The Prague Blog

Another Eastern European capital...check! Prague was great. It is, of course, filled with beautiful gothic and baroque churches and fantastic museums. While those do not get old to visit in person, blogging about them can. Let's focus instead on hockey and beer!

A Jumbo Latte

Prague's Old Town Square

Street performers in the square

Czech Republic is famous for producing talented hockey players, about 50 now play in the NHL. Knowing this, I wasn't leaving Prague without seeing a hockey game. As luck would have it, we got to see two! The first game was at the home arena of HC (hockey club) Sparta. The arena was fine, nothing too impressive, with a capacity of about 9,000. It was awesome. The seats behind each net are reserved for the fan clubs. The fans were all decked out in their team jerseys and scarves, and they were well organized--chanting and singing throughout. We downed a few tasty $1.50 pints and thoroughly enjoyed the game, despite the home teaming losing 5-4.

At the game

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAL!!!!!!!

Tasty stadium treat

The second game was between the two Prague rivals, HC Sparta and HC Slavia. It was at Slavia's home rink--the brand new 14,000 seat O2 arena. This game was so much more fun. The stands were packed. The fans were cheering and chanting the entire game, just like European soccer. Sparta won 4-3, in overtime. The fans were still singing as we all jammed into the metro to head back into the city center. The atmosphere was absolutely electric.

Czech Republic is also famous for its beers. The first pilsner beer was brewed at Plzen in 1842. Every pilsner you have ever enjoyed is a copy of those made here. Kim and I toured the brewery, about a one hour train ride from Prague. We were able to see the modern packaging plant, capable of washing, filling, and packing 60,000 bottles per hour on each of its two production lines. To keep the tourists happy, they still produce some the old fashioned way, and we were able to taste the product as it once was, unfiltered and unpasteurized. MMMMM!

60,000 bottles per hour!

Enojoying a taste in the old cellar

Lunch!

Just to keep things balanced, we also attended two operas. I'm totally hooked on opera now. Those people are incredible. I'll never be able to watch American Idol again! Before you get too carried away though, you should know that one of the operas was performed by puppets! We saw Cosi fan Tutte live at the State Opera House, and we saw Don Giovanni at the Marionette Theatre. The puppets were a little disappointing, but what could we really expect? We're off to Hungary for a few days. I hear they also have excellent opera...stay tuned!

The marionette theatre

Prague Castle

Krakow

So far, Krakow is my favorite city. Beautiful old buildings, churches, restaurants, and the largest square in Europe are crammed into the "Old Town," where we've spent most of our time. Of course it had to be crammed because it all had to fit inside the city wall, which was surrounded by the moat. The wall was torn down to allow easier access to the center, but rather than building modern buildings, they made a park that surrounds the city. Everything is really easy to walk to, and there are all kinds of performances every day.

While we were here we saw Fledermaus, our first operetta--that's an opera but with spoken dialogue. Before you guys start feeling sorry for Michael you should know that HE decided he'd rather go to the operetta than go see a hockey game! He's so cultured now! The singers were amazing. I can't understand how anyone can fill an entire theatre with their voices so effortlessly. At least they make it look effortless. This picture is of the curtain on the stage.

About 15km from Krakow we toured an incredible salt mine. That's right, I said salt mine. Certainly you don't hear about a salt mine and think, "Gee, that's something I've got to see!" Well you should if you're in Poland. Once upon a time, in about the year 1290, Princess Kinga (now Saint Kinga) threw her engagement ring into the ground in Hungary. When it turned up in Wieliczka, Poland it had miraculously brought salt deposits with it! The salt mine brought prosperity to the Polish people, and they decided to honor their Saint and many other famous people who visit the mine by carving their busts into the rock salt. The mine has been mined for 900 years. There are now over 2000 caverns, some have been made into chapels and there is even a cathedral with ornate sculptures carved into the walls, statues, and an altar made from the rock salt. It even has salt crystal chandeliers!

Last but not least, I'll talk about our trip to Auschwicz and Birkenau. It is really hard to know where to begin. The concentration camp became a museum shortly after WWII ended. In anticipation of the end of the War, the Germans managed to dismantle most of Birkenau, including its three gas chambers. But "luckily" at Auschwicz everything was left as it had been.

The creeping feeling of horror started to sink in as soon as we approached the front gate here. The words above the gate mean, "hard work will set you free." Obviously ironic, as most of the 25% of people who weren't sent to their deaths immediately on arrival here were worked to death. The prisoners lived in old prisoners barracks at Auschwicz, and in modified horse stables at Birkenau. The stables were designed to house 52 horses, but more than 400 people were forced to live in them at one time. Sometimes ten people to one bunk.Twice every day the prisoners had to line up for roll call. They stood in lines outside until every person was counted--sometimes for hours. Being at the camp in January gave me a new perspective on how miserable that could be. I found myself about to complain about how cold my toes were, and I was ashamed. People here were sometimes forced to stand in the snow barefoot or for a whole day as punishment.Countless people were executed in this courtyard. Part of the wall was reconstructed and is now a memorial.Estimates say that between one million and 1.8 million people were killed at Auschwicz camps. This is the only creamatorium that still stands.

When the camp was liberated there were warehouses filled with clothes, shoes, toothbrushes, eyeglasses, suitcases, etc. All of the items had been sorted and would eventually be sent back to Germany. The warehouses were referred to by the prisoners as "Canada"--the land of plenty.

I am glad we made this trip, but I'm still processing my reaction to it. For starters, I am happy to have been born in a diverse country where, for the most part, people get along. And I am proud that today we are sending a message to the whole world that we embrace our diversity--it is in fact one of our greatest strengths.

Polish Sausage

Sometimes you go to a new country and you have certain exepectations about the food. And sometimes your expectation are exactly right. I was thinking, "I sure like Polish sausages." Turns out, so do Polish people! We went to a restaurant yesterday and I was really craving one of those sausages, so I ordered one. Michael decided to go with the pea soup and meat wrapped in cabbage over potatoes. I wasn't disappointed with my sausage, but turns out I could have been more adventurous. Michael's soup had huge chunks of sausage and his meat/cabbage were smothered in sauce and topped with...you guessed it! Sausages.

I don't have any pictures from the restaurant, but here is Michael in our apartment cooking us some sausages for breakfast.

The Ukraine is Weak

It's not weak actually, but my friends would never forgive me for doing a blog post about Ukraine and titling it otherwise. I thought of giving it a title of "Jackets with the Fur" (sung to the tune of the Flo-rida song) because the first thing that struck us was the incredible quantity of fur jackets. They were everywhere! Kim and I counted from a coffee shop one day, and 46 of the fifty women in the study had at least some fur on their coat! Many of them had the simple ring of fur around the hood, but there were plenty of full-on fur coats--animal heads and all!

Bird's-eye view of Kiev

62 meters of Titanium

Typical cathedral in Kiev

Inside a churh on Orthodox Chrismas

Trying to stand on a "handicapped accesible ramp"

We arrived in Kiev via a thirty-hour train ride from Bucharest. It was not a typical train ride. We had travelled to the border, about one-third of the geographical distance, in only eight hours. At that point we wondered how the last leg of the journey could take so long. I cannot be exactly sure of what happened at the border, but I think it went something like this. They disconnected our train cars from the engine to turn the train down a different track, only they forgot to set the brakes, and we were on a hill. After what seemed like about twenty minor collisions with trackside equipment--just little jolts, enough to spill your coffee--we had "the big one." Kim even made a squeal, "EEEK!" After a little investigation I concluded that we had collided with another set of train cars that were now drifting freely down the track ahead of us! After this, perfectly sterotypical Ukrainian men--tall, stubbly grey beards, blue eyes, big cylindrical fur hats--came through the car with hammers and miscellaneous metal parts and started pounding things into place. Three hours and forty minutes later we left the border town, assuming we would be at least three hour late to Kiev, yet we arrived on-time the next morning. Is it possible that they planned a minor collision into the schedule?

Rubbing a nose for good luck

Carolers

Begging for change is no reason to lose your fashion sense, look at those heels!

The Chernobyl museum

We visited some beautiful Orthodox cathedrals, went underground to see some mummified monks, and ate our fill of dumplings and borscht. But I am particularly proud of learning the Cryllic alphabet--the one the Russians use. Our maps have streets labeled in English, but the local street signs are all Cryllic. After the week in Ukraine I was able to read most of signs, but had no idea what the words meant! We had many fun conversations on the street like these:

Me: We need to turn left on Rustavelli street.
Kim: What does that look like?
Me: 'p' 'y' 'c' 't' 'a' 'b' 'e' 'sqaured-off-n,' backwards 'n.'

Or,

Me: It's on Doroshenka.
Kim: How does it start?
Me: Trapezoid with legs, 'o' 'p' 'o' 'w.'

Now it's off to Poland and all those tasty sausages!

Strays in Lviv

Enjoying some borscht

Transylvanian Adventures

Our trip to Romania had it's ups and downs, but overall it was a very positive experience. The country provided us with some stunning settings among palaces and castles, and some frustrations with unusual museum policies and less than helpful hostel hosts. We tasted some excellent--and cheap--Romanian wines and beers, and loosened our belts a little to accommodate all those meat-and-potatoes meals!

Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)

It was "Scary" in Dracula's Castle

First, the castles. The home of Dracula does wonders for the imagination, enough to overcome the obvious tourist traps awaiting us around seemingly every corner. Strolling through those medieval homes/fortresses two thoughts stood foremost in my mind, that people actually lived in these gargantuan edifices, and that some people probably met their unfortunate end through a pot of boiling oil dumped over the wall. I also could not help myself in trying to determine which wall would be most vulnerable and what type of equipment would be necessary to mount a successful siege. One can only be a product of his childhood, and mine, for better or worse, involved quite a few computer-based castle sieges!

The Citadel at Rasnov

We also went to Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler--Bram Stoker's inspiration for Count Dracula. It is a fantastic old town with most of the original city wall still surrounding the medieval citadel. There is an amazing clock tower standing at the main gate. It is about seven stories tall, and it looks like a giant cuckoo clock! There are different wooden people, all dressed or outfitted in some 12th century attire, who change places on the hour. The tower is also home to a small museum. My favorite part was that you could watch the clock machinery work. The complicated mechanism full of gears and flywheels could have held my attention for hours, if only the museum usher had more patience! We spent two quiet nights there and enjoyed a couple glasses of red wine in Vlad's first home.

Sighisoara clock tower

A view from the clock tower

Enjoying a "Gina Glass" of wine

Mmmm, stuffed mushrooms!

Dracula's house

Admiring a bust of Vlad the Impaler

I vant to suck your blood!

I wish we could post pictures of some of the places we visited, but Romania charges a pretty exorbitant fee to take pictures inside the museums. They were typically $15-20, while the entrances fees were $2-5, and since we didn't know what to expect we usually didn't pay. I only really regret not taking pictures in the Peles castle. It was one of the most amazing places I've ever seen, and probably ever will. It was built over 20 years centered around 1900, and maintains most of it's original furnishings as it was not used again after the first royal family died. From the dining rooms to the arms collection to the king's study, every room was incredibly decorated. Most of the ceilings and walls were intricately carved wood and every place else was gilded with gold--the absolute epitome of royal indulgence!

Chippies Two Rand

Every time Michael and I arrive in a new country we can hardly wait to look through the grocery store. Each country has new surprises, but inevitably we spend the most time in the snack aisle. Here is a CHALLENGE! Everyone who guesses correctly gets a postcard. Which one of these flavors have we NEVER seen in a grocery:

Carribean Onion and Balsalmic Vinegar
Paprika
Roasted Chicken
Lamb Curry
Roast Beef
Biltong
Wild Mushroom and Sour Cream
Beer
Thai Sweet Chili
Yoghurt
Bacon
Heinz Katsup
Crab
Ham and Cheese
Smoked Turkey
Juicy Ham and Honey
Chili Pepper
Sour Cream and Dill

Good Luck!!