We are in Prague

June 30, 2007 Saturday

What can I say? A very long train ride. We upgraded to 1^st class and sat in the same car with Huan and Xiaoyan. The train station in Poprad is under renovation so there were a lot of steps to get us to the correct platform. Then the VERY LONG TRAIN RIDE and a lot of steps in the station in Prague.

The representative from Old Town Apartments met us on the platform (wasn’t that novel? He had a sign with our name on it and everything. Chuck has become very suspicious and was convinced that we would be left to wander like at Poprad!) He took us to the apartment, showed us where everything was, and made arrangements for our transportation to the airport when we leave. Since this is at 3:40 am, it is a very important arrangement.

A lovely apartment near metro and tram lines, supermarkets, bookstores and places to eat.

A living room:

Bedroom:

Kitchen:

And bathroom. The only trouble with all of the bathtubs in Eastern Europe is that they are very high. This one came up to my mid thigh when I was standing on the floor. I had visions of catching my foot and landing with a big thump.

It was dinner time, Chuck has been reading the restaurant guide all the way here – so I made a reservation and off we went. It started raining so we really didn’t look at anything – just scurried to the restaurant. On the way, we did spot an adorable elephant mug. Calder’s favorite animal is the elephant, “and my favorite elephant is the African elephant” which he explains often. We made note of the store and will come back when it is open.

Our dinners were good, but mine was a little strange. The waiter kept saying that the special was mussels. I noticed that the word on the board was not the French word for mussels, but ordered anyway. It was the French word for clams and that is what I got. They were tasty anyway.

We had figured out the metro, found our way there and back and now were more than ready for bed.

Last Day in Lavoca

June 29, 2007 Friday

Today is the last day. The conference finishes after lunch. Several of us are staying until Saturday, because the transportation is spotty. The main topic of conversation is “And how did you get here? How did it work? Not well, eh?” Some people changed airports in London and had to run for miles through a tunnel to catch the bus. One guy’s plane was late and he ended up on a 13 hour train trip because he had to take a local instead of an express. Huan’s luggage was lost for days. It went to Bratislava, because that was the only city in Slovakia that the airline had a contact with.

Anyway, I was delegated to find some tour that we could take. I talked it over with the hotel desk and we decided that the church and castle that I had already been to was the only good choice for a short afternoon’s trip. We started with 5 for sure and ended up with the 7 that was maximum for the group. The tour company reduced the price slightly because we were cutting out some of the normal trip. Instead we added another church that one of the Slovakian guys said was a must. I was really impressed with the guide (Ondrey again). He called his company. They called the priest of the church. He made arrangements with the woman who has the key and gives tours. All while we were on our way to the first church.

Here is our happy little group:

We were locked in the church again. We can’t take pictures but I convinced the guide to let me take a picture of her key.

The second church had been a drive-by the first time and I was glad that I got to see the inside.

It had been frescoed in the 12 – 14^th centuries. Then during a plague, all of the walls had been painted white as a disinfectant. It wasn’t until the 20^th century, that it was discovered that the frescoes were there. The only problem about this church was that the woman with the key needed to tell us waaaay more that we really were interested in hearing.

Then off to the castle. You really can see it from anywhere in the area.

Ondrey is a good guide and he gave a very interesting tour. Just enough information. This time I climbed the keep.

The stairs inside are worn stone and very very very narrow.

The view from the top was worth it.

You can see how empty this country is. It only has 5.5 million people. On the way back Ondrey took us through a gypsy village. He said that it is important to show people the bad things as well as the good. He explained about the problems of the gypsies – some the government’s fault, other’s the gypsies.

A group went to Barakan for dinner. I shared a greek salad with Chuck and had grilled pheasant breast with wood mushrooms and prunes and of course roasted potatoes.

Packed to leave the next morning.

Banquet in Levoca

June 28, 2007 Thursday

Another very quiet day. Did my jaunt around the town – it is still there and hasn’t changed at all. There are a lot of people who come here on tour buses. As far as I can see, they all get off the bus and run to buy ice cream cones.

Tonight is the Banquet. (Every conference has an excursion and a banquet – the attendees spend the rest of the time from 9 am to 6:45 at the conference, conferencing!!)

The limitations of this place showed up in the food. They tried hard, but it was worse that normal banquet food. They started with smoked trout and stale rolls. (I guess that they were left over from breakfast, where they were quite good. Then we had turkey breast with asparagus – but they filled in with green beans, so everyone had exactly 2 spears of asparagus and several green beans. The white wine (or should I say vinegar?) was undrinkable. The red only slightly better. We all switched to beer.

The best thing was the really short, very cute, after dinner speech.