Day 6

May 3, 2008 (Day 6)

Today we left Czech Paradise (Ceske Raj) and traveled back to Prague. At Prague we went to our Prague flat one last time and frantically threw everything into our bags. Then in the parking lot we said goodbye to Jan and his family. They really have been amazing while we were here: giving us a place to stay, taking us out into the country, feeding us. I can’t imagine anything else they could have possibly done. After we were packed, and we said goodbye, we drove to Pilzen. Pilzen is a nice city, very comparable to Huntsville. It’s big, but not to big. It’s modern, but still has history. Our first main crisis occurred when we pulled in: May 6 is the Pilzen Independence day when Pilzen was freed during WWII by the Americans. As a result, all the streets were closed off for demonstrations and displays of American tanks, vehicles, and other artillery. As they day wore on, it was not unusual to see an American tank role down the street. For the first time in this trip, I wasn’t worried about being American in a country that is not so friendly to Americans right now (there is a whole issue with American Radar that has the Czechs all fired up). All of the business are flying Czech and American flags. It’s kind of nice to see! Anyways, this was a problem because the parking lot where we were supposed to meet our rotary contacts was blocked off. So we did some improvisation and pulled into a side street. All day, we had been nervous about who our Pilzen Rotarians would be. Would they be nice? Would they be weird? Would they take care of us like Jan and his family had? So we’re sitting on a side street in Pilzen and a car pulls up. And out steps our host: Roman, a member of the Czech team we had met several times while they were visiting Alabama! So Roman and his sweet girlfriend Theresa showed up around Pilzen. They took us to get a snack. I got some baked cheese with chili peppers and a raspberry Fanta. Yum! Then we walked around. I got to see St. Bartholomews church, and rub the little cherub who supposedly bestows a wish on all who rub it. I also saw the 3 largest Jewish Synagogue in the world! As we were walking around, one thing was much more apparent in Pilzen than it had been in Prague. There is a much bigger contrast between traditional and communist architecture here. Roman was telling us a lot of the stories about Pilzen in the communist era. The things the people went through are astonishing. And the fact that in the face of that, Pilzen can still be very proud of it’s past and present says a lot about the caliber of people who inhabit it.

Tomorrow we are going on another walking tour of Pilzen, an excursion to the Pilzen brewery where they make Pilsner Urquell, a very popular beer here, and then probably more walking (seriously, I’m walking like 10 miles a day).

I have my first vocational day on Monday, when I get to meet with the staff of the library at the University of Western Bohemia. We’ll see how it goes!