"The Land that Vegetables Forgot" -- Anthony Bordain

Anthony Bordain visited Prague and proclaimed it a pork fest; we discovered What he meant first hand today. Our day started with the hotel breakfast of Meats (ham, sausages), cheeses, Scrambled eggs with sausages, and lots of coffee. That definitely held us through miles of walking, and I mean miles today. By the time I Needed a snack around 6:30, WE walked to the Old Town Square for a sausage. You know, That Yummy kind, smothered in mustard and snaps When You Bite Into IT.

And then after our pork induced coma, WE decided to Wander around a bit more... walking. The second pass through Wenceslaus Square, WE SAW IT the vall halla of Deep fried fatty goodness, the famed deep fried cheese sandwich slathered in mayonaise. If you've seen the Prague Episode of "No Reservations," you know what I'm talking about.

Now in case you think all WE did today was walk and eat, well you'd Be Close. However, WE visited the National Museum and Learned That The Treasures of the country include miles and miles of rocks in Some Cases and Stuffed Animals. And lots of old manuscripts That have something to do with the King Wenceslas.

Finally, I did do Some Work Today. I met Misa Appeltova, A Woman Who works for Forum 50%, the NGO That has been very helpful to my research. I Learned a great deal about politics and the roles of Women and Learned more about the press conference I'll Be Attending on Tuesday. Exciting times.

Just an FYI in case you're wondering about the strange capitalization or oddities about my writing - My browser thinks it's Czech. Sometimes Czech capitalizes nouns, for example, and my browser thinks it's being helpful. I'm tired of Changing it back - I've done so Three times now - so we're just going with it.

Time for bed. We Have an early train to Olomouc WHERE Tomorrow begins a new adventure. . .

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sheeler, Welcome Home! Happy Walia

That's what the card welcoming us to our room said.

I'm sitting here enjoying our lovely bottle of Bohemia Sekt while updating my blog. It seems like it was just this morning that Kelley dropped us off at the airport, and I guess technically it was. The flights were good, if not rather choppy. Lufthansa still serves free beverages on international flights, and "Everything's Fine" is just about the saddest move ever.

Arriving in Prague early, was the first signal that we were going to be on our way to a very good day. We breezed through picking up luggage and emerged from the security doors only to find Mr. Happy Walia, only known to me over emails before today, standing next to his driver who was holding a sign that said "Mrs. Sheeler." That would be me. Both dressed in suits, they kissed us welcome, grabbed our bags, and we were off. A beautiful 15 minute drive later through central Prague, or Prague 1, we arrived at the Charles Hotel. We were welcomed with a glass of champagne, our bags disappeared to our room, and we were given all the information we needed to enjoy the next two days. When we arrived in our executive suite, there was another bottle of champagne waiting for us. This is definitely a place that will get our business again. And it makes me very happy.

First, you won't believe this lovely room.. . or should I say rooms. A living room and bedroom, study, entry foyer and full modern bath.

With a lovely view from the third floor that is literally steps from the Charles Bridge.

But here's my favorite touch!

Here's a few snaps of the bridge.

When we crossed the bridge we wandered over to the Old Towne square, without the aid of a map (we feel like locals), and found that the Easter festivities that I've been reading about really are true. It was a carnival like atmosphere with lots of vendors selling local crafts and local foods. The one interesting thing appeared to be a Czech version of elephant ears, but wrapped around a rolling pin looking thing spinning over coals and then smeared with, are you ready for it, Nutella. Civilization! Ian had to indulge in the Czech ham, a pig roasted over a spit, that was quite delicious. But I would have been happy with the sausages. But we still have tomorrow.

Well, that's just a taste of our adventures so far. The champagne is almost gone, it's getting dark outside, and our siesta is over. Time to explore some more. Sleep is for wimps!

Easter Monday and the Whipping of the Ankles

I've been reading about Czech holidays and traditions and recently learned that Easter is the biggest holiday of the year, on par with Christmas. Our first weekend in Olomouc will be Easter, so it will be a wonderful time for people watching and outdoor festivals.

I learned of a strange tradition, however, that on Easter Monday, little boys are to make whips out of willow branches and then they beat the legs of the little girls while singing Easter carols and running through the village. They may even douse the little girls with buckets of water. In return, the little girls give the boys beautifully decorated Easter eggs wrapped in ribbons or candy. Apparently on Easter Monday, little boys end up with lots of pretty eggs and candies, while little girls end up with beaten legs and wet hair. But of course it's all in good fun. And they're only beaten lightly.

T-Two Weeks and Counting

I can't believe the time is almost here. Two weeks from today we leave for Olomouc. We have our apartment, in the Faculty Residences on Vancurova Street. Here is a picture of the Apartment building (let it load all the way, it may take a few seconds). It is right on the tram line and within walking distance of everything.

Things are coming together. I have finished the survey I'm going to use to interview female politicians while I'm there and it is being translated. Small world--the woman doing the translation for me is a Czech woman who lives in Virginia. Come to find out her home town, or native town as she says, is Olomouc, and she attended Palacky University.

This week's task is to plan the lectures I'll give when I'm there on intercultural communication. Something tells me I'll learn more from my students while I'm there than they'll learn from me.