prague praha praga

In Czech, it is Praha.

In Latin, it is Praga.

We took the train from Berlin to Prague, a five hour trip. We knew we'd crossed the border when the train stations signs were suddenly even more unrecognizable.

Our walk from the main train station, the Hlavni Nadrazi, to the Pension Tara on Havelske, was easy enough. And we were relieved to find our greeter at the pension very friendly & helpful.

Our room was cute & clean & white-walled. With tall ceilings and a great view overlooking the street below. And since we had a fridge, we decided we should find some water, beer & food to put into it. And then we took a walk, with a map but with no destination in mind.

My friend Anne had told me that in going to Prague you didn't need a plan of what-to-see, you just needed to walk around. And she was exactly right. We never had a plan, but we saw amazing things.

Our first walk took us right into the Old Town Square, as the sun began setting. And we were both instantly speechless & giddy. It was beautiful, in that very old & sad way, elegance that has weathered many storms.

Prague is elegant & stoic, with twisty, narrow cobblestone streets & buildings in muted bright colors. It is also built of stone, which makes it feel cold sometimes, and as tourists we were often received by chilly, unsmiling faces & a rather confounding language that we heartily tried to speak & understand. But, I loved it. & I loved being there with someone just as in awe as I was.

And today I'm off to the library in search of a good history book that may help me understand the city & its people even better.

a day at the park

after a walk in the park, a sunny place on Hufelandstrasse for lunch. with beer & a huge steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup.

the Marchenbrunnen, a fountain surrounded with Grimm's fairy tale figures in stone.

am in awe that there is so much graffiti everywhere.

I wonder about home. but I look forward to the things I get to see.
and eat.
and drink.

tomorrow we take a trip by train to Prague.

water tower park

refreshing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

you can drink beer anywhere here. which is being enjoyed.
even though it still feels a bit illegal.

old water tower

today, a sunny lunch in the park. eating yummy doner kebab.

and laundry, and buying train tickets for Prague.

macht nichts

in a foreign language

it can be frustrating to walk around without understanding any of the words.
but at least I see familiar things.
and get to spend my time with very good friends.
and berlin is full of wonderful things to see.

fragment of history

ate a pide in a turkish cafe. the feta was deliciously salty. finished it with sour cherry juice.
which was one of my favorite things about Turkey.

enjoyed just how punk rock germans can get.
and then smiled while eating a burger & fries.
walked along a piece of the wall that used to separate so much.

more things seen

the brandenburg, a big symbol of freedom

4 euro for a bunch of tulips, big symbol of spring

the things we see

irish coffee in a french cafe on a berlin street

art everywhere

a long view

with his foot on satan

7 hours ahead

balcony view of prenzlauer berg

a long trip. which really just has me back to a country where my people once lived. and left for the fields of kansas.

a long trip welcomed by much love, many hugs and a family home away from home.

the living room

americans in plaid, making dinner in berlin

ahead

thinking of warm, summer sunshine.
open windows with soft air.
glad to be in the end of winter. trying to be patient for Spring-into-Summer.

in two weeks I'll be landing in Berlin. being greeted by a loving smile.

i've got some serious pre-travel lists to make.

dinner

we need a big table.
and we weren't even all there.
but we ate plenty of chicken, potatoes & biscuits.
and grandma was happy to see all of us.

and on the way home, we stopped at the farm to see the new lambs.

brilliant

the other night this light caught my eye.
amazing sunset, which lit up my sun room.
it was, as my niece would excitedly say, "pink".

evangelos lounge.

old bar.

art on burro alley.

old burro.

cathedral of san francisco de assisi

old faith.


leaving behind an unheated Taos, we spent a night in Santa Fe.
found a warm & cheap-enough hotel room.
ate & drank well.
and walked around the pretty plaza.

2 feet

today it felt more like digging out, than shoveling.

my neighbor hired a guy & a tractor/plow to come dig out his cars on the street. while they were at it, he asked them to dig out my driveway too.

while my other neighbor is helped with my sidewalks.

I didn't need the help. but that it was given, without even asking, is amazingly kind.

also, for fun, I jumped in some drifts. they came up to my knees. 

steps

plans are made for Berlin & Prague.
visiting good friends & seeing a little of old Europe.

I made the decision when last camping, while hanging onto a tarp in 70-mile/hr wind, praying the tornado would skip us over. Scared, rain-drenched & listening to the sound of roaring wind, I thought to myself that, shit, life is short. I should travel more.

but I bought the ticket because my traveling companion bought his, & he reminded me why I should go too.

as mom said, the winfield tornado brought in fresh air & fresh possibilities.

eastbound

leaving is the hard part.
during the long drive south to the station I think about things other than living 500 miles away.

the view eastbound was snowy. often with a fog of snow rushing by the train windows.
coal-black cows in the white fields.
and then the sun went down.

then a nap took me into night & Kansas.

modern winters

it snowed. and the winds blew.

and in the negative cold. the heat left for a few days.
















but the sun is out. & we are lucky, because the camp stove is enough for hot water. which means coffee. and mac & cheese.

the train makes it easy to get to the mountains.

a.word.a.day betide

 

betide

PRONUNCIATION:

(bi-TYD)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: To happen.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English tidan (happen), from tid (time). Earliest documented use: 1297.

the winter road on the way to my brother's.

presents this year included several pieces of colorful construction paper on which my nephew had written my name.

winter in kansas this week. winter in new mexico next.

frozen

unfolding

have put away the mantle decorations.
finished the leftovers.
the new year is here. unfolding much better than the last.
& my most determined (and only) resolution has been made.

my nephew called to tell me he lost his first tooth,
and how nice the tooth fairy is.

and I live on the plains, but think about the mountains.

holiday walk

spent the morning of christmas eve at the farm. with cinnamon rolls, coffee and a walk.

the bridge was declared too icy to cross.

nephew was given the responsibility of choosing our path.

the tall grass was covered in icy droplets.

 cold, windy walk that was well worth it.