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.