Prague Journal

Friday, December 31, 2004.

Friday, December 31, 2004
Today is called Silvestr because it is Silvestr’s name day, the last day of the year. Buses are on holiday schedule. Banks and post office are closed, and most stores near us are also closed for the weekend. It rained last night, but the sky was lovely this morning, overcast but pretty. Our apartment is particularly pleasant because we have a nice view of the city. From the window overlooking my computer desk I can see the spires of the Castle and, of course, the Žižkov tower. One of Prague’s most interesting and controversial buildings, it’s a TV tower that rises 216 meters above the working class quarter of Žižkov. The popular story is that it is a communist era relic built to jam media signals from the West, but in fact it wasn’t actually completed until 1992.
So today we bid goodbye to 2004. We are blessed with good friends and good fortune. Despite the fact that the dollar is at an all-time low, we are doing fine. We are land-locked with little danger of earthquakes, tsunamis or hurricanes. Granted, Prague had massive floods two years ago, but chances of recurrence are remote, especially at this time of year. We will thankfully be spared any presidential campaigning in 2005. We pray for an end to senseless conflict, not just in Iraq but everywhere. We are grateful that we and our children are in good health, and pray for good health for our parents, relatives and friends.
Our last evening of the year was spent with our dear friends Charlotte and Bruce. At the table were old friends Michele and Barbara, and new friends Amy and Maggie. Barbara, who has been in Prague off and on since 1965, is the author of “The Velvet Philosophers”, the story of Czechoslovakia's underground universities, and is now Executive Director of the Prague Society for International Co-operation; Michele is Director of Broadcasting for Radio Free Europe (which doesn’t broadcast to Europe anymore!) Amy and Maggie are young students from Chicago who are visiting Prague for the week. Actually, Amy is from Ohio and Maggie is from Reno, but both are working and enrolled in graduate programs at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle, Amy in environmental chemistry and Maggie in linguistics.
Bruce hauled out the grill once again, this time for a rib roast, at least as good as any first class restaurant. Of course we were hardly hungry, having consumed so many tasty hors d'oeuvres. But we rallied for dessert, obviously just to be polite. Around 11:30 p.m. six of us went to a party in Mala Strana (“Lesser Town”) to welcome the new year with dancing and music. The Czechs seem to enjoy setting off fireworks as much as they like drinking beer or hunting for mushrooms. There have been intermittent fireworks displays over the last several weeks, but tonight there were rockets and firecrackers everywhere – Letna, Petřin Hill, Old Town Square, in many streets and on the bridges.

posted by JWinn @ 7:36 PM