I lost weight, I'll see how long it stays off. I was lighter than when I got back from a month in the field I spent rationing food. I've gained some of it back, but I'm still lighter than I was when I left. While in Europe I walked all the time and played hockey every weekday, and walked miles and miles in Marseille and Budapest. I make most of the food I eat, so my eating habits haven't really changed.
I haven't fully adjusted to Alaska time yet, at least, I haven't gotten back to my old schedule of staying up late and getting up late. I wake up around 6:15 and go to bed around 9. I still sometimes wake up around 2am wide awake, and wonder what time it is. I think I need a few more late nights on the weekend to adjust.
Hockey
I thought it would be fun, and one of few opportunities to play with George and Matt's team (maroon), but there was a team in A with a few hurt players, so I'll be playing for grey. I slept through the my first hockey game here, which started at 9pm, my phone's alarm was too quiet.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Flights home
While most of my experience with Lot Polish Airlines customer service was terrible, the two women working the desk in the Prague airport were incredibly patient and worked hard to help me get home.
I flew:
Prague - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Chicago - Seattle - Juneau
The Copenhagen and Stockholm airports were really nice. They had carts for you to carry around your carry on luggage on, which I needed (I had my clothes in one bag, and books and my giant laptop in the other). I had an overnight in Stockholm, and with the time changes, made it home the evening of the day after I left.
I stayed in the Jumbo hostel in a Jumbo plane.
The plane, the night I got there:
I payed for a single room because I didn't want to hassle with keeping track of my things once I got there, I was already tired. The room had a flat screen TV. I watched the Sweden women's hockey team loose to team USA.
The room:
The personal room also came with breakfast, which was very European, bread, a slice of cheese and a slice of turkey, a pickle, orange juice and coffee.
From Stockholm to Chicago I flew on SAS, Scandinavian airlines. Unlike the Lot flight, during which I slept (thankfully), I was awake the whole flight. There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of you with movies to watch, an improvement over the projected movie on the Lot airline. The flight attendants were very hospitable, their service followed a schedule. The first time they offered beverages, I wanted a coffee, but they said they were only serving cold drinks and that I had to wait for the warm beverage service, which comes after the meal. Near the end of the flight they offered a hot damp rolled up washcloth, which was a nice touch, refreshing to my hands and neck. I recommend SAS.
The flight from Chicago to Seattle was very full. The four-five hour flight seemed not so bad after the 9 hour flight from Stockholm. The flight from Seattle to Juneau was nearly empty, so I had room to stretch my legs.
I flew:
Prague - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Chicago - Seattle - Juneau
The Copenhagen and Stockholm airports were really nice. They had carts for you to carry around your carry on luggage on, which I needed (I had my clothes in one bag, and books and my giant laptop in the other). I had an overnight in Stockholm, and with the time changes, made it home the evening of the day after I left.
I stayed in the Jumbo hostel in a Jumbo plane.
The plane, the night I got there:
I payed for a single room because I didn't want to hassle with keeping track of my things once I got there, I was already tired. The room had a flat screen TV. I watched the Sweden women's hockey team loose to team USA.
The room:
The personal room also came with breakfast, which was very European, bread, a slice of cheese and a slice of turkey, a pickle, orange juice and coffee.
From Stockholm to Chicago I flew on SAS, Scandinavian airlines. Unlike the Lot flight, during which I slept (thankfully), I was awake the whole flight. There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of you with movies to watch, an improvement over the projected movie on the Lot airline. The flight attendants were very hospitable, their service followed a schedule. The first time they offered beverages, I wanted a coffee, but they said they were only serving cold drinks and that I had to wait for the warm beverage service, which comes after the meal. Near the end of the flight they offered a hot damp rolled up washcloth, which was a nice touch, refreshing to my hands and neck. I recommend SAS.
The flight from Chicago to Seattle was very full. The four-five hour flight seemed not so bad after the 9 hour flight from Stockholm. The flight from Seattle to Juneau was nearly empty, so I had room to stretch my legs.
Slavia 3 and 4, the end
Game 3
We lost 6-1 (maybe 6-2). I don't remember the goals broken down by period, but I felt like we could tie this game in the first period, and I want to say we answered every goal. By the end of the second, I think they had scored 3 goals, with a devastating third period. Our senior goalie played for Slavia years ago, so the Slavia team knows her well. We were home, making this game especially hard to loose.
Game 4
This game was also home. We lost this game 6-0. Then the tournament was over, I said my goodbyes and arranged to go home.
The play was physical in a way that mostly did not detract from the game. The passing was quick, the forechecks were hard (almost to the point of forgetting how to backcheck).
the ugly
I think there is an ingrained desire in players to draw penalties, which I see as a distraction from the game and dishonorable. This might come from having reasons for everything, reasons that extend to blame when personal identity as a hockey player is on the line, including a fall on the ice. This might only be present in woman's hockey, which is perhaps marginalized enough already in Europe, leading to players having a heightened awareness of themselves as hockey players, and being such, would never needlessly fall over a stick.
the that's just too bad
I never quite agreed with the coaches in how to play. I felt I played physically, but they wanted me to be a bruiser, which I'm not. There were a few lessons I maybe shouldn't have learned: I passed to a player because they were open, they passed to another player, and another, resulting in a shot on goal, but later I was told I needed to set up the play behind the net. Then, the next game I played, I remembered the previous lesson, and started to go behind the net, and was benched for the rest of the game. I was told later that I should have passed immediately. In one of the early games I was asked to stay on the blue line longer to receive a pass from my fellow defenseman, because they thought I was falling back and playing defensively, so I did, and was beat to create a scoring opportunity for the other team. Unfortunately for me, I've seen our defensemen get beat a handful of times every game from our bench. I play defensively, but still get beat, it happens, especially against really great players. Maybe I don't need to play so defensively. Also, its hard to be the new player, little trusted by the players or the coaches. Good plays were attributed to me doing what I was supposed to do (which I was, so this was fine, I didn't need a lot of praise though held onto it when I did get it), and bad plays were singled out and usually meant I got very little ice time for the rest of the game. The latter was lame because I wasn't the only one making mistakes of the same calibur.
an aside
Czech people are very hard working, reliable and hospitable, even when not particularly empathetic. I also sensed a large amount of national pride, though the concurrent Olympics could have had something to do with this.
Concluding...
I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic. I would do it again if I could, for nothing else other than to prove and improve myself as a hockey player. I had many great experiences, got to know a great bunch of girls, even if I never really gained the trust of many of the girls on the ice. I know a part of Czech culture in a way I could never have understood without living there.
We lost 6-1 (maybe 6-2). I don't remember the goals broken down by period, but I felt like we could tie this game in the first period, and I want to say we answered every goal. By the end of the second, I think they had scored 3 goals, with a devastating third period. Our senior goalie played for Slavia years ago, so the Slavia team knows her well. We were home, making this game especially hard to loose.
Game 4
This game was also home. We lost this game 6-0. Then the tournament was over, I said my goodbyes and arranged to go home.
Regarding Czech Woman's Hockey
the goodThe play was physical in a way that mostly did not detract from the game. The passing was quick, the forechecks were hard (almost to the point of forgetting how to backcheck).
the ugly
I think there is an ingrained desire in players to draw penalties, which I see as a distraction from the game and dishonorable. This might come from having reasons for everything, reasons that extend to blame when personal identity as a hockey player is on the line, including a fall on the ice. This might only be present in woman's hockey, which is perhaps marginalized enough already in Europe, leading to players having a heightened awareness of themselves as hockey players, and being such, would never needlessly fall over a stick.
the that's just too bad
I never quite agreed with the coaches in how to play. I felt I played physically, but they wanted me to be a bruiser, which I'm not. There were a few lessons I maybe shouldn't have learned: I passed to a player because they were open, they passed to another player, and another, resulting in a shot on goal, but later I was told I needed to set up the play behind the net. Then, the next game I played, I remembered the previous lesson, and started to go behind the net, and was benched for the rest of the game. I was told later that I should have passed immediately. In one of the early games I was asked to stay on the blue line longer to receive a pass from my fellow defenseman, because they thought I was falling back and playing defensively, so I did, and was beat to create a scoring opportunity for the other team. Unfortunately for me, I've seen our defensemen get beat a handful of times every game from our bench. I play defensively, but still get beat, it happens, especially against really great players. Maybe I don't need to play so defensively. Also, its hard to be the new player, little trusted by the players or the coaches. Good plays were attributed to me doing what I was supposed to do (which I was, so this was fine, I didn't need a lot of praise though held onto it when I did get it), and bad plays were singled out and usually meant I got very little ice time for the rest of the game. The latter was lame because I wasn't the only one making mistakes of the same calibur.
an aside
Czech people are very hard working, reliable and hospitable, even when not particularly empathetic. I also sensed a large amount of national pride, though the concurrent Olympics could have had something to do with this.
Concluding...
I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic. I would do it again if I could, for nothing else other than to prove and improve myself as a hockey player. I had many great experiences, got to know a great bunch of girls, even if I never really gained the trust of many of the girls on the ice. I know a part of Czech culture in a way I could never have understood without living there.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Budapest
My normal schedule includes 1 hour practices:
Monday: 18:00 (boys)
Tuesday: 20:30 (girls)
Wednesday: 16:45 (boys)
Thursday: 06:00 (girls)
Friday: 20:30 (girls)
My daily activities included morning coffee and bread with cheese, bathe, study the czech language with Pimsler's audio tracks, flash cards, and read Lenka's Czech language book... go to the grocery store... cook the food from the grocery store... go to Prague, plan for trips to other places like Marseille, and Budapest!
The Prague- Budapest train
Our Thursday morning (February 18, 2010) practice was canceled because there weren't going to be enough players. So, I took the train left Prague at 7:39 in the morning. I needed to leave the flat around 5:50 to get to the bus station that goes from Kladno (leaving around 06:00) to Dejvicka, the round square, in Prague (getting there around 06:20). Then I took the Prague metro lines from Dejvicka to Hlavni Nadrazi (the train station). There I bought a ticket from Prague to Budapest. Unlike flight tickets, the train tickets do not change in price. I wish I had a reliable, safe, consistent, cheap and public form of transport from one large city to another available to me always.
The train was nearly empty for most of the trip, and it was hazy overcast and rainy making it difficult to see the countryside and pictures hard to take. Much of the countryside was similar to Kladno, with rolling hills and trees.
The train:
There were sets of four chairs on each side that faced each other with a table in-between, which was really convenient for eating, setting my iphone down, etc.
On the train I met two Brazilians, Thais and Guilherme. I met them after they invited me to have lunch with them in the restaurant car after I gave them an orange because I noticed one of them was a little sick. They had either studied or were studying "letters," or literature. Thais was incorporating economics and tourism and other languages with letters. Somewhere near Brno (the second largest city in Czech Republic) the train's motor car went "Kaput" (the words of a local Czech), so we waited for an hour for another motor car.
Brno was very industrial with big old abandoned looking buildings, possibly factories, with broken thick old glass windows. I thought there was more graffiti in Brno than Kladno, Prague or Marseille. I can't give an unbiased opinion without getting away from the train tracks. This part of eastern Europe felt empty, concrete and mute, though the dull weather and empty train car probably helped create this feeling.
The Budapest train station (which looks similar to the Marseille transportation hub):
The hostel
I stayed in another hostel in Budapest, the Aboriginal Hostel. It was hard to find, and every single Hungarian I asked for directions from gave me bad directions, for the entire trip. I didn't take any of my own pictures of the place. I stayed in a room that holds 8, and I think there were 8 people sleeping in there when I woke up. They had lockers, which I really liked. They also had wireless, which is a minimum for me.
Budapest
Budapest is near the Danube, and has its own history, which I only know from wikipedia. The Hungarian language, like George said, was completely unrecognizable. The Hungarian equivalent of "cheers" was, in my phonetic spelling, "Egeshegedra." At least the Czech "Nasdravi" shares roots with Russian. Unfortunately, the train back to Prague got into Prague when our practice started, so I flew back. The airport is about a 20 minute drive, by taxi, from edge of downtown Budapest, or about an hour, if you know what you're doing, by public transportation.
Like other eurpean cities, Budapest has a metro (below). Budapest had a fasion street full of commercial tourist minded shops, some old buildings like an opera house, I wouldn't have minded another day or two for some better weather and to get to know the city better.
There was a beekeeper's store! I stopped in, but unfortunately didn't know what my dad uses or needed. I did ask my dad, but he couldn't say what he would want without actually seeing the things.
Bee keeper's supplies (above) and bee products (below).
The plane I took from Budapest to Prague Friday afternoon (below):
Monday: 18:00 (boys)
Tuesday: 20:30 (girls)
Wednesday: 16:45 (boys)
Thursday: 06:00 (girls)
Friday: 20:30 (girls)
My daily activities included morning coffee and bread with cheese, bathe, study the czech language with Pimsler's audio tracks, flash cards, and read Lenka's Czech language book... go to the grocery store... cook the food from the grocery store... go to Prague, plan for trips to other places like Marseille, and Budapest!
The Prague- Budapest train
Our Thursday morning (February 18, 2010) practice was canceled because there weren't going to be enough players. So, I took the train left Prague at 7:39 in the morning. I needed to leave the flat around 5:50 to get to the bus station that goes from Kladno (leaving around 06:00) to Dejvicka, the round square, in Prague (getting there around 06:20). Then I took the Prague metro lines from Dejvicka to Hlavni Nadrazi (the train station). There I bought a ticket from Prague to Budapest. Unlike flight tickets, the train tickets do not change in price. I wish I had a reliable, safe, consistent, cheap and public form of transport from one large city to another available to me always.
The train was nearly empty for most of the trip, and it was hazy overcast and rainy making it difficult to see the countryside and pictures hard to take. Much of the countryside was similar to Kladno, with rolling hills and trees.
The train:
There were sets of four chairs on each side that faced each other with a table in-between, which was really convenient for eating, setting my iphone down, etc.
On the train I met two Brazilians, Thais and Guilherme. I met them after they invited me to have lunch with them in the restaurant car after I gave them an orange because I noticed one of them was a little sick. They had either studied or were studying "letters," or literature. Thais was incorporating economics and tourism and other languages with letters. Somewhere near Brno (the second largest city in Czech Republic) the train's motor car went "Kaput" (the words of a local Czech), so we waited for an hour for another motor car.
Brno was very industrial with big old abandoned looking buildings, possibly factories, with broken thick old glass windows. I thought there was more graffiti in Brno than Kladno, Prague or Marseille. I can't give an unbiased opinion without getting away from the train tracks. This part of eastern Europe felt empty, concrete and mute, though the dull weather and empty train car probably helped create this feeling.
The Budapest train station (which looks similar to the Marseille transportation hub):
The hostel
I stayed in another hostel in Budapest, the Aboriginal Hostel. It was hard to find, and every single Hungarian I asked for directions from gave me bad directions, for the entire trip. I didn't take any of my own pictures of the place. I stayed in a room that holds 8, and I think there were 8 people sleeping in there when I woke up. They had lockers, which I really liked. They also had wireless, which is a minimum for me.
Budapest
Budapest is near the Danube, and has its own history, which I only know from wikipedia. The Hungarian language, like George said, was completely unrecognizable. The Hungarian equivalent of "cheers" was, in my phonetic spelling, "Egeshegedra." At least the Czech "Nasdravi" shares roots with Russian. Unfortunately, the train back to Prague got into Prague when our practice started, so I flew back. The airport is about a 20 minute drive, by taxi, from edge of downtown Budapest, or about an hour, if you know what you're doing, by public transportation.
Like other eurpean cities, Budapest has a metro (below). Budapest had a fasion street full of commercial tourist minded shops, some old buildings like an opera house, I wouldn't have minded another day or two for some better weather and to get to know the city better.
There was a beekeeper's store! I stopped in, but unfortunately didn't know what my dad uses or needed. I did ask my dad, but he couldn't say what he would want without actually seeing the things.
Bee keeper's supplies (above) and bee products (below).
The plane I took from Budapest to Prague Friday afternoon (below):
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Marseille
I flew on Czech Airlines from Prague directly to Marseille. In Marseille, like in the Czech Republic, I can take public transportation from the airport to wherever I want to go. I chose to stay in Vertigo, a hostel, because it was reasonably priced, and because it was located near the transportation center and the port.
Thursday February 11, 2010
My first night my roommates were from Japan, Korea and Turkey. I walked around and got oriented.
Inside the hostel:
Me, standing near Notre Dame de la Guarde, with Marseille in the background. It was very windy both Friday and Saturday:
In the chapel of Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Saturday February 13th, 2010
I spent this day with a couple of people I met at the hostel, a Czech and a Dutch. It was pretty random to run into a Czech in Marseille, he was studying in Lyon. I wanted to visit a market, so we walked there. Then we rented bikes, stopped by Notre Dame de la Guarde, then went down the coast. This night my roommates were an American, a Canadian and the Swiss.
The coast:
I was impressed with the public transportation in Marseille, it was big, shiny, silent and futuristic:
Thursday February 11, 2010
My first night my roommates were from Japan, Korea and Turkey. I walked around and got oriented.
Inside the hostel:
The stairs near the transportation center, when I got to Marseille:
I was pleasantly surprised to find (just like Celia said) that wine can be very inexpensive, 1 euro. The prices for wine, in euros, might be visible below:
I had some some cheese and bread I brought from Kladno for breakfast. My first mission of the day was to find some sort of espresso. My roommates this night were from Brazil (two brothers), and Switzerland.
I walked around the St. Nicholas Fortress:
View from the fortress:
Unfortunately, Notre Dame de la Guarde was on the top of a hill, very tall, with very limited room to back away, making it was hard to take a good picture of Notre Dame de la Guard.
View from Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Me, standing near Notre Dame de la Guarde, with Marseille in the background. It was very windy both Friday and Saturday:
In the chapel of Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Saturday February 13th, 2010
I spent this day with a couple of people I met at the hostel, a Czech and a Dutch. It was pretty random to run into a Czech in Marseille, he was studying in Lyon. I wanted to visit a market, so we walked there. Then we rented bikes, stopped by Notre Dame de la Guarde, then went down the coast. This night my roommates were an American, a Canadian and the Swiss.
The coast:
I was impressed with the public transportation in Marseille, it was big, shiny, silent and futuristic:
Sunday February 14th, 2010
It was snowing lightly when I left, making it feel like it was time to leave. I flew from Marseille to Paris to Prague this day, and has a few hour layover in Paris, so I got to see enough of Paris to know that I wanted to come back.
I miss George every day, but I missed him especially on this day because my phone stopped receiving the local telephone network. Fortunately, wireless still works so I can use skype. I mentioned before that I am accepting donations to my skype account, I think accepting offers to pay percentages of my cell phone bills might be better.
VIP, Jagr and Lenka
On February 9, Lenka and I worked in the VIP room for the men’s extraliga (The Czech professional hockey league) game between Kladno and Slavia (one of the Prague teams). Jaromir Jagr showed up during the second period! I had to leave early to go to practice but Lenka and another girl stayed and got a picture taken with him. I stayed for as long as I could, hoping for a chance encounter. I got ready the second fastest ever for me (one time I ran in the rink with less than 5 minutes on the clock for warm up and was on the ice with 2 minutes of warm up left).Jagr is a very big man. I couldn’t imagine trying to play any position against him.
Also, this isn’t really my news, but exciting none the less, Lenka found out on Valentine’s Day that she made the Czech national U-18 team! She’s a goalie. Congratulations to her :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Slavia games 1 and 2
Since we won the series against Karvina, we started the series against Slavia, the team from Prague. We played both of the first two games away. We lost the first game 12-1, then the second game 6-0.
This weekend we have free, so I am in Marseille France. I only brought my iPhone, so I can't upload pictures. Soon!
This weekend we have free, so I am in Marseille France. I only brought my iPhone, so I can't upload pictures. Soon!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
learning the local language
I have had three main ways to work on my Czech language skills:
1) Pilmsler audio tracks (from the Craig family)
2) conversation with those around me
3) self help from books
I started 1) in Juneau. It has been helpful here, but people around me don't understand me when I say one of the most repeated phrase in the CD so far, "I would like" or "would you like." This lack of understanding could be due a) my pronunciation is incorrect, b) my usage is incorrect, or c) Pimsler is wrong. I'm thinking the lack of understanding must be due to a) and b). I have, however, learned most of the czech I know from Pimsler, and Czechs understand most of the rest of what I have to say. I've been focusing on learning the other converstaion in the CDs that Czechs around me seem to understand.
The meet factory
I will soon have a new place to learn Czech. Jahu, from the team works for the Meet Factory at a center for contemporary art. They have resident artists from around the world who are (I think often) English speaking. The meet factory puts on Czech sessions once a week for the resident artists. One morning I was really frustrated with myself because I didn't understand Czech which made practice (training) difficult, and I was really tired (which was my own fault). I think this stirred Jahu into inviting me to attend the Czech sessions for the artists in exchange for correcting English for her. I'm pretty excited about learning from someone who is interested in teaching Czech, and about learning Czech in a verbal, conversational and interactive style.
1) Pilmsler audio tracks (from the Craig family)
2) conversation with those around me
3) self help from books
I started 1) in Juneau. It has been helpful here, but people around me don't understand me when I say one of the most repeated phrase in the CD so far, "I would like" or "would you like." This lack of understanding could be due a) my pronunciation is incorrect, b) my usage is incorrect, or c) Pimsler is wrong. I'm thinking the lack of understanding must be due to a) and b). I have, however, learned most of the czech I know from Pimsler, and Czechs understand most of the rest of what I have to say. I've been focusing on learning the other converstaion in the CDs that Czechs around me seem to understand.
This is where 2) conversation with those around me comes in. Unfortunately, I know enough to talk to people in stores, numbers, how much does this cost, how much do I owe, and the entrance and exit greetings, so going to stores only improves my Czech language skills slightly. The best opporunity I have to speak Czech is with the team in the locker room and on the ice. Again unfortunately for my language acquisition, we're focused on hockey, and not on teaching me Czech. The locker room (kabina) is the best place to both have a conversation and to listen to conversations. I hope that if they're conscious of me listening, that they know that I'm not really listening for the content (other than the hockey content), just the language.
A couple at the vchod (entrance), which is next to the vychod (exit) at the Czech Home Depot.
Today I've been looking at a book I'm borrowing from Lenka. I think it will be helpful, it offers the czech language in a conversation style. I also have a Czech - English dictionary, and a free translator on my phone for words on the fly.
A couple at the vchod (entrance), which is next to the vychod (exit) at the Czech Home Depot.
The meet factory
I will soon have a new place to learn Czech. Jahu, from the team works for the Meet Factory at a center for contemporary art. They have resident artists from around the world who are (I think often) English speaking. The meet factory puts on Czech sessions once a week for the resident artists. One morning I was really frustrated with myself because I didn't understand Czech which made practice (training) difficult, and I was really tired (which was my own fault). I think this stirred Jahu into inviting me to attend the Czech sessions for the artists in exchange for correcting English for her. I'm pretty excited about learning from someone who is interested in teaching Czech, and about learning Czech in a verbal, conversational and interactive style.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Prague: Old Town: Prague Castle
Its not hard to take beautiful pictures in Old Town Prague. Rather than select 5 pictures from all of Old town Prague, I've decided to post pictures in groups.
From a Prague brochure
The Prague castle is a national cultural monument, the symbol of more than a millenium of development of the Czech state. It has been evolving over the last 11 centuries. Fortification, residential and office buildings representing all architectural styles and periods surround three castle courtyards. Originally it was the residence of princes and kings of Bohemia, since 1918, the castle is the seat of the president.
Below I have pictures of the St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert cathedral. It is gothic, founded in 1344, the construction lasted 300 years, and was finished in 1929. Inside is the St Wenceslas Chapel and the crypt with tombs of Bohemian kings.
It was a sunny beautiful day, you can see the color on the walls from the sun shining through the (stained?) glass windows (above).
A crypt, Uncle Andy to the left with the gray hat on (above), a confessional (below).
An organ (above) and the cathedral's entrance (below)
I will eventually have these and many more pictures on line using Picasa. These pictures are too small to give the buildings justice.
From a Prague brochure
The Prague castle is a national cultural monument, the symbol of more than a millenium of development of the Czech state. It has been evolving over the last 11 centuries. Fortification, residential and office buildings representing all architectural styles and periods surround three castle courtyards. Originally it was the residence of princes and kings of Bohemia, since 1918, the castle is the seat of the president.
Below I have pictures of the St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert cathedral. It is gothic, founded in 1344, the construction lasted 300 years, and was finished in 1929. Inside is the St Wenceslas Chapel and the crypt with tombs of Bohemian kings.
It was a sunny beautiful day, you can see the color on the walls from the sun shining through the (stained?) glass windows (above).
A crypt, Uncle Andy to the left with the gray hat on (above), a confessional (below).
An organ (above) and the cathedral's entrance (below)
I will eventually have these and many more pictures on line using Picasa. These pictures are too small to give the buildings justice.
Karvina games 5 and 6
Czech hockey is some of the best hockey I have ever been a part of. I don't know if I'm suffering from myopia, but I think it is better than the Midget A hockey I played in Anchorage.
Game 5
We played game 5 at home in Kladno. In either the 2nd or 3rd period they scored a goal, then we pulled our goalie in the final moments of the game and they scored another empty net goal, for a 2-0 win. We had a puck bounce in oddly around our goalie off of someone's skate, so it didn't count. We all expected to win this game easily, so it was a tough loss.
Game 6
Because we lost, we had to play a game 6, this time in Karvina. This meant waking up between 4 and 5, driving to Prague, taking the train to Karvina for around 5 hours then playing. We had a strong start with two (or three) goals in the first period. We won 4-0.
I have been told that I have the skills to play on the team, I can skate, shoot, pass etc. It feels like I finally have those under my belt again, over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the time used to reintroduce myself to hockey I needed for learning the team's systems.
Quick recap of my history in the games: games 1 and 2 (in Kladno) I couldn't play in because they didn't have my picture for the required player's card (2 wins in the series, one game came to a shoot out). I played well (and a lot) in game 3 (in Karvina), and we won, though it was close, 3-2 (3 wins in the series). The next game (game 4, also in Karvina, so we stayed there and maybe weren't as rested or fed as well as we might have been) I didn't play as well because 1) I was thinking about what the girls were telling me about how to play, like stay on the blue line for the pass for a shot or play in their zone and 2) because I was mentally exhausted. I was beat pretty badly once in a play I will probably never forget (3 wins 1 loss in the series). We lost game 5 also, this time in Kladno and I feel like I played an okay game, even though we got a lot of penalties and I didn't play often, probably twice a period. I was on the ice for Karvina's goal, with a player who usually plays forward. Then I didn't play, and our goalie was pulled for Karvina's second goal, for a 2-0 loss. Then I was told I couldn't play in the next game. We won 4-0, I thought our team played the best game of the series, with crisp passes, lots of scoring opportunities etc. We played yesterday like we should have the whole series.
I need to show that I can play with the team, in their systems. That they can still pass and skate hard and well when I'm on the ice. I am very lucky to be here, the hockey is very good.
Game 5
We played game 5 at home in Kladno. In either the 2nd or 3rd period they scored a goal, then we pulled our goalie in the final moments of the game and they scored another empty net goal, for a 2-0 win. We had a puck bounce in oddly around our goalie off of someone's skate, so it didn't count. We all expected to win this game easily, so it was a tough loss.
Game 6
Because we lost, we had to play a game 6, this time in Karvina. This meant waking up between 4 and 5, driving to Prague, taking the train to Karvina for around 5 hours then playing. We had a strong start with two (or three) goals in the first period. We won 4-0.
I have been told that I have the skills to play on the team, I can skate, shoot, pass etc. It feels like I finally have those under my belt again, over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the time used to reintroduce myself to hockey I needed for learning the team's systems.
Quick recap of my history in the games: games 1 and 2 (in Kladno) I couldn't play in because they didn't have my picture for the required player's card (2 wins in the series, one game came to a shoot out). I played well (and a lot) in game 3 (in Karvina), and we won, though it was close, 3-2 (3 wins in the series). The next game (game 4, also in Karvina, so we stayed there and maybe weren't as rested or fed as well as we might have been) I didn't play as well because 1) I was thinking about what the girls were telling me about how to play, like stay on the blue line for the pass for a shot or play in their zone and 2) because I was mentally exhausted. I was beat pretty badly once in a play I will probably never forget (3 wins 1 loss in the series). We lost game 5 also, this time in Kladno and I feel like I played an okay game, even though we got a lot of penalties and I didn't play often, probably twice a period. I was on the ice for Karvina's goal, with a player who usually plays forward. Then I didn't play, and our goalie was pulled for Karvina's second goal, for a 2-0 loss. Then I was told I couldn't play in the next game. We won 4-0, I thought our team played the best game of the series, with crisp passes, lots of scoring opportunities etc. We played yesterday like we should have the whole series.
I need to show that I can play with the team, in their systems. That they can still pass and skate hard and well when I'm on the ice. I am very lucky to be here, the hockey is very good.
Friday, January 29, 2010
weekends
Most weekends we have games. This last weekend, however (January 23rd and 24th), was free. My plans were to meet with Lenka and Honza, a local high school boy to speak English, however, we couldn't find a place that was open to have tea in the afternoon. Lenka was sick, and Honza and I did still meet, but we ended up going to a McDonalds, the only thing he could think of that was open. It was disappointing to have a nearly American experience that I don't like to have in America in Czech Republic.
Some of the girls from the team asked if I wanted to play hockey Sunday afternoon on a pond here in Kladno. The pond was probably a 15 minute walk from the flat.
Other things to do on the weekend are to go to Prague and see a movie, or the men's Kladno hockey team plays on Sundays.
Some of the girls from the team asked if I wanted to play hockey Sunday afternoon on a pond here in Kladno. The pond was probably a 15 minute walk from the flat.
Other things to do on the weekend are to go to Prague and see a movie, or the men's Kladno hockey team plays on Sundays.
living in Kladno
Location, location, location...
So, I live in Kladno, Czech Republic (map below). Kladno is around a 30 minute drive from western Prague (follow the blue arrows). I live in a flat with Mechy, a girl on the team (the red dot in the lower right of the map below).
I live in the building below, on the fourth floor. The first floor isn't residential, so it doesn't count, so in the elevator I press 3 to get to my floor. The flats are labeled with people's names as well as the room number, and in some flats they've gotten rid of the numbers altogether, I think in an effort to personalize living.
Autobus:
To get around Kladno I ride the "autobus." The bus system has many lines with many stops (on the pdf on the previous link the numbers are the bus lines, and circles and half circles are the stops. I live at the Prazka krnz (Praha station) intersection, one of the only four way right intersections on the map). They run earlier than I usually wake up and later than I stay up, so I have no problems getting around. The hockey arena (the orange dot in the yellow circle on the map above) is about a 20 minute ride away, and the Kladno centre (in the red circle on the map above) is about a 15 minute ride away.
The first day I rode the bus by myself I stayed on too long, because I thought that there was no way that I was already at the stop. (I had a similar thoughts in Prague, that the city was very dense.) In Kladno, I walked by this church and around this hospital more than I needed to:
The church (above) and hospital (Czech, nemocnice, below).
I don't know how state of the art the hospital is, but it is beautiful.
(E.T.) Phone home
I use internet to communicate to Alaska. I have internet access for my laptop during the day using something like a router that plugs into a USB port. I have occasional wireless in the flat, most likely from a neighbor. Its nice when I have it, but intermittent wireless is almost worse than not having wireless at all, since it can't be counted on. I have a skype account, let me know if you want to add me! (Dad and Diana, you should set up your skype account.) I am also accepting donations for skype credit so that I can call American phone numbers.
So, I live in Kladno, Czech Republic (map below). Kladno is around a 30 minute drive from western Prague (follow the blue arrows). I live in a flat with Mechy, a girl on the team (the red dot in the lower right of the map below).
I live in the building below, on the fourth floor. The first floor isn't residential, so it doesn't count, so in the elevator I press 3 to get to my floor. The flats are labeled with people's names as well as the room number, and in some flats they've gotten rid of the numbers altogether, I think in an effort to personalize living.
Autobus:
To get around Kladno I ride the "autobus." The bus system has many lines with many stops (on the pdf on the previous link the numbers are the bus lines, and circles and half circles are the stops. I live at the Prazka krnz (Praha station) intersection, one of the only four way right intersections on the map). They run earlier than I usually wake up and later than I stay up, so I have no problems getting around. The hockey arena (the orange dot in the yellow circle on the map above) is about a 20 minute ride away, and the Kladno centre (in the red circle on the map above) is about a 15 minute ride away.
The first day I rode the bus by myself I stayed on too long, because I thought that there was no way that I was already at the stop. (I had a similar thoughts in Prague, that the city was very dense.) In Kladno, I walked by this church and around this hospital more than I needed to:
The church (above) and hospital (Czech, nemocnice, below).
I don't know how state of the art the hospital is, but it is beautiful.
(E.T.) Phone home
I use internet to communicate to Alaska. I have internet access for my laptop during the day using something like a router that plugs into a USB port. I have occasional wireless in the flat, most likely from a neighbor. Its nice when I have it, but intermittent wireless is almost worse than not having wireless at all, since it can't be counted on. I have a skype account, let me know if you want to add me! (Dad and Diana, you should set up your skype account.) I am also accepting donations for skype credit so that I can call American phone numbers.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Food!
I was initially enamored by the cheese and sausage available in the centrum, I have also recently come to appreciate the liquor and tea available also. Thinking of the centrum, as Lenka mentioned to me once, I can't help but remember that Kladno really is a very sporty town, it seems that the majority of the rest of the shops are clothing shops, and at least half of the clothing shops are athletically inclined.
Anyhow, back to the food.
Fresh bread, fruits and vegetables are very reasonably priced. Also reasonably priced are the mineral waters, available in various carbonation concentrations. I do lament how uncommon freshly ground coffee and pepper are. Also, brown sugar and vanilla are no where to be found. I had to look in the biggest store in town to find sesame oil.
They most have done something to the milk, but my first cup of instant coffee was really good, making me think that every cup I make is going to be good, but, some how, it isn't. Also, eggs come in metric amounts, 5, 10 and 20, and are individually stamped with a number. 20 turns out to be a nice number of eggs :)
From Lenka again, I think Czech food are foods you can get on a farm, like potatos (bromory). I have potatoes about every other day, then again, I did in Alaska also. The grocery stores have much more fresh bread and fruits and vegetables proportionally, than prepared foods. To make non-czech food, especially asian, foods and seasonings, and sauces come in packets, making me think asian foods are pretty new to the culture. Or, shedding my american self centeredness, maybe Americans eat a lot of asian food. Also, grocery shopping is never for more than the next few days, most people's cupboards are pretty small, and fairly empty, which must be a consequence of eating fresh food.
So, to make cookies I've found actual vanilla beans, which are sold at the close "small" grocery store, Albert, and I am trying to make vanilla from scratch. Luckily there is a lot of vodka available (in the jar in the picture below). In the picture below, I think the packets with the picture of the a coffee-sugar cake are baking powder, which is the closest thing I've found to baking soda. Also, even though they have an aisle of chocolate (half of the facing aisle has sugary sweets like gummy bears, the other half carbonated drinks like cola), they don't have semi-sweet chocolate morsels, so I cut up chocolate bars.
...and drink!
The beer is wonderful. I don't know what they are yet, but every beer I've had I've really liked, even the light beers. Who knew.
Anyhow, back to the food.
Fresh bread, fruits and vegetables are very reasonably priced. Also reasonably priced are the mineral waters, available in various carbonation concentrations. I do lament how uncommon freshly ground coffee and pepper are. Also, brown sugar and vanilla are no where to be found. I had to look in the biggest store in town to find sesame oil.
They most have done something to the milk, but my first cup of instant coffee was really good, making me think that every cup I make is going to be good, but, some how, it isn't. Also, eggs come in metric amounts, 5, 10 and 20, and are individually stamped with a number. 20 turns out to be a nice number of eggs :)
From Lenka again, I think Czech food are foods you can get on a farm, like potatos (bromory). I have potatoes about every other day, then again, I did in Alaska also. The grocery stores have much more fresh bread and fruits and vegetables proportionally, than prepared foods. To make non-czech food, especially asian, foods and seasonings, and sauces come in packets, making me think asian foods are pretty new to the culture. Or, shedding my american self centeredness, maybe Americans eat a lot of asian food. Also, grocery shopping is never for more than the next few days, most people's cupboards are pretty small, and fairly empty, which must be a consequence of eating fresh food.
So, to make cookies I've found actual vanilla beans, which are sold at the close "small" grocery store, Albert, and I am trying to make vanilla from scratch. Luckily there is a lot of vodka available (in the jar in the picture below). In the picture below, I think the packets with the picture of the a coffee-sugar cake are baking powder, which is the closest thing I've found to baking soda. Also, even though they have an aisle of chocolate (half of the facing aisle has sugary sweets like gummy bears, the other half carbonated drinks like cola), they don't have semi-sweet chocolate morsels, so I cut up chocolate bars.
...and drink!
The beer is wonderful. I don't know what they are yet, but every beer I've had I've really liked, even the light beers. Who knew.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Karvina, games 3 and 4
We drove to Prague Saturday, Janurary 16th, in the morning, then we took a train to Karvina to play games 3 and 4 of our series.
The Prague train station
We were in such a hurry on the way there that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the train station. The train station is beautiful, with a fresco inside, statues and ornate architecture visible only outside. Unfortunately the city doesn't have enough money for maintenance of the building, so it stands dirty, unlit, and falling apart. I will post pictures once I get some good ones.
In the train:
On this train, there is light at the end of the tunnel:
Tournament games
We won our first game against Karvina this weekend 3-2. I feel like I played well through, it was a fast paced game, faster than I thought, even after watching their first two. No points for me, just a pretty good plus minus. We lost our second game against Karvina, 5-2, it was a disappointing loss.
The Karvina arena:
Offensive vs defensive play
Here, at least in Kladno, forechecking is really stressed. I was taught, at least in Wasilla, to play much more defensivly than I'm being taught here in Kladno. For example, when your defensive partner is on the blue line with the puck, with someone on them, especially if they're in a battle, I was taught to fall back to between the red line and the blue line, in case they loose the puck. I have been told that I should be on the blue line ready for a pass from the defensive partner. This to me feels very offensive, and leaves room for break aways. However, in defensive play, I've also had games that were scoreless, or very low scoring that could have benefited from a little forchecking. I suppose I need to be a smarter offensive defensemen, so that I don't have to be so far back.
Karvina accomidations (I think it was an old school put to new use):
The morning walk to the pre-game breakfast:
At the Karvina train station on the way back to Prague Sunday afternoon:
The Prague train station
We were in such a hurry on the way there that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the train station. The train station is beautiful, with a fresco inside, statues and ornate architecture visible only outside. Unfortunately the city doesn't have enough money for maintenance of the building, so it stands dirty, unlit, and falling apart. I will post pictures once I get some good ones.
In the train:
On this train, there is light at the end of the tunnel:
Tournament games
We won our first game against Karvina this weekend 3-2. I feel like I played well through, it was a fast paced game, faster than I thought, even after watching their first two. No points for me, just a pretty good plus minus. We lost our second game against Karvina, 5-2, it was a disappointing loss.
The Karvina arena:
Offensive vs defensive play
Here, at least in Kladno, forechecking is really stressed. I was taught, at least in Wasilla, to play much more defensivly than I'm being taught here in Kladno. For example, when your defensive partner is on the blue line with the puck, with someone on them, especially if they're in a battle, I was taught to fall back to between the red line and the blue line, in case they loose the puck. I have been told that I should be on the blue line ready for a pass from the defensive partner. This to me feels very offensive, and leaves room for break aways. However, in defensive play, I've also had games that were scoreless, or very low scoring that could have benefited from a little forchecking. I suppose I need to be a smarter offensive defensemen, so that I don't have to be so far back.
Karvina accomidations (I think it was an old school put to new use):
The morning walk to the pre-game breakfast:
At the Karvina train station on the way back to Prague Sunday afternoon:
transportation
On Monday morning, the 13th, Mechy and I went to the bus station to buy a bus pass for me.
Unlike Alaskan roads, which were built relatively recently, roads in Kladno are not straight, and it seems common to have intersections at really obtuse or acute angles. Therefore, I really appreciate simple directions. Directions like, follow this road until you get to the light and cross the intersection. It follows that, similar to drawn the directions to my house (take the first 5 rights), not turning off a road means starting off facing south and ending facing north.
On another note, gas is really expensive here, 30.90 crowns per liter, is about equal to 6.40 dollars per gallon, making me very thankful I don't have to pay for gas.
Unlike Alaskan roads, which were built relatively recently, roads in Kladno are not straight, and it seems common to have intersections at really obtuse or acute angles. Therefore, I really appreciate simple directions. Directions like, follow this road until you get to the light and cross the intersection. It follows that, similar to drawn the directions to my house (take the first 5 rights), not turning off a road means starting off facing south and ending facing north.
On another note, gas is really expensive here, 30.90 crowns per liter, is about equal to 6.40 dollars per gallon, making me very thankful I don't have to pay for gas.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
the centrum
January 12, 2010
I met with Lenka and we walked around the centrum, with one main street cars cannt drive down (I think except to resupply shops), with a few side streets. There are a lot of shops in the centrum, with clothing (most are either sporty e.g. snowboarding styles, or fashionable), food, toys, electronics, cosmetics....
Some of the shops in the centrum:
Cheesy has Czech and import cheeses, available by 100 grams, a little expensive, but tasty.
A sporting goods store. So... "brusle" is pronounced like "Bruce Lee"... imagine hearing someone encouraging you to skate harder and you hear brusle. Haha.. oh man. Many of the other hockey terms are similar to American terms, puck = pook, goal = goal, but goals = golie
At the center of the centrum, the Neo-Romanesque Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin:
Next to the church is the Neo Renaissance Town Hall. (I went for a walk around the town hall this afternoon):
Many of the apartment buildings, including the building the flat I'm living in is in, look similar. The remnants of communism (near Nam. Svobody, Nam. short for the Czech word for square, and Svobody for freedom, Nam. Svobody is near the centrum also, and Lenka's host family is accross the street and down the hill from Nam. Svobody, making Svobody a great place to meet):
Kladno is a very beautiful city.
Today I also got internet access, and had my second practice with HC Zeny (the woman's team). Practice went well, except, I didn't know where to play during the power play and penalty kill practice. I also am borrowing Lenka's parent's cell phone for nearly free texting within the Czech Republic.
I met with Lenka and we walked around the centrum, with one main street cars cannt drive down (I think except to resupply shops), with a few side streets. There are a lot of shops in the centrum, with clothing (most are either sporty e.g. snowboarding styles, or fashionable), food, toys, electronics, cosmetics....
Some of the shops in the centrum:
Cheesy has Czech and import cheeses, available by 100 grams, a little expensive, but tasty.
A sporting goods store. So... "brusle" is pronounced like "Bruce Lee"... imagine hearing someone encouraging you to skate harder and you hear brusle. Haha.. oh man. Many of the other hockey terms are similar to American terms, puck = pook, goal = goal, but goals = golie
At the center of the centrum, the Neo-Romanesque Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin:
Next to the church is the Neo Renaissance Town Hall. (I went for a walk around the town hall this afternoon):
Many of the apartment buildings, including the building the flat I'm living in is in, look similar. The remnants of communism (near Nam. Svobody, Nam. short for the Czech word for square, and Svobody for freedom, Nam. Svobody is near the centrum also, and Lenka's host family is accross the street and down the hill from Nam. Svobody, making Svobody a great place to meet):
Kladno is a very beautiful city.
Today I also got internet access, and had my second practice with HC Zeny (the woman's team). Practice went well, except, I didn't know where to play during the power play and penalty kill practice. I also am borrowing Lenka's parent's cell phone for nearly free texting within the Czech Republic.
news
They've added me to the team, with news online:
I am wearing an Ice Pirates jersey, which is neither Island Pub or Doc Waters. Here is what google translator translated the above text to:
As regards transfers - send in their back row won the team Kladno. From Alaska comes to the playoffs reinforcements Lorna Wilson. Šestadvacetiletá obránkyně started playing hockey in their 12th years. Last year, climbed two teams - Island Pub and Doc Waters in the amateur men's league, where she was the only representative of the fair sex. Do Kladno (or to Prague) Lorna flew in Friday, 8.1 can not have a board in the first semi-final matches. The team, however, has undergone two training sessions and say they are getting into being. The CR is only 3 months and set the following objectives - to improve is to play good hockey and most importantly fun.
I am wearing an Ice Pirates jersey, which is neither Island Pub or Doc Waters. Here is what google translator translated the above text to:
As regards transfers - send in their back row won the team Kladno. From Alaska comes to the playoffs reinforcements Lorna Wilson. Šestadvacetiletá obránkyně started playing hockey in their 12th years. Last year, climbed two teams - Island Pub and Doc Waters in the amateur men's league, where she was the only representative of the fair sex. Do Kladno (or to Prague) Lorna flew in Friday, 8.1 can not have a board in the first semi-final matches. The team, however, has undergone two training sessions and say they are getting into being. The CR is only 3 months and set the following objectives - to improve is to play good hockey and most importantly fun.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Kladno
January 8th (continued)
Robert, Lenka and I drove from Prague to Kladno. By this time I hadn't slept for more than a few hours for three days, so when I got to Honza's house, Lenka's host family's home, I slept. We had a practice in the evening, but I was very tired and didn't skate or play very well. My first thoughts on Czech hockey compared to hockey in Juneau is that there is a lot of passing. Also compared to the North Stars or Firebirds hockey I played in Anchorage, the passing was much cleaner.
January 9th, 2010
I slept until our first tournament game, we won 4-2. I couldn't play because I didn't have a picture for my registration card. Here, instead of rosters for each game, teams submit players' cards, so the game score keeper has pictures and detailed information for each of the players to look at, rather than a list of names and numbers. Also the ice is zammed between each period, so we get a little pep talk (in Czech, which I can hardly understand the words of, but still is motivating) and rest. After the game we went to one of the nicest Czech restaurants in Kladno, I had a mushroom chicken dish with pomme frite.
A few of the Czech words are similar to French words, which confuses me because usually the words are only similar, and most of the words are very different. Another similar word is mort, which means something like violent death, e.g. a heart attack. Other words sound similar, but have completely different meanings.
January 10th, 2010
After falling asleep around 21:00 (9pm) I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, and couldn't go back to sleep. It was the weird to me, to be awake for so long in bed in the morning when I know I should be sleeping, not feeling tired, instead feeling like I would at 14:00 or 16:00 in the afternoon.
My roommate Mechy (her hockey nick name), and I went to the grocery store in the morning. I couldn't find vanilla. Also, fruits and vegetables are tagged with the weight and price near the fruits and vegetables in the store, so that when you check out the clerk scans the item, and doesn't need to spend time weighing and labelling at the check out stand. This and many other things make a lot of sense. Luckily, this grocery store, which is really close to our flat, takes Visa. Unfortunately, most places in Kladno only take crowns, Czech money. Then, no surprise, I slept a few hours until our next game.
We won our second game against Karvina 4-3, in a very exciting overtime shoot out. We didn't play very well in the first period, I don't think we broke out successfully more than a handful of times. It was 3-3 at the end of the third period.
Robert, Lenka and I drove from Prague to Kladno. By this time I hadn't slept for more than a few hours for three days, so when I got to Honza's house, Lenka's host family's home, I slept. We had a practice in the evening, but I was very tired and didn't skate or play very well. My first thoughts on Czech hockey compared to hockey in Juneau is that there is a lot of passing. Also compared to the North Stars or Firebirds hockey I played in Anchorage, the passing was much cleaner.
January 9th, 2010
I slept until our first tournament game, we won 4-2. I couldn't play because I didn't have a picture for my registration card. Here, instead of rosters for each game, teams submit players' cards, so the game score keeper has pictures and detailed information for each of the players to look at, rather than a list of names and numbers. Also the ice is zammed between each period, so we get a little pep talk (in Czech, which I can hardly understand the words of, but still is motivating) and rest. After the game we went to one of the nicest Czech restaurants in Kladno, I had a mushroom chicken dish with pomme frite.
A few of the Czech words are similar to French words, which confuses me because usually the words are only similar, and most of the words are very different. Another similar word is mort, which means something like violent death, e.g. a heart attack. Other words sound similar, but have completely different meanings.
January 10th, 2010
After falling asleep around 21:00 (9pm) I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, and couldn't go back to sleep. It was the weird to me, to be awake for so long in bed in the morning when I know I should be sleeping, not feeling tired, instead feeling like I would at 14:00 or 16:00 in the afternoon.
My roommate Mechy (her hockey nick name), and I went to the grocery store in the morning. I couldn't find vanilla. Also, fruits and vegetables are tagged with the weight and price near the fruits and vegetables in the store, so that when you check out the clerk scans the item, and doesn't need to spend time weighing and labelling at the check out stand. This and many other things make a lot of sense. Luckily, this grocery store, which is really close to our flat, takes Visa. Unfortunately, most places in Kladno only take crowns, Czech money. Then, no surprise, I slept a few hours until our next game.
We won our second game against Karvina 4-3, in a very exciting overtime shoot out. We didn't play very well in the first period, I don't think we broke out successfully more than a handful of times. It was 3-3 at the end of the third period.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Flights!
January 6th, 2010
So, the fastest, cheapest way to get to Prague was to book a ticket from Seattle, which meant that I had to book a separate ticket from Juneau. This meant that I booked a flight that didn't have guaranteed transfer of my baggage from Alaska Airlines to Lot (operated by United) in Seattle, we were supposed to arrive 5 minutes shy of the 70 minute minimum. Luckily the Alaska flight getting in to Seattle arrived early, allowing time for my baggage to transfer.
Then, I flew from Seattle to Chicago on United Airlines, which was actually pretty nice. The back of the seats still have phones (picture inset). United only serves complementary drinks, and not pretzels or little snacks, like Alaskan Airlines.The international terminal in Chicago was pretty barren. I had to go through security way too many times. Reasons were: 1) there was no food in the terminal, 2) our flight to Warsaw was delayed three hours because of bad weather someplace in Europe that delayed the arrival of our plane, and 3) because I had to rebook my connecting flight to Prague since the couldn't rebook me at the gate. However, in Chicago I met Sophia, a girl from Austria who spent a semester in Hawaii, we shared general introductions and complaints about traveling.
The flight from Chicago to Warsaw was one of the worst flights I've ever been on. The gate and flight attendants hardly spoke English, and were rude and awkward when they had to speak english, even though English is an international language, and I think they're required to speak in both Polish and English, with English immediately following Polish. I didn't expect the food to be good, but.... they had minute rice (I'll forever think of Ashwin, and his excellent Indian dishes served with minute rice) that was still crunchy.
I thought the Warsaw airport was very clean and bright. The next available flight to Prague was in the morning, so they gave me a hotel voucher to stay at the Warsaw airport hotel. I met in the airport boy from Overland Park, Kansas, where my grandparents live, who is now a professional soccer player, and a boy from Sweden who spent a semester at Gustavus, St. Olaf's rival in Minnesota. There were probably 2o of us from the Chicago flight that had to stay in a hotel in Warsaw. In the Warsaw airport, we were shuffled around in hallways with glass walls, so you could see other passengers being shuffled around, but you couldn't talk to them. The airline could have let us find our way to the hotel, but we had to wait an hour outside of the passport checkpoint, at least half an hour at the baggage claim, then at least half an hour in the below freezing temperatures outside for the shuttle. Sophie, these two boys and I stayed up late at the Warsaw airport hotel talking about the differences between Americans and Europeans and between eastern and western europe, especially for young adults. It was nice to be able to take a shower and lay down for a while before my last flight to Prague.
January 7th, 2010
I thought of George and his family when I stood in Poland, outside the airport hotel in the morning, waiting for the shuttle, and how I was very lucky to stand in their homeland. Just knowing that I was in Poland was amazing.
The Eurolot flight from Warsaw to Prague was wonderful. I guess in European flights food is always complementary, baggage is free and the flight attendants are friendly. They had fresh bread as part of their sandwich, they asked if I wanted something to drink, I said what I wanted, they gave it to me, then immediately asked if I wanted something else. I also notices in the Prague airport and flight that the women were wearing really nice boots.Compared to the the Warsaw airport, the Prague airport was not as sterile. All the signs were in Czech and in English, making it much easier to navigate. Robert, the team manager, and Lenka, the goalie I know from Juneau, met me at the baggage terminal. It was a relief to see them.
internet access
I will update the blog more often when I have constant internet access, which should be tomorrow.
For now, I'll try updating with chronological posts.
For now, I'll try updating with chronological posts.
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