Vox’s posts tagged prague

Praha (part 1)

nobody@vox.com(Keeva) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:45:06 +0000

Wooow, I did't imagine how big the city of Prague can be! It's BIG (damn!!!). Anyway we manage to view allmost every monument and statue in center and also some of near town Neratovice, Mélnik and local hill Řip.

Praha

The only thing that bodered me, was the cold from freezing wind. On the other hand all the people were really nice especially Jan, Marek, Cyril and Vojta. Guys thenks for such great time I had in Prague! Some things I'll never forget were the tee house in tower, the magnificent view from Petřin and all the long nights in Pubs.

panorama.jpg

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Mysterious City Golden Prague: Explore the beautiful city of Prague to find your missing professor!

nobody@vox.com(Loretta) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:42:50 +0000

Mysterious City Golden Prague (79 MB download)

When your beloved professor goes missing from the museum, it's up to you to find him! Explore the beautiful and historic city of Prague, including intriguing museums and mysterious castles. Discover clues left behind by your professor and piece together what happened before it's too late!

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The Last Eight Months

nobody@vox.com(Kristin Seabolt) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:49:19 +0000

So lots and lots of stuff has happened since my January posts. I've only mentioned a few of them in my recent posts (like being back among the living). So, for starters, we moved yet again. Our landlord had to give the house back to the bank, which totally sucked, because we loved that house! It was incredible, looking out over the San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Straight. But alas, we had to go. We found a place that was much cheaper and would take all the pets. However, it is also on the border of a pretty sketchy neighborhood. Okay, it is more like right in the middle of a sketchy neighborhood, but the actual street we live on seems pretty safe. I like to describe it as being more of a street where the drug dealer's grandparents live, rather than where the drug dealers themselves reside. Whatver helps me sleep at night, right? Really though, we feel pretty safe with three dogs in the backyard. We are also next door to a nursing home, so people who work there come and go all the time. It would be pretty stupid to rob the house next door, where someone is likely to see, when you could easily rob one that is a few doors down and much more secluded. Like I said, whatever helps me sleep at night.

Speaking of nursing homes, moving next door to one makes me surrounded by them 24 hours a day, because I am still working for the nursing home company I was at in January. The woman I was temping for never came back from maternity leave, so I kept the job. I am permanent here now, and it is a good job for me. I get to use my brain, but it isn't stressing me out either. I still ride the ferry, and I am still loving every minute of that. I have read some pretty incredible books with all that free time I have on my hands every day. I have also bought more books though, so I'm not so sure I'm really putting a dent in my unread-books bookshelves. But it is so hard when there is a fantastic little independent bookstore at the ferry building. I will admit that I have stopped in there and picked a book or two up when I have to wait for the later ferry in the evening. That is how I found Plum Wine.

Plum Wine

Angela Davis-Gardner

Yes, I did judge this book by its cover. It's gorgeous. And this time it turned out well, because so was the story. I made my sister read it though, and she didn't like it so much. I guess it is one of those that, when you hear me praise it, you have to take into consideration that unbearably tragic stories are my favorite. The story is so subtle, I came away feeling like I had just read a water-color painting. I couldn't read anything but poetry for days, and I am not a poetry person.

And now that I have proven that I am an intelligent woman who can appreciate the finer literature made available to her, I will go ahead and just admit that I have also read this:

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

The whole seires. Yes, that's right: what Harry Potter could not (and still never will) do, Stephenie Meyer has done. I have read a book series targeted for teenagers. Yes, I am ashamed. But apprently, I'm not ashamed enough, because here I sit admitting it to anyone willing to read it. I blame my English teacher from High School, who is the one who taught me to love all the classic brilliant minds of literature: Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Jane Austen, etc. Well she is also reading the Twilight Saga, so now my inhibitions about admitting to having read this have been lowered. Anyway, I decided that I, as an English major who knows an excellent book when she reads one (see books by Milan Kundera, Franz Kafka, Gustav Meyrink, etc), am publicly supporting Stephenie Meyer. First, her books are good, she makes the reader feel her characters in an amazingly talented way. Then there is the fact that when I finish reading her books, all I want to do is go read William Shakespeare or Jane Austen or Emily Bronte. Anyone who sparks readers to go back and read the classics that our literary history is founded on is a good author in my book. So there. And if you can't get past the premise of this series, you should try her made-for-adults (but not in the porn kind of way, just in the instead-of-for-teenagers kind of way) book The Host.

The Host: A Novel

Really good.

What else have I been up to? Not a whole lot. We finally went to the beach again, which was awesome. We went over to Marin county and tried out one of those beaches that require a long, windy, cliff-hugging drive before you reach the sea. The views were breathtaking, of course, and it felt good to hear the waves. It felt like breathing again, when I didn't even know I had been holding my breath, to be at the ocean again.

That book club I started fizzled, so that sucks. Maybe I will try again someday. In the meantime, Erin and I have been talking about doing a teleconference book club. Yes, we are that geeky. I crave discussing literature with people, the way I used to when I was in school. There is nothing like being in a room full of people who are just as intense about your passion as you are.

I can't believe it is almost autumn again. September will be here in just a few short days. I still feel like that means school will be starting back up again soon. I walked into a Berkeley coffee shop the other day and had to swallow back the pangs of jealousy I felt rising in me when I saw people working on papers and reading text books. So I think I am going to shoot for starting back at school next year, September 2009.

I've also decided that I have GOT to get out of this country soon. I miss being a foreigner - the cocoon I am wrapped in when everyone around me is speaking a different language and every moment brings a fresh experience to my senses. I am going to plan for Prague in the winter of 2009/2010.

Prague Castle

I know it seems far, but in reality, to save the money and be ready to go, that is probably about right. I want to go in winter because things are cheaper and the tourists won't be around so much. I want to enjoy my city without the packs of people on the Charles Bridge - just me and the spires of black and gold. I know I need to check out other places, and I truly do want to, but Prague calls to me, so I have to go there first.

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J. Crew in Prague

nobody@vox.com(shinwha) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:18:33 +0000

Prague is the backdrop for a fall marketing video currently on the J. Crew web site. It's a montage of cashmere-and-tweed-clad models walking around Prague and gazing moodily into the camera. Except it feels totally un-Prague-like to me. If it weren't for the brief glimpses of Charles Bridge in the background, I'd hardly know it was Prague at all. (If anything, it's more reminiscent of 1950s English countryside.) I think J. Crew missed the boat. Clearly, they should have consulted me. Hey, J. Crew? Call me. I'm willing to work for free cashmere and tweed.

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Planning A Trip?

nobody@vox.com(BookSlut) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:20:31 +0000

If you're planning a trip you might want to head over to Hotels In The World where you'll be able to make all your travel plans. Everyone needs to get away for a little fun in the sun. You might feel like going to Prague and at this website you'll be able to plan your vacation from one convenient location. There's no need to go hunting around from place to place for everything you're going to need since this place takes care of all your needs. You can very easily search for a hotel at the best price.

So if you're looking for Prague Hotels this would be the place to go to take care of everything the flight, the hotel and the car rental. This is a really handy website and you'll also find out about other things as well. You can also find travel guides that can help you make plans about what to do once you're at your destination. You can find out where to shop or about seeing the sights along with other things that are sure to interest you. This website is like having a travel agent since you can make your own plans from start to finish without leaving the comfort of your home. It is very easy to find your way around the website and you might want to also check out the forums.

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Mysterious City Golden Prague: Explore the beautiful city of Prague to find your missing professor!

nobody@vox.com(MindStorm) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:11:09 +0000

Mysterious City Golden Prague (79 MB download)

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Flickr archaeology: pictures from Prague trip, 2002

nobody@vox.com(Chris Devers) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:33:10 +0000

In November of 2002, May & I got to take a trip to Prague, in the Czech republic.

(As opposed to, say, Prague Oklahoma or Prague Nebraska. Yes.)

The city had the worst floods since 1954 a couple of months earlier, and was still recovering when we got there -- the subway was shut down, and a lot of streets & sidewalks were getting repaved -- but it was still a lovely place, like something out of an old medieval knights & dragons storybook. (In fact, Hollywood saw it the same way -- the Jackie Chan / Luke Wilson movie "Shanghai Knights" was being filmed there at the time we visited.)

May brought her then new-ish Olympus D-340L digital camera (with a whopping 1.3 megapixels! from "off" to "able to take a picture" in 30 seconds flat! able to hold up to 60 pictures on a single 16mb SmartMedia card!), while I was still using my parent's two old Nikkormat (1970s consumer Nikons SLRs, similar to today's entry level D-series Nikons) SLRs from the early 1970s. The older one seems to have been a Nikkormat FTn, purely mechanical, purely manual exposure; the newer one looks like a Nikkormat EL, their first "electronic" camera body, meaning if you selected an aperture, it would attempt to pick a matching shutter speed to get a correct exposure. These were the cameras I learned on, and while they're getting old now, and I think at least one has a faulty light meter, and I can't ever see shooting film again, I still love these old camera bodies. Each of them was built like a tank, and heavy as one too.

When I got the film developed, I had the foresight to get a PictureCD produced with each roll from the Nikkormat, so while the scanned resolution isn't much by today's standards (roughly 1.5mp from the 35mm negative), that's fine -- I'm just glad to be able to import them in to iPhoto now, and put some of the better ones on Flickr.

Here's a sample, but the Flickr set has much more -- about 150 in total.

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Nursing Home in Prague

nobody@vox.com(pragueman) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:31:26 +0000

When I am old and cranky and I can’t look after myself no more - please stick me in a nursing home. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t want this anytime soon - I think I have a good few years left before being put out to pasture, also some would argue that I may be cranky enough if not old enough. In addition I want one of these places where I have my own front door, living room, kitchen, etc - but with 24 hr help close by - more the type of thing I see in the UK nursing homes.

And rightly you may ask, why the hell am I writing about this just now? Bloody good question, as one would hope that I am 30 or more years away from this.

I spent the weekend in Prague, while there we visited the other half’s parents. A seniors community living would be great for them - the type of thing that I describe for myself - however it seems that the Czech market for nursing homes is not yet as advanced as Ireland or the UK. Now I know there are other that would consider their way is better with older people being looked after by their family - sorry people but if you think this still you are living in wonder land.

All of Europe has become so busy that the life style of having time to look after older parents has changed - both in most marriages work, and work too long and late into the day to have the time to spend with their own children and look after their parents.

I reckon by the time I am ready to be carted off we might have something more like the various options they have in the sates - I so hope so.

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Taking off to Prague

nobody@vox.com(Kristina) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:08:31 +0000

Prague

Yep... I am taking yet another trip. This time it is just me and a friend for 7 days in Prague. We are really excited to be going and experiencing another new place. I have already started a list of things that I will be bringing back for everyone. So if you are not on my list and want me to bring something back for you, just give me a shout and I will add you.

Other than my spontaneous trips that I have been planning, nothing much is going on. Work has been okay... I am so ready for my vacation.

Short first blog here... more to come, hopefully.

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#3 Ride bikes

nobody@vox.com(shinwha) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:33:36 +0000

We rented bikes in Old Town and rode them around the city. Turns out, bikes are a great way to get around Prague (except for the cobblestones), and we got to see parts of the city that we'd never seen before on foot or by public transport.

Here's Leon with his bike and his Lance Armstrong face. BRING IT ON.

We rode mostly along the Vltava River, so throughout our ride we had beautiful views like this, which endear Prague to me more and more everyday:

Sometimes we were able to ride from the street down to the river bank...

But mostly, we stayed up on the street level, and tried to steer clear of the crazy Czech drivers:

Water break!

Here's Leon trying to outpace me... Ha haa... never!!

DRATS. There he is. Maybe I should focus less on taking pictures and more on pedaling next time. And yes, that is chewing gum in my open mouth. Sorry, Mom.

We kept riding...

...and riding... past the Dancing House:

...stopping often to admire the view:

Having gone beyond the more familiar, central parts of Prague, at one point we ended up on a little wooded island on the river. We decided to turn around, but promised ourselves to return on another day to explore some more:

I {HEART} the Vltava!

THE END:

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The Great Car Hunt

nobody@vox.com(Xander) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:07:38 +0000

Weird day.

Well, weird night, too. I had a dream about driving to work, only I took a route past my regular drinking haunt, which is actually in the opposite direction. I was anxious about something (probably going in the wrong direction) and focusing hard on the road ahead when someone crashed into the side of me. Normally I'd give the guy a good telling off, and maybe a slap or two, but I was in too big a hurry so I stole this silver Ducatti that was sitting at the side of the road.

Then I was suddenly in Prague! Don't ask me how I got there. I only knew where I was because I could see the old factory I worked at for a couple of months through this big church window. I was still very anxious, but I couldn't help laughing at someone, which made him very upset, which made me more anxious, which made me laugh even harder (sometimes I'm my own worst enemy).

Then I was back in my apartment eating a huge BLT with this girl I once knew in Prague. But I hate tomato.

Any ideas, Dr. Freud?

Anyway, to The Hunt. This morning I called Billy, but he wasn’t much help. Too busy getting the kids ready for church (bloody Catholics), so I set off to try to retrace my steps.

I started off at the pub, just in case, but there was no sign, so I walked in the general direction I was driving in the dream. I was never big on the whole deeper meaning of dreams stuff - however much an old girlfriend tried to bring me around to the idea - but I couldn't think of anything better to do (I really didn't want to have that conversation with the police: "Hi. I was wondering if a [enter car description here] had been found...um, unaccounted for...? Stolen? No, just...misplaced... As a matter of fact...yyyes, yes I was... I don't think I was driving... No, I can't be sure... Could you please stop laughing... And no, I don't appreciate you spreading it around the station, either.").

I went two blocks before I saw the skid marks on the road and the bits of glass in the gutter. At the risk of further embarrassment, I stopped into the grocery store on the corner:

"‘scuse me pal, Was there a crash out there yesterday?"

"Couple nights ago, I think."

(crap)

"I don't suppose anyone's bike was stolen?"

He just looked at me like I was strange.

I'll call the local junkyard tomorrow. In the meantime I’ll have to commute.

Not happy.

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Prague: I Like Beer Gardens

nobody@vox.com(OneInAmylion) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:36:08 +0000

Ahoy! Every place I visit, I seem to compare to my previous destinations and come up with some kind of judgement. Amsterdam is the place that I most want to live, Berlin is the place that I would go on weekend trips, and Prague is the place that I would to think retrospectively. Prague itself is a very modern city, and it is the only European capital that has not been ravaged by the bombings of WWI and WWII. Everywhere you look there are architectural wonders. From the gothic period to the cubists, they are all well represented in Prague.

As mentioned in my prior post, I am staying with Shana who is here teaching English. It makes a big difference to know someone who actually lives in the city because it allows you to experience beyond the tourist sites and meet a few expats. That's not to say there wasn't plenty of visits to tourist spots....

IMG_0582

On the first day I wandered around Wenceslas Square which is this huge main drag that's completely inundated with tourists, Staromestke Namesti which is the Old Town Square, and the Old Jewish Cemetary. For lunch, I tried this Czech dish called Smazeny Syr which is a patty of fried cheese on a hamburger bun with a dollup of mayonnaise. Later that evening Shana and I met her friend Jesse for drinks in the beer garden. For a little under $2, you can have half a liter of beer. It's a fantastic place....fried cheese sandwiches and cheap beer. We watched the sunset over Prague from the hill that the beer garden was on and then made our way to a cool little bar.

On my last day in Prague I went early on to see the King Charles bridge and hung out in a cafe for the morning. I eventually gathered enough energy and made my way to the Palace. I saw the catherdral and ate lunch in the palace gardens. Afterwards I found a nice park and took a nap. In the evening, Shana and I went to a fantastic cafe known for its desserts and shared strawberries on whipped marcapone with a drizzling of balsamic. (I think my blabbering about food is going to be a trend) We then met a few of Shana's friends and ended up back at the beer garden to watch Germany defeat Turkey.

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A Month Late and a Euro Short

nobody@vox.com(AmyH) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:00:07 +0000

Historical facts, blah blah, things we did in the moment, blah blah, PICTURES!

Yeah, I suck at getting pictures posted and stories told. So in completely half ass fashion, here are just pictures from the remaining cities of the Mom & AmyH Eastern Europe Extravaganza.

First Vienna - full of big and beautiful buildings, just perfect for the seat of the Hapsburg Empire. It's hard to believe that Maria Theresa, considered the most powerful monarch of the throne, was pregnant for most of her years. 16 kids. Oof. Also home of a great coffee shop culture. And chocolate.

After experiencing the opulence and splendor that is the Budapest Opera House, we thought it wouldn't be right if we left Vienna without catching an opera at the Staatsoper. I paid far too much for scalper tix - but the show was incredible. Wagner's "Siegfried", the second installment of the Ring Cycle. It was a five hour show that went by in a flash. Intense story, amazing music and an atmosphere that was almost as overwhelming as the opera itself. We had little screens in front of us so we could follow along in English to the dialogue. MomH said it was like reading a suspense novel but with music. We were enthralled, waiting for the next line to come up. After three hours at the second intermission, I asked MomH if she wanted to go. "No! I want to see if he gets the girl!"

It was fantastic.

Now off to Prague, where I will not do the city justice if I slap together some of the pictures. But sometimes there is no justice in this world. (Also, because if I think about how much I want to say, I'll put it off for another day and then nothing will get done at all. Great is the enemy of the good and all that jazz...)

We enjoyed meandering on the Charles Bridge, mercifully sparse with tourists - travel on the off/shoulder seasons whenever possible!

To take ourselves further away from the tourist sections, we spent time on Nerudova street, poking around shops, pubs and taking pictures of door signs. Before Maria Theresa showed up on the Prague scene and created order throughout the city, houses were known by the symbols above the doors. This represented what took place inside, mostly alchemy enterprises, although some of the meanings have been lost to time.

One cannot leave Prague without a visit to the Old Jewish Quarter. We didn't go on the main tour of all the synagogues and the cemetery, but did go into the Old-New Synagogue, the oldest in Europe at 700 years. Also, you can't get a good view of the Jewish Cemetery without a pricey ticket. Or you can go into the super cheap Museum of Decorative Arts, use the restroom and happen to turn around and look out the open window that has an amazing view.

I will do this a little justice. According to my guide book at hand, "The crumbling image of teh Old Jewish Cemetery is a moving memorial to Prague's once considerable Jewish community. As this was one of the few burial sites available to Prague's Juews, when the plot was full, graves built up in layers - estimates put the number at about 200,000, with the oldest headstone dating from 1439. The final burial took place in 1787."

Whew. Now I'm spent. But I'll move on to Warsaw, the last spot of the trip. (I already did Krakow, check tags for "Vacation with Mom" or "Eastern Europe" to see all the other installments.)

Warsaw was 95% destroyed by the Nazis during WWII. Nothing remains of the Ghetto Uprising except old photos and a memorial. A year after the Ghetto Uprising was the Warsaw Uprising, which the Nazis didn't take kindly to, either. As the Soviets stood on the other side of the river and watched the destruction, the Nazis were hellbent to finally destroy the pesky Warsovians. The city has tried to rebuild the old section of town to resemble what it was like before the war. I think they did a pretty good job.

We did a walking tour through one of the major parks in Warsaw. It was beautiful and full of preening peacocks.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. If you REALLY want to know more about something, just ask! If I come across some pics that I should have posted, I'll do a make-up post later. Promise. ;-)

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