Sunday, March 18, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
The Kutná Hora Experience
Today we took a side trip to Kutná Hora. If you've never heard of Kutná Hora, then there are a few things you need to know about it. First, it is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites (see http://www.kutnahora.cz/index.php?sec=2&cid=97). It is home to several impressive sites including:
Saint Barbara's Cathedral,
The Italian Court
, and
The Cemetery Chapel with Ossuary (also known as the "Bone Church")
Yes, that's Ethan standing under a chandelier made with human bones (using every bone in the body)
Kutná Hora is an unassuming town despite its UNESCO designation and treasures. Locally, tourism hasn't altered the community much, at least yet.
Saint Barbara's Cathedral,
The Italian Court
, andThe Cemetery Chapel with Ossuary (also known as the "Bone Church")
Yes, that's Ethan standing under a chandelier made with human bones (using every bone in the body)
Kutná Hora is an unassuming town despite its UNESCO designation and treasures. Locally, tourism hasn't altered the community much, at least yet.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Prague Experience - Part 3
Here are some more photos of our Prague experience. I may post additional comments later.
(Old Town Hall - Astronomical Clock)
(Castle Quarter - St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle)
(500 year-old U Fleku Pub & Brewery)
(Wenceslas Square looking southeast)
(Terezin Concentration Camp - room capable of holding 500 prisoners)
(Old Town Hall - Astronomical Clock)
(Castle Quarter - St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle)
(500 year-old U Fleku Pub & Brewery)
(Wenceslas Square looking southeast)
(Terezin Concentration Camp - room capable of holding 500 prisoners)
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Mashups
While researching the topic of "mashups" I came across a site that literally hits close to home. A mashup plotting the San Andreas Fault through my neighborhood. Here's a link to it: http://geology.com/san-andreas-fault/.
If you are unfamiliar with "mashups" you might want to visit the following site http://www.mashups.com/about.htm and scroll down to the portion that discusses mashups from the Web 2.0 perspective.
If you are unfamiliar with "mashups" you might want to visit the following site http://www.mashups.com/about.htm and scroll down to the portion that discusses mashups from the Web 2.0 perspective.
Prague Experience - Part 2
At this point in our trip we've learned a few important things about Prague and the Czech Republic.
Cross Walks and Traffic Signals (Semapores)
While drivers in Prague are considerate (and seem to never use their horns) they must be out of necessity aggressive in crossing intersections not controlled with a traffic signal. For the most part the drivers respect pedestrians using marked crosswalks, but Ethan and I adopted a more cautious approach. When in doubt we wait for another pedestrian to step into the road as a "volunteer hood ornament" and then follow.
Beer (Pivo) versus Coke
Today Ethan observed a major cultural advantage to life in the Czech Republic. His quote, "You've got to love a country where beer is cheaper than coke!" Beer is almost a required beverage at meals and your waiter/waitress won't even consider clearing away your stein until you've drained it of every drop. Ethan also opines about the Czech love for beer by noting, "every hour is happy hour!"
The Museum of Communism
We decided to visit the Museum of Communism today and spent nearly an hour trying to find it. We had our tour book and our city map, but try as we might we couldn't find it. Maybe we thought the museum had closed due to lack of interest, but no that wasn't it. Upon further reading in our guide book we found it. If Marx, Lenin, and Stalin weren't already dead the location of the museum would have surely resulted in a group stroke - the Museum is next door to a casino and on the floor above a McDonald's!
The Dining Experience
Thankfully Ethan and I are shunning public transport in favor of walking (at least while the weather is good) or we would surely pack on the pounds. Don't get me wrong the food is good (particularly so when you avoid the tourist filled eateries) and inexpensive. The trouble is most meat dishes come with gravy and with enough dumplings to equal half-a-loaf of bread. When the menu says a dish comes with two vegetables what the restaurant really means is that you get both white and red cabbage!
Cross Walks and Traffic Signals (Semapores)
While drivers in Prague are considerate (and seem to never use their horns) they must be out of necessity aggressive in crossing intersections not controlled with a traffic signal. For the most part the drivers respect pedestrians using marked crosswalks, but Ethan and I adopted a more cautious approach. When in doubt we wait for another pedestrian to step into the road as a "volunteer hood ornament" and then follow.
Beer (Pivo) versus Coke
Today Ethan observed a major cultural advantage to life in the Czech Republic. His quote, "You've got to love a country where beer is cheaper than coke!" Beer is almost a required beverage at meals and your waiter/waitress won't even consider clearing away your stein until you've drained it of every drop. Ethan also opines about the Czech love for beer by noting, "every hour is happy hour!"
The Museum of Communism
We decided to visit the Museum of Communism today and spent nearly an hour trying to find it. We had our tour book and our city map, but try as we might we couldn't find it. Maybe we thought the museum had closed due to lack of interest, but no that wasn't it. Upon further reading in our guide book we found it. If Marx, Lenin, and Stalin weren't already dead the location of the museum would have surely resulted in a group stroke - the Museum is next door to a casino and on the floor above a McDonald's!
The Dining Experience
Thankfully Ethan and I are shunning public transport in favor of walking (at least while the weather is good) or we would surely pack on the pounds. Don't get me wrong the food is good (particularly so when you avoid the tourist filled eateries) and inexpensive. The trouble is most meat dishes come with gravy and with enough dumplings to equal half-a-loaf of bread. When the menu says a dish comes with two vegetables what the restaurant really means is that you get both white and red cabbage!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Prague Experience - Part 1
Ethan and I arrived safely, but two hours late, in Prague on Saturday. Luckily we did not plan any activities for that day. Instead we tried to stay awake as long as possible to help overcome our jetlag.
We are staying at the City Partners Victoria Hotel in Prague. On the floor below us is a resturant with fairly decent food and a good beer (pivo) selection where we ate dinner on Saturday. Hitting the sack at about 9:00 pm local time we thought we'd be ready to go in the morning, but... Believe it or not Ethan and I woke at 1:00 am feeling refreshed, but knowing it wouldn't last. Since we were both wide awake we decided to grab a coke and step outside for some air whereupon we got to meet some of the more colorful local citizens. One exceptional drunk decided we needed to learn some import words in Czech, his choice of words were unfortunately not the type to use amongst polite company and are of little use in the conduct of normal siteseeing!
Sunday was a light day with sleep still be our highest priority (after ditching our drunk Czech friend). In the afternoon we attended a performance of Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka at the Státní Opera Praha (State Opera Prague). We had box seats stage right and just above the orchestra pit. Below are a few pictures (sorry, but photographs were not allowed during the performance).
(Ethan & Sig - Box 5 State Opera)
(the Art Deco style stage curtain)
(the audience)
At just about three hours long, the opera filled our afternoon.
Dinner time was spent wandering Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square) and trying to avoid drunk Brits on stag holidays (it's only a 1.5 hour flight to Prague from the UK).
I'll be revising this post soon with a few photos from the first two days. Future posts will diary the rest of our trip and include additional pictures.
We are staying at the City Partners Victoria Hotel in Prague. On the floor below us is a resturant with fairly decent food and a good beer (pivo) selection where we ate dinner on Saturday. Hitting the sack at about 9:00 pm local time we thought we'd be ready to go in the morning, but... Believe it or not Ethan and I woke at 1:00 am feeling refreshed, but knowing it wouldn't last. Since we were both wide awake we decided to grab a coke and step outside for some air whereupon we got to meet some of the more colorful local citizens. One exceptional drunk decided we needed to learn some import words in Czech, his choice of words were unfortunately not the type to use amongst polite company and are of little use in the conduct of normal siteseeing!
Sunday was a light day with sleep still be our highest priority (after ditching our drunk Czech friend). In the afternoon we attended a performance of Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka at the Státní Opera Praha (State Opera Prague). We had box seats stage right and just above the orchestra pit. Below are a few pictures (sorry, but photographs were not allowed during the performance).
At just about three hours long, the opera filled our afternoon.
Dinner time was spent wandering Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square) and trying to avoid drunk Brits on stag holidays (it's only a 1.5 hour flight to Prague from the UK).
I'll be revising this post soon with a few photos from the first two days. Future posts will diary the rest of our trip and include additional pictures.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Places & Things
I recently created an account at 43Places.com. So if you want to see where I've been or where I would like to go, check things out at: http://www.43places.com/person/dellhime.
My account also includes a tally of my "1,000 Places to See Before I Die." In case you wonder, I've only completed about 4% of the list. At this pace I should be 60% complete by the time I turn 1,000.
My account also includes a tally of my "1,000 Places to See Before I Die." In case you wonder, I've only completed about 4% of the list. At this pace I should be 60% complete by the time I turn 1,000.
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