Praha CZ

We spent the weekend and Monday in Prague, Czech Republic. It was a nice train ride from Bratislava to Prague on Saturday morning, a little more than four hours. Travel on the rail system is really enjoyable. You can rest, read, walk around and look at the country as you pass thru it. At about the halfway point the weather cleared up from overcast to clear skies which made for some great scenary.








Prague is further north than Bratislava, so I was expecting it to be colder but it wasn't on Saturday. The city has so much history that one entry couldn't come close to covering it so I'll just put up some pictures. Prague has given the world the following items: beer, sugar cube, microwave oven and the author Kafka. It has one of the largest castle in Europe and it full of tourists. Everyday the Charles Bridge is full of people. The astronomical clock in Old Town Square rates right up there with looking at the Mona Lisa, at least something does happen every hour with the clock as it chimes the hour.



The clock after it has struck the hour, played a song, had the doors open and received an applause from all the tourists.





































Tower in Old Town.


















Statue depicting Kafka dream.












Prague Castle seen from Charles Bridge.










Looking down on the castle and Prague.













This is the giant metronome, 23 meters tall, that
was constructed on the former site of a monument to Stalin. The metronome counts away time that was lost to communism. While I was here, the metronome actually stopped running. The area behind the metronome is very popular with skateboarders and is often featured in films. During one of Michael Jackson's stays in Prague, he had a 11 meter cardboard standee put up to promote the HIStory tour.

Date night in Bratislava

I'm back in Bratislava, it has been since May when I went back to San Jose. I had a good flight over on Sunday the 17 October and arrived on Monday the 18 October. San Francisco to Frankfurt, Germany switched planes and then to Vienna, Austria. Still working out the time change.

Alexandra and I went out Wednesday night to see a movie, Desert Flower, which was a very sad story about the struggles of Waris Dirie. The movie was in English and Somalian with Cech subtitles. Interseting work that out. Great place to see a movie though at the university down the street.

After the movie we went to a corner pub and watched a Champions League soccer match. Standard smokey pub in Bratislava although it was well lighted and it had a gaming room next door. The gaming room was video card games from what I saw. The best part about the pub was the Corneco Nachos machine. The machine was a heated glass container much like the popcorn machines at hardware stores in the states. Inside were chips that looked like a poor version of Doritos baking under a heat lamp. Some people did order nachos and they were served on a round dish with a built in salsa ccompartment. I can't say for sure what the salsa was like, it may have just been tomato sauce.

Warsaw for the Weekend!

Well, I can't possibly make up for all the time that's passed since my last post so I will just start fresh from today (or this month) and maybe I'll put highlights of some of my summer travels up later.

Warsaw...I actually like it here. All the locals seem confused and surprised when I say that, but I think Warsaw has a lot to offer. Yes the old town has been completely rebuilt in the past 50 years, yes there is lots of Communist-inspired architecture, yes there are plenty of "contemporary" (for now that is) tall glass buildings but I still like it.

I started my visit at the Warsaw Uprising Museum.  I was really glad I did - you can't really appreciate Warsaw without understanding it's history.  The 3D film depicting what Warsaw looked like after the war is amazing for the detailed way it shows the complete devastation and destruction brought upon the city.  I only wish I had more time, I got kicked out at closing time.

The next day I took the Adventure Warsaw tour which is off the beaten path but a nice alternative to the main touristy tours.  We rolled around in a retro Nasa bus which sometimes emitted smoke from the dashboard (nothing to worry about according to our guide).  Among the stops were the Jewish Ghetto, Constitution Square, a vodka tasting, a walk around Praga (the poorest part of Warsaw with an up-and-coming bohemian vibe) and a traditional milk bar were we lunched on pierogis and bigos (among other things).

I took a stroll down Novy Swiat into Old Town later that afternoon anyway, so I didn't miss any of the major tourist draws.  There was a festival in Old Town (or maybe it's like that every weekend) so there were many stalls selling food and local craft goods.  We had dinner at Pod Sansonem one night at the suggestion of our tour guide and it was fantastic!  I highly recommend the borsch (with the dumplings) - YUM! 

Pope John Paul II (Jan Pawel)...

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Mermaid in Old Town

Palace of Culture