tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25145442009-06-29T10:58:17.887+02:00I'm finally satisfying a long-held dream of living abroad.<br /> Having started in France, I've now moved on to the Czech Republic.Dorisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-21158766377793309922009-06-22T17:15:00.002+02:002009-06-24T13:24:23.737+02:00

Saturday was Prague Museum Night, an annual event when participating museums, galleries, etc. offer free admission from 7 PM to 1 AM; there is also free transportation provided. Besides their usual exhibits, many museums take advantage of the opportunity to open new shows or offer special accompanying events. Not surprisingly, a lot of people turn out with their families to enjoy the free

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-48777211968209940012009-06-14T19:06:00.004+02:002009-06-29T10:54:45.955+02:00

My parish here is sv Tomáš. (The church is tucked into an alley, which makes it difficult to get a good shot.) It was established in the 13th century and there is an Augustinian monastery attached to it. The summer refectory and cloister gardens are used for such gatherings as hospitality after Mass and the annual parish festival: Father William claims that the cloister garden figures in

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-88114921591560149722009-06-12T18:30:00.004+02:002009-06-23T16:34:35.322+02:00

Today, I visited Lidice, the village destroyed by the Nazis in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The History in Brief Reinhard Heydrich died on June 4, 1942 as the result of May 27 attack by Czechoslovak parachuters sent by the government in exile. Hitler ordered reprisals, commanding that, in any village involved in Heydrich's death, the SS should: Execute all adult

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-54536774831857243372009-06-06T10:25:00.003+02:002009-06-23T11:29:08.259+02:00

I finally got around to taking a "Ghost Tour" of Prague the other evening, courtesy of McGee's Ghost Tours. (There are no pictures, as I still really haven't mastered the art of night photography.) This would really be a tour best taken on first arriving in Prague, as a lot of it was old hat to me. For example, the tour starts at the Astronomical Clock with the story of the blinding of the

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-25375678415045580782009-05-24T17:44:00.004+02:002009-06-22T18:30:21.341+02:00

Last year, I joined the pilgrimage to svatá Dobrotivá. This year, I did so again. The experience was very similar to last year's: the bus ride to Olešna, where we began our procession: Then the cross-country procession. I remain amazed that the area surrounding Prague becomes so quickly pastoral on leaving the city: The Augustinians (with the help of some of sv. Tomáš's parishioners)

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-27324652354879597152009-05-17T17:15:00.002+02:002009-06-22T17:44:28.318+02:00

Last year's celebration of the feast of St. John of Nepomuk was a modest affair: Vespers at sv. Tomáš followed by a procession to St. John's statue on Charles Bridge and finishing up with a Benediction at the church of St. Francis on the other side of the bridge. This year, though, there was a grander celebration. Apparently someone affiliated with the Charles Bridge Museum wants to revive

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-60904280678217671962009-04-13T13:17:00.004+02:002009-06-19T08:53:13.765+02:00

Last year, I mentioned my dissatisfaction with the way in which the Triduum liturgy was handled at sv. Tomaš and speculated that I might opt for a retreat in an English-speaking country this year instead. Well, that's exactly what I did: I went to St. Beuno's, a Jesuit retreat house (excuse me, "Spirituality Centre") on the coast in Wales. St. Beuno's was originally built as a Jesuit college

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-36934777342299794482009-03-29T12:54:00.001+02:002009-06-10T13:16:29.401+02:00

I went out the other day to play tourist and visit the Easter markets. Not, mind, with the thought of buying anything, but just to look. My outing coincided with the "Right to Life" (anti-abortion) March: The more Easter-specific booths tend to feature decorated eggs: As at Christmas, though, a lot of booths just sell the usual tourist junk: These dancers were preparing to go on stage at

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-13237978427768581562009-03-28T20:55:00.009+01:002009-06-19T08:56:56.694+02:00

I visited the States for the first time since leaving more than two years ago. It was Little Brother's birthday, which seemed like a reasonable excuse. Oregon Since my putative excuse for the trip was LB's birthday, I started my visit on the Oregon coast, near Lincoln City. I made LB a seafood lasagne and blueberry cheesecake (his favorites!) for his birthday, and we just hung out. We did

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-12269478147716848712009-01-21T19:58:00.002+01:002009-06-06T20:05:23.128+02:00

It was of course possible to watch the inauguration streaming online, but I really wanted to be with like-minded folk for this. So off I went to the Globe Bookstore. Turns out I had more than enough company: The speech was well-received, and I was particularly pleased that Obama specifically refuted the idea that we should compromise our ideals in the name of security. I didn't stick around

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-27604337237344848922009-01-07T19:50:00.002+01:002009-06-06T19:56:39.044+02:00

Before leaving Caledonian School, I tried to present my medical bills for reimbursement. However, the insurance clerk was out sick the week before Christmas. No problem, I was told, just come back in the New Year. This was a bit of an annoyance, since it would have been nice to have the money before Christmas. That, and I didn't have any other reason to go into that part of town. But there

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-70635134302042438012008-12-27T16:18:00.004+01:002009-06-06T17:17:17.826+02:00

December 24 is the first day of the three-day Christmas holiday, and the Czechs take this seriously as a holiday. There's little, if any, last minute running around to buy Christmas presents or groceries, and any stores that are open at all close by early afternoon. The Christmas market at Náměstí Míru was virtually shut down before noon: Some merchants weren't even waiting 'til after

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-6601874601414951372008-12-23T16:19:00.002+01:002009-06-06T16:48:18.081+02:00

I came back from Milan to a web development job that promises to take enough time to interfere with teaching. It also promises to last long enough and pay well enough to make the decision whether or not to continue teaching a no-brainer. And so I have told Caledonian that I won't be coming back after Christmas. My students have been gratifyingly upset (or at least disappointed), even to

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-23032203133666442912008-12-06T13:53:00.005+01:002009-06-10T13:10:31.849+02:00

In Czech, St. Nicholas is sv. Mikuláš. He does not visit children on Christmas Eve*, but rather on the night of December 5, the eve of his feast. Unlike his English-speaking counterpart, sv. Mikul&aacuteš is still a bishop who wears his miter and chasuble and carries a bishop's crook. He is also accompanied by a devil, who doles out coal or potatoes to bad children (or even threatens to carry

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-53693403034662162662008-12-05T13:42:00.004+01:002009-06-06T13:50:48.517+02:00

There is of course a Christmas market at Náměstí Míru this year. It seems smaller than last year's though: about 20% fewer booths, and much less well attended. Is the economy making itself felt here?

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-15620518706653061972008-12-05T10:25:00.009+01:002009-06-06T19:50:51.560+02:00

I took a three-day holiday from teaching to go to Milan for Adobe MAX Europe: I was feeling the need to reconnect with my techie roots. I had an early morning flight on Sunday, and I was amazed at how deserted the airport was: There were also scads of posters announcing the upcoming Czech presidency of the European Union: I knew that the sugar cube is a Czech invention (what, you didn't

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-38882233566749194882008-11-17T22:18:00.000+01:002008-11-17T22:36:44.149+01:00

As International Students Day, November 17 commemorates the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague after demonstrations against the killing of Jan Opletal and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the execution of nine student leaders, over 1200 students sent to concentration camps, and the closing of all Czech universities and colleges. In the Czech Republic, as

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-82062075568591629532008-11-15T19:40:00.004+01:002008-11-17T21:44:18.552+01:00

When I was in Olomouc, I saw a Russian Orthodox Church, which I was told had been built shortly after the First World War for the sake of Czechs who had converted to Orthodoxy during the War. I didn't think much of it at the time, assuming that these Czechs had been prisoners of war. But maybe not. At the time of World War I, Czechoslovakia was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and most

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-16133451750035382152008-11-14T19:40:00.004+01:002008-11-17T22:23:59.170+01:00

Burčák and the late summer vinobraní notwithstanding, November 11, the feast of St. Martin, is when the new vintage makes its debut. In honor of the occasion, there was a "wine festival" in Staroměstské náměstí to introduce the new wine to Prague. There were only a couple of dozen booths, though, and it was rather sparsely attended: There were maybe a dozen wineries with booths and a

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-40881428748105134592008-10-28T19:21:00.002+01:002008-10-28T19:37:42.976+01:00

I celebrated Czech Independence Day with a trip to Národn&iacute Divadlo, to see a performance of Smetana's opera, Libuše. Národní Divadlo's website says this about the opera: Smetana's Libuše, dealing with the mythical story of the fabled Czech princess who prophesies glory for the Czech nation, is inextricably linked with Czech history and that of the National Theatre, where on many

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-74129205170140448392008-10-28T10:24:00.004+01:002008-10-28T13:09:13.040+01:00

Today is the 90th anniversary of the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia. The official website of the Czech Republic has this to say about the holiday: Exactly one month later (than September 28's "Day of Czech Statehood"), October 28, perhaps the most important day is remembered, which is associated with the existence of the Czechoslovak Republic itself. In 1918, after several

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-73605824701686007032008-10-27T22:24:00.003+01:002008-10-28T13:07:03.131+01:00

On the tram this morning was a group of American students, four girls. I wasn't paying much mind initially, but I soon realized that they were paying close attention to the display board that shows the upcoming stops. I finally asked one of them where they were going and was told "Krymská". I pointed out that they were headed in the wrong direction and needed to hop off an catch a tram going the

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-41311510309576921742008-10-26T13:49:00.006+01:002008-10-28T13:02:14.744+01:00

Last Sunday was not quite as grand as Saturday had been: it was a little hazy, but still bright and crisp. So I took advantage of the fine weather to visit another of the local castles, Konopiště. The inner courtyard: Konopiště's main claim to fame is that it was home to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire whose assassination in Sarajevo set off World

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-77056130123432098392008-10-26T12:32:00.005+01:002008-10-28T11:07:09.891+01:00

Prague Castle Last Saturday, the weather was so perfectly glorious that I had to go out and do something, so I wandered over to Malá Strana and Prague Castle. My ostensible goal was the Three Women Sculptors: Věra Janoušková, Eva Kmentová, Alina Szapocznikow exhibition at the Summer Palace. As art goes, I'm not a great fan of painting: I prefer my arts to be more tactile, and so I (usually)

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-3917455093521847972008-10-12T10:22:00.003+02:002008-10-12T13:01:58.527+02:00

Late summer is burčák season in the Czech Republic, and with burčák comes the vinobraní, the wine festivals. While Little Brother was here, there was one in Náměstí Míru and Havličkovy Sady, but they were badly overcrowded. So last weekend, I visited the one at Prague Castle: Now, burčák is partially fermented young wine; while other nations sell new wine, under EU regulations, only Moravia

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0