I have been aware for some time that I didn’t ever post
anything about my trip to Prague with my good friend Shelley. I think it was because I was passing the
torch to my relief person and after coming home, I had stuff to do and time got
away from me, blah, blah, blah. Although
this is not even close to real time since my trip was in the spring, maybe the
pix will still be impressive and maybe cause somebody to look at them and
remember when they were in Praha. There
may be more in Prague to capture the interest of younger people who like to
party because it is definitely a partying city, but Shelley and I tried hard to
do it all in 36 hours. I drove to Prague
and got a hotel in the old city; moving traffic was almost at a standstill with
the throngs pushing into the tight cobblestone streets. Absinthe induced revelry
bulged from overcrowded bars and nightclubs and the streets groaned in slow
motion. One-ways streets criss-crossed
one another in a random fashion causing the most sane person insane enough to
drive in Prague to become easily disoriented.
When we finally found our hotel which was only marked by a small wooden
door with an 8X11 logo, I had to drive again around a couple of blocks to
access the parking “garage”; a 3 story underground bunker with a car
elevator. I just drove down an alley
onto the little courtyard behind the hotel and parked in a white outline not much
smaller than the courtyard. Then I left my
keys with some smiling young guy named Michel who said, “Don’t worry…I take
good care of car 
for you.” It sounded better with the accent but some things
you just can’t write. I heard a long grinding and crunching sound after I
entered the hotel that kind of sounded like my car being chewed up by a salvage
yard car compacter. From my room on the
5th floor walkup I could see the tiny courtyard and Michel waving up
an me with that infernal 
grin but no car…I just hoped for the best. I am
learning that when someplace says “breakfast included”, it could mean anything
or not much as in this case. After
learning how to properly say good morning in Czech, “Dobry Den!”, exploring
Prague was quite the adventure as we got on the wrong bus driving us out of
town the wrong direction. Eventually, we found the right bus but a lot of folks
in Prague don’t speak English, or German or anything else that might have been
a step in the direction we wanted to go. (Always makes me LOL when I cross the
border into another country and suddenly the language changes: the people, the
culture, the 
clothes, the signs, the food, everything changes
immediately.) Anyway, this 2500 year old
city in ancient Bohemia, started to wake up Saturday morning and became alive
again with a different pulse from the night before. The day warmed up into the 70’s and the
people came out in swarms to enjoy the incredible day. Castles, Palaces, The
Charles Bridge with it's interesting and sometimes bizarre scuptures and statues, the Astronomical Clock, the amazing Central Square all were
very alive. After the Sabbath ended, the
Jewish Quarter crawled slowly to life where to our puzzlement, people on the
streets spoke Hebrew; finally a language we could communicate in. We got to
drink Budvar (the supposed originator of Budweiser beer, much to the chagrin of
the people at Anheiser-Busch and the joy of the people at the Budvar Brewing
Co.), we got to see a zombie flash-mob. So many things to see and do and many
of them you just don’t see in America, pretty much ever – the kinds of things
that make you feel just – well … good.
That’s how you say Merry Christmas in Dutch. Of course as I write this I am no longer in
Nederlands but neatly reabsorbed at my home in Florida, paying my yearly
property taxes and homeowners insurance among other bills, refilling my fridge,
replacing burned out lightbulbs. It’s warm and it hasn’t rained; opposite of
the Netherlands, but I definitely enjoyed my time there. I got my knees X-Rayed and a shot of
cortisone in each one and I have an appt with an Orthopod in about a week. All the things that make this holiday season so
joyous and bright. I spent the day Saturday on my last weekend in Europe in
Cologne with my new good friend Jania. (We both live in Pensacola and have
known each other for some 15 years, but never hung out or socialized in the
same circles, and it took Brunssum, Netherlands for us to become good friends!)
My knees were aching but 
since I knew this was possibly my last chance to climb
the stairs to the top of the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) belfry; 509 stone
steps of the spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 322 ft above the
ground. That’s 509 up and 509 down with each step being about 3 feet wide and several
hundred people all doing the same thing. There was that and the Jewish
archaeological site which was discovered a couple of years ago a few blocks
from the Dom. It is the oldest known
Jewish settlement in Northern Europe.
Yep, they were just digging down to build a new Starbucks 
and found this
whole city, complete with Mikve, Bakery and a Deli. Okay not the deli but the other stuff is
actually in pretty good shape for having been buried a thousand years. The
Christmas markets were starting up and there was the smell of Glühwein,
chocolate, bakeries, pine and for some reason bayberry aroma was everywhere,
too. The bottom picture from inside the Dom is the famous "Adoration of the Magi" triptic by Stefan Lochner created around 1440 AD. By the time the sun started going down I was feeling like an old man, not
so much in pain, but my knees were feeling weak (maybe it was the wein or bier,
but I think not) so we went back to the house. I sure did enjoy Northern
Europe. Next time I plan to be jumping and running.
Prettige Kerstdagen, Frohe Weihnachten,
メリークリスマス, Mutlu Noeller, 메리 크리스마스, Joyeux Noël, Veselé Vánoce, Mele Kalikimaka, or however 
you say MERRY
CHRISTMAS where you come from!
