This week, the highly historical day of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslowakia was commemorated. 40 years ago, armed vehicles and troops from the Soviet Warsaw-Pact countries invaded Czechoslowakia, in order to put an end to the liberalization movement that started in Czechoslowakia in spring 1968.

Vaclavske namesti / wenceslas square was packed with people. A stage was set up where historians and politicians discussed the "Prague spring". Video and audio recordings were shown and an old tank was placed in front of the Narodni Muzeum / National Museum. On it's facade, bullet holes can still be seen (at least they claim it. I think it needs a general renovation anyway).

It was very impressive to walk down the streets and imagining how the Soviet tanks had rolled in 40 years ago. And of course one (me at least...) compares these events immediately to what is happening in Georgia right now. It does look similar (Czech PM says: Georgian Conflict 'Worse' Than '68): Soviet tanks enter the country, demolish infrastructure, delivered a strong warning and eventually pull back. But it is not the same thing after all. It was Georgia who triggered the invasion. Of course, there were Russian provocations before, but the Georgian attack on the separatist forces in their break-away territories could really be expected to trigger a massive Russian reactiona. Either Saakashvili is stupid. He miscalculated the Russian reaction. Or he miscalculated the European and US and expected them to rush to help him. Well, in my opinion it's appropriate for the Europeans to let Saakashvili pay the price. Accepting Georgia's use of military force or even providing Georgia with military protection, after having attacked South Ossetia, is contrary to European values and would undermine the credibility of EU's foreign policy.

The use of violence is not the way the EU solves problems, therefore it's unavoidable that the EU does not take immediate action unless confined to negotiation, peace settlement or maybe monitoring. But taking a hard and uncompromising stance vis-a-vis Russia would belie the European commitment to the non-use of force and a peaceful modus of bridging differences.

I have joined a discussion group of young people living in Prague who are interested in international relations / politics. I've joined two sessions so far and it has been incredibly interesting to voice your own opinion and confront it with those of others. Of course, in the course of the evening it gets more and more difficult to have a candid discussion, because the beers here a cheap, big and strong (10-12% alcohol). But nevertheless, I've gained amazing insights and we do realize our transformation and around midnight change the pub, put a stronger emphasis on the drinking part and end up discussing casual stuff, which is very appropriate. :-)

I had totally forgotten to mention the following great things about Vienna:
- food!!! Oh my.. It's a food haven! A whole lot of different things but two things I had stand out! Had a fallafel burger. This had grilled eggplant, homous and heaps of paprika in it! Wow it was fantastic!! The next thing might sound strange but it was a TUNA pizza!!!! That has to be the best dish for tuna! The pizza sizes are huge!!! I asked for a piece and saw the guy put in a quarter of a ridiculously large pizza in the oven to heat up! He then smirked and said it was one piece!! He cut it up in 3 pieces but they were still so damn big! Food here has been awesome. Lotta middle eastern dishes, been trying lil bits everywhere and was recommended a Lebanese restaurant but couldn't find it. Oh and if you want to buy water here, bad luck!! It seems to be only soda water!!! As a result I have had 4 cokes today, so hot and a lotta walking around is not good for thirst! Would love a chilled glass of water though....
- shopping!! Huge shops, different things galore! It looks like an awesome place for shopping, but fairly expensive here too!

My interesting things about Vienna or Wien as everyone in Europe calls it
- food see above!!! I have had upset stomach twice today! Well worth it though ha ha
- shopping as above. Pity I got absolutely no space in my backpack
- traffic lights. The green blinks before it goes to orange and then red to stop!
- buildings as always unique and beautiful
- amazingly clean

Oh forgotten to mention and can't be bothered to edit my post for Prague (or Praha as they call it in Europe) but it has the longest (and scariest!!!!) escalator in Europe! It goes for nearly 100 meters and since it was at a common metro, I regularly had to go through it. Being terrified of heights everytime I was on it I had visions of tumbling down on it! That thing I'd bloody scary and everyone would hug to the rails but I did see some locals walking on it!!

Had to post that about Prague because today in Vienna I noticed the escalator I was on going real slow and then going normal speed when someone was on it! Yes I get easily amused :)

Pic of trip so far and possible journey to go back to London! Gotta start planning all that - gotta be in Paris by the 1st...I wish I could check out more of western Europe...

Realized I forgot another thing - paprika national food in Hungary!!!! It's on everything!

Next post in Zagreb :)

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Je lep anede?

A legend says that one day Libuše had a vision. She stood on a cliff overlooking the Vltava, pointed to a forested hill across the river, and proclaimed: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars."

She instructed her people to go and build a castle where a man was building the threshold (in Czech práh) of a house. "And because even the great noblemen must bow low before a threshold, you shall give it the name Praha". Her words were obeyed and some two hundred years later, the city of Prague became the seat of the Premyslid dynasty.

Teuerste Stadt der Welt für ausländische Mitarbeiter bleibt die russische Hauptstadt Moskau.

Prag überrundet mit seinem Satz nach vorn nicht nur die slowakische Hauptstadt Bratislava, sondern München, Berlin, Frankfurt oder Brüssel - Großstädte, die nicht gerade im Ruf stehen, besonders günstig zu sein.

Das Ranking von Mercer listet 143 Städte weltweit und basiert auf einem Vergleich von mehr als 200 Posten, darunter Kosten für Wohnen, Verkehr, Lebensmittel, Kleidung oder Unterhaltung. Die Untersuchung ist dabei auf die Lebenshaltungskosten von ausländischen Mitarbeitern ausgerichtet und soll Arbeitgebern helfen, die Höhe der Gehälter von Mitarbeitern im Ausland richtig zu bemessen.

Als Referenzstadt und Verlgeichsmaßstab dient dabei New York. So sind in Moskau die Lebenshaltungskosten etwa eineinhalbmal so hoch wie in der amerikanischen Metropole. New York ist zugleich die teuerste Stadt Amerikas und die einzige nordamerikanische Stadt, die zu den teuersten 50 Städten weltweit gehört. Auf den Spitzenplätzen 2 und 3 weltweit folgen nach Moskau Tokio und London. Günstigste europäische Stadt ist der aktuellen Studie nach die bulgarische Hautstadt Sofia.

Jono arrived at my house last night at around 10pm. We had prep to do before his doctor’s appointment at 8 this morning so we went around the corner to my local. We drank beer as we filled in the medical history questionnaire and then talked about what our Monday would entail. If only we had guessed…

The pre-ordered taxi was waiting outside my house at 7.30 and got us to the insurance doctor’s office in the hills above Smíchov right on time at 8. There had clearly been some miscommunication amongst the insurance company, the doctor and my assistant, but we managed to sort out the paperwork and in the end the doctor approved Jono for his life insurance.

We got back to my office in Smíchov just after 9. My assistant had already talked to the insurance agent and she sent us straight off to the insurance company, which was nearby, so that Jono could sign the life insurance agreement. So far, so good. Things were going smoothly and we thought we had them under control.

Jono and I stopped for breakfast at Café Savoy and then went on to see P at the bank at Náměstí Republiky. We got there at 11.15, giving us at least an hour before we would have to leave to go to the developer’s office to sign the final purchase contract for our flat. P examined the insurance documents and then had further bank documents prepared for both the insurance company and the developer. Together we looked at the amendments to our future purchase contract, which changed the actual purchase price of our flat. We went over the list of what else we still needed to do to draw down the mortgage. When we were finally done with all of that and Jono and I were free to go, P called us a taxi and I called Filip to tell him we’d be a few minutes late.

Our taxi driver was a genius and we really did arrive at the developer’s office in Podolí only a few minutes late. We sat with Filip and went over the amendments to the future purchase contract and signed those. Then we discussed the price adjustment. Then we were ready to sign the 8 originals of the final purchase contract. Suddenly Filip informed us that our signatures on 4 of them would need to be notarised, but that we could all go together to the notary down the street. But I quickly realised that I couldn’t do that because I didn’t have my passport with me. “Sorry, guys...”

Filip suggested that Jono and I take the agreements, go home for my passport, and go to a notary near my house to sign, and then he would add his notarised signatures tomorrow or the next day. So off we went. We took the tram from Podolí back to Žižkov, on the way deciding to go to the notary I know in Smíchov, which is just over the road from the insurance company. The idea being that we could finish up at the insurance company afterwards.

The notary’s office was a bit crowded, but I think we were in and out in about 30 minutes. We crossed the road to the insurance office. Our agent was no longer there so we sat down with someone else. We needed the insurance company to complete the vinkulace – the document that confirms that the bank is the beneficiary on Jono’s life insurance. The woman went through the papers we had, made some copies, asked us where we wanted the vinkulace sent, and told us it would take a month.

I challenged her. A month?!!! No one had told us it would take a month and there was no logical reason why it should take a month.

She tried to explain. They would have to send the paperwork to Brno, no one in their office was authorised to complete a vinkulace... But then she admitted that there might be someone in their office in Vinohrady. I asked her to call and find out. After two or three phone calls, she determined that there was someone at that minute in their office at the ass end of Prague 3 – way out near the end of the number 9 tram line. In other words, back the way we had just come from, but farther out. Off we went.

“What if we get there and she’s not there anymore?”

We walked into the insurance company office at Chmelnice. It was quiet and kind of dark. “Dobrý den, we’re looking for Mrs Procházková.”

“I’m Mrs Procházková.” Jono and I looked at each other in hope and amazement – this might just work out after all.

We sat down and Mrs Procházková looked over our paperwork. And then suddenly, “What’s this? You just signed this agreement today? It won’t be in our system yet. I’m afraid I can’t do the vinkulace until the agreement is in the system.”

A calm and civilised discussion ensued. Mrs P advised us that if we encouraged our agent a bit, she would be able to get the life insurance agreement into the system within 7-10 days. Then once the agreement is in there, Mrs P will be happy to do the vinkulace on the spot for me. A reasonable result, we thought.

About 20 minutes after we had left Mrs P, Jono got into a taxi and I stood waving him off as he headed for the airport.

Oh, and Filip and I agreed to meet at the flat for handover this Wednesday.

Ausfahrt è forse la parola che ho letto di più, ad ogni svincolo dell'autobahan.

Prima tappa Monaco per una visita veloce alla città. Poi, il giorno dopo, arrivo a Berlino. Con il navigatore arriviamo sotto casa di Eddi e parcheggiamo la macchina davanti al portone. Dove resterà ferma per 6 giorni.

Prima uscita serale, biglietto settimanale alla stazione della metro e poi a mangiare sushi, da Kuchi a Mitte . Il ristorante me l'ha consigliato TripAdvisor. E il consiglio è stato valido. Non abbiamo prenotato, ma siamo riusciti a mangiare al sushi bar, guardando i due cuochi preparare con mani veloci i piatti.

Poi per 5 giorni in giro per la città. Per sapere cosa vedere a Berlino basta una guida.  Grazie alla U-Bahn e alla S-Bahn si va dappertutto senza grossi problemi.

Berlino è la città degli orsi. Ce ne sono ad ogni angolo della strada.

La linea della S-Bahn che va da Alexander Plaz a Charlottensburg permette di vedere una buona parte della città solo affacciandosi ai finestrini.

La torre della tv di Alexander Platz si vede praticamente da ogni parte di Berlino.

Le scale per salire sull'angelo (che poi è la vittoria) sono stata la cosa più faticosa che ho fatto ultimamente.

Berlino è una città che è stata prima rasa al suolo e poi attraversata interamente da un muro. E' una citta storica, ma della nostra storia recente. Uscendo dal museo ebraico sentiamo questa frase detta da una signora di mezza età: "Si, Berlino è bella, ma mi ha un po' deluso, non è come Roma". Berlino non può essere paragonata a una città d'arte come Roma. Non ha 2000 anni di storia. Ma gli ultimi 100 li ha vissuti intensamente.

E per fortuna che Berlino non è Roma, altrimenti sarebbe stato impossibile girarla così velocemente. In Italia ci sogneremo ancora a lungo dei trasporti pubblici come i loro.

Non invidio sicuramente il tempo di Berlino. Ci sono state due giornate di non pioggia e la giornata più calda ha registrato ben 25°. L'acquisto di una soft shell è stata la cosa più azzeccata che ho fatto prima di partire.

Meglio sicuramente di Praga dove il 15 Agosto c'erano 11° e una pioggia gelida. Doveva essere una tappa da visitare in un giorno nel viaggio di ritorno,  è stato un giro veloce e una dormita al caldo prima di affrontare la strada verso casa.

Dopo il Brennero abbiamo ripreso il solito andazzo, 40 km di code e rallentamenti fino a Trento e due ore di ritardo sull'ora di arrivo prevista dal navigatore alla partenza da Praga, 200 km in 4 ore.

Well, don't get me wrong: Prague is beautiful. And it is quite nice to commute by tram. My daily cruise through Praha's picturesque Malá Strana is great fun, still. But we have nice buildings and interesting architecture in Zurich too. So that's why I wanted to see some Panelák, the high rise residential silos built during Communism, not only in Czech Republic but also in the former German Democratic Republic.

Prague's Museum of Communism taught me:

Well, that's what wikipedia says, but anyway, I wanted to get "that ghetto feeling", so I visited a friend who lives in a Panelak. But, no much of ghetto out there. It's true, that the busride took some time. And when I got off, I was very hungry and I was sure that it would be nearly impossible to buy some food out here. I was very positively surprised to find a well equipped supermarket just between the big residential silos.

Luckily, my friend lives on the very top floor of the building so there really is a lot of sunlight and you get a nice view. I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a gray s**ithole but instead, you see fields, forests and other Panelak's which was much nicer than I though. At least the quality of the building was as bad as I expected. The walls don't insulate and I wasn't really sad not having to listen to the neighbour's discussions during the night.

Well, just for those who are intending to travel to Prague: It was a lot cheaper when I was here 4 years ago. The Czech Koruna gets more expensive one day after another. Now it seems the Czech National Bank has decided to do something about it and they have lowered interest rates and now the exchange rate looks a bit more positive than in the beginning of August. But I find the "Bankrot" shops are bit exaggerating..Anyway, I don't think any of you gives a rat's ass but I made this graph instead of writing my thesis, so I think my demand that you have a look at it is justifiable :-)

What's up with this? Why do people produce such disgusting pieces, dare to place them in the very middle of downtown to distract the visitor's attention from the historic feel of Prague and yet call it art? I understand that modern art can serve as a very valuable instrument of communication when reflecting the new with the history, but the most important point taken into consideration should always be an original idea and ability of such piece to create a certain cohesion with the historical core of the city... Why don't these pieces have any taste what-so-ever then?

The interesting fact about this installation is that it looks absolutely natural - like an old couple of camels just stopped by to feed on grass and enjoy the amazing view of Prague that this place has to offer... Their rustiness gives it all a feel that they've been standing there since ever just looking at Prague which drags the visitors' attention not at the camels themselves, but at the view they've been obviously enjoying for so long... It's one of those pieces of art engaging an original thought and creativity and challenging a person's mind. And that to me is art - the one that truly deserves attention!

My friend and I took a ride on a swan paddle-boat around the river Vltava and immediately became the centre of attention for all the curious tourists and other paddle-boats fellows, who started taking pictures of the plastic swan plowing the waters alongside the National Theatre, Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle. :-)

We were enjoying the ride so much! And of course, we couldn't resist taking pictures as well! As the sun was setting down and it was generally very cloudy that day, the swan's head on the dramatic sky created really nice images.

Reminiscent of the story that happened in one little town in Germany last year, where one of the local swans fell in love with its significant other plastic paddle boat and got very depressed and even lifeless over the winter when the boat season was over, we were also observing the interaction of the swans with our plastic one and found this observation to be quite funny actually...

If you're thinking how could also you capture a gigantic swan sticking its noisy beak in the major historical sites of Prague, then rent this one and only paddle-boat at Zofin Island and try it out on the river Vltava yourself! It really is worth it as the atmosphere of this ride is truly unforgettable!

[gallery]

When I spoke about the unique atmosphere of a pure relax that Prague has to offer, I meant not only my "swan experience" from last Sunday but also the Jazz Week festival that is currently going on at the Old Town Square. Where else than Prague - and now honestly - can you sit down right on the cobble stone ground of one of the majorily crowded places in all of this country, drink a wonderful beer from a plastic cup on a public and listen to some high quality jazz by Jiri Stivin Quartet for free in a less than close distance to a bum sitting on his plastic bag from the local supermarket, happily stinking 10 meters around but being obviously passionate about jazz and clapping in the rhythm with the rest of the listeners? :-) I don't know of any such place that offers both locals and visitors as low-keyed atmosphere as Prague!

We all know that the customer service is not necessarily the #1 in Europe, it still has a LONG way to go, but the mindset of people living here is simply: easy! So PLEASE don't try to apply such high requirements that you would expect from the city of your origin and try to take Prague for what it is because it undoubtedly has other (and better) things to offer! What can seem as a lapse on one hand is on the other hand enabling us to live the way we do... So simply try to go with the flow and acclimatize to our way of living and feeling things. You won't regret, I promise! If you are opened enough, you will get into it very quickly.  Just don't take things so deadly serious and take it easy, after all you're in Prague, right? :-)

It is so awkward coming back home and seeing the postcards on the table that I sent to the members of my family a couple weeks ago. "Who sent these?" is going through my head. It feels almost unreal that it's only a week ago when I went for a trip to New York City on my own and came back to DC for the last day of internship and the graduation ceremony in Georgetown. Straight back to the reality of my life back home where every single day feels the same I am questioning myself "was it only a dream or was it real"? 

I miss DC, I miss the people from all around the world that I became close friends with, I miss even the hot humid DC weather which I would have never though I would, I miss the atmosphere of the program, I miss myself over there, but I know that coming back now it wouldn't be the same... Why do the good things always have to end? It's probably because we wouldn't be able to realize how good they really were otherwise...

After realizing that for my own happiness in life I need to be independent, need to live internationally and experience things on my own, I feel like I've over-grown this place from the inside. I feel trapped in a transition place that I call home between coming back from the US and leaving for Cardiff, Wales in a bit more than a month.

In the meantime, I would like to post some of the impressions of Prague that I took through pictures earlier this week while walking around downtown again for the first time in last two months...

Last week we went to O2 zlate lazne, also known as “the beach”. There’s a beach in Prague!?!?! That’s right! Well, actually it’s more like a park on the river with some sand (which was shipped in of course). It was different then I had expected and definitely VERY different from the Southern California beaches that I’m used to, but it was still a really fun place.

When you walk into the park/beach at the far end you will see Czech Barbeque stands on your left selling kabobs and sausages and beer with tables out in front. On your right there is a patio type area with more tables and chairs where there was a wedding going on the night that we were there. As you walk farther along the path you will see a bar on your left and then some sand volleyball courts and a little sand beach on your right. Farther down there will be more Czech Barbeque stands on your left and a big grassy area with a fun fountain on your right. At the opposite end of the park/beach there is a big children’s play park, which you have to pay to get in, but it looks like so much fun.

The atmosphere at the beach is chill and relaxed. People are out sun bathing, kids are running in the grass, some are playing in the sand and tons of people are talking and drinking beer. It is all very clean and really nicely done. There are little statues and fountains and a giant chess board with playing pieces. The food was good, nothing special, just BBQ but great for a hot summer day and the perfect match for the yummy beer. The view of the Vltava river is beautiful. Over all I would highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already. It’s a good place to make the best of the summer heat and enjoy a nice beer and good chat with some friends.   

Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

Photographs by Tamara Stedman and Beth Stedman

Kebab d'asporto, caff� e str�del per passare il viaggio in treno...

Time is passing very quickly here in Praha, being busy with going on trips with various CouchSurfers, joining Ultimate Frisbee training sessions, exploring the city and - every now and then -  which was my initial purpose of coming here: Doing some research for my MA thesis on "democratization and elections" ;-)

Life in Praha is really enjoyable. I'm in very good company here. I got involved in the CouchSurfer community here from the very first day of my arrival. It's quite amazing how well it works! I've explored quite a few places and have spent a considerable amount of time in Praha's Beergardens and Pubs with CouchSurfers, most of which are regularly participating in meetings, trips and pub-crawls. I didn't think this community could be so much fun: This past week I went swimming at Divoka Šarka with a small CS-group and yesterday we went on a daytrip for hiking in Česky Raj, which is kind of a national park. The people are really open minded and friendly, because all of them have been travelling and living in different cultures.

Besides CouchSurfing-activities, I've joined the training of a local Ultimate Frisbee team. I'm still really bad at it, especially the "throwing" part of frisbee needs some improvement, but i'm not that bad at the "running" part.

Yes, my MA-thesis consists of ZERO pages. Still. But I've done a lot of mindwork though, which is equally important, at least! :-D But I do think that it's about time for starting with writing a few sentences.

Thanks for the emails and good wishes from Switzerland and abroad!

Haapsalu - Tallinn - Varssavi - Praha - Karlovy Vary - Kutna Hora - ja seda sama teed pidi tagasi! Ma juba kahtlustan, et see bussireis saab mu vaimsele tervisele saatuslikuks!

Kui see seiklus peaks saama saatuslikuks mu vaimsele tervisele, siis suure tõenäosusega jääb ka mu unistuste trip Austraaliasse ja Aasiasse ära!

Üks kuu, kaks nädalat ja viis päeva veel!

Samschtig Namitag z'Prag - Schönschte Sunneschtii, Turnschue fürehole zum jogge, aber nei, bi die divorne sind rägnets scho wieder in Ströme! Tzzz, blibi halt dihei, nimm d Wöschmaschine in Betriib und nischte mich nachli besser ii da ide Wohnig. Und schriibe mal chli wie's mir so ergaht da, damit Ihr mich nöd vergässed! (hähä, händer oi z'früe gfroit! :-P).

Ja, ei Wuche Prag - Es gfallt mer super da bis jetzt. D'Wohnig isch gemütlich, grad frisch renoviert, zentral gläge aber doch nöd zmizt im Turischtechueche drin. D'Mitbewohnerin isch en Schatz, leider isch si für die nächschte 3 Wuche ide USA ide Ferie.

S'umeförscherle im OSZE-Büro macht riesig Spass. Obwohl ich nanig so würkli en Plaan da drüber was ich sött förscherle. S'OSZE-Büro beherbergt näbed mir undemene dütsche Researcher 2 OSZE-Staff und Putzfraue-Sekretärine-Empfangsdame-Personal. Aber that's it already. Klein aber fein. Zmizt im Diplomate-Quartier. En alti Villa, wo früener die kuwaitische Botschaft (oder so ähnlich) drin gsi isch. Rundume wimlez nur so vo Botschafte: Kuwait, Irak, Malaysia, Kasachstan, Mexiko etc...Alles sehr schöni Villene. It's a very nice! I like!

Photo by: David Henderson

Photo By: David Henderson

This is a paper metro (subway) ticket from 2001 issued by the Prague Traffic Authority.