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.