The train to Krakow.

May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 | Mairead

21 05a

(The first train – we had a two-seater version of this arrangement. Can you see the coat hooks? The power sockets? The adjustable seat lever? The folding table, concealing a little rubbish receptacle?)

We have arrived in Krakow! Our train journey from Prague was brilliant. There were three trains journeys to be precise. The first one was like going by plane, the old-fashioned kind of going-by-plane. With free bottles of water and free newspapers. Yep. And the conductors wore nice uniforms and rolled little overnight cases behind them when they got off the train. There were hooks to hang your coat, adjustable seats, power sockets and free wi-fi. The tea-trolly had Starbucks coffee and green tea.

21 05b

(That was a different train, going to Budapest – and that’s the dining car. See the cute globe lights? I don’t think we had a dining car.)

We settled down for the three-hour journey coding, crocheting and reading. The names of the places were a little confusing as was our ticket but the journey progressed and we began to understand more. Like the booklet provided on each seat as we arrived onboard. It was completely in Czech but eventually it became clear that it was a timetable for the train and any connections we might need to make. At one point there was an announcement in English and Czech but all we could hear was …delays due to technical problems on the line… We did wonder what delays? as the train was travelling at 160km per hour (did I mention the signs proclaiming station names and speed?) is it possible the train could go faster? Anyway, the specified time to disembark arrived and the train stopped at a station with a name very, very like the one mentioned on our ticket, so we gathered our things and got off.

21 05c

(Told you we had Starbucks!)

Then we saw our conductor, I was about to give him a friendly thank-you-wave but he was looking very worried and moving very fast in our direction… and we were back on the train faster than you could say, the wrong station! Back on the train now we wondered if we might miss our connection to the second train, as there was only a ten minute difference between arrival of this one and departure of that one. As we descended, at the right station (Ostrava Hl. N.) our conductor was helping a lady down from the train but he stopped long enough to look me in the eye and enunciate very clearly, go up, platform 1. while nodding towards the stairs. Long story shortened, we made it, that train was delayed too.

2105e

(Our compartment on the second train)

This second train was more old-fashioned, there was free water and even juice but no wi-fi or Starbucks. It travelled slower than the first one, but, as there were no displays I can’t be specific about the actual speed. Also, we realised there might still be a chance we would miss our next connection so we were a little less relaxed than we might have been but it was a very comfortable train. We were lucky to have our little six-seater compartment to ourselves so we could spread out our bags and food supplies (apples, seeds, nuts, biscuits, free water) all the way to Katowice.

21 05f

(That’s the conductor on the phone, she had a little compartment to herself where people bought their tickets. And past her there’s the driver’s window and the tracks beyond)

Our next train, the one that would deliver us to Krakow was the most relaxing, not because it was new (it wasn’t) or because it was fast (it wasn’t) or because it had wi-fi (it hadn’t) or because it had more free water (it didn’t.) I think I was relaxed because it was familiar. It reminded me of the Dart. An older version of the Dart that was red and had a conductor and travelled as far as Cork. It had the same seats, the ones you’re not supposed to put your feet on? But you feel drawn again and again to putting your feet on them? We resisted. I have identified my two favourite things about this train: 1. the windows – they slide down to open so that you have half a window full of air coming in – it was very warm. And 2. the train driver kept his door open the whole time so you could see the tracks. I like knowing where I’m going. That’s probably my third favourite thing, I definitely knew where we were going this time.

21 05g

(We probably wouldn’t be needing the Hammer of Safety because the windows were already open and big enough to climb through, but I like that we had one. It feels like a metaphor for something bigger. Already, I like Poland)

Krakow is waiting, Mairead.

Pictures in a Museum

May 20, 2014May 20, 2014 | Mairead

20 05a

(The Jewish Cemetery is outside and photography is allowed here)

We went to the Jewish Museum yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day and the streets were packed. The museum was also packed. It’s not an ordinary museum, it’s a synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue with small rooms and winding staircases. You have to get up close and personal with the other visitors. On entering you see the walls are covered in writing, very neat letters, names and dates of births and deaths, every space on every wall covered. There are 80,000 names. They are people who lived in the area that is now the Czech Republic during the second World War, but because they were Jewish they were killed. There are so many names it’s hard to take it in and anyway you don’t want to take it in, so you keep walking. It goes in on its own. Photography is not allowed in this part of the museum.

20 05b

(These are old graves)

I had heard there was an exhibition of children’s art upstairs in the museum and we went to see that. In 1941 the German occupying army started deporting Jewish people to a transit camp called Terezin, north of Prague. The church leaders deterred in the camp at the time considered it imperative to take care of the children, in a particular way. They wanted them to know about their heritage and they wanted to help them cope with their life in the camp. So there were lessons. Including art lessons.

20 05c

(It’s very crowded but a seed has managed to take root and is growing into a strong tree)

A lady called Friedl Dicker-Brandeis had studied art at the Bauhaus (one of her teachers was Paul Klee.) She was a painter and she took on the role of art teacher to the children. She was very clear in what she wanted the children to gain: understanding, communication, self-expression and a channel for their imagination and emotions. By the time she was transported to Auschwitz in 1944, she had hidden two suitcases full of children’s drawings (4,500). These were found after the war and given to the Jewish community. Photography is not allowed in this part of the museum either. The art in the glass cases show dormitories, guards, gates of the camp, and ordinary things like the sun, friends, flowers. Most of the pictures have an exhibit card that records the artist’s name, date of birth, of death and title of picture.

20 05d

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Viktor E. Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor.

We’re leaving Prague today and travelling to Krakow, Mairead.

Odd Day in the Czech Republic

May 19, 2014May 19, 2014 | Mairead

19 05a

(Building on our street, in Prague)

I did something in public yesterday that I’ve never done before. Crochet. Yes, I had been telling you how I will be working away on the train to Krakow but there was every chance I wouldn’t even get it out of the bag. We went to a cafe for lunch. It turns out there’s lots of them in walking distance – thank you, Yelp.com! We picked one (according to the reviews) that didn’t mind the customers taking their time and having a little read or write as they ate. It was packed but we found a table near the door and I had a very lovely smoked salmon, spinach and yogurt sandwich.

19 05b

(St. James’ church)

When I was finished I considered taking out my crochet but took out a pen instead and found something very interesting to write on the back of my crochet pattern. Denis was meanwhile reading away happily, unaware of my reticence. Soon I had filled all the blank spaces on the pattern so it was time to… ask for the wi-fi code. Ok got the code and looked up some interesting facts about tipping etiquette in Prague, very good. Then I check out Twitter, yes of course, very important. There were lots of people in Ireland saying how summer has arrived. Humph.

19 05c

(Inside St. James’ church)

Then I opened my rucksack and checked to see if I’d brought the crochet. I had. It was time. I pulled the needle out first and had a good look at it. Yes the metal seemed intact. Then I reached back in to pull out the little quilt I’m working on. It no longer seemed so little. It took ages to extract (in a covert way) but eventually everything was sitting on my knee for all the world to see. So I took a quick look around at all the world. Well, surprise, surprise, they were busy with their own concerns, eating taking and writing. No one was taking a blind bit of notice of me. I can do this.

19 05e

(Statue of a martyr in the Old Town Square)

So I began and it was fine, actually it was good, maybe even very good. And relaxing. It’s funny that sometimes when I think my stuff would seem odd to the people around me I don’t share it with them. They might think I’m odd. And of course I am odd but isn’t everyone? Isn’t everyone odd? Or trying not to be? Maybe it’s more relaxing to stop trying and just be odd?

19 05f

(Lots of cobblestone, everywhere)

Embrace your odd, Mairead.

P.S. Hang on, maybe it is just me… probably shouldn’t post this one…

The Love of My Life in the Grand Cafe Orient

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014 | Mairead

18 05d

(Wenceslas Square from the National Museum)

Yesterday we went to the shopping center, it’s near the old walls of Prague and they have been able to incorporate bits of wall into the decor of a cafe. We didn’t go to see the wall. While planning this holiday I calculated the potential increase in temperature in the area as a direct ratio to its distance from Ireland, I was wrong, there was no increase in temperature… (and thank you for all the beautiful weather reports from Ireland!) I am embarrassed to say that due to this mistake I have been sporting my entire clothing repertoire for the past five (5) days. People are beginning to move away from me in the metro. So it was time to go shopping.

18 05a

(Entrance to Grand Orient Cafe)

During our free tour of Prague on Wednesday, Adam pointed to the modern shopping center near the Powder Gate, I didn’t think we’d be visiting. Needs must and we found ourselves in Dundrum (shopping center in Dublin.) There’s Starbucks and Costa (ok no Costa in Dundrum) and Marks and Spencer’s. So I got some things that will keep me warm. And then I realised there was something extra special in the basement…. a wool shop! Not just wool, cotton too and needles and tapestry and buttons!

18 05b

(The menu)

You might remember my plan to crochet on the train to Krakow? Well now I won’t be in danger of using all my yarn and having to rip my creation and start again (difficult situations often require difficult solutions) I bought Czech cotton and buttons. I’m going to make Denis a scarf! I created the design while we were dodging the rain in the Grand Cafe Orient. Everything in this cafe reflects cubist art, the building, the furniture, the wallpaper, the cups. It was built in 1910 ish but closed ten years later and remained closed for 80 years. It reopened in 2001 looking exactly the same as it did in the twenties.

18 05c

(The tea-cup)

So you’re probably thinking the scarf will be cubist inspired? Triangles and mixed up patterns? Not exactly. We’d been there more than an hour, sipping beer and tea. Me the tea, Denis the beer. I was writing in my new notebook (thank you, Cathy) when I lifted my head and noticed a man walk in. He looked like a drenched cat but he had a lovely scarf. So I’m going to make a scarf like his. I didn’t take a picture of the man and his scarf but funnily enough I won’t need a picture as his scarf looks exactly like the crochet pattern I’m working on at the moment.

18 05e

(My Czech cotton and buttons)

Isn’t it amazing that surrounded by all those beautiful shapes and patterns I was able to pick out something familiar, something I loved? Like a new mother identifying the particular cry of her baby, I spotted the particular pattern of my beloved crochet… sigh.

The love of your life is everywhere, look! Mairead.

Lovely people in Prague

May 16, 2014May 16, 2014 | Mairead

16 05a

(Passed lovely old buildings on route)

Yesterday we started late. The tap-tapping has moved a little down the street but outside our house they have introduced the big hammer. The big hammer is louder and pounds more bricks. It is very effective – the path looks completely even.The big hammer begins earlier… So we went back to sleep once it had completed it’s section and now the tap-tap doesn’t seem so bad. In fact it’s beginning to sound like a lullaby.

16 05b

(Don’t know what this building is but that looks like a spiral staircase under the clock)

Anyway, we started late. We were going to the art gallery, called Veletržní Palace and on the way we needed to book our onward transport to Krakow. We are travelling by overnight sleeper train and are very excited as we’ve never travelled that way before. We decided to walk to the train station as Prague is very manageable by foot. But, you know how some places don’t expect people to walk to them? So they make the footpaths nearby very (very) narrow? Ensuring that cars rush by millimetres from your elbow? This was one of those places and I promised my inner child we would be taking the metro out of the train station. We did arrive safely into a very modern concourse and proceeded to the international ticket desk. There we met a lovely lady who spoke English (I think everyone here does) and she did her very best to find us a sleeper to Krakow but they were all gone 😦

16 05c

(There were beautiful art deco houses near the art gallery)

Yes we were momentarily sad…. but when the lovely lady found us a day train with reserved seats we thought of lots of reasons why we wanted to go on the day train…. em, I brought my crochet and now I will have an opportunity to use it; we will see the countryside; we will have opportunities for adventure and peril as we negotiate changing trains, twice; we might meet interesting people and hear interesting stories. So all good. Forget everything I said about the night train – we are now taking the day train to Krakow.

16 05d

(Our tram)

We had to have a green tea and a toasted roll after that. Then we proceeded to the art gallery. It is on the other side of the river and still within walking distance but remembering my promise to my inner child, we took the metro. By now we were off the grid on our city map so we had to revert to the compass app again. Before long we needed human help and asked a couple of women chatting outside a house for directions to the Veletržní Palace. Well we though we were saying Veletržní Palace… “art gallery?” brought smiles and a very enthusiastic reaction to our being able to walk there. We were very pleased with ourselves, we must look like seasoned walkers. Fifteen minutes later we were beginning to understand their reaction. Eventually with some more human help we arrived at the gallery.

16 05e

(This is the Charles bridge, I hope to get more pictures of it later in the week, it’s always crowded)

It was well worth the walk. They have a beautiful art collection and a fantastic glass lift to bring you to the top of the gallery. There are lots of interesting Czech artists but also lots of international art too. They have Rodin, Monet, Cézanne, Surat, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch, Klimt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, lots of Picasso. There are five floors so we needed coffee and a biscuit afterwards. That’s where we met a very friendly girl who gave us walking directions back to Old Prague. She suggested we take the tram… we did.

We’re going to take a bus tour tomorrow, Mairead.

A Free Walking Tour of Prague with Nobleman Adam

May 15, 2014May 14, 2014 | Mairead

14 05ff

(Exceedingly steep escalator in the metro)

We’re just back from the free walking tour of Prague, three hours of information, pictures and craning our necks to look at beautiful buildings. It was excellent. I’ve forgotten a lot of the information. Here’s what I remember…

14 05bb

(Powder Gate – old city wall gate, also used to store munitions)

Czechs invented sugar cubes! Yes, the story goes that all sugar came in sugar loaves (the Sugar Loaf mountain in Wicklow – it’s what sugar looked like…) and one day the wife of the sugar factory owner was cutting up the loaf of sugar and cut her hand. She was very annoyed and told her husband that he must do something about this problem. He loved his wife dearly and wanted to please her so he invented the sugar cube for her, and shared the idea with the rest of the world. They also invented Semtex – a plastic explosive…

14 05dd

(The Astronomical Clock – it’s very very old and still working. It measures lots of things related to time including how many hours since the last sunset, you might be able to see above, 19 hours since sunset last night)

There have been lots of wars and protests and executions in Prague and in the Czech Republic. The first time a Republic was declared was after the first World War (I think it included Slovakia at the time) then there was a little problem with Hitler. Then the Russians (and Americans) saved them from the problem with Hitler and they were very grateful and were persuaded by the attractiveness of Communism. Thus ended the first republic. Then there was a student of philosophy, Jan Palach, in 1968 who protested against the lack of Czech protest against Communism and burned himself in Wenceslas Square. Then in 1989 they had the Velvet Revolution (named because the change was so smooth) when they split from Communism and the Velvet Divorce when they split from Slovakia. Before all that there was a long war between the Protestants and the Catholics, our guide, Adam, is related to one of the noblemen who were beheaded by the Catholics in 1620. He says he has blue blood but we were unable to verify this…

14 05ee

(The old Jewish Cemetery, very crowded and the inspiration for the holocaust memorial in Berlin)

And almost finally, the Czech Good King Wenceslas was not a king but a Duke who was murdered by his brother (BAD King Wenceslas?) but he did become a saint after that. And, when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were landing on the moon in 1969 they were playing the music of Antonín Dvorák – he’s Czech.

14 05aa

(Adam… and our money)

The tour also included some useful tips, like how much beer you should expect to get for 200Kč (Czech Crowns) – 7 beers and for 100Kč – 3 beers. Adam needed some Czech notes to help with this demonstration. As we are very helpful people, both Denis and I gave him the notes, thus allowing him to demonstrate another tip – don’t give your money to strangers. Adam thought that was very funny…

Time for a coffee, Mairead.

We’re here!

May 14, 2014May 14, 2014 | Mairead

14 05a

(Blue skies as we wait for bus in Greystones)

We have arrived safely in Prague, our plane only returned once to the boarding gate… As we were coming in to land I was very surprised by how green it is around the airport. Very like home. Then I remembered why it’s so green in Ireland and I guessed that they get a lot of rain here in Prague, too. So far my guess is correct. It’s a little odd that we have arrived at our destination so soon, it usually takes at least a day or three, the plane is faster than the bike I suppose. So it might take us a little longer to acclimatise, probably just as well the weather is very familiar then.

14 05b

(The overhead locker opposite our seats wouldn’t close.. so we had to return to the boarding gate and…

14 05c

(…the engineer fixed it)

I had prepared for our arrival very well during last week and Denis was quite impressed that I knew where we could buy bus tickets and what bus we would need to take and what stop we would need to get off to get the metro. I also knew the metro stop we needed to get off to be near our accommodation. He was easily able to ignore my error when we got on the right bus going in the wrong direction (still in the airport and just a short run to the right bus going in the right direction.) He did do the raised eyebrows thing, though, when I didn’t have any idea how to get from the metro to our apartment… Fortunately, the nice lady in the bus ticket shop had given us a map, we knew the address and there’s a compass app on the phone, sorted…

14 05d

(Nice staircase, although as we are on the third floor we prefer the lift)

We are staying in Prague 2 in an apartment we found on airbnb, there are plenty of restaurants nearby, including a vegetarian and a vegan. This morning we even found a pastry and coffee shop. (Of course I was having porridge but Denis needs his coffee.) But before it was time for morning routines we were awoken by gentle (but persistent) tapping. A woodpecker? No. Men in blue jumpsuits are laying a pretty stone footpath outside our building. And they start early, too early, it was 6.30am! They work with wooden frames to make patterns with small square bricks, using sand to keep them in place with plenty of tapping. The good news is they are nearly finished the section outside our building.

14 05f