Home again!

Yesterday morning we woke up to a snow-covered Prague. It was beautiful. The taxi arrived early (6:45 am) and we were ready. As Plan B, Gloria had thoughtfully purchased one-day tram tickets for us so if the taxi didn't show we could take the tram to City Center and catch a Taxi to the airport. We were plenty early for our plane. When through security (1st time) and boarded the plane before 11am and then waited while the plane was de-iced before take-off. Landed in London and went through security again (2nd time). Phylis and I headed for a restroom. When we came out, I noticed that she was trailing toilet tissue on her left shoe. She couldn't get it detached. Then I tried. By this time, we came into Chuck's view. We were his source of entertainment and frustration---that he couldn't get to his camera because he was loaded down with our coats and backpacks! Before we boarded the plane, we went through a 'secondary security search' - they hand searched all carry-ons and patted everyone down (3rd time). Half (approximately) the passengers were Indians who were employed by a banking company out of Milwaukee. They were on the way to a meeting there. Now we know who answers the customer service calls! Arrived in Chicago, went through customs, and out the International Terminal door to catch the bus to Rockford --all with five minutes to spare or we would have waited another hour. We were home by 9:30pm. Phylis stayed over so she could go to Crystal Lake this morning and the birthday party for Henry and Julian who turn 7 tomorrow. We love to travel, but it is always great to be home!
LAST MINUTE OBSERVATIONS FROM CHUCK----
1. Prague is a wonderful old European city with a lot of history. Despite going through some awful times in WWII with the mass deportation and execution of the Jews, the city itself came out of the war unscathed which is quite unusual for European cities.
2. It is interesting to note the architecture of old Prague (before 1940, city buildings were very ornate and beautiful), communist Prague (gray concrete cube shaped buildings with little imagination), and the post communist buildings since roughly 1990 (more modern glass and stone buildings which are just coming about).
3. The countryside looks similar to many areas of the Midwest with good soils and rolling hills.
The Czech farmers manage their wooded acres very well---trees are thinned, trimmed, and grown for firewood, posts, lumber etc. Farmers all live in villages rather than individual farmsteads.
4. Czech beer is excellent and appreciated there. Czechs consume enough beer for every adult to drink 84 gallon per year!
5. We don't want to walk on any more cobblestones for a while.

The last day in Prague

Today was the day to drag out the suitcase and start packing. I didn't feel very good so didn't go with Chuck and Phylis who took the tram downtown. They did some shopping and met Gloria for dinner. Thanks to Pepto Bismal and Lomotil I am feeling better. Gloria came back here to say good byes. There were several little snow squalls. More random thoughts. 1. There are few bicycles on the streets. N0t alot of cars either. Have never seen a traffic jam. Public transportation is the way to go. Also cars stop for you in a crosswalk. We have never had difficult crossing the streets. 2. Old Prague is beautiful. New Prague is more utilitarian and not so beautiful.
This has been a wonderful experience. However, we are ready for soft Charmin (me), his own bed (CA), her own car (PA) . We will miss the wonderful bread, someone to cook for us, and adventurous travel!

Shopping and the Philharmonic

Today was a little nippy so we all layered up with all the clothes we had. Had our hats on and hoods up on jackets. We started late because we knew that we would be out late tonight. After noon we took the tram downtown. Did some souvenir shopping and looked for food. We had planned to have another rulicke (long weiner in a tubular bun) but no vendors were to be found. Ended up at a Italian restaurant where we enjoyed pizza and calazone. The restaurant was down a long flight of stairs. There were open flame lamps on the table and one exit out ===The U. S. fire inspectors would go nuts. Decided to go sightseeing via the trams which we did. When we got off the tram we were trying to figure out how to get to the concert hall area. As we studied our map a nice English speaking young woman came up and asked if we needed help. It turned out that the Rudolfinum, a large well-lighted concert hall with a green copper roof built in 1876, was right across the river. We could see it from where we stood. All we had to do was jump on the next tram and get off at the next stop which we did. Had a cup of coffee and dessert at a coffee shop. Desserts here are very attractive but far less sweet than at home. Headed for the Rudolfinum and the concert. Gloria had purchased tickets for us in advance --9th row and center- perfect. The Czech Philharmonic played a concert of Martinu (a double concerto for two stringed orchestras), Dvorak (The Suite in A Major), and Bartok (A concerto). The Dvorak Hall is supposed to have the best accoustics in Europe. It was much smaller ( probably about 1100 seats) than we anticipated but very elaborate. Very comfortable seats with plenty of leg room. It was a wonderful music experience. Collected our coats, hopped the metro, then the tram and up the hill. We were home in about 50 minutes. Tomorrow is our last day here.

More adventures

This morning we ventured out on our own. Took the tram to the first stop and did some shopping at the Interspar---a local three-story shopping center. Found an ATM outside of a bank located on the lower level. It felt secure. We explored a large grocery store where we admired the wonderful supply of baked goods. It was somewhat like a Walmart in that it had groceries and lots of other non-grocery items. Also enjoyed a cup of McDonald's coffee. Back on the tram and carried our purchases up the hill. Put our feet up and had a snack while we waited for Gloria. This afternoon we explored New Town. St. Wenselas Square is the centerpiece of New Town with a huge statue of St. Wenselas on a horse. Later we were walking through a palace and there in the intercourtyard was another statue. This time the horse was upside down and St. Wenselas was astride the underside of the dead horse! Gloria showed us an ice cream shoppe that had been beautifully restored--crystal chandeliers, ornate ceilings, marble floors, etc. Gloria ordered a scoop of ice cream for each of us and Chuck paid. We picked up our dishes of ice cream and sat down. The waitress came over and plopped down an elaborate sundae. Turned out that Gloria had inadvertenly ordered a sundae in addition to our four dishes. Gloria is taking Czech language classes and has for several years. Czech is a difficult language, hard to understand and impossible to read. We had a good laugh and then split and enjoyed the sundae! Next we visited the Central Post Office. It is an ornate building where everyone takes a number when they walk in the door and then sit on the benches (arranged like pews) until their number is called. Phylis and I started to take pictures. All of a sudden an official started yelling " No Photos." Then he demanded that we delete any pictures that we had taken. He wanted to show us the sign that said we couldn't take pictures. Oh well. We then visited a 'communist' department store. It is really a store of the old style --much like the US department stores in the 40's and 50's. Then we set out to find a Pivovarsky Dum, a beer hall. A few wrong turns, but we did find it. It was quite modern, light and clean. All kinds of bottled beer lined the walls. Chuck consulted the fellow sitting at our table and asked him what kind of beer to order. We ended up with small, light beers on tap. Even Phylis had a beer. Also sausages, olives, beer cheese, and rye bread. Later we headed home. The metro and tram were body-to-body. Ramdom thoughts. 1. Lots of dogs. Many are not on leashes, but do not seem to be ferral. We did see a paper bag dispenser on a pole downtown. The sketch on the bags made it obvious what was to be put in the bag! Phylis took a bag for 'Bama. 2. Most of the young women wear tight jeans with sneakers or boots with high heels. 3. Very little English is spoken by the people in the stores or restaurants. We have overheard very little when out in public. Stay tuned.

3/2 posting from PV

Well, today it's my turn while Stella takes the day off from blogging and Chuck continues to "coach" from the sidelines. Today we took another bus tour--to Karlovy Vary. This is a spa town with mineral springs and where European royalty took the waters, got cured, and paraded on the promenade. Very interesting. We all tasted the mineral water and decided we didn't need any more cure! It is still a very popular resort area and was pleasantly slow in this off season. The weather was okay, pretty sunny, not very windy but also not very warm. We enjoyed the 2-hour bus ride west of Prague and were so close to Germany that we could see the border. We saw a large brewery (there are quite a few in Czech Republic) and lots of hops trellises. We noticed a lot of winter wheat and our guide said they also raise lots of potatoes and barley in that area. A lot of the small villages seem to still be in disrepair from WWII. We surmise they are mostly farmers living there as we never see a "farmstead." We also saw several bunkers left over from the war.

Gloria is at her language class tonight so we came back to our penzion after the bus trip. I peeled oranges, Stella is now washing the dishes (another adventure!) and Chuck is pouring wine and continuing to "coach." Stay turned for tomorrow's chapter! --pv & c & s

Touring the Jewish Quarter

As Chuck donned his freshly handwashed undershirt, he commented, "This feels like something washed in the country formerly called Czechoslavakia." --meaning rough and stiff. In the US we take a lot for granted: washers, driers, lots of hot water, lots of space. Travel gives one perspective. We took the tram/metro to the Jewish Quarter where 120,000 Jews lived in 1939. Just 10,000 survived the Holocaust to see the liberation in 1945. Today approximately 2,000 Jews remain in Prague. The ticket allowed us access to three synagogues, the ceremonial hall,and the Old Jewish cemetery. In the cemetery all the stones were at precarious angles because there were several layers (down through the years) of burials under the stones. There were displays of family heirlooms and treasurers, burial garb, and explanations of rituals and religion. The walls of the ceremonial hall were covered with the names of those who were never seen again. They were listed by families with dates of birth and last date seen. It was quite haunting. We spent about three hours there. We called Gloria and told her where we were. Somehow we got our signals crossed and spent an hour and a half trying to find each other. Wish we had pedometers on. Ate lunch at a pub . Shopped for souvenirs.

Sunday in the City

Today started slowly. We needed to get rested up. Phylis had room service (Chuck and myself) bring her breakfast and coffee. After Gloria came over we started exploring her neighborhood.
She lives in a panelec---the name given those apartment buildings built by the Communist. They were called panelec because the walls are made with plastic panels. HGTV's International House Hunters had a show recently that showed the panelec apartments. They stand 4 to 16 stories tall with elevators. Each apartment has a small galley kitchen, a WC (small room with toilet only), bathroom with sink and shower/tub, bedrooms, living room. Most apartments have balconies ---nice to sit on, but essential for clothes drying. Most apartments have a small washer, but never a dryer. About 85% of the citizens live in a panelec. They are set up in communities which have their own grocery store, school, playground, etc. During the Communist years they were all painted grey. Now some of the buildings are painted different colors or have designs painted on them. The individual homes are constructed of reinforced concrete blocks and finished with stucco. They are painted a variety of colors---cream, yellow, gold, etc. We also visited a shopping center near there for coffee and carbs! Although we never hear English spoken, McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, KFC are present.
The weather was in the 40's but grey and with a bit of a breeze. Went downtown and scouted out where we are going tomorrow. Ate at a quaint French creperie. It was below ground level and located in a section that has quite a few French residents. We each had crepes: blue cheese and bacon, egg and cheese, spinach and cheese, and blue cheese and ham. We had cider to drink and a bowl of olives to nibble on. Total bill was $25 for dinner for 4. On the way home we saw people coming home from skiing in the mountains. Today we were on the bus 3 times, the metro 3 times and the tram 5 times.