Here today, home tomorrow

Our last day in Prague has been cold, rainy and very busy. (And yes, we're aware of the heat wave at home in Georgia!) Hetty and Paul went off to the suburbs early this morning to shoot an interview at a school. Everyone else took care of last minute shopping and running around.

At 4 we have movie night; we'll sit together and watch all of the blog videos. At 6 we have a final dinner with our friend and guide, Standa. At 8 a final concert in a church off the square. Then it's home to pack for a 4 a.m. wake-up to make our 7 a.m. flight.

No more blog posts tonight; we never did find a good Internet spot in Prague. Once home we'll do a final blog update and begin work on the documentary. If you liked the blog, you'll love the documentary. Watch for it!

Acting in Prague

On our first night in Prague we went to the Disk Theater where Standa's son Martin was doing his final performance before graduating.

In this clip, Martin sings. After the performance his fellow student Daniel Cech sat down with us and described what he expected from life after graduation.

Terezin

POSTED BY KYLE

The tone of the morning was appropriately set by the ominous clouds overhead and the brisk air. Once we left the comfort of the bus we were met with countless gravestones and a Star of David in the distance. We quickly realized the aftermath of Terezin.

Our morning was long, wandering in and out of holding cells and sleeping quarters. None of us could imagine the life those many people were forced to live. Some of the rooms held hundreds of people, but the cold, barren rooms were only as big as an average classroom.

It was difficult to comprehend the destruction that had occurred in the very rooms we stepped into and out of freely. Unlike the people who inhabited Terezin decades ago, we were allowed to leave. When the past became too real we could move on.

We saw, felt, and learned that morning. The cement walls still tell a story. The courtyards still hold the grief. The art and museum helped us to learn and not forget.

We and many others left Terezin with a greater understanding. Thousands come and go each year. It is remarkable to think that in the 40’s thousands came, and only a handful left.

You won't see this in Milledgeville

Czech Cheese

Standa is a fan of cheese. On our first night here we had fried cheese for dinner. Half of us didn't know what it was; the other half thought it was an appetizer. Later, we went to the factory...

Behind the gates charge

When I posted the photo of charging the castle gates I completely forgot that Paul had the video!

Charles Bridge Jazz

As we were walkng home from our visit to Prague Castle on Saturday, we came upon some street musicians on the Charles Bridge. Video by Hetty.

Sugar coated almonds

The pace of the trip has picked up for the last stretch; our days are very full and we have theater events every night. We've got piles of video but little time to edit. And we've yet to find an ideal Internet spot (said Paul, "It seems like the bigger the town the harder it is to find Internet." I agree. It's everywhere and nowhere. And not free!)

Today we visited Prague Castle and walked from there across the Charles Bridge back to the main square in town where Kyle stopped for some of her favored sugar coated toasted almonds. I thought the guy bagging them had flare, so I snapped this video with my still camera. I figure it will have to fill the video void until we can get these students some editing time!!!

Another day another castle

We arrived by train in Prague yesterday, spent the day wandering around in the rain and went to the theater last night. Video soon!

In the meantime, the photo on the right is of a fairy tale castle (home of the German Order of Knights) that we visited on Thursday. In the photo below the gang charges out of the castle and across the drawbridge.

The clock

Here in Olomouc there is a large clock on the side of city hall that once had religious iconography but now has workers (put there by the communists while they were in power). The locals love it, It performs at noon. Yesterday Hetty was there...

When nature calls

POSTED BY KYLE PULNER

One thing that none of can aviod while being in the Czech is having to use the various facilities while roaming around. We caught on quickly to the fact that most lavatories are marked by an unmistakeable WC. When ya gotta go, this makes the search much easier. However, that is only the beginning to one's bathroom adventure.

If the doors are not labled with a picture, we then have to discern which one is for us ladies and which is for the gentlemen. I have had to take a guess at times (thankfully, my womans intuition has been correct!).

Anyone can get confused, especially in a foreign country, right? What if you then had to pay? Yes, thats right people in America, we have paid to use the "toalety!"

This can't be as much of a shock to you as it was to us. The first time I encountered this, I was in the train station with Jessie. We tried to walk on by (sort of in a rush if you know what I mean) only to be stopped by an old lady asking for 10Kc. We searched our bags for change; luckily I had just enough. Then I briskly walk towards the stalls (by now its just getting worse), look in the stall and see there is no toilet paper dispenser. Not the common problem of toilet paper being all used, the dispenser is no where. I checked behind the door, anywhere the toilet paper could hide (remember urgency is ensuing).

I was going to go back to the little old lady that I had paid to try and communicate the need for toilet paper. As I turn around I see the dispenser!! I grab what I think I need, I think more is better in this case, then I finally go into the stall fully prepared.

That was my first experience with the culturally different bathrooms and I cautioned everyone to the possibilties. Now that we know what to expect, everything goes much smoother. Think of us the next time you mechanically go to the bathroom while out in public.

Studio time

We spent much of the day in the television studio of the university here shooting interviews for our documentary project. When we're back we will be editing together a narrative of our trip, along with profiles of each of the students, and Casey Sullivan will be putting together a photo montage.

While we were busy interviewing, Casey was uploading a few more albums to her flickr site. Click here to check them out. Among them, this one (of me and Hetty, titled HAHAHA!) from our trip to the zoo outside Olomouc yesterday.

An Anecdote

Arriving in Olomouc I think most of us students were excited to learn that we get to sleep in the Palacky University dormitories. Until someone pointed out that no bath towels were laying await on our beds, as they had been in the hotel in Hradec. So Hetty and I went on a mission to locate towels (but it was a Sunday evening so our hopes were not high).

Luckily, the secretary was still in the downstairs office. Unluckily, she spoke no English. We attempted Joe's technique of pantomiming our problem and, thinking she understood, the three of us traveled down through locked doors to the underworkings of the dormitory. We reached a final door which the secretary unlocked and opened with a flourish, revealing...

A SHOWER STALL

Hetty and I laughed. You can only imagine how bad our pantomime had been to make this woman believe we wanted to see the secret underground shower stall. (Were we worse than Joe?!) Hetty grabbed at a random towel hanging in the room and pretended to dry off her arms. Visual aids are always helpful. The secretary made an "Ohhhhhh, so that's what you wanted" face and led us back to the office.

She found some dishrags for us to use as towels (well honestly they might as well have been dishrags) and we all had a good friendly laugh as Hetty and I finally left this poor woman alone. (I have found that when faced with an awkward situation and literally nothing to say, friendly laughter serves well.) I hope those at home can laugh along with this little experience!

(As a follow up, Standa later got some better towels for us to use - not bigger, but at least more absorbent!)

Dirty laundry

We came to the Czech Republic expecting to learn Czech...little did we know we would end up hanging out with the Russians!!! For three days, Kyle and I stayed at the home of two amaying ladies: Ana and Oxy (mother and daughter). They fed us (too much), gave us a bed, gave us a shower, and taught us Russian. They didnt speak a word of English so Kÿle and I have become masters of miming. Dont mess with us.

This video was shot by both of us concerning our dirty laundry and the potential drama of getting it washed. This is a rough cut, I will be adding music and effects later but it may be days before I can so here it is... I hope you enjoy!

The Czech Republic Blues

Posted by Paul Grigsby

Embarking on this journey to the Czech Republic has been eventful and inspiring. Hetty and I shoot and shoot, and look for wonderful things to include in our documentary, which will be available for $9.99 when we get back. Besides looking for shots we like to be silly, and this is one of those silly episodes, Kyle Pullner caught us on tape singing the Czech Republic Blues.

The iPod of its time?

On our way from Hradec Králové to Olomouc yesterday, we stopped at a castle in Litomysl. There we saw one of the Czech Republic's two Music Boxes from Vienna, this one from 1826. It stands over six feet tall and comes with sixteen thirty-inch cylinders that can play a whopping eighteen melodies.

A farewell to Hradec Králové

After a variety of successful experiences with home stays, we left Hradec Králové yesterday morning bound for Olomouc. We arrived and settled in here last night.

While in Hradec Králové we were treated to a rehearsal of the renowned Jitro Choir. After the rehersal one of the Jitro students played a solo piano piece for Dr. Mercier. As a remembrance of the trip so far I have edited together the piece with some random photos of our adventures.

Home stays

We're spending our last days in Hradec Králové in the homes of students and friends of the university here. We have split up and paired off and gone our seperate ways to experience life from their perspective. We will gather again on Sunday morning when we head off to Olomouc for a stay in the university there.

That means we will probably not be posting until Sunday or Monday. In the meantime, Casey Sullivan has set up a flickr site with her photos. Click here to explore and enjoy them. We also invite you to comment. We're following the blog with you and reading all of your comments. You can also comment on individual photos on the flickr site.

Here's a favorite of mine:

A night of jazz...

Posted by Hetty:

Upon our first night in Hradec we had the pleasure of attending the concert of an amazing jazz band led by a great trumpet player who is from the Czech Republic and now resides in New York. Here is a snipet of the musical evening.

Still more Czech steps

233 this time. A video by Paul Grigsby.

Czech pop in the park

POST BY HETTY

Where is the Czech pop?! That has been the question. Everywhere we go we have been surrounded by American music, especially pop. It almost seemed like they saw "the Americans" coming and would switch to American music. Madonna seems to be a particular favorite. Even when we were in the small town of Kuks and were watching a little band in a local restaurant the band played La Isla Bonita by Madonna. We want to hear the real Czech music!

Last night we had amazing opportunity to experience this culture's music through their eyes. While walking around Hradec, we happened upon a large, outside stage that a Czech rock band was playing on. It seemed like the whole town had come out to watch! All ages, all different flavors of Czechs, it was great! Everyone was singing along to the words. This experience was refreshing.

The other day when we went to an art gallery opening, I met a Czech girl named Daniella. She told me that she doesn't buy CDs and that the stuff they sell in the record stores is Czech pop but it's not any good. She said that she simply downloads her music online. I laughed and told her I did the same most of the time. I asked her if she got tired of hearing American music everywhere she went. She laughed and said that it just simply is the way it is....we "are bigger" and have more media, more to offer. She said she also usually sees American movies. The way she said it was matter-of-factly, a sort of "of course all media is centered around America." I thought this was interesting and then we went on the talk about languages. She knows three languages and we were saying we felt like we should too. She commented that we shouldn't because it isn't necessary. hmmmm.

After this conversation we decided to dress up like Madonna and go karyoky-ing down town. it was fun. We also went to the movie theater and watched Pride and Prejudice while listening to the Backstreet Boys on our ipods. And wearing shirts that said American Eagle. Then we went to Hollywood. It was a great night.

ps: I made that last part up. (the part about going to Hollywood). Here's some video Joe shot with his still camera of the concert in the park. We've got 2 more videos ready and are trying to get them uploaded...

So Who Is This Man Leading Us Around The Czech Republic?

posted by Jessica Wehner

It came to my realization that folks at home may be wondering just who this man is that is leading us around the Czech Republic. We often wonder this ourselves, everytime he introduces us to our next crazy adventure. Joes describes him as a leprechaun. He says "He appears suddenly, transports us to some crazy magical place, and then just as mysteriously he disappears," and we all agree that this is an accurate description. So, in case you are curious, this is what we know of our guide thus far:

Name: Standa Bohadlo

Favorite Meals: Fried Cheese, Tortellini, and Steak Tartare (raw meat topped with an equally raw egg and surrounded by various spices)

Musical Ability: Plays guitar (much to Hetty and Casey's delight)

Lanugages: maybe 8? maybe 9? maybe 20? (Czech, German, English, Russian...)

Interests: Art, music, theater, film, leading groups of Americans around the Czech Republic

Hobbies: Fixing up his old barn and converting it into a theater

Connections: Gypsy band, modern art gallery director, antique book collector, other professors, Jitro girl's choir, art shop owner

Our Favorite Standa Moments: The choir director asking us how we know Standa and all of his pupils laughing; him turning the camera on Hetty (our first glimpse into his personality); his strongman poses modeling his GCSU tshirts; his animated, wide-eyed expressions

Favorite Standa Quotes: "Ohhhhh, this is right...."(usually followed by a quirky
joke)

"Hide it! Hide it!" (In reference to Hetty's secret water
bottle in the nice restaurant)

"Teeeeeeeeeee for Texas, and Tennessee" (singing)

"Strange people, strange food, strange things, strange
place" (in reference to his own country)

Web Address: www.jmc.cz/stan

Rickety Czech Church Steps

A video by Hetty White.

Leaving Kuks

We left Sunday; it's taken this long to get the video posted...

By Paul Griigsby

Then and now

We started today with a lecture on how the study of the english language has evolved through the ages in the Czech Republic to become today the most popular foreign language studied. Foreign language study is required here and begins in the third grade.

Afterword our host, Standa, a professor in the college we`re visiting here, took us to the high-tech desktop publishing offices of a friend, Ivan Tejkl, who was a member of the student committee here that helped bring bout the revolution in 1989.

Ivan`s interest in books spans the present to the past. He also happens to be a rare book collector, so we were treated to viewing extremely rare manuscripts dating from the 1500s. The oldest we saw was from 1518!

At the end of the visit I asked Ivan if he knew where we could find high-speed Internet access so that I could upload some video. he invited me into his office, where I am now.

THANK YOU IVAN!!!


Pictured our guide, Standa, Dr. mercier, Hetty and our host, Ivan.

Bigger town, but no high-speed internet

We've tried a number of locations to upload our video, but the Internet connections we've been able to find so far are not fast enough for it.

We may have to stick to text and email for the week we're here. We'll do what we can.

Sitting in internet cafe...

POSTED BY HETTY

Listening to "Brown Eyed Girl" on the radio.
Drinking coffee/foam.
Art gallery this morning!
Thrift store shopping today!
Joe and Paul stare at their computers.
Casey writes poetry and weird things about the people around us: "I will eat you so much!"
The beer is cheaper than coke here....the water's more than both!
"a strange land" --- lovin it.

Gypsy Life

Gypsies gathered in an old barn converted into an old theater. The family tuned tired instruments and talked to each other using their eyes, seldom mouths. Mouths occupied on froths of beer and puffs of cigarette. Smog free smoke, collection of sources in, to the rafters from outside the barn doors. Smoke that burns your eyes pulling tears, pulling juice from vegetables and meats over fire. Smoke that the gypsy voices rise through, emotion filled notes that waft the smoke back outside into the rain. Someone saw a rainbow, faint and thin over the small country town. It faded out in front of heavy grey clouds that began to sweat rain pebbles on Kuks children who didn’t notice.

We laughed together in song, the gypsies and I on an ash covered floor. Laughed with our raw hands beating appreciative claps in mutual direction. Laughed with voices that blend together in air like to many contrasting colors on one pallet, accidentally mixing a perfect earth tone. Laughed with bodies, not quite touching, but moving to the same song, becoming the same body of dance on a floor built for freedom, for equality. Clearing the ash and the smoke. Becoming a voice, without a language.


-Casey Sullivan

More soon

We're settled in to Hradec Králové. We stopped at an amazing fort on the way, went to a Jazz concert last night and we think we're doing an organ tour in 30 minutes.

Lots of video and posting to do but we didn't found an internet cafe 'til judt now so it will all come later.

The first black person I met

A video by Paul Grigsby.

Czech Hopital "tour"

POSTED BY KYLE PULNER
We thought it would be a perfect day to waer a skirt.... Little did we know that the museum tour would put on top of the roof of the Kuks hospital.

The tour started out as any other museum tour we have taken in the past. We were given some history about the town we have been staying in for the past few days. However, it changed rapidly. We entered through a door and the adventure began! The rickety stairs was a challenge for all of us, but again, all was worth the experience. Climbing stairs the the top of the catherdral dome and then out on to the roof of the hopspital, we were given a chance to see the best view from Kuks.

From the very top to the very bottom... We then decended the winding staircase (which, by the way, was missing a few staris) to the Sporck tomb, where visiors aren't usually allowed. We walked among the family tomb, getting a closer look at the individual coffins.

I have learned that I can never expect anything here in the Czech Republic. Every day has its own surpirses... Even the most simplest tour can turn into an adventure I will never forget!!

Gypsies in Kuks

POSTED BY HETTY:

Last night was the "highlight of my trip" -- something I think I'll be saying many more times. We went to a Gypsy concert/dance party at a small theater Standa built himself!

The Gypsy band was amazing and they were so passionate about their songs...several times they all started crying because they were singing about their mother wandering and her heart being broken (they have no home land). Even though their lyrics were sad (of course we couldn't understand them unless Standa translated) their songs were very lively and upbeat. We got up and danced with them and they taught us the words...its was SO AWESOME. We danced with real Gypsies. They loved us and I think they really appreciated how much we enjoyed them.

Standa's neighbors and their kids came over to watch/dance too and Casey played with the kids a lot...she should have some great photos of them...they were so cute. Ok that's all I got for now....ahoy! "czech" for hellow and goodbye :)

Smoking Permitted

Kuks is home to the second oldest pharmacy in Central Europe, in the hospital on the hill. Today we will take a tour.

The castle here in Kuks burned down in 1896. The way people smoke here, it´s surprising there aren't more fires, as this photo of the placemat at the restaurant we ate in last night illustrates. Note all the burn holes.

The students are no fan of the smokey public spaces found everywhere. I'm guessing they probably like the new no smoking law at home in Georgia even if they didn´t before they came here.

300 Czech Steps

A video by Paul Grigsby.

More video later today

Watch for it!

Day 2: Adrspasske a Teplicke Skaly

POSTED BY KYLE PULNER

On the second day in Kuks we traveled via public trasnsportation to a beautiful state park, Adrspasske a Teplicke Skaly. Huge rock formations and lots and lots of steps. To start the day we climbed 300 steps to the top of just one of the enormous boulders. Although it was challenging for most of us, the view was well worth the endless trek to the top! No one told us we would have many more steps to conquor before leaving for the day. Contiuously, we climbed up and down through vallies, gorges, and to peaks with breathtaking views.

We did get a break by taking a short water ride. We rode down the river while Standa translated the many jokes the Czech guide told. He liked to call the boat we were on "Titanic 2"... we understood that one! After our ride it was on to more steps, much to Joe's demise. But even Joe couldn't deny that it was worth the scenery we were able to see while walking. Everywhere we looked, up, down, and in every direction was a picture worthy view. Casey would know! She took pictures from every angle, waiting so patiently for the perfect picture that would capture only a part of what surrounded us all.

Hetty and Paul entertained with thier imagination! We were all willing participants for thier "blog ideas." It was the perfect day just to be silly. I think it was from the water we drank... after all we did top off our water bottels from one of the fresh springs we saw along the way!

Of course the day couldn't be complete without Kyle loosing her balance on a log and stepping into gooey marsh... Jess wasn't far behind. Only a small distraction from the perfect day we had!

Climbing a tree in Kuks

While on the hike, Hetty & Casey climbed a tree. This video is by Hetty White.

Day 1: Kuks Forrest

On our first full day in the Czech Republic we hiked up from our house into the Kuks Forrest wheree M.B.Braun did stone relief carvings in the early 18th centtury. We'll have a full slideshow of photos when we get to a better internet connection. For today, here's Casey's shot of St. Mary Magdalene...

We´re in Kuks!

The plane to Prague was, of course, late too! We arrived at 11PM Wednesday night. Thursday was a delightful. Here's our host, turning the camera on Hetty at Breakfast...

Skip-Bo saves the day!!

POSTED BY HETTY:

So we decided (involuntarily) to spend the day in Germany playing Skip-bo at the airport! Let me just say...Dr. Mercier is a monster at this game...he almost killed Jessie to play his card....(I'm kidding). Everything is going well and I love being in another country...even though I spent $6 on a bottle of water and an apple. I can't wait to get to Prague!!!! I love you mom!!! ;)

Missed connections

The flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt was smooth and uneventful, save for the late start. That meant a late landing and missed connection. We're now in the airport waiting for a 4:30 flight to Prague and a 6 o'clock arrival; sleepy and disappointed to miss our visit to the cathedral and silver mines.

Our itinerary

We leave Atlanta at 4:30 PM EST (the timestamp on this blog is set to Czech time) and arrive in Franfurt, Germany at 7:15 AM. We connect to Prague at 8:05 AM (that'll be a sprint!).

From Prague we set off for Kutna Hora to visit St. Barbara Cathedral and the medieval silver mines. We end the day at our first stay, the Castle Winery in Kuks.

On May 14 we leave Kuks and head off to Hradec Kralove where we'll be staying at New Aldalbertinum. On May 18 we have a 3 day home stay (and hope to get laundry done!).

On May 21 we leave for Olomouc for a stay at Palacky University. Then on May 26 we return to Prague, where we will be staying at Kolej PETRSKA.

We return to Atlanta on May 31. At each stop we have a variety of field trips, lectures, concerts and theater scheduled. We'll let you know all about it!