WHITE THUNDER

Coming Soon to a Computer Screen Near you...

Socks

It's hard to believe that socks are so difficult to dry.

Slinkies

My good friend, Nicole, from Colorado Springs had this at the bottom of her email. I read it, laughed to myself and wanted to share it.

Have a good day!

"Some people are like Slinkies...not really good for anything,
but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them
down a flight of stairs." ~ Unknown

Easter 2006: Prague - The Jewish Quarter

Happy Easter!

I was hoping to get up early again to walk the secluded streets, but sleep overtook me and it was cloudy when I woke up anyways so my bed was looking pretty good (no matter how uncomfortable it might have been). I headed to the Jewish Quarter.

Jews have lived in the Prague region since the 10th Century. When the Pope declared that Jews and Christians should not live together, Jews had to war yellow badges and their quarter was walled in - which became known as the ghetto. Prague had one of the biggest ghettos in Europe with 11,000 inhabitants.

Being Jew is not a relgiion, but a way of life. Walkign through the different synagogues of the quarter, it became more apparent to me than before how important tradition was to the Jews and how every aspect of their life and their religion had a deeper meadning. Their were 7 Synagogues within the Jewish Quarter that could be visited, with each one having displaying a different part of the history of the Jews in Prague.

One of my favorite aspects of the Museum tour was the Old Jewish Cemetery. It had over 12,000 tombstones dating back to the mid 1400's. With limited space and the belief in the Jewish faith that a body should never be moved once buried, tombs were piled on top of each other. Over time, as the ground settled, the tombs got crooked.
The Jewish word for cemetery means "House of Life". Many people have placed small pebbles on the tombs which symbolize the old days when a rock was placed upon the swand gravesite in the desert to keep the body covered.

After my tour through the Jewish Quarter, I wandered through the crowded streets, shopped in the Easter Markets and got myself some dinner.

A final thought: I was a little disappointed that so many people in Prague spoke English. Half the fun in a foreign city is trying to speak the langague. It was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad that I came over the Easter Holiday.

Easter 2006: Prague - Part 2

The following morning, 15 April, I woke up to the beautiful sunshine as well as consturction workers hammering 2x2 inch stones into the ground, repairing the street. Either way - I was glad it was sunny and not raining. First on the agenda - The Castle.

I think my favorite thing to do in old towns such as Prague is to get lost on the cobbelstones streets. This morning I saw a lady drinking her coffee out of her attic story window and heard the bells of the nearby church ringing in the new hour.

I made my way to the Charles Bridge. This bridge was once the only bridge connecting the Castle Quarter to the Old Town. The bridge is probably most well known for its statues. This statue is the spot where convicts would stop and pray on their way to execution on the Old Town Square.




















Czech rulers ruled from this castle for more than 1000 years. It's huge, complete with a palace, Cathedral, Square, Bascilica, and a street that used to house Gold Smiths.
















I arrived to the Castle just before nine and just in time to see the Changing of the Guard.















St.Vitus Cathedral inside the Castle Walls




















A view of St. Nicholas Church from atop the Castel Tower
















Golden Lane - A street of old buildings inside the castle walls that housed goldsmiths. I can't getover how small the doors are.















After browsing the castle, I went and ate lunch at the Monestary Brewerey which was built in 1711 (I think). The beer was quite tasty as was the meal. After tanning my forehead (I didn't realize how warm it was and wasn't outside), I made my way back down towards the Little Qquarter to window shop. Stopped by St. Nicholas' Cathederal and up the tower for some views of the city. Then worked my way back across the very crowded Charles Bridge.
Later that night, I was looking for food and was not finding any. So, I was considering settling in for the night, when a girl in my hostel room asked if I wanted to join her and a few others for a beer. I said yes and we headed to U Flambu which was a brewery. It's amazing how good and and many brewed beers there are. I tried their brewed beer (which was the only beer on the menu) and got myself some sausage for dinner. The beer hall that we were in reminds me a lot of beer halls in Germany from Oktoberfest. Singing, laughing, eating, drinking...all in the name of a good time.

Easter 2006: Prague - Part 1

Continuing on.....

Prague is one of the only cities in Europe to escape bombs from both World Wars. Originally it was four different towns with four town squares separated by walls. The four towns were; Castle Quarter, Little Quarter, Old Town and New Town. Behind me here is the Castle Quarter.

After I parted ways with the "Blast from the Past" I found my hostel and set off to wonder the rainy streets of Prague. Becoming very disoreinted (which lasted most of the day) I found the Easter Markets that I had heard so much about. Much like the Christmas Markets in Germany, it was fun to look at the different (and same) types of "stuff" for sale.




















My favorite - Easter Eggs made from real eggs and creatively decorated, which I bought a few days later in my trip.















It was also necessary to try a traditional delicacy which was dough browned over an open flame and sprinkled with vanilla, almonds, nutmeg and sugar (I think those were the indgredients). It looked like this:
















Another common cooking method I saw was roasting a pig over an open fire. This one had already been cooked and part way eaten:
















I got my bearings and headed back to my hostel to rest and dry off. I forgot to mention that it rained all afternoon to the point where I bought an umbrella. Yes - I didn't have one. Used to have one, but Ted broke it in Berlin (Ted didn't break it, but he was holding it when the wind took it).

After an hour, I headed back out to find dinner. Wanting to get away from all of the tourists. Upon my search, I finally found the castle and Charles Bridge. I think I actually said to myself, "Oh, how pretty" when I came upon it from a small side street.
















I found a little restaurant near the Bethlehem Church(By the way, there are so many churches that it's just easier to use them as landmarks.) I sometimes feel funny eating at restaurants by myself and I guess that is why I don't do it very often. However, I walked in and was seated in a room where a guy was playing the piano and he played most of the night. I ordered myself some wine and pasta and enjoyed the evening listening to the sounds that came frm teh magical fingers sitting in front of me. For dessert, I ordered lemon ice cream. Well, not only did it taste lemon, but it was also served from a real lemon that had been gutted and frozen with the ice cream. Very fun!
















My hostel was in the Old Town, which was nice because it was only a 10-15 minute walk from any place that I wanted to go and most places, the walk was less than that. However, from early upon my arrival, I could tell that it was not going to be the greatest of hostels, and I wanted to get back and get to sleep before everyone else came in the room from a night at the bars. This way, I could hope that I wouldn't hear them when they did come back. I succeeded in falling asleep, however, I woke up when every singel person entered the room (there were 5) and none of them came back at the same time. Man, people can be loud in a room where clearl people are sleeping. I even went to sleep with the lights on - BANG, BANG, BANG....DROP, DROP, DROP. I suppose it's hard to be quiet when you are really trying. You always seem to make more noise when you are trying to tip toe around. Either way, here are some pictures from the Old Town Square:

The Astronomical Clock:
The clock keeps several versions of time: Bohemian and Modern Time. Many years ago, when the clock was built, everything revolved around the earth which was the fixed middle background of the clock. The clock also indicates sunrise, sunset, zodiac signs for the different times of the year, as well as saints names - one for each day of the year (as indicated in the bottom circle). I supose when this clock was built 500 years ago, it must have been something. Today, although some of the features have been added in the last 100 years, the hourly striking of the hour gathers a large crowd for a show that is rather humerous.





















One of the St. Nicholas' Churches (not the famous one)
















The Old Town Square at Night:

It's a Small World After All

I arrived to a Rainy Prague on Friday, 14 April, but I was excited nonetheless. As I was waiting in line at Passport Control, I overheard a couple of Americans talking directly in front of me. An Australian couple in front of them asked where they were from. The girl said that she was currently living in Germany but was originally from Kansas City, Missouri. After a few minutes, I asked the girl from what part of Kansas City she was from, telling her that I was from Atchison. We talked a little more and she asked me where I went to school. I told her that I first went to Truman State University and she immediately got excited because she went there as well. Turns out, we were there at the same time and the same people. She lives in Mannheim and is a lawyer in the Military.

She was with a friend of hers, Brad, and they were going to the same train stop that I was, so it was nice to have someone to talk to and share my Haribo Candy with.

It really is a Small World.