After a good nights sleep we woke up just in time to have breakfast and head over to the Hotel Intercontinental. The Wittman Tours leaves from there at 10:30AM for a 3 hour tour of the Jewish Museum. This is actually a visit to 5 historic synagogues and a cemetery. Actually very fascinating and well worth the time. Turns out that Lisa and I could have spent another couple of hours just reading and looking at the artifacts. Our guide, Barbora, was a young women majoring in Jewish Studies in a Czech University. Her family is Jewish on her mother's side and she has been learning her heritage for about 10 years somewhat against her mother's wishes. There is supposedly 3000 people in Czech Republic that identify with a synagogue but she believes that there are many more like her that are identifying themselves as Jewish.
We then had a nice lunch at the first Kolkovna Group restaurant just across the street from the Spanish Synagogue, this time we tried the Czech Goulash and of course a mug of Pilsner Urquell. Very tasty...
Headed over to the Cubist Museum which we had walked by 4 or 5 times already and didn't recognize that the Black Madonna (the name of the building) was a Cubist style building, it seemed to fit in very nicely with the more classical buildings just a block off from Old Town Square. We learned a lot about the Czech artists between 1910 and 1918. Pretty amazing that this style came and went so quickly.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Prague - Aug 4th
Walked over to the National Museum. Lisa through her excellent reading of the guide book discovered that the museum is free the first Monday of every month and we hit the jackpot by planning our trip right!!! It is actually a great natural history museum from the way I remember the Carnegie 40 years ago. A very big (not quite as huge as the St Petersburg Geological Society) rock collection shown in row after row of old wooden and glass display cases, similar prehistoric display of archeological artifacts, fossils, animals both skeletons and stuffed. When you go check out the complete Fin Whale Skeleton, the ‘real’ Wooly Mammoth, and of course the rocks. The special exhibit was done for the year but they did have a recursive display of the history of the National Museum. They had a video showing many of the Czech dignitaries that laid in state there and also an old movie that was made in the museum about the museum (catch the recursion???).
When we were done we went outside and it was raining. After waiting a bit we decided to don our raingear and try to find the Wittman travel agency. It was just a few blocks away but we couldn’t find it. But we did find a section of Prague that was not nearly as touristy as the section around our hotel. Stopped for pizza in an underground tunnel that wasn’t half bad.
Next stop was the Mucha Museum. Very cool guy that I didn’t know much about but I do like the Art Nouveau that he was a key contributor (in fact he decorated the Municpal Hall where we saw the concert the previous night). We had seen some references to Sarah Bernhardt (restaurant, posters, etc) and now we know why.
Next on the plan was a visit to the Jerusalem Synagogue. Very beautiful and in the Spanish style with an art nouveau twist. You see it was built around 1900 when that style was popular. The separate door to the women’s section was closed as the women’s gallery was being renovated.
Guess what, it was then 20 minutes before 5PM and we still hadn’t witnessed the Astronomical Clock. So a quick walk to Old Town Square and we watched the 6PM display (they don’t seem to adjust for daylight savings time) with couple of thousand other people. Pretty cool but not as mind boggling as thought it would be.
Next, I had been trying to find a Boingo wireless site that was easy access to the hotel( they want $40 a day for internet access at the hotel). What we found was a very nice wine bar but they no longer had wireless access. We had been looking forward to some beer so we headed off looking for a place that had tables on the street, good prices on draught beer, good food, and free internet. Not easy to find but again Lisa’s research had discovered a Pilsner Urquell Cisco?? with a location near our hotel. Turns out that it was all of those but the internet connection didn’t allow me to connect my work VPN. We did do a Skype call to our son Sam, check our other email, had a ‘little’ beer, a cheese plate and a beef rib. We would recommend this place as a good reasonably price place to hang out.
We had wanted to squeeze in a concert in the Spanish Synagogue but what looked like a short walk on the map turned out to be a nice ½ hour tour of the Josenov section. At least we know where to go to visit the other synagogues in Prague.
Prague - Aug 3
We left Pittsburgh on time with the help of our friend Chas Hirsh. We went to services Friday night and he volunteered before we even told him that we were planning on taking the bus to the airport. We got there in plenty of time, had our lunch, bought a snack for Boston and then Lisa wanted me to change our seats on the Boston – Frankfurt leg since we both ended up with middles. Well she couldn’t do anything about it but was about to page the Levinson’s. It turns out that our seats on the Pittsburgh –Boston leg were broken. We she had to scramble for volunteers since of course the flight was booked solid. We ended up in Prague as planned with no more adventures (our luggage even made it this time).
In Old Town Square, I was taking pictures like all the other tourists. A guy came over and wanted us to take a picture of his party. Turns out that they were from Siberia. Those Russians are sure getting around.
On this walk we found many different concert going on in various churches and theaters in the area. We decided on the first one since it was the ‘Last Night’ of the Prague Proms and they seemed to have the lowest prices. Turns out they claimed the cheap seats were sold out but after going the concert, I don’t think they wanted to sell the cheap seats especially to tourists. The concert was great but the first half was being video recorded. Turns out the producers had a great idea to set up an announcer in the back part of the aisle just where we were sitting to do an interview DURING the horn concerto!!! Well the guy in front of us got up and complained and they left. The concert was in the Smetana Theater at Municipal Hall. The audience was dressed very fancy and the hall was also very ornate with half the women bare breasted (the statues and paintings that is).
Overall, a great start for our week in Prague.
A few pictures for Sam...
Hannah can you help me translate???
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Week of July 21 in Lowell MA
Monday:
- Shopping at Land's End in the mall found a few shirts. I was totally surprised as I walked by the Apple store as there were twice as many people in there as in all of Sears!!!
- A walk around the canals and ended up at Hookslide Kelly's for fish and chips and some beer.
Tuesday:
- Paul and I head up to the Beer and Pool hall next to the Spinner's stadium. Have a beer, sit through 4 innings of the game and then head back for beer and pool when it starts to rain pretty hard.
- Shopping at Land's End in the mall found a few shirts. I was totally surprised as I walked by the Apple store as there were twice as many people in there as in all of Sears!!!
- A walk around the canals and ended up at Hookslide Kelly's for fish and chips and some beer.
Tuesday:
- Paul and I head up to the Beer and Pool hall next to the Spinner's stadium. Have a beer, sit through 4 innings of the game and then head back for beer and pool when it starts to rain pretty hard.
July 10-12th - Warren and Chautauqua
Well a quick trip up to Warren was unusual since Lisa actually said that she enjoyed it. The drive up was a little long as we hit a few slow pokes on 66. We hit the new Chinese Buffet in the Wal-mart plaza which was as good as any I have had in Pittsburgh or California. In the evening we headed up to hear Alexander Gavrylyuk's piano recital at Chautauqua Institute (read J. Brustrom's comments). In the morning Lisa and I got on our bikes and rode to the top of Valentine's Lane. Not far, but a little bit of hill. We then visited some people downtown, bought some Betty Dixon candy( make sure you read the paragraph about Betty Dixon), had lunch at the new Fresh Cup coffee shop in Wal-mart plaza (notice a theme), picked 3 quarts of strawberries and then headed up to Lisa's sister summer house in Maple Springs.
Events in Maple Springs:
- Quick bike ride to Bemus Point, I discovered that on Saturday the ABA was going to be holding a tournament the next day.
- Mike took Nathaniel and Ari fishing on the lake where Ari caught a 17 inch walleye. We were fishing in between all of these ABA guys in the fancy boats.
- Next morning Lisa and I did the same ride to Bemus Point.
- Then Nathaniel and Ari wanted to do that same ride again. We almost made it back but needed mom to come pick up the boys.
- Big lunch at the house with Ellen and Bill
- Back to the institute for an orchestra concert with Gavrylyuk playing Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano no 2 in G major, Op. 44. He was great, the orchestra was disappointing.
- Sunday morning we planned to ride our bikes to the institute but it rained until it was too late for us to make it back in time to head to Pittsburgh. Lisa got to buy a very nice batik shirt though.
Events in Maple Springs:
- Quick bike ride to Bemus Point, I discovered that on Saturday the ABA was going to be holding a tournament the next day.
- Mike took Nathaniel and Ari fishing on the lake where Ari caught a 17 inch walleye. We were fishing in between all of these ABA guys in the fancy boats.
- Next morning Lisa and I did the same ride to Bemus Point.
- Then Nathaniel and Ari wanted to do that same ride again. We almost made it back but needed mom to come pick up the boys.
- Big lunch at the house with Ellen and Bill
- Back to the institute for an orchestra concert with Gavrylyuk playing Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano no 2 in G major, Op. 44. He was great, the orchestra was disappointing.
- Sunday morning we planned to ride our bikes to the institute but it rained until it was too late for us to make it back in time to head to Pittsburgh. Lisa got to buy a very nice batik shirt though.
Friday, July 4, 2008
July 4th, 2008
I take a bike ride to see the parade in Monroeville and the 3 Rivers Regatta. Parade is standard fire trucks and candy and I am too early for the races. But I get free candy, popcorn, chips, and ice cream.
Make sure you click the link above the check out the route...
Make sure you click the link above the check out the route...
Aspen - June 30, 2008
Well we have to leave to catch a plane tomorrow morning in Denver. We are planning to drive through Independence pass and spend the night in Lakewood (west Denver) and then catch a flight home. Turns out that it is a light travel day on July 1st so both Lisa and I get upgraded to First Class.
Events before we get home:
- Search for breakfast finds bagels and coffee at ink!
- Quick walk through Hotel Jerome and then go to the Public Library to find a bathroom. Lisa finds a book in their book sale.
- On the way to Independence Pass
Wheeler Lake: a short walk off of Rt 82 along a stream. Mostly pine trees with some Aspen. We don't stay long but there are plenty of rocks to climb and sit on.
Ice Caves just off a stream with huge cascades. Pretty cool rock formations that she finds nicer than the Buttermilk Cascades in Ithaca, NY
Independence Ghost Town - A young kid greets us right on the road after we park the car. Turns out that Ben White works for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies just like Hannah's friend Jeff. Turns out that he met Hannah on her first day in Aspen. He gives us a 20 minute tour/talk on the site and shows us the artifacts that are stored in the original store.
We finally reach the pass/continental divide. Beautiful drive and a good way to spend the day.
We head down the east side and it starts to look like rain. We take 30 minutes to sit along a creek and read our magazines.
We hit Leadville just before 5PM. We had not had much to eat since our bagel breakfast so we start walking down mainstreet and I find Rosie's Brewpub where we take part in all of the happy hour specials. I get a pint of summer wheat and list has a taste of the RAM. We get an order of the wings with jerk sauce and baked potatoe skins stuffed with a corn and black bean relish. All very filling and tasty for just over $20. Much better than Aspen prices!!! On the way back to the car, I buy an Ugly Cookie made with cranberry, raisins, oatmeal while Lisa checks out the shirts at Melanzana. The make the clothes right there using the standard high tech materials. She ends up buying 2 shirts and I get one from the reject bin. Lisa gets the sleeves shortened but I forget to have them add a bike pocket for my shirt.
We head to Denver in light showers and have a nice quiet night before heading to the airport in the morning.
Events before we get home:
- Search for breakfast finds bagels and coffee at ink!
- Quick walk through Hotel Jerome and then go to the Public Library to find a bathroom. Lisa finds a book in their book sale.
- On the way to Independence Pass
Wheeler Lake: a short walk off of Rt 82 along a stream. Mostly pine trees with some Aspen. We don't stay long but there are plenty of rocks to climb and sit on.
Ice Caves just off a stream with huge cascades. Pretty cool rock formations that she finds nicer than the Buttermilk Cascades in Ithaca, NY
Independence Ghost Town - A young kid greets us right on the road after we park the car. Turns out that Ben White works for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies just like Hannah's friend Jeff. Turns out that he met Hannah on her first day in Aspen. He gives us a 20 minute tour/talk on the site and shows us the artifacts that are stored in the original store.
We finally reach the pass/continental divide. Beautiful drive and a good way to spend the day.We head down the east side and it starts to look like rain. We take 30 minutes to sit along a creek and read our magazines.
We hit Leadville just before 5PM. We had not had much to eat since our bagel breakfast so we start walking down mainstreet and I find Rosie's Brewpub where we take part in all of the happy hour specials. I get a pint of summer wheat and list has a taste of the RAM. We get an order of the wings with jerk sauce and baked potatoe skins stuffed with a corn and black bean relish. All very filling and tasty for just over $20. Much better than Aspen prices!!! On the way back to the car, I buy an Ugly Cookie made with cranberry, raisins, oatmeal while Lisa checks out the shirts at Melanzana. The make the clothes right there using the standard high tech materials. She ends up buying 2 shirts and I get one from the reject bin. Lisa gets the sleeves shortened but I forget to have them add a bike pocket for my shirt.
We head to Denver in light showers and have a nice quiet night before heading to the airport in the morning.
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