Back on the European Continent, Dover to Poland

August 16

We have been on this continent for four days. Day one was a drive to the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands. Our friend Judy Grolmus gave us this tip. She and John have a fabulous collection of art in their home...and she was right... This place is an unknown gem. First, the museum is inside a national park, De Hoge VeLuwe, over 5000 hectares in area containing the original landscapes of sand drifts, lichen covered ground, moorland and grassland and planted forests. There are ancient Scots pines in the sand hills and natural forests of the pines all around the edges. The wild animals that we were told to look out for are, Red and Roe deer, moulfons ???, foxes, badgers and pine martins. The wild bore interested us the most! But the best time to see all these guys is early morning and evening and we were not out in the wild at that time. But, we did pick out two of the hundreds of white bikes that are free for the taking after you buy your fairly expensive ticket to the park and museum. How fun was that! There were lots of families there for the biking and picnicking, hiking and wildlife watching. Many trails going for miles. We had fun riding on dirt trails through the trees and open spaces looking cautiously for the wild bore! Hmmmm. Do they charge or do they run from you? Well, we did not get that answer. No wildlife sightings for us. So this bike riding was an aside treat for us, we really came to see the art. Sculpture pieces were the first to show themselves so we followed their path to the indoor sculpture museum. David loves this three dimensional medium but I found lots to please me also. And we were allowed to use cameras...no flash. So with my eye towards the painted, close-up shots I was in heaven. David and I lost each other several times, both so focused with the lens. Finally we wandered into the painting collection. 180 drawings and 87 paintings by Van Gogh! And as a compliment to that...Monet, Picasso, Renoir and Mondrian, Seurat and Modigliani and plenty of others not so well know but so very good. Many original paintings we had only seen in books. For awhile I was following a young woman because we were looking at paintings at about the same speed. She would get up so close to inspect. I decided that she must be a painter. Finally I asked her. “No I am not, but if I were, this is how I would like to paint.” Her answer gave me insight on why all kinds of people come to see art. I would love to hear more from those enthusiasts who don't paint but love to look. My question would be: What inspiration do you derive from the experience of looking at a painting? And...how does this effect your daily life?

When we were done inside we had a coffee and split an apple cake/pie then on to the outdoor sculpture exhibit. Rodin, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth (whose studio we saw in St. Ives, Cornwall), Richard Serra and Jean DuBuffet, Some of them hidden in the trees or open spaces you had to discover. What a day!

For the next two days we have been experiencing culture shock in Germany. We have been able to read traffic signs and grocery labels in English for three months. And relearning to keep the car on the right side of the road! And as we are heading for Berlin which is quite far north in Germany, we are on huge truck routes. Poland and the Czech Republic border this country. Russia license plates show up. It is also a gateway to the Scandinavian countries. We are swamped in trucks. I have never seen so many. David looks at all their license plates and reports the country they are from. Another shock...it is hard to find WIFI. McDonalds gives you one free hour but we have not been able to sign on successfully. Today we went to a library...no wifi. David cannot seem to get into his hotmail account on the library's computers...so we ask for yet another new password which we might receive tomorrow! It is so frustrating. We were able to find a coffee shop who would give us a half hour with our decaf lattes. This shall pass, we will get it all worked out, only to drive over another border to another country with different procedures.

We are in Potsdam, just 40 minute train ride from Berlin. Tickets have been purchased for the train tomorrow...a day pass. Parking for the day, free in an extension of the pay lot??. We will get off at Berlin's main station and find the Tourist Information stall to get set up for the day. The parking lot will also serve for our home base overnight.

August 1

We catch a fairly early train to Berlin. It is so easy as the train station is across the street from parking. We get into a bit a a muddle trying to find the right platform...as we have to walk by bakeries, coffee aromas clothing shops, book stores...it is like an airport. The train comes in 7 minutes...then flashes 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, then 1 minute. Very assuring. Hop on and find a place for two facing front and we are off, bumping and swaying down the track. The towns flash by on the screen in front of us. Each time we stop there is one less name on the screen. Understandable signage so we don't worry about when to get off. It is Friday morning so the hustle and bustle of the work force is in full swing. Off the train we first find the Tourist Information. What can we do within walking distance of the station today? By the way, the train station is stunning. It harkens back to the old days of rounded glass roof tops. Very large structure. The trains come into different levels so that we take the escalator to the bottom floor. At the TI we find that we can walk many places from this central spot. The National Contemporary Gallery is close. Here, the art is more on the edge, no rules, more “do what you feel” kind of work. We see works from the School of Fontainebleau, a decorative style developed in the 16^thcentury. The artist we see today is Cy Twombly, a 20^thcentury painter who aligns himself with this earlier movement, but translates it to his era. Large, fun and serious. He says of this earlier group, especially the artist Poussin, “I would've liked to have been Poussin, if I'd had a choice, in another time.” Twombly developed a close relationship to this Classical Baroque artist through his paintings. The largest exhibition was Architektonika 2...architecture. I said to David as we walked toward it...”This is not really my thing.” I was thinking of an hour of boring examining. Oh, but I got caught in the first installation! The subject of these exhibits really interested me. “...addresses the alternative use and constructions of urban spaces apart from official development plans and the appropriation of leftover spaces and unused land.” This first installation, when I walked into the room, I thought was child's play, specifically from a female view. Colorful, two story playhouse? But here, Marjetica Potrc investigates the “growing house”, a widespread phenomenon in the world's mega cities. She uses the “barrios” of Caracas to illustrate this. Her structure shows how dwellings can grow, sometimes two houses into one as the need arises, or rooms on top of roofs. All the construction is made out of what can be found or obtained cheaply. Used wood, corrugated metal, plastic, iron, pipes, containers to catch rain on the roof that is piped into specific rooms, pipes open on the outside structure. Even balconies made of found used balcony pieces. And much of it is painted in leftover paints. Street after winding street, made haphazardly as the houses were built. People talking in the streets...close living. Gardens in pots. This is so creative! Using what is available. Hunting for that piece you need. No building permits! The exhibit on the whole was more interesting than I would have thought. My kind of architecture. Warmed up...not cold steel.

From here we walked across the river to the parliament buildings, BUNDESDAG, first built in the early 1800,s, neo-classical. Along the way, in several places, we came across memorials to those who tried to escape from the communists in East Germany...from about 1961 to 1986. Very very touching. Wreaths of greens and flowers lay in front of each one. We walked along where remnants of the wall had been...and looked across the river which stood as a border. All of these events happening in our lives made it moving and real. Very hot today...we stopped for a beer in the shade before queuing up for reservations to tour the top of this large building on which was built a large glass dome in perfect dimension to the older wings. As David says, “It needed a dome.” The dome is a reaction to closed governments, secrets from the people probably built in the 1990's, symbolic of a more open government. The government is composed of the legislative, judicial and executive branches very similar to the U.S. Elections every four years. There are about 5 or 6 parties that have been elected into the parliament. Other parties exist also. The Green party is one of those that is now in the parliament. One can walk to the top of the dome, inside, on ramps. When the government is in session, the meetings can be viewed from above! Lots of glass, lots of mirrors, totally high tech and contemporary, but from the ground it fits beautifully. If you look closely you can see a steady stream of people walking it like a labyrinth. It took a few hours for us to get through all this process. On the way out we noticed an unusual memorial of corrugated steel, jagged, with the names of the people who served on Hitler's own council whom he had had murdered. He was a bad fellow to say the least. Still hot. Time to get on a bus and tour Berlin. We caught it at the Brandenburg Gate, a victory gate built to proclaim the power of the ruler ( Frederick) and through which to march the victorious troops home. Berlin, in my mind, looms somewhat large in its war history. Scary, mysterious sometimes even romantic. News reels, Hollywood movies, newspaper clippings. The city had a low cityscape. Tall skyscrapers do not exist. There is work going on in the streets and city lots but many large lots are vacant. What is this from? Bombing? I expected much fabulous rebuilding that the German people are so capable of. Top notch designers. One tactic that is very successful is the construction of glass outer layers to the old buildings. Very beautiful and well done. But much of it is sadly grey and empty. These citizens have had much to deal with in their city. As the bus moved around you could certainly tell when you were in the Eastern section. The communists left those ugly apartment buildings which show up in Europe in all blocks they occupied. On a whole the Berlin streets are not cleaned up. But there are beautiful happy places...high end downtown shopping streets, beer gardens along the river with hundreds of deck chairs to loll about on. Lovely old buildings that had not been obliterated by war, many of them with figures (statues) perched on top. Pieces of the wall still stand and one of the most famous being Check Point Charley where the US troops made themselves known and where anyone that was allowed into the east side had to be checked out. Also a tribute to the Jewish people, a large field of black marble blocks in different sizes and shapes that people were walking though, reading names of murdered Jews. Pieces of the wall were many places, having been bought by individuals and used as a place to show appropriate art. Also the wall, where it had stood, was marked along the streets for all to remember.

Feeling hot, tired and filled to the brim with information, we walked back to the train station. Some happy beer drinking young men were singing and laughing (and spilling and breaking bottles) at our platform. Entertaining but let's not sit near them! We talked of some differences between Europe and the US and how it is unimaginable how the US does not take care of it's people first. It must stem from capitalism. The ability to do what you want, put money-making first. The main result...greed, the “me” generation. Here there are a zillion parks. Dogs, bikes and strollers get on to the trains. Make things easy for the people, make things pleasant. Yes, you have to pay for parking everywhere but that money is not a private gain, it goes back to the cities to be used for the people. Less separation of the people, the haves and have-nots. The hardest part of being in Germany is that not many speak English. We feel more alone. David digs deep for his school German for short phrases...but signage is hard. One thing funny. Along a freeway when we entered Germany, I saw a sign for Ausfahrt....then another sign a few miles along for the same city....then another and another. I thought to myself that I would not like to live in a city with that name. I said to David...this must be an important place! All roads seem to lead to Ausfahrt! David replied ....Oh that means “out way” or something similar...like we would use EXIT. As Rick Steves says, the people will often wish you a Guten Fahrt! (Good Trip)

August 18

A slow and late waking. After breakfast David goes to see about an English book store but finds the tour bus folks on his way. When he returns he tells me that we have about 15 minutes to catch it. Well that always makes me a little grumpy...the hurry up part. But we made it and found Potsdam to be a surprise. Very full of royal history, 3 palaces. Frederick the Great's famous Sanssouci Palace is here! It was quite like a summer retreat to him. Not large but very beautiful terraced gardens with a fountain placed mid-center. And a long long look through an avenue of trees. Frederick the Great risked everything for glory, bringing his country to the brink of decline but giving it a voice among European powers. When he emerged victorious in the Seven Years War he wanted a bigger and better palace built from 1763 to 1769, which is at one end of the royal property and is called the New Palace at Sanssouci. We did not have the opportunity to go inside. I am sure it was lavish and sparkled with opulence...and beauty. At the other end of the royal park is a nephew's palace...built for Frederick William and his wife Elisabeth. These are the three stops we made on our tour, walking with a knowledgeable tour leader. He had some stories to tell, one of them is how the name Sanssoussi came about. He took a French friend out to where he wanted to be buried along with all his dogs, 11 whippets. He told his friend, when I get to this place I will be “without sorrows”...sans souci. On Frederic’s grave, which is indeed beside his dogs, there are flowers laid by folks passing by, but mostly there are potatoes. These potatoes are a symbol of thanks to him for saving the country from starving. He had everyone planting potatoes as the soil was not good for much else. The potato thank you tradition keeps going. While I was there, a woman put a potato on the grave. As we moved on in the bus we saw a lovey city. We were left at the Dutch Quarter (as William grew up in the Netherlands, he wanted Dutch people around him.) We walked the streets and had a late lunch watching the folks go by on this pedestrian only section. This weekend was an annual festival for Potsdam, called Night of the Castles. Celebrations were starting. An opera singing couple were performing in the street...with their money hat for collecting coins in front of them. People paid 50.00 and 60.00 to attend the main event within the castle grounds. Dinners, music, craft and food stalls which we saw being set up. Colorful foods exhibited prettily, breads and rolls, sweet and savory, all those amazing German baked goods stacked high in patterns, and jewelry and blown glass stalls. Fire works would be set off at dark. The money made would go toward the up-keep of the city castles. In the late afternoon we started out in the direction of Prague, heading southwest toward the German/Czech Republic border, pulling over just before dark to “set up camp.” HOT! HOT ALL NIGHT LONG!

THOUGHTS and OBSERVATIONS:

> The KGB still has offices in Potsdam.

> A reminder...Ech bein ein Berliner (I am a Berliner) JFK

August 19

Sunday morning. I wrote for a few hours to catch up with the blog report. David fixed breakfast, made coffee, did the dishes and put the van into traveling mode...then went for a walk. Today was a wonderful day of countryside towns and forests and fields. Almost austere, the landscape is perfectly managed. Simple architecture, painted in pastels...very pretty. Not many flowers or gardens. Mostly these were planted in pots or window boxes, used as accents. No landscaping as we would think of around their homes. Even the forests, fields and crops were neatly placed. It was quite refreshing to me...sort of allowed my mind to clear and take on some order. Church steeples changed...moving somewhat to a Slavic or Russian feel. The crops were mostly of corn and some potatoes and sunflowers, their heads drooping with black ripe seeds. Storks soar above the fields, their nests huge and prominent. All roads are good and often are lined with large old trees. An illustrated road sign has a car bumping into a tree, warning us to watch that we donot do that! Our route takes us through a very nice resort town on the Elbe River, Bad Schaneau. Today there are paddlers and swimmers, lots of them. It is still HOT.

From there we wander through forested hills and find that we are in the Czech Republic! Another gorgeous country! We want to travel the small roads to Prague but, guess what?...the GPS does not work here! We do not have an Eastern Europe program. What a shock! Yikes! I'll have to use a map, which takes vigilance and focus, maybe more than I am capable of. And there are detours that take us nowhere and now we reallycan't speak the language, nor can these people speak ours. And do they use the euro or their own currency? I guess we did not do our homework. The landscape here is rambling, tangled and relaxed. No neatniks here. Riotous flower and vegetable gardens. I wish I could be born over and over and spend a lifetime learning the ways of each culture. There is much decay in the small towns, along with the beauty. Always there are rivers. Most of the roads remain really good and often the trees that line them are apple, planted there on purpose for all to pick and eat. Great idea! In Germany we have been traveling along the Elbe River, the same river in the Czech Republic is called the Labe. Wood is carved for decorative purposes...as it always was. We see a sign for a festival of some kind. We have to use our imaginations while looking at the illustrations. This seemed to say there would be music and also something to do with horses and farms. Much as we like all of those things the area was just too hot and dusty. We moved on in our air conditioned vehicle. We see a few families having picnics in borrowed fields but for the most part all is quiet and devoid of people. It is Sunday and all stores are shut. Each village is closed up tight. The cars are older, the trucks on the road are very old but they hum along. David reads that one of the highest income producing endeavors is car parts. They have to do it to keep their own cars going...so they developed parts for cars all over the world. Ahh, how eye-catching...about 15 houses, all different colors, march their way up to the top of a hill, the backdrop being dark forest. The houses are sturdy and solid, thick walled. It is probably cool inside them. Oh, that's nice...we whiz by a town called Horni Police! More houses in open country have barns attached, one long structure. And the Soviet occupation in still in evidence through the tacky apartment buildings they put up. We stop in a small town called Duba. We need to take care of business. We find an ATM and get $50 worth of Crowns. We thought we were getting $200. This money thing is not at all easy. We will have to be very careful when money exchanges hands. I wrote out a little table to keep with us. 20Kc = $1.00 / 100Kc = $5.00 / 1000Kc = $50.00 / 2000Kc = $100.00 It can be unnerving to be asked for 2000Kc ! It seems like so much when actually our money is going much further in Eastern Europe. We go to the grocery store, mostly looking for muesli or granola. Not much here. By mistake we end up with big chocolate balls of chunky granola. At the post office, POSTA, we have to pay a road tax and put a 10 day sticker of proof on our windshield. It sort of makes us feel like citizens. Now, lets have one of those much acclaimed local beers and use the wifi at a roadside restaurant in town. Here we are greeted by what I would call, the town mayor. This is the third time we have talked, or waved and this time he is seated having a beer as we arrive. He wants to talk. And does. But we don't understand a word. So I give him a smile and nod and a pat on the back. He waves at everyone who walks, drives or bicycles by. Some folks stop and have a beer with him. I am not a beer drinker, only when it is very hot. This is the best beer I have ever had. So easy to drink and tasty. I have a second! We order some lunch. Really typical Eastern European food. Somewhat heavy but delicious. Mine is chicken with a bleu cheese sauce baked on top, potatoes and slaw. David has thick slices of beef, polenta and sauerkraut. We stay a long time...until we are both finished on the internet.

Still heading for Prague we set our minds on the town of Mlada Boleslav simply because it is printed bolder on the map and maybe we will take a train from here to Prague. It is somewhat of a hill town. As we approach it we see the main section above and we have to wind our way up through the cliffs to it. Little do we know at the time that we are in for a huge treat. It is late afternoon...and still HOT! In the midst of the old town there is a square with a unique fountain and water system. Children are playing in both. The fountain is flat ground, same level as the sidewalk, and water shoots up in different heights and sequences...sometimes soft and low, other times torrential downpours from strong high streams. It feels like music, a magical symphony...and children's screams pierce the flow. The general layout is long and slim so children can easily run from one end to the other. Sometimes they plug the upward streams with their fingers, toes or even their bums! Sometimes it is a ballet, especially when changing colored lights come on in the dark (David took amazing photos of this. Like he was painting with his camera). Naked nymphs leap and piroette, arms in graceful gestures. Naked little boys punch at the water like they have lasers or swords...fight with the power of the shooting water and scream war noises. It does not take long for shy children to shed their clothes or join in wearing just their underpants. It seems this is the place for parents to bring their children on hot days. A steady stream of different families arrive and leave. For a long while, David and I watch from a bench. There is another section that is like a small stream or creek with sculpted figures of children playing in it. A stream of water comes out of a boys mouth. Bubbles come up from another boy whose head is buried in the stream. A young girl sculptured figure and friend are playing and water from their water bottle pours into the stream. Some of the figures are submerged, others playing and splashing. Real children join them. Around all this there are dark colored woven stump and branch like sculptures called the Willows. There are many of them and at night they also light up with an amber color that makes them look like they are charred bon fires. Across the street there is an extension of this park...more water play in a more mature motif, more bon fires, a lighted dome and sculptures. It is extremely well done and such experiential free entertainment. In the morning when David talks to the Tourist Information folks he learns that the day after WW II ended, this town was bombed either by the Germans or the Russians. The center of the city became a big crater. This is how the town people reacted. Surrounding all this wonderful fun are the old old town buildings...overlooking the new reminding everyone what happened in this place. A lesson on how we can make bad into good. How we can appreciate both the old and the new. David and I walk the old city. As we move about the streets we turn the cranks on information stations...like the radios we have for emergencies. A sculpted character has been developed for the job of being the host of these stations, and when we have cranked enough his voice comes alive to tell us the local story. We loved our stay here. Mlada Boleslav is an hour and a half away from Prague so we are given another destination to Cerny Most where we can leave our van in a fenced-in area and catch the metro. BUT FIRST...we are going to find our way to a Garmen dealer in Prague. And we have to do this with a map. It is a long way, and many highway/freeway numbers and all I can do is hope to lead us to the nearest neighborhood. As so often happens to us, we arrive at the destination, spot-on! On finding a person who can speak some English we are directed into a mall across the street and down the escalator...right to it. Now we have a program with all of Eastern Europe in our GPS. Whew! Sometimes this gadget leads us astray, but I have come to rely on it to find us a gas station, find us a grocery store, find us the TI...etc. The mall is huge and looks just like ours. It is the place to be in this hot weather. The Czechs seem to be doing well. The women are beautiful and dressed in latest fashion. In general, both the old and new is used in the lives of these people. Trains of all ages have clicked past...up to one fast train. Brand new cars and vans are plentiful here, but they hold on to their cars longer as an average. Public transport is the way to go. We spent the night near a Home Depot type of store, just as big. We are also near the fenced parking area. Our intention...to catch an early tram. But, we did not! We awoke to a storm and rain. So of course we slept in late, parked for the day and caught up on things. I took a “bath”. We had a cooked breakfast and coffee. As I finish this up, David is napping in the upstairs (up ladder) bed...and I just think I might do the same on the first floor. Ho Hummmmmmmm Yawn.

August 23 and 24

Another sunny day so we are up early and catch the metro into Prague, into the center of the old town (Stare Mesto)...Mustek is the station. Once in the city we walk down the wide and busy Wenceslas Square/Street to the train station where we know there is a booking agent for hotels close by. We choose a hotel close enough to walk to everything we want to see...with air conditioning. We have both packed our day packs lightly, just enough to see us through one night. The way to our hotel first takes us by a most beautiful synagog. The facade is decorated to the max, many patterns, many colors. It is outrageously stunning. Past this we run into a crossroads of streets where the Municipal building is. This is the symphony hall, beautifully art neuveau. Reminded of Barcelona's amazing concert hall, we buy tickets to the evening symphony and continue on our way to the hotel. This day is another hot and humid one so we are happy to find our very nice cool hotel room and nap for a bit! We have brought some snacks so we skip dinner and go to the Alfons Mucha Museum. (Mooka.) You know who he is. The inspiration for Art Neuveau. All those beautiful ladies rendered in a decorative, clear and clean style. The poster look. They all express the stories and symbols of the Czech people and their history...their hopes and their dreams. His goal was to keep the people united, keep the spirit of their country alive. He was the founding father of this style and concept. He wanted the style to be used in everyday ways, as on fabric, silverware, silver serving pieces and dinnerware. And it was. Buildings in Prague (Prahah) that were erected during Mucha's time are decorated in this art style. All the familiar posters are in the museum along with samples of other applications he used his Art Neuveau style to design. Some original charcoal drawings. samples of how he worked out his themes, are also on exhibition. An outstanding film of his life is available to watch.

We still have time before the symphony starts so make our way to the Communist Museum. Too expensive so we decide to walk some streets to get the flavor of what our next day might be like and happen upon the Old Town Hall with it's astronomical clock on the tower, ready to put on its show at 7:00 pm. Too complicated for me to understand, it is made of whirling disks and set up timings for the clock to do many many things, most of which I don't think everyone watching are aware of (there is a town square of folks waiting for the moment). Both Bohemian and Roman motifs are represented...the time of sunset is noted...Too much, too much to see and it goes by quickly. The big hand is a sun and the little hand the moon...making their way through the daylight blue area to the black night area. I even read that the zodiac signs are somehow worked into it. There are four statues on each side of the clock and when it reaches 7:00 (which we are all counting down from the great clock) one of the fellow's hands is pulled up and down by a wire and the bell he is holding continues its chime to signal that two windows above are about to open. Characters parade around in a circle, each showing themselves to us...I think this has religious meaning so the characters are probably important! A rooster crows and then the clock bongs out seven times. It ends with a real trumpet being played higher up in the tower...playing a familiar piece, maybe part of the national anthem or something. So you see, it is a crazy fun spectacle, but if you really want to know what is going on you have to do some studying beforehand. Now it is time for the symphony. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 4. The orchestra is the Asia-Pacific United Orchestra. The hall is lovely but both Barcelona's and Transylvania's (Marosvasarhey) concert halls have it beat. There are murals painted in high places that I want to get closer to. They may have been designed by Mucha, at least they are in his style. I was not really taken by the music offered in the first half, except for a short movement of an Asian symphony, Bright Sheng. I thought maybe I was just tired from the long day but...wow! After intermission things started popping! I adored the piece of music but I had never heard such playing. The orchestra was perfection, lively and crisp and full of emotion. We called them back many times and were rewarded with three more short performances...all in the same high spirit. I guess you can tell I liked the concert! The air had cooled off for our walk back to the hotel. A room, a huge bed, a shower...all treats for us. We are at the end of our seventh month travel and love our little home on wheels but once in a while.....

Next day starts with breakfast, part of the deal. A huge spread with something for all tastes, even bacon and scrambled eggs for the Westerners. Breads, both savory and sweet, salads, sliced meats and cheeses, cereals and fruit, juices and all the coffee we wanted...with hot milk. That should take us through our day!...which proves to be another hot one. A two beer day at outdoor tables...along with the water we carry. We follow our Rick Steves map that we have ripped out of our guide book to the Jewish Quarter and the Spanish Synagogue. But first a little history learned from Rick. 2.000 years ago the Romans dispersed the Jews from the Holy Land (Israel) and they fled to many parts of the world. Some of them came to Prague in the 10^th century and established themselves at a trade crossroads (where they still are). Everyone got along very well until the Pope in the 12^th century decided that the Jews and Christians should not live together and that was solved by walling the the Jewish people in causing it to become a ghetto. They had to wear yellow badges as identification. By the 17^th century the ghetto was huge, 11,000 inhabitants housed in 200 wooden buildings. Can you even imagine that? If I know them, and I do, the people made it livable and harbored as much beauty as possible in their cramped spaces. But food? How could they find food for that many folks. They survived by being the money-lenders as the Christian religion did not allow its followers to practice this “craft”. But if it came to the point where the Christians could not pay back their debts, the Jews involved would be killed. That would take care of that problem. Finally in 1848 the walls came down and the community became part of the old town district. Most of the wooden buildings were destroyed and about 80 Art Neuveau buildings stand today where they were. It is a lovely neighborhood today. There is so much to see in it. We chose to see the Spanish Synagogue and the Robert Guttmann Gallery housed in the same building. The decoration inside the synagogue is amazing. Most of it, hand painted designs...all kinds of designs and sizes of embellishments...next to each other....on pillars, domes, alters, benches, walls, everywhere you looked. Luscious. A zenith of beauty. Upstairs an exhibit explains the history of the building during the time the Nazis began decimating all the Jewish communities. Somehow a few of the Prague Jews were able to talk the Germans into letting them collect and sort pieces of their Jewish culture and history. They worked on this for several years and their efforts are here to see today. The archivists did not escape the death camps.

Sometimes we are surprised by an artist of such great talent, not in a huge art museum, but tucked away in a small gallery. This is what we found in the Robert Guttmann gallery. The artists name is Mark Podwal. An American. The work we saw was small in size. The medium, simple: colored pencil, acrylic and guash. He had a huge story to tell. The Jewish religion is so rich with stories and Mark painted a representation of most of them. Part of the beauty is the thought provoking story, but it is the way Mark uses his tools and the way the images dance and move on both the light and dark sides of stories. We spent a long time looking and were fortunate to come away with the exhibition book.

Okay, we have two more things we have to do before the end of this day. Walk from the Old Town square, down the fun filled and crowded Karlova street, over the Charles Bridge and up to the Prague Castle. We are finding that the crowds of tourists and locals are just fellow travelers through this great city...everyone happy and celebrating life. Bumping and tripping through it all. Laughing and eating and drinking. All the different languages spoken! Even the parade of Hari Krishnas adds lightness to the show. Where did all these orange shrouded fellows come from? Do their mothers know they are here in Prague chanting a mantra to stay blissful? How fun and alive is this! However the heat does get to me. By now I have a heat rash going strong. My energy is wavering. A beer in the shade gets me going again. (Really, nobody makes beer like the Czechs!) I gulp mine down, and it is a big one to match David's. The Charles (Charles IV) Bridge goes over the Vitava River. It is not a long bridge but it is full of delights. There are the obligatory statues of course...starting with Charles in a square before you cross. I don't know who the others are. I am tiring of statues at this time but there is one that seems the favorite... of a priest who heard the Queens confessions regularly. The King demanded that the priest tell him what the Queen was confessing, which he will not do...so he is tossed off the bridge to his death. It is said that when the priest hits the water stars shoot up. The stars are around his statue head. The real fun is the art that is set up on both sides of the walk-over. It is a bridge market! It is the law that artists have the right to set up their craft anywhere they like and sell their art. No jury...so it is not all good. But what a great concept. Once over the bridge we have a zillion steps to climb to the castle. 12 steps...flat for a few feet...12 steps etc. etc. etc. over and over and over again. I know this is good for me but this and the heat? At the top there is a cobbled square and then entrance to the castle compound. We make our way to the large Gothic cathedral inside, St. Vitus. The structure is so knobby in Gothic decoration...and the gargoyle drain spouts are hilarious...the faces so contorted that they look like they are throwing up. The inside is okay...I think I might have seen too many cathedrals if I am using the term “okay” to describe this one. “Let's go David. I have had enough for this day.” One more Czech beer and we find our way back to Mustek, the metro center. What a fabulous city. If you are thinking of Europe...go to Prague. You could stay a week and find new things every day. The old town is small and jam packed. And rent a car. The countryside is gorgeous and so are the smaller towns and villages. And even if you don't like beer....try one! The stores have great clothes, both high-end and creative-cheap. Shoes, too. Why not? The beautiful Czech women demand it.

Back in our van. The weather is cooling. I get a good nights sleep (something David gets every night). We plan to head toward Poland on the morrow.

August 25 through 28

We get an early start and stop for some supplies at the Billa grocery store. Ready to go. The car won't start. What? So many people come to our rescue. The saga: First a man who does know something about engines and cars, then a couple because she speaks English, translates, then gets on her phone to arrange something with a garage (it is Saturday late afternoon, nothing is open, they can't come with a tow truck until Monday morning), a young man working in the grocery store gets involved, he speaks English. He goes off to find a mechanic he knows...just leaves work and goes to get a mechanic for us? A technician arrives to diagnose the problem. He finds nothing and says they will have the tow truck here Monday. Ahhh, but Michal the store food stocker comes back and says that the mechanic will be here in half an hour when he is finished at the car show. The mechanic arrives and immediately finds an electric starter problem. He fixes it temporarily so we can follow him to his shop where he has a part. 5 minutes and he has it running with a new piece installed. David had stored the windshield wiper fluid in a perfect spot in the engine area. We have to be creative when it comes to storage. Bouncing along the roads this morning was all it took to put us out of commission...the wiper fluid bottle was sitting on top of that very spot.

So now we are on the road again. We are slowly making our way to Poland...on our favorite trail, the small roads. When we are hungry we stop. It is the village of Prelouc. A spot by the children's park suits us for dinner and overnight. But this is a celebration day for Prelouc. Maybe an annual community fling. Folks stream past our car...families, grandmas pushing strollers, young boy gangs, couples and pretty girls in twos and threes. There is music. Well, let's see what is going on. We walk to the town square in the dark. We can't speak a word of the language but it doesn't really matter as everyone knows everyone and they are not looking to make new friends! This is their night. Lots of covered tables are filled with folks eating and drinking. A live band of 5, woman singer, wails out the songs. Sometimes the audience sings along with beers held high...”Sweet Home Alabama, I'm comin' home to you!” The best show as usual is the children dancing. We are born with rhythm. We know we should not be standing still while the beat goes on. One dad has his two daughters in hand and favors the swing, twirling them one after another. Girls dance with girls...isn't that always the way! A few older couples dare to waltz. There is a “throw the dart for prizes” booth. Most kids wave or wear a prize as they race around. There is evidence of a large barbecued beef on a long spit, but we are too late for that. The meal is long over. Community gatherings. Just plain fun.

The next day is a driving one. I change into a very wrinkled clean shirt. Body heat will iron it. My standards are lower! The landscape just keeps getting more beautiful. Forested low mountains, rolling hills of villages and crop fields. There are no signs of irrigation equipment. The land is so dry. Leaves on trees are dropping. The area needs more rain...but, somehow there is still a lot of green. The country houses are lovely. Painted, flowered and swept. They are not small. Well look at this! This tiny town is calledMostek! So our friend Bob Mostek has a Czech background? We take photos of the town sign, some homes and surrounding land as evidence. It is paradise. Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?

All forests are managed closely. They are refreshing to drive through but I am reminded once again of the richness of the North American forests and how the loss could easily happen to us. No wood houses here. The brick, block and stone homes last forever. (We could be looking at that for alternatives to cutting forests.) The paint colors are fabulous. Side by side...peach, orange, green, pink, yellow. It is really gay (Can I still use that word in its original meaning?). There are a few detours along the way. The roads just stop without warning with no signs to tell you what route you might take to continue your journey. The GPS is not a good help. Lots of road construction with only one lane open. There are movable light poles in place to guide you. Red, you queue up and wait. Green, it is your turn. No hot, bored and tired road sign person. We stop for lunch. We need to spend some of our Czech money. The food is always good. Home cooked stick-to-the ribs food. As we climb into the mountains there are roads and trails leading into the trees. It is Sunday and many bicyclers and hikers are taking advantage of the variety of outdoor spaces that this country has to offer. Women who look like Heidi are here. Healthy and blond. Dark log chalets with wide white cement layers between them contrast with black and white board and batten designs. Flowers planted everywhere. Pots and window boxes and fenced gardens. As we head downhill, still along a ridge, we start to notice bunkers along the hillside. Big thick bunkers. We are in the Czech Republic looking down on Poland which was occupied by Germans, heading their way. And soon we find ourselves at the border marked by the remains of a huge checkpoint which was probably used until Poland joined the EU. I am excited to be here. Poland has always seemed so far away...a place that I could never know or understand. So many stories abound out of the hardships they endured. A poor country. Immediately the roads are in very poor shape. The van rattles and bumps its way along. We enter the outskirts of a fairly large city. It is depressing, dark and dreary. We find a place to park and watch four or five men come and go, in different shades of drunkenness. In general, things have been left unfixed. Old rusted cars, overgrown park areas. It does not feel good. We have trouble finding a place to change our Czech money into Polish zloty. At McDonalds we ask the perfect person all our questions. He is bright and interesting and speaks English. He loves this city and Poland. Yes, we have just arrived and have seen a small part and already we are forming opinions. His guidance helps immensely. If you want to change money almost anywhere, go to Tesco. Grocery/Mall. They are sitting in a little booth waiting for you. But, they don't change coins so use them up before you cross borders.

Monday we get back on the small-road-trail. And very quickly we change our mind about Poland. Yes there is the dark unhappy side but the opposite is here in full bloom. The land is taken care of so well. Most houses sparkle. Sunflowers, hay and corn fields. Marigolds as borders. Trees abound. The terrain changes from hills to small hills to flat. We dodge trucks who seem to take up way too much of the road. We check out the quaint beauty of town centers, each with a square or park for the community. We stop for the night in Wotow. It reminds us of the movie title My Sweet Little Village. Two young women assure us that it is fine to park where we are, and no charge. We are in the center of town and ready for a walk...and a sidewalk beer. The Canadian flag on the back of the van sometimes brings people to us. This time it is a young woman I have waved to earlier. She has a story to tell us about her grandmother living in Toronto. That is about all we could understand of each other but still, the conversation was a good connection. We stay where we are for overnight. In the darkness and quiet I am wakened by noise near our car. I listen and try to figure the situation out. David is fast asleep. Then...I see movement by the window...and talking and banging of what seems like a tire iron. “David, wake up! Someone is trying to rip off our tires!” He jumps up and slides back the side door. “Get out of here!” he yells, and then starts to laugh. There are two men in orange work jackets and they have the sewer lid off. Our tire is almost on top of the hole. One fellow is twice as big as David, and has an amused grin on his face. They continue flushing out the system...we continue with our sleep.

On the road again we see cemeteries, closely loaded with headstones and shrines, each one has fresh flowers decorating the plot. Every cemetery looks similar. The Polish people are devoutly Catholic. Remember that Pope John Paul II came from this country. A religious leader to be really proud of. We see very tall steeples above the trees and point the car toward them. It turns out to be the largest cloister in Europe, no longer used. We look at an exhibit inside, mostly of the poster era done by one person, but we are at a disadvantage not speaking Polish. We cannot read the information. A tour is being offered but it is for Polish speakers so we decide to walk around the compound and take in its beauty and vastness on our own.

Once again on our way, we pass through many villages. Always with inviting central squares. TV dishes decorate many houses and apartment balconies. In a shady spot in a field, sit a mother and daughter in straight-back chairs sewing. Embroidery? Darning? How sweet. There are apartments in groups standing alone in fields. Maybe they are communist leftovers attached to a co-operative farm? There are large empty barns and buildings nearby. The apartments are the typical ugly plain structures that the Soviets put up but they are painted in wonderful patterns and colors. We find that the use of paint and patterns are everywhere, the easiest and cheapest way to freshen and perk up a building. Two women are gathering bags of potatoes and putting them into a wheelbarrow. It could be an impressionist painting. A lady comes toward us on her bike, holding wildflowers in one hand. An old man comes out his gate to see the world go by on his road. A young runner goes by with I-pod music in his ears. Colorful thick quilts are hanging outside to air. The wash is swaying on the lines...sunny breezy day. Lots of farm machines on the roads. It is a trick to find the right time to pass them. A farmer is in his field plowing, with the help of horses. Dark brown wooden windmills in decay. People picking raspberries. People picking plums off the roadside trees. Horse and cart trot along. Gypsies? Amish? (There are Amish families here.) We are coming to the town of Wolsztyn. Pea patches with fancy garden sheds. Maybe apartment people spend some of their summer here? Using their sheds as shelters? It is evening. We are here to take a steam train ride tomorrow. We purchase our tickets and take a look at the train yard. This is not a British steam train yard. This is a working train, not a tourist train...though I am sure many steam enthusiasts make their way here. The engines are not shiny with brass. They are black with both paint and coal soot. They are working trains housed in the shed and old relics are by the side of the tracks. Thanks to the fore site of an Englishman who realized that the trains of the Polish past were disappearing, these trains were saved. There is even a program for those who always dreamed of being a train engineer. They can come to learn about the workings and then actually drive the train! We settle in for the night across from a quiet pub. Not quiet for long, it proves to be the young folks gathering spot. Good noise. Lots of laughter. Our train is scheduled to leave at 1:00 pm so we have time in the morning for a walk in town. We come across a curious memorial...for Soviet soldiers. And behind that a memorial for Polish soldiers, victims of the Germans. A big and powerful statue stands, of a Polish soldier with his foot on a dead eagle laying on its back, wings spread and under that, a torn swastika flag. Some of these memorials are full of emotion and power. This is one of them. We buy pears, garlic and tomatoes at a sidewalk vendor. Huge, perfectly ripe. I will pack two pears in our rucksack for the train ride. We hear a tower clock strike. We have lost track of time. So it is a rush to the van and then to the train station. We are going to Poznan today, an hour and a half ride away (15 stops). It is nice to relax that long, gazing out the window. Everyone stops to see a steam train go by. Many wave. Photographers in ditches, roadside, on overhead bridges...using fancy cameras and lenses and tripods. David says, “This is just like being on the train in Dr. Zhivago.” This train is jerky and bumpy and the wheels spin sometimes when we start up. David says, “...must be a novice driving this train.” When it is nearing time to get off I ask a fellow passenger...is the next stop Poznan? Answer...Yes. So when we get off we are in an almost vacant station. Nothing going on. Hmmmmm. I think we blew it. So after quite some time talking with the station lady (who speaks no English) and others waiting for their trains, we find out that we need to buy another ticket to go one more stop! And when we get there, David is persistent enough to find out that we do not have a round trip ticket, so he is able to purchase another. We had planned to have a nice Polish meal in the old city square but we are running out of time. Now we have just over an hour to see the square and have dinner. We start to walk and decide we had better take a taxi, which is fortunately right beside us. The square is quite wonderful. Large, with lovely tall buildings surrounding it. More minutes have ticked by and we have 55 minutes before our train leaves. In retrospect, we should have grabbed a kabob and ate while exploring the square but we did not think that fast. We quickly chose the first outdoor restaurant which turned out to be American western food...no time to change so we ordered ribs and like most American dishes it was delivered to the table on a huge plate piled high! We had begun a conversation with a young Japanese man at the next table...when our food arrived, his meal was finished, so we invited him to our table so we could at least get to know a bit about him while we ate. Haruchika Seno was spending 20 days here in Posnan visiting a Polish friend that he had met on the street near his home in Japan. He was at the point of finishing up his masters in psychology. His real love was travel...but his parents were becoming impatient with him. They had plans for him to become something! Find a good job and work his way up. Haruchika said he tended to be lazy. He was not at all happy with the fast life in Tokyo. And the rules. And the expectations. He found the opposite in Poland. Room to breath and enjoy life. He was a fine young person, good at conversation, good at listening, with a pleasing personality. I think he should do well. But I do agree with him. Why so fast? And travel teaches you different worldly things along with tolerance, patience and compassion. Not bad traits in a human being. Okay, now we had 7 minutes until our train leaves! We caught a taxi close-by and David told him Schnell! The two of them laughed and talked in German while we flew to the station, when the traffic lights were green! Pay the driver, out of the cab and into the station....which platform is ours? Run to the wrong side....run to the farthest platform on the opposite side. Run, walk fast, run, pant, pant. The ticket person is pointing at his watch as he watches us come down the platform. The steam is puffing...the train is straining to go. And you can't hop on...the steps up are like a ladder! Well, I hope you got the picture!

Oh, those pears we bought in Wolstyn from the sidewalk vendor...tasted like juicy gold. I did not know a pear could taste that way. And the jerky train ride? We met the novice engineer in the store still dressed in his overalls, eating an ice cream bar. He was from England and says this was a dream on his Bucket List. On the way out of town we made a fast stop...more pears and peaches.

MORE ON POLAND TO COME