Prague Is!

Prague is a walkers city. It is small and compact and if your feet are tired it has a great transit system. The streets in the older sections of Prague are all cobblestone. The sidewalks are made up of smaller stones of different colours whick they make into simple patterns. The cobblestones used in the streets are larger, around 8" x 8". These stones are tricky to walk on as there are significant gaps between each of the stones. These gaps and the dog pooh keeps you pretty busy scanning the ground in front of you. Its to bad, because the beauty of Prague is in many cases above street level. Every second house has some art or stone work decorating the facade. Not just murals, but 20' high statues clinging to the side of building. Churches higher than God intended, I think. This beauty has not been dwarfed by high rises. There are no high rises in Prague Central. (Praha 1) Nothing to remove the feeling that this is an old City.

It's roots go back to the ice age, as Mastadon bones have been discovered nearbye. Around the 10th Century it started to grow with things really kicking off in the 13th Century when the first vestiges of central government made Prague the seat of power. It continues to be the seat of power today but for a much reduced empire now known as the Czech Republic.

The life style here seems pretty laid back. We have not left the tourist zone much, so I cannot say if this chilled out feeling is just here or extends beyond to where the Czech people live. Dress is very casual with hints of Euro style. Very little remains of the Communist era except in the Museum of Communism. A tacky little museum for tourists or a least those of us who remember communism. Prague is a young persons city. It is a favourite destination of other European countries as a great place to hang and chill. The streets are clean and feel very safe. There are a few street people about but I think Penticton has more than what we have seen so far. We keep runnning into the same ones. We are now on a first name basis.!

Brett and Nonie

More Readin and Ritin Part 2

We are now heavily into our second week. Wow! Successfully handed in our first major assignment. I would estimate that there was over 24 hours put into the project. That is on top of our regular class work and preparing our teaching lessons. We are usually in the school by 9:30 am and don't plan to get home before 8:00 pm. The day starts with course work then we have some preperation time before we starting teaching at 5:00 pm. The day ends with your tutor telling you what you did wrong that day and sometimes what you did right. Picky, picky!

The guinea students are pretty forgiving. They sign on to take the course for a small fee and are aware that we are just learning to teach. The attendance swings quite a bit so you never know how many are going to show up. We have 18 registered but not everyone shows up every day.

We made some time over the Easter weekend to do some sight seeing. We spent some time at Prague Castle. It sits on a prometory that overlooks the City. It was only a short walk across the Charles Bridge and a few hilly blocks to get to it from our apartment. The castle's age runs form the 14th Century to the 20th Century. It was added to and added to till it sprawled over the entire hill. The moat is empty and the castle guards are for show only. I admired some 300 year old graffitti. Coincidently, the people of Prague have continued this tradition to this day and there is graffitti on everything, even the local police station. It is to bad. It really is offensive.

Hopefully I will find some time over the weekend to give you some thoughts on Prague. It is gem!

Readin, Ritin and

We have survived the first week and it has been marvelous except for that pesky school stuff. The first week of classes have been a challenge. Very intense with lots to take in and assimilate. Thankfully Nonie is an organized person. I would have been expelled by now.

Praha Prosim

For the next five weeks we will be going to school in Prague. One day into classes and I have a headache already. This learnin stuff is mighty vexin!. The homework is already starting to mount up. Why last alone we spent three hours in the pub learning Czech brewing techniques. Perhaps that explains the headache. I believe that I will definitely require more time and effort in this study area. The Czechs are famous for their beer.

The first day of classes was pretty overwhelming but we should be in the groove by the end of the week. More about that in a later post.

Our inbound trip had a three flight minimum. Vancouver to Toronto on time. Toronto to Frankfurt, on time but the sound system from the entertainment system was not working at my seat. I ended up watch foreign films most of the trip so I could read the subtitles and didn't need sound. Frankfurt to Prague, on time and all our luggage arrived. All in all, a good days work.

We arrived to find our little apartment as advertised. The emphasis on little. They must have used a terrific wide angle lens to take the pictures that were posted on the web as the place looked much larger on line. The pictures did accurately describe the place. It is filled with IKEA furniture, dishes and knicknacks. We will be very comfortable here. It is Nonie approved and that is all that matters.

Four Months To Go

Since January, it seems like I am moving in slow motion but life is moving in hyperspeed. The list of things to be done before R-day is not getting any shorter but the time left to get it done is certainly getting shorter. So many forms to fill out; so little time.

Doesn't retirement mean you can put time in perspective? Doesn't retirement mean no more paperwork? Doesn't retirement mean no more schedules? Doesn't retirement mean you can anything you want, when you want? Doesn't retirement mean being in control of your own destiny? Doesn't retirement bring peace of mind and no stress?

I GUESS NOT!!!!

Videnou v Praha.