Trenčín as a town "with a distinctly sedate pace of living." Also said it had a bunch of Renaissance buildings as well as a massive castle looming over the town from jutting mountaintop.

The Romans were there ages ago and left their mark in the base of the rock, an inscription that survives today. Pretty wild!

The town only had a few churches. The main one, orange in color and big, was at the end of the main pedestrian walkway under the castle just inside the old gate. It really was a monster and it had two great onion-dome spires. The inside was remarkable too...despite the fact that I've now seen more churches than could ever hope to recount. It had a great deal of ornate artwork, sculpture and the like.

There was also this one abandoned synagogue...much more about that later!

We got there Friday at about 4pm. The sun was breaking the clouds and allowed for a quick round of photos before retreating for good for the evening. So, we dug into relatively good...albeit strange Mexican? food. Slovakian Mexican I guess! Then proceeded to hit the Irish? pub next door for a few beers.

The most famous Slovakian beer as near as I can tell is Zlatý Bažant, which this pub had for 27 Slovak Crowns. That's equal to $1 exactly. Not bad. They had Guiness for $2.57, but not a full pint.

Anyway, to my absolute surprise...I think my exact words were, "Holy @%&# sh*t.....you gotta be kidding me!" I saw this sign:

I mean in Trenčín, Slovakia of all places in the world to find a Goose sign!?! I couldn't believe it! I'd be surprised to see it in the States...Trenčín, Slovakia...talk about blown away!

So, the next day we got up, ate breakfast at the pension (fantastic omelettey-thingy with a bacon base and egg with cucumber), then climbed up the back of the mountain to the castle. We got rained on a bit, but not really wet.

This castle was about 75% rebuilt. However, the area that we accessed in the back was where the real magic hid. The walls were mostly original with the wooden posts jutting out (albeit broken posts) in many spots.The combination of being completely on our own surrounded by patches of snow with the imposing historic castle staring down at us was enough to make us giddy.We found the castle accessible only from the old town, however. So, after mincing about in the moat and on the walls we clamoured down to the old town and paid the fee to enter for real. The wind was absolutely ripping through our layers of clothes sending shivers through our bodies and a chill straight to the bone.

We ducked in the info center for hot chocolate. Then went to meet the guide at 12:15. The guide was playing hooky apparently, though, so we got barked at by a dog for 15 minutes and left. Next we went to Beckov Castle.....

My Class

Here's my current class:

We've got Milan, Jiří, Petra, Olga, Hana, Pavel, Petr,

Katka, and Klara. Bara and Magda were absent.

First Snow!!!

The forecast called for snow today as it had for months now. For some reason, we all felt it could happen this time. And lo and behold, it continues to fall as I write.

Immediately following school today, I walked home in a light flurry singing out loud as the snow gathered in my beard. I took the tram across town then walked the remaining mile down along the river.

The minute it started I danced a little jig on the inside, thoughtfully sparing the Czech people an exhibition of my undoubtedly sorry dance steps. I had a smile that, if my teeth were whiter, could have blinded people.

I had a late class today too from 5-6:30 teaching a Russian woman Business English and by the time I left the snow had begun to stick quite nicely and accumulate as well.

After dinner we took a walk along the river and then up towards the Metro to a little restaurant for a drink. Here are some pictures I took in the last hour.

This is the riverfront across from our flat:

Here's our local pub, which is also the Vltava River Museum:

I love these Škoda's...what can I say?

Hockey Time!

So, G was way on top of her game and she scored two tickets to the cross-town death match between Sparta and Slavia. These are Prague's two biggest teams. Loaded with young talent, these guys draw a vicious and rabid crowd every time they meet. Hockey is, after all, the Czech's favorite sport.

We had the most expensive tickets at 160 Crowns (8$) and we were right in the middle of the middle deck. Perfect view of the whole scene. To our right sat the outnumbered Slavia fans banging their drums, yelling and popping balloons. To our left the home team crazies lead the chanting for the rest of the Sparta fans.

Speaking of Sparta fans, they were clearly the dominant group in the joint. Slavia had handfuls of supporters scattered throughout, but they seemed to be precariously perched among the most unruly Spartans. I think I saw more fights and agression from the Sparta fans than the players. Nice one!

The game was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Prague 7 - Holešovice, which is Sparta's home turf. A fair sized place, they had sausage and beer stands galore. As the beer was 22 Crowns I had four. Again, nice one!


The arena was PACKED! Every intermission the place emptied while people ran to the toilets and beer stands. I made my runs 3 minutes before each intermission and never waited in line once. These folks weren't gonna miss one second of play. It was a good game, but the home turf boys lost this match by 1 goal in the final minutes with the score 4-3 Slavia.

Only in the Czech Republic would the Zamboni be replaced by.....The golden girls of hockey?

Prague

Just in case anyone was thinking I had lost interest in MY city or been overlooking it, here are some photos from Sunday that will quickly remind any and all of you that Prague is now, has been for centuries and will continue to be one the most beautiful cities in the world.

Here's St. Vitus and the outer castle walls sloping down into the moat:

This wicked little pension is on one of the oldest streets in Prague below the castle on the western side. There was noone around:

Škoda's are pretty wicked:

A street scene in Mala Strana near St. Mikuláš Cathedral:

Trojský Zámek

This was apparently a designated Baroque weekend as we decided to go to this 17-century palace out near the zoo today. It is now home to a collection of 19th-century Czech art, but stands as one of the greatest examples of Baroque architecture in the Czech Republic. It also happens to be one of the oldest.

The home itself was not open, but the gardens and grounds were. It backs up to the lightly flowing Vltava River and has acres of gardens surrounding it. The staircase that comes cascading down from the back of the house is nothing short of spectacular. It is adorned by a dozen or more statues and looks like the most original part of the home.
The fountain in the middle of the back gardens is nice too, but the staircase was definitely the highlight of the area.

Břevnovský Klášter

This place is just west of central Prague. It's still in the greater Prague area (Praha 6) and is accessible by tram. In fact, the tram you take to get here passes underneath the castle then winds along around the backside of the castle complex yielding unparalleled views of St. Vitus and the rest.

Anyway, the tram climbed up into the suburban hills and crept slowly away from the buzz of the city center until this monastery emerged with a bang from the trees and Communist block houses.

It is over 1000 years old (founded in 993) and absolutely massive. It's surrounded by orchards, fields and parks in a very lovely setting. It's most recent reconstruction was during the 18th century, therefore, the buildings are Baroque.

The hills behind the complex make a natural enclosure and many ruined walls, buildings and stairwells adorn them.

The buildings were apparently occupied by the Nazis during the war, but retain much of their original character. The area doesn't seem to have suffered much more than an occupation at the hands of the Germans, no real damage.