Shantyboat dreaming

OK - Tom found the other photos. A little paint, a little glue.....

Oh - this is NOT the one that was for sale! :-)

Owen's pet snail

I think the title says it all!

Day tripping with a GPS

It's mid-term break (the Brits squeeze 3 terms into a school year), so I am enjoying a very long weekend. We rounded up our friends Bruce and Connie and decided to rent a car for a couple of days and just travel about the countryside not far from Prague.

As you can see, there was a lot to choose from.....

Luckily, we had the foresite to rent a GPS along with the car.
These roads are not well marked!

Tom's newly renewed license did not make it to Prague yet, so I drove the entire time. Yes, even in the city across tram tracks and alongside buses. I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to return the car all in one piece, as it has been about 18 months since I have had the opportunity to drive.

Our first destination was Melnik, a small town that we like because it's pretty, it has a unique tea room, and there is a great antique market there. Of course there is also a large church with a bell tower you can climb, and a bone ossuary in the crypt.

View from the church bell tower: confluence of the Labe and Vlatava rivers.

There are three bells in the tower. You have to climb past them to get to the viewing point, and we scurried back down at about 5 minutes to noon, because we were afraid they might ring those bells at noon. They certainly did ring, for about 1/2 an hour, and we were glad we weren't in the tower then.

Pretty view - note the tower with the face.

The tower in the photo above houses a tea room/gallery. If you climb to the top up the steep staircases, the "upper room" has one table and a unique system for taking your order and serving your food. There is a dumbwaiter in the center, and you write down your order from the menu, send it down, and soon your food/drink is delivered back up.

Bruce and Connie inspecting the system...

Sending the order down...

This first day turned out to be all about food. One of Connie's Czech students (she teaches English to adults) had recommended a fun medieval-style pub that wasn't too far from Melnik, so off we went. Unfortunately, the GPS programmer (who was the one who was NOT driving the car) had a little bit of trouble plugging in our new destination so we were treated to several different ways to arrive back at Melnik. After lots of laughter at finding ourselves traveling in circles, we eventually made our way to the small town of Detenice.

As usual in these towns, there was a chateau/park to visit, but we decided to skip that and go straight to the pub. The serving staff were in period costumes and supposedly acted as medieval barkeeps did, harrassing the customers and fighting with each other. Many of the seats were rough-hewn benches with animal fleeces thrown over them, and most of the light was provided by candles. For those savvy enough to make reservations for later dining, this place offers a show featuring wenches dancing on the tables, sword/fire fights, fakirs, magicians, etc.

The interior...

We didn't stay for the show festivities, but Tom caught some of the performers preparing to enter.




On Day 2, we wandered south along the Vlatava River to Slapy. Tom had heard that there were houseboats there, so we decided to investigate.

In one spot, we parked near the river and walked for a way down a dirt path. We were admiring the views of the river and the greenery around us, and walked right past this little cottage without even seeing it. We spotted it on our way back.

Actually, I spotted this first and wondered why there was an outhouse in the middle of nowhere.

There is a large flood control dam in Slapy....

A random sundial someone built into the rocks....

We did find houseboats on the upper side of the dam, but Tom can't find the pictures he took of them. ?!? Might be on another camera we don't have at the moment. Too bad because one was for sale. Let's just say we're not running to the bank. They aren't exactly like houseboats in the US or even Amsterdam.

From Slapy, we stopped at Konopiste Castle. (this might be no. 5?) This castle's claim to fame is that it was owned last by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was married to a beautiful Czech lady. If you remember your history, their assasination in Sarajevo was the impetus for the start of World War 1. We toured the interior and walked about the grounds. It was well worth the stop.

I also learned something new.....

I didn't know peacocks could fly.

See him in the tree?

Tom's found his niche...

The castle...

Party on Dejvicka Ulice

When the Czechs throw a party, they don't mess around! On Friday morning when I went to school, the street in front of our building was empty of parked cars, and the street cleaners were hard at work. In the next block down, 3 trucks were busy removing the parked cars that had been left on the street despite the no-parking signs.

When I came home, tents and booths had been set up, and the stage had gone up across the street. The sound system was in place, and everything was ready for Saturday.

Once again the Czechs of Prague 6 celebrated their liberation day, May 8, with a street fair and military display. Although it was the Russian Army that actually reached Prague first, you wouldn't know that by the displays that were in place.



We wandered around on street level for a while sampling the ethnic food (don't laugh Chris, it was good!) and of course a beer or three, and then we retired to our terrace for the best seats for the musical performances.

The show opened with the Czech Armed Forces Band playing the Czech national anthem, followed by the Stars and Stripes Forever. Beautiful! Then they played some big band numbers that I have always loved, and even the Frank Sinatra song, My Way.

Note the American military vehicles on either side of the stage...

Throughout the afternoon and evening, there was a variety of performances, including a wonderful folk dance group known as Gaudeamus.

The festivities all ended at 9PM, and the sudden quiet was astounding! I rather missed the thumping bass from the rock bands that had been on stage in the evening.

The clean-up crew was just as diligent as the set-up folks were. The tear-down began right after the performances, and at midnight they were still dismantling the stage. Lots of clanking metal sounds echoed off the buildings as they packed everything up. Yes, just a tad annoying when trying to sleep! And this morning, we were up early despite it being a Sunday, as the street cleaners were back at work. I went out onto the terrace first thing and looked up and down the street, and not a trace of yesterday's party was left, except that no cars had yet filtered back to take up their spaces.

Nice!

American day in Plzen

I was never much interested in history in school, especially European history and the ins and outs of the two World Wars. However, living here in Prague has awakened an interest in the subject, as reminders of the wars are everywhere. It's helpful to learn about the history of the wars and occupations as it helps to understand the mindset of the people here.

There are many plaques on buildings in the residential areas of Prague, with names and a date of birth. The date of death is most often May 5, 1945. The short version of events associated with that date is that the American armed forces led by General George Patton had been
working their way through Czechoslovakia, liberating towns and villages that were under German occupation. The Russians were also involved in this effort. When General Patton reached Plzen on May 5, the Czechs in Prague assumed that he would soon come to liberate them, and they initiated a civil uprising. Unfortunately, General Patton was ordered not to go to Prague, but to allow the Russians to liberate that city. It took the Russians a few more days to reach Prague, and many Prague citizens lost their lives in the uprising that was successfully quelled by the German occupying force.

The people of Plzen (yes, that's the home of the Pilsner Urquell brewery ) were so thankful for their liberation that every year since they were freed from communist control they hold commemorative activities to honor the American military for their efforts.


We attended some of the festivities last Saturday, and it was a strange sight indeed to see the American flag flying next to the Czech flag on light poles and on all public buildings.



In addition to the food and beer vendors, there were several displays and "camps" set up to recreate the feeling of that era. The gentleman in the photo below, Andre, approached us when he heard us speaking English. He said, "You're not speaking Czech", and I said "You're not either!" He explained he was Dutch, and had gotten into ham radio as a hobby. Then he began to collect military radio equipment, and as he put it "Before you know it you have a car full of shit."

He lives just next to the area that was the drop zone for Operation Market Garden. He seemed to enjoy speaking English, and talked our ear off for many minutes. He was quite proud of his role in this encampment recreation as radio operator. His brother is a collector of military field telephone equipment, and the two of them spend a lot of time traveling throughout Europe setting up their displays.

Andre and the field telephone

A Marine flag...

The Americans left most of their military equipment at war's end, and the Czechs, being frugal and thankful people, stored the American vehicles and tanks throughout the Soviet occupation. Once free of communism, the military vehicles have been proudly displayed in May as a reminder of the liberation.

We assume Buffalo, NY....

We also jumped on a bus that took us out into the countryside to see several memorials that have been erected to honor those killed in battle.

This one is quite moving.