Monday, January 31, 2005.
Today was another frustrating day without email. I resent being subject to the whims of computer systems, yet it is an unavoidable condition of modern life because we are so dependent on technology for so many things. Fortunately, Rick's account is working so I sent distress messages to all the IT folks I could think of. I have yet to get a single response. This is very frustrating, and, frankly, surprising, since the IT folks at DU usually respond quickly and efficiently to such requests. All in all, this is not a pleasant way to start the week. The weather today isn't helping my already-bad mood: cold and dreary in the morning, heavy snow turning to light hail in the afternoon, and rainy and a bit warmer in the evening. My main errands this afternoon were getting money from the bank and finalizing our plane tickets for Israel at the travel agency. Since I’m without e-mail, it’s fortunate that I have a mobile phone to call or send messages to confirm plans for today.
I met Marketa for lunch at Albio, the natural foods restaurant near Republic Square. It was nice to see her and chat before she and Howard leave for their trip to South Africa on Thursday. After lunch, I went to Ami’s restaurant near National Square to have tea with Eunice. She’s been back from the US for two weeks, but this is the first chance we’ve had to see each other this year. It was nice to see Ami too!
In close order drill, I headed back to Republic Square to go to the Czech class at Irena’s flat. This evening there were seven of us, four regulars (young Richard, Mike, and Rick and me), “Big Ed” who was a regular in the fall class, Lucia from Croatia, who had come with Mike on several previous occasions but whom I had not met, and Linda from Minnesota, a newcomer to the group who has been in Prague for three years teaching Bible Studies. We’re studying pronouns, so even those who have been in the class since the fall were struggling. Czech has seven cases for nouns and adjectives, not counting plurals, and pronouns change depending not just upon the case but also the preceding preposition. So, in English whether we say “I see you” or “I look at you,” the object pronoun “you” doesn’t change; in Czech they say Vidím tĕ (or, for formal “you,” Vidím vas) or Divam se na tebe (or Divam se na vas) because “you” changes if it’s preceded by a preposition. “I see you” is “Ja vidim tĕ;” “You see me” is “Ty vidiš mĕ.” There are also four genders. But already I’ve explained more than anyone outside of the Czech Republic would want to know.
Sunday, January 30, 2005.
This morning is frustrating for me because I am locked out of my e-mail. For some reason, my password has expired with no forewarning. Since it's not yet Sunday in Denver, I will be lucky if my distress messages are received until Monday afternoon Prague time. We live on e-mail here, both for USA and local communications, and I expect that there are several messages from VSE colleagues that have accumulated over the last several days. I had hoped that I would be able to respond to those today, since I have several errands scheduled for tomorrow when banks and offices are open. Being out of touch is difficult -- it makes me feel very far away from everyone.
Looking out my window, Prague is still covered in snow, but only a skiff now. It's cold and still outside, so I spent most of the day indoors editing manuscripts and writing reports. Rick got together with Aditya this afternoon at the university, but I didn't venture out until later to meet Rick at the grocery store before they closed at 6pm.
Saturday, January 29, 2005.
We intended to get an early start this morning so we could get a decent parking place at Horni Rokytnice, since we would be leaving for Prague in the afternoon. We were out the door by 9:00 a.m., but could not get the car up the driveway from the pension to the road without chains. Honsa had chains, of course, but it took awhile before we figured out how to use them! By the time we reached the parking lot it was after 10:a.m. and by the time we got to the front of the lift line it was 10:30.
We had put in two good days already, so our skiing pace was leisurely, stopping often to talk and take photos. Today was a bit colder than yesterday, but the play of the sun on the clouds and the valley below was especially dramatic. We stopped for only a brief lunch, skiing until after the lifts had closed around 4:15. We skied to the car, and started down the mountain toward Prague around 5:00. By the time we got back home – shortly after 7:00 p.m.—it was quite dark.
happy skiers
Friday, January 28, 2005.
This morning we got up fairly early and had a nice breakfast before heading to the ski hill. We were at the bus at 9:05 a.m., but the bus was late so we did not start skiing until nearly 10:00 a.m. Fortunately, we beat the afternoon crowd, so the lift lines were not quite as long as the day before. We had ideal skiing conditions – almost no wind. The view from the top of the mountain was again spectacular. We were greeted by a rainbow encircling the sun.
Some of the slopes we skied reminded us of Mary Jane Trail or Cranmer – wide rolling trails, with varied slopes and small moguls. By Colorado standards, these are relatively easy (blue in USA, but red here) runs, but we were ready for mellow and took our share of falls. But we knew we were not in Colorado. The evergreen trees here are dense and interspersed with deciduous trees, not small aspens. The trails are unmarked for the most part, and the scenery is dotted with private cottages. The top is near timberline, which is much lower here because of the northern latitude. We stopped for lunch at a small lodge on the ski hill, with a tiny but cozy restaurant in addition to lodging facilities.
The afternoon was not quite as nice as the morning—a bit colder and some wind at the top. It started to snow a bit, and by 3:00 the visibility was so poor we could not see our feet. Eva and Rick and I decided to call it a day, but Hunsa wanted to take one more run. He was sure that by the time he got back up, the sky would be clear enough. So, we three skied down to our pension and he took another run. When he arrived at the pension, he showed us photos to prove that, indeed, the sky had cleared and he had a great last run.
The wife of the owner of our pension runs a small beauty salon on the main floor, so while Rick and Hunsa rested before dinner, Eva and I got our hair cut and styled. Then we lit Sabbath candles together and drank some wine – and toasted our Denver friends who are skiing at Winter Park this weekend – before heading out to dinner at a restaurant a short walk from our pension. The restaurant was nice, but quite smoky so we didn’t stay for dessert. Instead, we walked back to the pension, since we had brought plenty of food, including strudel and fruit, that we had not eaten the night before. The Sabbath candles were still burning when we returned, so dessert was quite pleasant, if not elegant. Instead of going to sleep early, we talked until 11:00 p.m.
Top of the mountain -- view from the chairlift
Thursday, January 27, 2005.
Eva and Hunsa picked us up at 7:00 a.m. exactly to head to the Krkonoše mountains for three days of skiing. We took the southern route, through Turnov and Železny Brod, where Eva and I had driven just last week when we visited the glass-bead factory. We had a leisurely drive to Horni Rokytnice, the high mountain area above the Jizera River.
http://www.rokytnice.com We stopped first at the pension where Eva had booked reservations for us, to unload our gear and change into our ski clothes. We then hiked down the trail to the bus to get to the base area. As a result, we didn’t start skiing until after 11:00. Fortunately, by then the sun had come out and the weather was calm. The last few days had been windy and snowy, so we were the beneficiaries of 8 inches of fresh powder. We skied the whole afternoon in conditions as sweet as the best Colorado day. Rick took Hunsa into some deep powder and the two old boys had fun playing in the snow. This included a spectacular snowy somersault, which Hunsa claimed was Rick’s best trick.
A few new experiences for us: The first was riding an “anchor” lift, which is an anchor-shaped bar that gently goes under the rear-ends of two people at a time. We also rode a poma lift, a pole with a round disk-shaped end that goes between one’s legs (one person at a time). There are some 4-person high-speed lifts that go to the very top of the mountain, but they tend to have very long lines, so we ended up alternating between the poma and the chairlift.
We skied until the lifts closed, and then headed to our pension for dinner. We each had a large room with three beds and a table with four chairs. There was a shared bathroom and a large dining room with three square tables. The kitchen area was small, with a cupboard, sink, hotplate, hot-water pot, and refrigerator. Eva had made some goulash the night before and brought 3 big jars full, which she heated in a large skillet, and served with steamed dumplings. It was delicious – a bit spicier than most Czech goulashes. The relaxed conversation with our friends at the end of the glorious day made the evening even more priceless.
Rick skiing the powder at Rokytnice
Wednesday, January 26, 2005.
Snow and more snow. It snowed almost continually yesterday; mostly clear but cold today. We have about 4” of snow on our balcony railing, 6” in some places. We picked up our skis and boots this afternoon to take to Eva’s house to load in their car for our trip tomorrow. Eva and Hunsa lent us ski pants and goggles and gloves, so we’re fairly well set. It’s been cold and windy in the mountains – one of the areas had to close their lifts yesterday because of the winds. We’re hoping for better weather tomorrow. We’ll be near several different ski areas, so we are not locked into our first choice if it’s too windy or crowded.
And, while we're skiing tomorrow, Prague will be celebrating Mozart's 249th birthday. There are many Mozart concerts scheduled in Prague for Thursday, since Mozart has a very special place in the hearts of Prague. Mozart spent some of his happiest days in Prague, and wrote and performed many of his most famous works here.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Today is Tu Bishvat, the “birthday of the trees.” Tu Bishvat is the fifteenth day in the Jewish month of Shvat. It was once merely the last date of the tax year for the produce of the tree. Any fruit ripening after Tu Bishvat was to be assessed for tithing only for the following tax season. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.C.E. this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their former homeland by eating foods that could be found in Israel. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu Bishvat similar to the Passover seder. Today Tu Bishvat is celebrated with a symbolic eating of fruits and with active redemption of barren land by planting trees. People express their ecological concerns and their desire to reconnect themselves to nature. Tu Bishvat has become a tree planting festival in Israel, in which both Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend.
The Jewish community here celebrates Tu Bishvat with a seder, a semi-ceremonial dinner in the restaurant on the main floor of the Jewish Town Hall, which is across a narrow street from the Altnai Shul (“old-new” [German] or “conditional” [Hebrew] orthodox synagogue). We had gone to our first Tu Bishvat seder here seven years ago, a lovely tribute to the seasons and its fruits, so we were eager to go again this year. This year, Coleman Raeboi (the young cantor visiting this week from Tarpon Springs, whom we met on Friday) led the service with Rabbi Kalchhaimem. The meal was modest, but the spread of fruits was delightful, as was the camaraderie – people from all congregations were together. We could only chat with a few people because of our limited Czech skills, but we were seated with some gracious bilingual Czechs.
After the seder, we took Coleman to U Kapra for dessert (this restaurant is just a block away from the Jewish Town Hall) and saw several folks from the seder (as I said, the meal was quite modest!). Peter Gyori (Bejt Praha's head guy) then joined us, so we four had a nice time talking about Prague and the Jewish community here. Coleman and his Russian-born wife have a 3-month old son, so the conversation also turned to children.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
We woke up to a lovely blanket of white snow. Since it’s Sunday, it’s very quiet and serene –like a picture postcard. It snowed throughout the morning; by noon there was about 3” of show on the railing of our balcony. When the snow stopped, the sun came out and it stayed sunny throughout the afternoon. Staying at home, looking out at the lovely view from my computer desk, was very pleasant. Unfortunately, we were without water from about 10:00a.m. We had made tea earlier in the morning, but had no other source of water – except for the snow on the balcony which I saved to make soup for dinner! Fortunately, we have heat (gas) and electricity, so things are not so bad.
Late in the afternoon there was a big white tanker truck labeled “drinking water” cruising down our street, dispensing water for anyone who approached with containers. Rick got a bucket of water – mostly for washing and flushing since we had enough good water for dinner and tomorrow morning’s tea. He was told that there had been an accident and that we should have water restored either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. We were prepared for the worst, since we’d heard about areas in town that were without water for three days. Fortunately, our water was restored shortly before midnight, so right now we’re assuming that things are fixed and that we’ll still have water in the morning.
Saturday, January 22, 2005.
Howard had been given two free dinners at the Radisson Hotel’s Alcron restaurant, which specializes in (very expensive and fancy) seafood, and Marketa generously suggested that the four of us go to dinner and split the tab. The Radisson is a 5-star art deco deluxe hotel just off Wenceslas square, with a large foyer that has a large lounge, sports bar, café, and the small (8 tables) Alcron restaurant. The Radisson was originally called the Alcron Hotel, constructed in 1930 as a luxurious hotel and became known also for its jazz concerts. The building underwent extensive restoration in 1998. Most of the original interior was preserved, including the weighty chandeliers, the rich Italian marble, the Art Deco decor, and the creamy “milk glass” seen throughout the hotel. The Alcron Restaurant was built in September 2000. According to their promo literature, “this unique restaurant offers fish and seafood specialities of the top quality. With its maximum of 28 seats, is aimed to attract the most exclusive clientele.” On this Saturday evening, there weren’t many clientele exclusive enough to want to dine there: we were one of only four parties the whole evening. (The other restaurants and bars in the hotel seemed to be quite full of activity). The food and service were excellent, but there is no way we could afford to go there and pay full price. The dinners alone – full-course meals, but without the complementary champagne and wine – would have been $85-$100 each. Desserts would have been $20 each! So thanks to Howard and Marketa’s generosity, we had a very elegant dinner and, of course very pleasant evening with them.
Friday, January 21, 2005.
This morning’s sunshine was a nice contrast from yesterday’s rain, but the afternoon changed from sun to sleet to rain again.
Shabbat services at Bejt Praha had only a small, mostly local, crowd. But they were led by Coleman Raeboi, a cantorial soloist with a rich bass voice, who is visiting Prague for two weeks. Mr. Reaboi is the cantor at Congregation B’nai Emmunah in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He is in Prague to give both lectures and performances (he has sung with several major opera companies, including Boston, Miami, Pensacola, and Sarasota) and participate in services at most of the synagogues here. Most visiting rabbis and cantors are retired, or at least near retirement age. Coleman is in his mid-thirties, quite young and only recently married and living in Florida.
Rick and I went to dinner at U Kapra (By the Carp) with Yehudes, the young woman we had met early this fall who is going to medical school (an English-language program) here. She grew up in Boise, Idaho, so we spent much of the conversation seeking to find mutual acquaintances from our days there. She also spent two years in Israel and two years in New York before going back to Boise to finish college at BSU. She came to Prague last year for medical school, and is now half-way through with her second year, which is by all accounts the most demanding. This is exam week at all universities, so anyone who’s a student is either studying, recovering from studying, or taking a break from studying.
Thursday, January 20, 2005.
The day didn’t start out rainy, but by the time Rick and I left the house this afternoon there was continuous rain until well after we returned home after dinner.
I originally had two meetings scheduled this afternoon at VŠE (University of Economics, Prague, my host institution), one with the Vice Dean for International Students and the Vice Rector for International and Public Relations. The Vice Dean had called yesterday to cancel because of a conflict, so the Vice Rector changed her appointment time with me to earlier in the afternoon. This morning, the Vice Dean’s meeting was cancelled, so he was not happy about having canceled my meeting with him (nor was I, but I hope we will meet on another occasion to talk about exchange programs for students), which resulted in my schedule change with the Vice Rector.
I had met Slava Hořejší, the Vice Rector for International and Public Relations, at the Fulbright reception in September, and I was pleased to be able to talk with her again. VŠE is the only university with both a female Rector (equivalent to Chancellor or President) and Vice-Rector (although there are five Vice-Rectors; the other four are men). This will undoubtedly change in another year when the term for the Rector and Vice Rector expires and a new Rector will be elected. Rectors serve three years and can only be re-elected once (by the university-wide academic senate) and this is the Rector’s fifth year. The Vice Rectors are appointed by the Rector, but new Rectors usually choose new Vice Rectors. Slava, who is also in her fifth year, is eager to step down since the job of a Vice Rector is quite demanding. She still teaches two courses, which adds to her time constraints. Since she enjoys her teaching – her field is microeconomics – she will be quite happy to be back in the classroom full time and to resume her research.
I was interested to find out that Slava did not think it unusual for the University of Economics, Prague, to have a woman Vice Rector, nor was it unusual to have a woman Rector. Before the 1989 revolution, VŠE was dominated by women – approximately 75% of faculty and students were women – since economics, accounting and financial management were not appreciated or sought by men. Now more men are interested in these subjects since they are financially attractive, so VŠE is roughly 50/50 men and women, both faculty and students. Faculty have the opportunity to enrich their salaries by applying for research grants, some of which are administered by the Ministry of Education, and others come from within the university.
I had been offered a position as a visiting Professor here, to teach a course this spring, but I had turned it down, largely because I didn’t want the time constraints to interfere with my ability to schedule interviews or travel, but also because I had it in my mind that I would be burdened by grading – and I wasn’t sure what that would look like or how I would handle student grades. I now understand the system a bit better. There are two kinds of courses, some are offered “for credit” which is basically pass/fail, and others for a grade, which is solely determined by a final exam. In either case, while faculty may give written feedback to their students during the term, teachers are not expected to diligently evaluate and comment on any projects or homework they may assign. On the other hand, the month of exams is a real bear, since most instructors build in oral exams as part of the written exam process to give marginal students a “second chance” to pass their course. In addition, faculty also administer and grade state qualifying exams (“school leaving” exams, which are required for graduation) as well, which are a combination of T/F, short-answer, and essay problem-solving questions. Approximately one-third of the students do not pass the state exams the first time they take them.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005.
It’s a bit frosty and slippery outside today; a good day to be in a car instead of walking around town or running for trams or buses. Eva and I drove to Železny Brod, a small town about 100 km northwest of Prague, to interview the owners of a small “lamp-bead” jewelry company. Železny Brod is in the Jizera region of northern Bohemia, in an area of particular natural beauty, near the Jizera mountain area known as the Czech Paradise (Český Raj). Český Raj is a protected area comprising sand stone rock towns, and is one of the most popular tourist areas in the Czech Republic. The name “Český Raj” was first used in the 19th century by guests of Sedmihorky spas. Both the architecture and scenery are beautiful, with baroque and Romanesque churches and castles and basalt and sandstone rock formations. Contributing to the breathtaking rock scenery, there are deep and narrow tunnels, caves, the Jizera River, deep forests, ponds, and wildlife.
Železny Brod has been known for its iron and glass works since the sixteenth century. According to the website information I found, Bohemian glass became famous throughout the world and was competing with the finest products from other great glass-making centers as early as the 17th century. The techniques of glass bead making, learned from Venice, led to a flourishing cottage industry which grew to huge proportions thanks to some famous Czech designers in the early the 20th century. The industry virtually collapsed after WWII and lay dormant for 40 years until the fall of communism, when small entrepreneurs started to revive glass-bead making. To this day, bead and jewelry-store representatives come from around the world (as far as Australia and Japan) to see the glass bead and gem factories and purchase items for their stores.
Daša and Hedvika started their glass-bead company three years ago, and it has grown and been profitable from the start.
http://www.aac-beads.cz/ Hedvika’s daughter Miša is the company’s sales manager. Miša is a student in Eva’s class (whom I had met earlier this fall). She had suggested her mother’s company as a good candidate for a case study about women entrepreneurs. Eva and I were treated to a very interesting tour of their factory, and saw how the beads are made – each one individually – by melting different kinds and colors of glass from long tubes onto wire spindles held over an oxygen-rich flame. The three women talked with us for over two hours about the business. They were quite open with information, so we hope that we can put a good case study together in time to submit it next month for the WACRA conference, which is in Brno this summer.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005.
This evening I am recovering from giving an all-day workshop at VŠE. Actually, it was a fun experience and I was pleased with the participation from those who attended, but my feet and head hurt from being “on stage” all day. Eva and I had expected about a dozen people, but more than 20 signed up and 17 actually came (14 in the morning, 12 of whom came also in the afternoon with three newcomers). She was disappointed that more of her colleagues from the managerial psychology department did not come, but I am never surprised at low turnouts for faculty seminars. I enjoyed the small group, almost all of whom were quite talkative, especially in the afternoon session. Some came up to me after the morning session and apologized for their lack of participation, due to their straining to understand and inability to respond quickly. I am used to this from my foreign students in the U.S. It’s very hard to be in a class with your non-native language flying across the room. One older professor told Eva that he had a headache from listening so hard, since he is not used to being in English-language seminars. Fortunately, he did say that he learned a lot and enjoyed it. Several people stayed after the last session to talk with me, which is also a good sign!
Monday, January 17, 2005.
Getting into gear is slow after a long, relaxing weekend. I spent most of the afternoon working on my slides for the two case workshops I am giving tomorrow at VŠE. I’ve changed my mind about the presentations several times. The good news is that I think I now have a better plan in mind – although that thought was not settled until late in the evening.
Rick went to Czech class – others have joined the group – and I met them after the class for a dinner that (young) Richard had arranged at a Brazilian restaurant – part of the upscale Ambiente chain – not far from Irena’s flat. This restaurant has an all-you-can-eat Brazilian & Sushi buffet that is amazingly reasonably priced if you make it a meal instead of a salad side-bar. Apparently, Ambiente Brasileiro's manager laid the groundwork for the restaurant (opened in January) during a visit to Rio last summer. I’ve never seen an all-you-can-eat sushi bar before, so the sushi itself would have been worth the price – and the non-smoking atmosphere allowed us to linger and talk and eat! In addition to sushi and sashimi, there were various marinated salads and artichokes, grilled peppers, olives, stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes, eggplant and cheese rolls, California rolls, and canapés – a large variety of tasty and tangy treats. They also have a full menu of meats and seafood and an extensive (and expensive) wine list. It’s no surprise that the restaurant is huge and was quite crowded by the time we left.
Only six of us went to dinner together – young Richard, Rut, Brenda, Irena and Rick and me – the “December class.” More people from the original fall class have joined Irena’s private class now, so it is not quite so intimate. The dinner turned out to be a farewell send-off for Brenda, since this is her last class day; she leaves Prague on Wednesday to go to Maastricht to finish her university studies. Rut is also leaving soon, first back home to London then to India, first to her brother’s wedding (he’s marrying an Indian woman) and then to pursue study in yoga.
Matt is back in Connecticut, ready to start the new term on Wednesday. After too many arguments with Czech Airlines, he managed to put the tickets on his own debit card, but had to pay an additional fee for mailing. Unfortunately, they will be mailed to our Colorado address and our poor renters will have to then mail them to him in Connecticut. Such fuss. No excuse given today's technology. But Czech Airlines still has an archaic computer system and insists on paper tickets. At least Matt has confirmed tickets and we will see him in March.
Sunday, January 16, 2005.
The sun is shining today and the sky is calm – no snow or rain in sight, despite the forecasts. This afternoon’s hike was before lunch, so Jitka did not join us. The direction of our hike was aborted when we were greeted by a boar off the side of the road in the stream. He was obviously crippled, presumably by a fall, and did not ascend the bank, but we decided to turn back anyway so as not to antagonize him by crossing his path. He did not look like he was any danger to us, but he was probably afraid of us since he was aware of his weakened condition. In fact, he looked like he had been stranded for some time. Ales called the game authorities when we returned to the cottage. Since boars are plentiful these days, it is likely he will be killed and put out of his misery.
Our train back to Prague was not due to leave until nearly 4:00 p.m., so we had plenty of time for another full-course lunch and leisure conversation. I cannot help but comment on the lunch, which would have been sufficient with just the delicious stir-fried vegetables. But we also had chicken-kabobs and rohliky (small yellow oblong) potatoes. Jitka had also made a very light chocolate-cake roll filled with light whipped cream for dessert. I can hardly imagine wanting dinner when we get back to Prague.
A neighbor had visited earlier with a basket of eggs, so Jitka put ten in an egg box for us to take with us (boxes here hold ten, not twelve eggs as we’re used to in the US). These are farm eggs, so they’re very fresh and laid by healthy hens who roam free. Jitka also gave us two more jars of her wonderful black-current jam. I shouldn’t have mentioned to her that because we liked the jam she had given us earlier in the fall, we had bought some black-current jam when we saw it in the store, but were amazed at how different it tasted (obviously more sugar, but less fruit).
Before we left, Jitka showed us some photos she had taken in Provence (France) a few years ago – they are absolutely spectacular. Rick and I were in Provence over 20 years ago, so we are eager to go back. Of course the list of place we’d like to get to this year is long, since we’ve seen so few places on the European continent.
Ales accompanied us back to Prague, so we did not have to be attentive to the stops or worried about catching the right train at the station in Pisek. The commuter train from Jetĕtice to Pisek runs every two hours and was nearly empty until the half-way point at Milevsko. The express train from Pisek to Prague, however, is typically standing-room-only on Sundays and today was no exception. But, again we were lucky and found seats together in an end compartment, so the 2-hour ride was comfortable and relaxing. We arrived at the Prague train station before 7:00p.m., hopped on the metro (subway), and were home before 8:00 – plenty of time to unpack, unwind, and attend to the things we need to do before our work week begins tomorrow.
Saturday, January 15, 2005.
Weekends at Červena are supposed to be relaxing, so we did not feel guilty about our leisurely morning. We went on a hike near the river shortly after lunch, but spent most of the day reading and talking. Jitka, of course, spent much of the day cooking. Breakfast was a typical spread of meats, cheeses, pate, home-made jam, yogurts, and juice and tea. Lunch on the other hand, was a delicious chicken-almond-pineapple stir-fry with rice and salad.
After our hike, Ales built a fire in the yard and we hauled out the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolates to make s’mores. They were good, but not great, since the chocolate was a bit thick and did not really melt. On the other hand, they were only slightly messy and a lot of fun. Amazingly, only a few hours later we rallied for a full-course dinner, this time with French onion soup and a stuffed-beef roll. Tonight’s wines were an interesting white and the Chilean red that we had brought.
Friday, January 14, 2005.
Rick’s walking shoes have fallen apart – beyond repair – so we made a quick trip to the Vietnamese market stalls near the Hradčanská metro station to look for a reasonably-priced replacement. We found some suede shoes with heavy soles that look like they’ll do – they seemed to fit well and were only about $16. Rick broke into a pseudo-Presley rendition of Blue Suede Shoes, dancing as we were waiting for the bus home. We’ll see how well they hold up – the last (bought in Denver) were barely a year old. We also stopped at the vinarna near the bus stop to buy wine to take to Ales and Jitka’s chata (cottage) in Červena (Jetĕtice), along with the marshmallows, chocolates and graham crackers and yams and cranberries (thanks to Vicki and Aditya) for our weekend outing.
The ride to Jetĕtice by train is only slightly more than 2 ½ hours from Prague, so we needed to leave our flat by 1:00 p.m. to make sure we could get our tickets without having to worry about long lines. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, including finding seats in a non-smoking compartment on the over-crowded train out of town. The train left the main train station in Prague at precisely 2:23 p.m. and Ales and Jitka were waiting at the station at Červena nad Vltavou at 5:02 p.m. when we arrived. The walk to their cottage is only about 10 minutes, very pleasant since the weather was so mild. Rick sees Ales every week, but I see him seldom and neither of us see Jitka very often, so we were both very happy to be able to spend the weekend with them.
The evening food and socializing evolved in a perfect way. It was nearly dark when we arrived, but we lit Shabbat candles and welcomed the start of our relaxing weekend before 5:30 p.m. Then, we had dessert and tea. An hour or so later, we sat down to dinner. First came beer, then soup, then a main course, then salad, then wine, followed by another dessert. I should elaborate on some of the food since it was so delicious. The first dessert was a chocolate-cheesecake brownie, very delicate yet rich at the same time. The soup had vegetables and aromatic boleto mushrooms that Jitka had picked and dried last fall. The soup could have been the entire meal. Amazingly, we also ate chicken breasts in a piquant cream sauce, and potatoes and salad as well. Ales brought out two wines, one a young Beaujolais and the other a full-bodied Syrah. Dessert and tea followed. All in all the dinner and conversation lasted until nearly midnight. Fortunately, we would have the next day and a half to continue the conversation.
Thursday, January 13, 2005.
Eva and Martin and I met at VŠE this afternoon, mainly to discuss the paper that we need to submit tomorrow for the case teaching conference in Brno in July, but also to talk about the chapter and cases for Martin’s entrepreneurship book, and the cases and research projects that Eva and I are doing together. Most things seem to have January 15 or January 31 deadlines, do we’re all scrambling to get things done.
Eva has posted and mailed flyers for my workshop next week, and handouts are being copied. We went to the room where I’ll give the seminars, which is called the “Library Club,” a board-room looking room, complete with built-in computer projection system, white board, flip chart, overhead projector, and VCR/TV that looks like it will hold 20 participants comfortably. So far we expect about 12 – mostly faculty, but also a few doctoral students.
Rick and Aditya met at the Paris Hotel near Aditya’s flat, instead of their planned meeting at the university, partly to experiment with the wireless hotspot connection for Aditya’s computer. He has purchased a phone that will allow internet (Bluetooth) connection from the computer, but it is very slow, much like a dial-up. He is living in an area close to internet cafes and hotspots for downloading and sending big files such as photographs and math papers, but has yet to reach an arrangement sufficiently comfortable for the two months he plans to work here.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005.
After dinner this evening, Rick and Aditya and I went to the Svandovo theater to hear the Paradox Trio (which is, paradoxically, a quartet) which is billed as a klezmer band. It’s really a klezmer-style jazz improvisation group, featuring Balkan, Celtic, and Romany instrumentations – quite extraordinary, actually. The lead musician is Matt Darrian, a “multi-instrumentalist” from New York, best known as the reeds, flutes and woodwinds player in the Klezmatics. He also plays for the Recycled Waltz Orchestra, the Les Miserables Brass Band, the Celtic bands Whirligig and Smash the Windows, and the swing band Balling the Jack. This evening he played various sizes of clarinets, flutes (Irish and Balkan), saxophones, and a gaida (Bulgarian bagpipe). I’m not surprised that Jazziz magazine named Darriau one of the 150 most influential jazz musicians of the past 15 years. The Paradox Trio also includes cellist Rufus Cappadocia (who leads the Moroccan-inspired jazz ensemble Kif), percussionist Seido Salifoski (such amazing fingers and rhythms!!!) and guitarist Brad Shepik (who also performs with the Tiny Bell Trio and the Commuters).
The Svandovo theater is actually Prague’s third-oldest theater, on the opposite side of the river from the famed National and Estates theaters. This theater was originally built by Pavel Svanda in 1881 to accommodate his theater company in the dreary winter days when its outdoor venue was plagued by clouds and snow. It stayed in the family after Svanda's death and was improved with each generation: His son changed its large auditorium into a theater with a proper stage and 600 seats, and the next family member in line added a balcony built of concrete and iron, increasing the seating capacity to 800. When the communist regime came to power, it ousted the Svandas from their building, and the building was renamed the Realistic Theater. The post-communist government restituted the building to the Svanda family after the 1989 revolution, but the theater was sold to a private company that added adjacent building space and renamed the structure the Labyrint Theater. The building was neglected and fell into disrepair, and the City of Prague purchased it in 1997. In 1999, architect David Vavra was hired to lead a major renovation, and the theater was reopened on December 14, 2002. The main room (which hosted Vaclav Havel and Lou Reed on Monday) is now a large, modern acoustically designed theater space, with adjacent recording studios and control rooms. Adjacent to the tiled lobby there is a spiral staircase that leads down to the “studio” (where the Paradox Trio performed this evening), which is part of a long, narrow room in what looks like an old brick subway tunnel, complete with high curved red-brick ceiling. Unlike most of the cellar jazz clubs in Prague, the room was smoke-free, so we had a totally enjoyable evening listening to incredibly wonderful sounds.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005.
I went down to the Czech Airlines office to straighten out the credit-card payment for Matt’s plane tickets for his visit here in March (that we had thought were taken care of two days ago, having gotten a confirmation of our online order), and, after an hour’s wait and half-hour conversation with the ticket agent, left the airline office with the impression that everything had been straightened out. Nothing could have been further from the truth. This evening I was on the phone (collect to the US) with VISA, who claimed that they had our US address listed correctly (in addition to our Prague mailing address) and Matt was on the phone to the New York office of Czech Airlines, who said that our US address could not be verified and therefore they could not issue the ticket as ordered (since only US-credit cards can be used for tickets issued to people departing from the US). Czech airlines does not issue e-tickets, so Matt needs a “real” ticket to board. We had run into the reverse problem when we ordered our tickets to Greece in September. Our tickets were sent to the US, so we had to have them express-mailed here since we were boarding from here. Despite our instructions – and the obviousness of the departure airport listed on the ticket – they sent our tickets to Denver. This time the airline wants to send the tickets here, and want an additional charge for having them issued in the Czech Republic instead of the US departure airport. Go figure.
Since I wasn’t aware of the extent of the airline ticket and credit card mess, I had a nice relaxed lunch with Charlotte this afternoon. I then came home and spent some time working on Eva’s and my proposal for the summer conference in Brno, before I had to race out the door to the Women in Business dinner. The WIB group says it meets on the first Monday of every month, but the last two dinners have been on the second Tuesday of the month. Actually, the reason for the change in scheduling has been the restaurant, which has had private parties booked on both Mondays. Mondays used to be the “dead” day of the week, but I guess that is no longer true.
My brain is certainly dead this evening after hassling with the plane tickets and credit card. And I still don’t know if the tickets will be issued or if we’ll have to start over and pay the now-higher fare.
Monday, January 10, 2005.
We were not able to get tickets for the Svandovo theater’s hosting of a “conversation” between former Czech president Vaclav Havel and American singer-songwriter Lou Reed (leader of the group “Velvet Underground”) this evening. This evening’s event had been planned for some time, but had been postponed because of Havel’s poor health. It’s not surprising that it sold out quickly. At a press conference before their appearance at the Svandovo theater, Lou Reed was quoted as saying that U.S. President George W. Bush is an exceptionally dangerous person. Reed said that he is “disturbed, angered and shocked by Bush, who claimed he would unite people and instead put them against one another. He also said that Bush has helped the global situation deteriorate.” Reed also said that “Bush and his policies have negative effects on religion, the position of women in society and the poor.” Havel, on the other hand, refused to comment on Bush, but said that politics is not a career that need necessarily be tied to lies. “What often happens, however, is that a person cannot say everything or is more careful than normally.” While Havel was president, he supported the war in Iraq, but later he said that the war and the occupation were not well planned and that the allies lacked good arguments on why to attack Iraq. Reed said that he considers Havel a real hero that the world needs more of. He also said that he hopes Havel writes another play.
Havel and Reed met for the first time shortly after Havel was elected president of the Czech Republic in 1990. Reed interviewed Havel in Prague and then performed his songs with Czech musicians for whom the Velvet Underground had been a huge inspiration in the dissident days. Monday night’s on-stage discussion in Prague was a rather unusual event, with Vaclav Havel and Lou Reed discussing everything from the writing process to their meeting at the White House. According to
Radio Praha's online service report, the musician made fun of some of the moderator’s questions but seemed to enjoy himself, while the former president was in fine form, witty and looking relaxed. The night ended with Lou Reed, once again backed by the Velvet Underground Revival, playing the VU classic Sweet Jane.
So instead of seeing those two talk in person, we had to content ourselves with meeting with our Czech tutor and conversing with mlady (young) Richard and Brenda, who, like us, are struggling with the rudiments of the language and embarrassingly poor pronunciation skills. Today there were only four of us, since Rut was in London. Irena, the teacher, is not only patient, but she’s fun to be around. And there’s a certain camaraderie and enthusiasm that learning a language seems to foster, especially in a small group like ours. We’ll meet again on Wednesday, this time adding a few of the folks who were in the fall class together.
The good news of the day was Rick’s completion of a refereeing project. Both of us are still trying to check things off our end-of-year to-do lists. Truth be known, we’re not too far behind. In my case, most of the delays concern meetings with entrepreneurs more than task aversion or laziness. This is exam week at the university, so professors are rather preoccupied and students stressed. Next week students will have some time off while professors grade exams. So glad we’re not in that loop just now.
Sunday, January 09, 2005.
I rendezvoused with Brad and Aditya for lunch at a small bakery/diner (typical several-story vertical space) in Mala Strana (Lesser Town) near the Charles Bridge. The conversation was mostly about computer and phone technology, but also about languages and travels and such. Aditya showed off his new mobile phone (which looks like any other mobile phone, actually) and we talked about how mobiles have changed people’s behaviors here and in Asia. There are still many houses that do not have phone lines (although now you can get a telephone installed in about 2-3 weeks), and the copper wiring underground is not always reliable or static free. But now there are few people standing in line for the pay phones and few ads for calling cards, and incessant ringing of mobiles and phantom conversations everywhere you go.
Charlotte and Bruce had bought three new Italian wines, so we joined them and Michelle for a wine tasting and light dinner. Bruce covered the wine bottles in foil and put different colored yarn-ribbons on them, which corresponded to the colored yarns on the stems of our glasses so we could keep each one straight. They were all good, of course, but we had fun rating them and talking about the differences. Of course the conversations took other turns, lots about food and wine, but also about travels and kids and work and politics and… We did leave in time to catch the last bus home, but as usual did not get home until nearly midnight.
Saturday, January 08, 2005.
We escorted Aditya and his suitcases to his new accommodations near Republic Square and set him on his own to get a mobile phone that would accommodate an internet connection. The flat is in a convenient location, has plenty of space, complete kitchen, bathroom and washing machine, and has satellite TV that gets tons of English-language programming. If the mobile telephone works as promised, he’ll be set. There are not only lots of options (all of which are, of course, expensive), but most of the information is in Czech. Even the English-language websites are confusing, especially regarding what is included, what costs what, and what each option will actually do (voice, data transmission, tri-band, GPRS, WAP, Bluetooth, etc) – way beyond my current knowledge about technology interfaces. Several of the websites claim to have some unlimited-usage monthly fee structures, which would be preferable to a per-minute cost for internet data transmission, but most plans sneak in separate charges for voice transmission and messaging. Rick and I use our mobile phones mostly for SMS (short message service) that cost roughly one half the price of a one-minute phone call. Our telephone bill, which includes the broadband connection, runs about $70/month. Our mobile charges (excluding the amortized cost of the actual handsets) probably run less than $10/month for both of us. Considering the convenience, both are worth the cost. Long-distance calls from here, on the other hand, are not. So we rely on e-mail or calls from the US to us, since there are many cheap international services for calls made from the US. If we were in the UK, however, calls anywhere in the world would be cheap.
So we all attended to business this afternoon, Aditya bought his phone and hooked up his computer, and Rick and I went to the train station to get discount cards, in preparation for our trip to Jetĕtice next weekend. Walking through town was lovely, since the sun was out and the weather mild. In fact, Prague set a 230-year record high of 13.7-degrees C (56.7 F), beating the 1998 record of 11.4 (52.5F). Still, I hope it snows for our trip to the countryside.
Friday, January 07, 2005.
We spent most of the day showing Aditya around Prague, checking out his potential apartment, and inquiring at various shops about phone and internet access possibilities since his apartment doesn’t have a land-phone line. We found out that it is possible to connect his computer via a mobile phone, but the phones are expensive and the various rates (between the three companies Eurotel, T-mobile, and Oskar) are confusing.
Late in the afternoon we decided to head back to our flat, send an e-mail to Aditya’s parents so they would know where he was – and how to reach him by phone tonight and tomorrow, send an e-mail inquiry to another rental agency to see if there were any flats available with phone lines (mostly for Aditya’s computer, but also to avoid having to purchase a mobile phone for the three months he’ll be here), and then go out to dinner close by. Just as we were on our way out the door, Jo called from California. This was a pleasant interruption in our day, since she is such a good friend (and math collaborator for Rick), and it was fun to hear her descriptions of their two-week ski trip at Mammoth with their two young sons. (The punchline is that Stewart had just skied his first black diamond shortly before his 4th birthday.) In our rush – and in our preoccupation with looking for mobile phone explanations in English on the web and inexpensive long-distance rates from the US to Prague – we neglected to light candles before we went to dinner. We did have a leisurely dinner and pleasant conversation, but promptly returned to our internet searches once we returned to our flat. It was only after Rick and Aditya had gone to bed that I remembered it was Shabbat.
Thursday, January 06, 2005.
Today is Three Kings’ Day. According to Czech lore: On the day of Three Kings, the day becomes longer by a step. On this day, according to the St. Mathew’s gospel, the Three Wise Men followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the Infant Jesus and bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The big Christmas tree at Old Town Square will be taken down today, as will the stages at Old Town and Můstek (Wenceslas Square) and the Christmas market kiosks. The tramline at Revolucni will be diverted today and tomorrow to take down Christmas decorations.
The Czech Republic’s annual Three King’s Day charity collection, now in its fourth year, comes at an appropriate time for disaster relief this year. Over thirteen thousand volunteers started to collect donations last weekend. In addition to aiding Asian tsunami victims, the proceeds will be used to support a number of humanitarian projects in several regions around the Czech Republic as well as in Kosovo, Chechnya and earthquake-hit Iran. Last year, 42.7 million Czech crowns (over 1.5 million US dollars) were collected. In addition to the charity collections, the Czech government has pledged 200 million crowns (nearly $10 million) to help rebuild the tsunami-stricken area, and has already sent 15 million crowns ($750,000) for humanitarian aid, including drinking water, food, medicines and medical supplies to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Next in line is the reconstruction of hospitals and schools as well as housing for the millions who have been left homeless. Non-governmental (NGO) charities have also been fundraising for the tsunami victims. Within the first week following the disaster, Czech charities collected more than 22 million crowns. According to the latest press we’ve seen, individuals reportedly have donated more than 40 million crowns (nearly $2 million) so far. Local charities have had no problem collecting money; the difficulty is in getting information about where the aid is most needed. The pictures we’ve seen of the devastation are truly unbelievable.
I’ve had Dvorak’s New World Symphony in my head all day from last night’s concert. Maybe it’s positive energy from getting some projects near completion. Eva has finished the translation (to Czech) of the first case study to send to the owner of the company in Kladno. We’re hoping to submit a case and a paper for a conference in Brno this summer that has a January 15th submission deadline. Two more company interviews have been scheduled, one in Prague and one in Český Raj, so my January calendar is getting full. The flyer announcing the workshop that I’ll give to the VŠE faculty on January 18th went out today. It looks dazzling in Czech, much more grand than my copy in English!
Rick’s graduate student Aditya Nagrath arrived at the Prague airport as scheduled this evening. We took him to dinner at one of our regular (familiar and convenient) Czech restaurants and laid some plans for showing him around tomorrow. He’s got a flat lined up not far from Old Town, so he should have no trouble seeing the city on foot on his own. Just as we were settling in and getting Aditya’s computer hooked up to our broadband, Matt called and we were able to confirm his airline tickets for his visit here in March. So, the academic son is here and the biological son on his way in only two months. Just when I think Prague time is slow, I realize that we’re going at warp speed, faster than any internet connection.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005.
This evening we went to hear the Prague Symphony Orchestra at Smetana Hall in the Municipal House. The orchestra is now in its 70th year; it began its jubilee season last fall with an open-air performance at the Old Town Square. This evening’s concert featured Dvorak’s New World Symphony – better than any recording I’ve ever heard – and Chopin’s concerto (No. 2) for orchestra and piano with soloist Navah Perlman. She alone was worth the price of admission. Of course, Chopin, when done well, is always a joy for me.
We had gone to the concert with Howard and Marketa, and the four of us had dessert downstairs in the art nouveau café after the performance. Howard just returned from Hong Kong and Shanghai (with a new tailored suit) and had lots of stories to tell. He and Marketa are planning a trip to South Africa next month, so Rick was eager to tell them about our trip there seven years ago. I am happy to be in Prague, but I wouldn’t mind a little bit of South Africa’s sunshine just now!
Tuesday, January 04, 2005.
Eva and I met downtown instead of at the university this afternoon, because she had set up an appointment for me with Alena Křižková, a researcher in the Gender and Sociology Department of the Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology. This institute is in the same building as CTS, where Rick worked during most of his stay in 1997-1998. The building has been remodeled, largely due to the flooding in 2002, but also to upgrade the plumbing and electrical systems, which entailed great effort and cost to preserve the integrity of the historic building. My conversation with Alena was very fruitful, since her research on women in business with their husbands dovetails nicely with the women entrepreneurship research that I have done. We are hoping to merge our data sets and, perhaps, write a paper together. She is leaving for a 3-month scholarship study in France tomorrow, so our tentative collaboration will have to be postponed until March.
Just around the corner from the Institute is the office of Vladímira Glatzová, the lawyer who had been referred to me by Jitka Kunstova, the general manager of Reusch International. I had tried to call to set up an appointment earlier, so I thought I’d save time by stopping by her office to speak again with her secretary. Instead, Vladímira graciously met with me for over half an hour, and we set up a time to meet again later in the month. She is another impressive woman who has started her own business. Her law firm now has 26 lawyers. Of the four partners, three are women.
The weather was pleasant this afternoon – no rain – which may be the reason I saw so many people on the streets. It seemed like spring tourist season.
Monday, January 03, 2005.
It felt like we had two Sundays in a row this week, a slow start to a new year. But Rick and I are making good use of our time. Yesterday I sorted through old emails to see what deadlines I may be up against (or missed), trying to finish proposals or papers that should be sent off for conferences in and around Europe this spring and summer. Poor Eva, I’ve been sending too many things to her to look at, edit, and/or translate.
So today is much like any other Monday. Rainy and overcast. I should be used to that now, but I'm not. At least it’s not cold and windy. The real cold weather has yet to come. And there’s no snow in sight (a bit unfortunate since Prague is beautiful when it snows.)
The Christmas stalls are still at Old Town Square (three more evenings of choral concerts and children's programs on the outdoor stage) and at Wenceslas Square near Můstek, but most of the other outdoor markets are gone. I imagine everything will end on Thursday (Jan 6), which is “Three Kings Day" (according to my Czech calendar) or epiphany (according to my US daytimer). Rick went to the university to talk math with Ales Pultr. I went downtown to get tickets for Wednesday’s concert and ran a few other errands, including stopping for computer paper at Tesco and a few groceries on the way home. Slim pickin’s in the fresh vegetable department these days. Brussels sprouts and turnips and carrots. And potatoes and onions and garlic, of course. Not even cauliflower or fresh cabbage at this time of year. I did find some zucchini and peppers. And, as always, fresh bread and pastries.
This evening, five of us went to Irena’s house for a Czech lesson: Brenda (from Germany), Rut (from London), (young) Richard from the US, and (old) Rick and me. Irena is wonderful and very patient. We’re all slow and forgetful and none of us can pronounce anything well. But it’s good to be forced to try.
In his New Year’s Day address to the Czech parliament, President Vaclav Klaus called on the Czech nation, now in its 15th year as a democracy , to expect more from its leaders in 2005: “Let us ask our democratically elected representatives — in the government and in Parliament, as well as in the regional and local assemblies — to show in the year 2005 the courage to solve problems; to show a strong drive, a creative approach and in particular to act responsibly and exhibit humility in serving those who sent them to the posts.” A good New Year's resolution for us all.
Saturday, January 1, 2005.
While New Year’s Day is celebrated in much the same way in the Czech Republic as in the rest of the world, with parties, dancing, and kisses at the stroke of midnight to celebrate the arrival of the year, January 1 has greater significance to the Czech people than just marking the start of a new year. January first commemorates the creation of the present day Czech state because on January 1, 1993, the Czech Republic was created after the breakup of Czechoslovakia. This day is thus the first of four official state holidays commemorating Czech statehood (the others being: September 28, October 28, and November 17).
Shortly after midnight – with fireworks still blazing and ringing in our ears – we walked from New Town (Charlotte and Bruce’s flat), through Old Town and the Jewish Quarter, across the Manus bridge toward the Lesser Town (Mala Strana) to Hergetova Cihelna, a restaurant with one of the best views of the Charles bridge and the Vltata River. The building, a former brick factory, is now divided into a posh restaurant, a large summer terrace overlooking the river, a cocktail bar, café, and music lounge. The band we heard played mostly Elvis tunes. The place was packed, as was every other restaurant and hotel in town.
We finally headed toward the tram stop 3:30 a.m. and were home in little more than an hour (night trams are infrequent and very crowded). We went to bed at 4:45 a.m., which is the time that Rick frequently wakes up. The sun streamed into our bedroom window shortly before 9 a.m., but I didn’t get out of bed for some time. What a nice way to start the year!
Unfortunately, we let the lazy day get ahead of us and forgot about the New Year's Day evening fireworks display at the Old Town Square, following the musical performances on the stage. As I said, Czechs love fireworks!
New Year's Eve in Prague
Scots having a great time in Prague for New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve in Prague
