Prague Journal

Sunday, December 19, 2004.

None of us wanted to get up early this morning, but we all managed to rally in time to catch the 8:00 a.m. bus to the train station to see Dick off on the 9:18 train to Dresden (and then to Frankfurt for his flight back to Denver on Monday). It’s wetter and warmer today and, since it’s Sunday, there were not too many people on the bus, tram, subway or streets. The nicest thing about riding the tram in the morning is the vantage point of the city. Prague really is like a movie set, with its many sculptures, carved building facades, interesting rooflines, winding streets, small markets and corner kiosks, and bustling squares with roundabouts.
Sunday evening we were treated to a lovely concert at the Hilton Hotel, which was loosely connected to the diversity conference on Thursday and Friday. The concert is a charity event, now in its 8th year, performed by the Czech National Symphony, a non-state-supported orchestra. The auditorium was filled to capacity – roughly 1,200 people, about 100 of whom had been at the conference. I don’t know what the typical admission fee is, but most people were dressed to the nines (some men in tuxes). Conductor Paul Freeman, who also conducts the Chicago Sinfonietta, is the father of the conference organizer, which is why the inaugural World Diversity Leadership Conference is in Prague and why we were invited to the concert. The Highlands Park (Chicago) High School Chorale, 80 students on a tour of Prague and Budapest, performed with the orchestra during the first half of the program. The voices were stellar. They reminded me of one of the Cherry Creek HS choirs. The second half of the concert was a mixture of impressive orchestral pieces and some fun, both in music and in banter between the conductor, guests, and hotel manager (who paraded his chefs to the March of the Toys, renamed March with the Strudel). This last piece was intended to prepare us for the feast to follow. It had been listed as a “reception,” but it was a several course meal (several buffet tables) with a variety of meats, pastas, and hot dishes, vegetables, cold meats and cheeses, and just about every kind of dessert one could imagine.

posted by JWinn @ 11:01 PM