Lost in a fog

Rick Steve's, you know, the PBS travel guru, is our new best friend. He has guided us successfully to Tier, Germany. Certainly I had never heard of the oldest town in Germany. He led us through the sunny warm streets of Amsterdam, Prague, Maastricht and now to Trier. And, we have learned amazing historical facts about all these places. He has told us what to see, where to sleep and where to eat. My God, sometimes I've asked Roger if Rick says its time to breath, sit down or visit the loo!

Today, we have a problem. A fog has settled over the valley. We can't even see the church steeple from our room. We were to start exploring the Mosel Valley, a windy drive filled with spectacular mountain top castles. Sadly, Rick has no words of guidance. We are on our own. There is only one thing do... Drink champagne with our breakfast and then rush over to the largest cathedral outside of Rome, drop to our knees and pray for clear skies .

 

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Seeing both sides now

 

Sittin' in the airport, watch dawn rise. Good bye Prague. It was fun getting to know you. Yesterday was interesting. We walked through cathedrals, castles and dungeons. We went up the funicular to see the Prague Effiel Tower (I thought it was a communist left over structure but no... It built two years after the original Effiel Tower in 1891!) But the big surprise was a music concert and fair we stumbled upon. Families, young adults all wondering around drinking huge beers, carrying emply wine glasses ready for instant fill up, pushing baby buggies, laughing and talking and listening to a variety of musicians. The food carts were amazing. Large potato pancakes, sausages to die for, pickled sweet papers, spicy horse radish. None of this was roped off in a beer garden, no checking IDs, no one behaving badly. Very civilized.

But the real lesson, for me, was the sculpture commemorating the fall of communism. A man, through a series of sculptures, loses parts of himself until he disappears... The result of the dehumanization of the totalitarian state. Being a student in the sixties, being on the edge of hippiness, flirting with new philosophies, it was de rigeur to embrace Russia and blame the USA for everything. I found my self looking backwards and remembering my father who had escaped the Bolsheviks just shaking his head and saying I would grow up. I have seen both sides now.

 

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Shoe shopping with Roger

Woke up this morning knowing that today was going to be different. We had agreed that I was going to check out the shoes in Prague. Yesterday we had shopped at the sausage maker, the baker and the cheese maker, so we had a great little breakfast in our apartment. "Let's just take the tram towards the end of the line first," suggests Roger. Okay, It's early, I'm enthusiastic... So off we go exploring.

And we find a very nice, clean neighborhood, free of tourists and filled with regular folk. No cinder block communist buildings here, they must be at the other end of town. Also, no shoe stores. Since we have to take tram to get downtown, we decide to get off at the castle quarter and walk down through castle courtyards and say hello to the gargoyles as we head towards the city center. No shoe stores here either.


Then we make snap decision to visit the Lobkowicz Palace. A quick stop..no, not so fast. Turns out to be an amazing collection and story of one prominent Czech family ranging from the 1300s up to the present. The Germans took all their lands and treasures and then the Russians took the rest. Today they have it all back. Looking at their family tree, I realize what a mongrel peasant I am.

We have now been walking for hours. We stumble down the hillside to find a fabulous pizza, but no shoes. We continue to walk... Over the remarkable Charles Bridge and along with hundreds of other tourists, we head into the city center. We are now shuffling, my god, we have been walking for hours and we ache. We desperately search to find the metro and to get back to our apartment and collapse into bed. After all, it's a jazz club this evening. I've given up the dream of ever shopping for shoes in Prague.

 

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Imagine

It's a good thing that I am not 19 and traveling through Prague. I simply would not have been mature enough to appreciate the history. As we stand among these magnificent buildings and statues I am horrified by the suffering these people lived through in modern times. First the Germans. Czech was composed of an equal number of German, Czechs and Jews. The nazis killed 95 percent of the Jewish population. After the war, the Russians walked in.

Today, Roger and I paid homage to John Lennon and visited the John Lennon wall. I didn't even know it existed. When he died in 1980, people came out at night and painted on the wall, inspired by his songs, Imagine and All You Need Is Love. Each night the Russians would paint over the wall. This went on until 1989, when the 'velvet revolution' succeeded and the Russians left.

It so much easier for me to go the Hawaii, etc. Eat, drink, enjoy the heat and turn off the mind. So far I have been challenged by history, by different ways of living, by different attitudes. And, I am old enough to appreciate the challenge. I also really appreciate growing up and living in Canada. I have been blessed.

 

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Holiday Eyes

It just seems so damn civilized. Want a drink? Go to a bar. Want a toke? Go to a 'coffee shop'. Want to have sex? Go pick a willing woman out of a window. Mind you, I can't figure out women are supposed to do - I guess we don't have the urge. Have family? Get a larger bike!

With all the hullabaloo about sex and drugs in Canada, it makes me wonder if we are just situated too close to the USA to see any other ways to live life. "Where are all your homeless people?" I asked our host. He looked at me askance. "We have a few but there are shelters." We have seen no one sleeping in the parks, in entrance ways, on the streets. We have shelters, but our nooks and crannies are often bedrooms.

Amsterdam has given me lots to ponder. Tomorrow we fly to Prague. The weather station is calling for wind, rain and thunderstorms. I dread the air flight already.

 

 

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A difference of thinking

I gotta say .... I really don't like flying but I'm sure glad I made myself get on that plane because otherwise I would't know that I am a little in love with Amsterdam.

But here are the real issues. Where are all the old people? This a young, vibrant, laid back city. I don't see many seniors or overweight people. And, there are no 'walk' and 'don't walk' signals, let alone traffic signals! Talk about letting people use their critical thinking skills. Bikes just fly by with no one wearing helmets! Babies on the front, friends sit on the back fender side saddle. The air is clean, there is way less 'city noise' and ambient light because there are way less cars. The smell of marijuana wafts from the coffee shops and there is no obvious police presence on the street.

It makes wonder why we feel we have to hold Canadians hands, tell us how to it, when to do it and what not to do. Maybe, we as a population should grow up and demand our government treat us as adults.


 

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Test

 

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