Sunday, January 31, 2010

Troy


Erdine is near the ancient ruins which are thought to be Troy, especially by local tourist tour companies. In one of the foremost achievements in western literature, Homer's Iliad, he talks about the Trojan War brought on when members of the Trojan royal family visited Sparta in order to broaden the friendship between the two kingdoms. The trojans came for supper with the spartans and after desert, one thing led to another and Helen, the kings wife, sailed away with Prince Paris. As soon as Menelaus discovers that his beloved wife had gone missing he joined forces with his fierce brother Agamemnon, the King of Greece, and summoned all the Greek warlords and declare war on Troy. As I remember, it ended with someone riding into the sunset on a great horse or something like that. Anyway, as the city of Troy mostly appears as a part of Greek mythology some argue that the city of Troy did not actually exist. But there are certain facts about a powerful nation, who used to live in the western shores of the modern day Turkey, and collected taxes from the ships which sailed near their coast. There are also written documents about Alexander the Great visiting the ancient city of Troy on his way to Persia.

So whether Troy actually existed or not and whether you believe Helen went of her own free will or was kidnapped by Paris is up to speculation. However, whether you condone or condemn them, we hope our youth always remember the Trojans.

Ninja Turtles

The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne not only has the highest minarets in Turkey, at 70.9 meters, but it is one of the most important monuments in this ancient province; designed by Turkey's greatest master architect, Mimar Sinan. Mimar is often compared to Michelangelo, his contemporary in the West. He, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci all received an invitation to design a bridge over the Golden Horn by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. His design won. If he would have been born in the west instead of in the Muslim world perhaps we would know his name as well as we know the names of Leonardo and Michelangelo... Perhaps he even would have been respected enough to have one of the mutant ninja turtles named after him... Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Mimar .... now that would be famous.... To Bahai's, this mosque is where Baha'u'llah's Revelation was formally separated from the older Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Babi and Christian Faiths, yet also linked as part of the continuous and ancient faith of God.

Kings

This is the third house lived in by Baha'u'llah in Erdine. While in Adrianople (Edirne), Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed the Baha'i Faith to the kings and rulers of the world, presented them with the first call of His revelation, told them not to be so focused on their material possessions and endeavour toward the betterment of the world and its peoples. So not only did they not recognize him as the king of kings promised by their various Holy books, they did not work to the betterment of their people either, and for those reasons the world is no longer ruled by kings... I wonder how the politicians of today would respond to the same call?

Friday, January 29, 2010

Battle for Erdine


The area around Edirne has been the site of no fewer than 16 major battles or sieges, from the days of the ancient Greeks. Military historian John Keegan identifies it as "the most contested spot on the globe" and attributes this to its geographical location. The Battle of Adrianople (August 9, 378), is often considered the start of the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. However, battle weary this area is I liked the sentiment carved into this fountain near the middle of town which speaks to the modern friendliness and openness of the Turkish people that we encountered.

Edirne


Edirne (ancient Hadrianopolis and the not so ancient Adrianople) is in the westernmost part of Turkey. Edirne is a gateway to Turkey, opening to western world and the first stopover for newcomers from Europe. It is situated near the Greek (7 km) and Bulgarian (20 km) borders. Close to the ancient city of Troy. Edirne is an amazing historic city seldom visited by tourists, even though it's an easy day-trip west of Istanbul. I guess it's just in the wrong direction: from Istanbul, most of Turkey is east and south, so no one thinks of going west. I think the importance of this city with all its hidden gems will one day challenge the wonder of Istanbul as a place to see.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

House number two

This foundation is all that remains of a second house Baha'u'llah lived in while here in Adrianople. There are plans to build a pilgrim reception center on the back part of this lot to receive pilgrims to Adrianople. (the steps are not part of the original house)

Tablet of Ahmad


Lo! the Nightengale of Paradise singeth upon the twigs of the Tree of Eternity. Words from the first paragraph of the Tablet of Ahmad revealed here where now stands a parking lot. For no reason, except that the mosque needed a parking lot, one of the houses that Baha'u'llah lived in here in Adrianople was torn down to make room for parking. One of the other houses remains and has been restored while only a foundation remains of the third.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Hotel View Turkey

We arrived in Edirne Turkey (the ancient city of Adrianople) after an uneventful bus ride. That is until we realized that the bus did not go into Edirne instead it just dropped us along the main highway to Istanbul. We darted across the 4 lane highway with our bags to a gas station where we negotiated (very badly) for 20 american dollars to a guy at the gas station to drive us the 6 km to Edirne. On the up side he drove us near our hotel so we did not have to search around for our hotel, which was good, because our gps does not include Turkey. This is a view of the city as seen from the restaurant on the hotel roof. Ahh after an interesting start we realized that adventure is why we came to Turkey in the first place.

Walk Video


This is the last blog from Bulgaria... We had to take this video of the walk signal.... try as we would we could not totally get the arm swinging walk down... but we tried... well i tried and aja tried to pretend she was walking with someone else. (excuse the fact that the video is sideways)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sofia Statues


One of the most amazing discoveries we made in Sofia Bulgaria was the statues. Both in number and variety these statues, found on the streets and in the parks of Sofia, are even more intriguing than the strange and wonderful statues of Prague. These Bulgarian statues are from a variety of historical times. Of course we have seen wonderful ancient statues in the museums across Europe, the trouble is you have to see all the museums of Europe to see any one statue, as one museum may have the head another the arms while another has the body. I began to think of viewing statues as a kind of where is waldo jig saw puzzle experience. Strange though, just seeing the heads or just the armless headless forms also seemed very satisfying and powerful. May be it is like looking at a small part of a painted picture you have to focus on the part instead overlooking the whole. The only thing of mystery to me is there are so many monuments, statues and heads that have the noses smashed off (like the Spinx of Egypt). It got me wondering if there is a museum just full of noses somewhere.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623129732835/

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Fitting in

A Chinese proverb says that 'the wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher.' Aja and I took cues from the local posters on how to look and act like the locals so we can fit in. However, now that we have all these looks down we are leaving Bulgaria and are on our way to turkey. Let's hope that our 'blue steel' look will also be useful for Turkey. I know these looks will help us integrate back to Canada when we arrive back in June.

Marion Jack

As a Canadian it was important for us to stop and pay our respects to Marion Jack the outstanding Baha'i Painter and spiritual hero of the Baha'i world community. Her Grave is in a very cool old European graveyard near the center of Sofia. For the same reasons that Aja and I are traveling, that is the belief in the oneness of humanity and the conviction that world unity and peace will be achieved through knowledge and understanding, is also the reason Marion Jack moved to this foreign land from her homeland of Canada. While we are just moving through these lands, she decided to stay and make it her home even through the hardships, dangers and trials of the second world war. It was nice to have time to spend visiting her resting place and thinking of her.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623254184094/

The present past

Once you get this far south to Bulgaria you are in the area that was part of the Roman empire for many years. Anywhere in the world any of this Roman stuff would be seen as treasure. Here it is so common that, unless it is the most outstanding examples of art or precious metals, you can see artifacts and stuff just propped up against buildings or being used as common garden ornaments. It is interesting to be in a land where cultural treasures are so common they are not treasures at all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623101550701/

The Roman Border


The Romans used the Danube river as the northern marker for their Empire... it was a good highway and natural border. Their influence was felt further afield but the main part of the empire was marked by the river. Modern Bulgaria, as you can see, was totally part of the Empire.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Night and day

"Clearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo." ~Desmond Morris. Clearly these great cities in Europe are not the concrete jungles of America.... they are built on history and the designers wanted to reflect their world view on their surroundings. They wanted their cities to be as immortal as they themselves wanted to be immortal. I think in America we want to live well not long... i guess, like people, that is the difference that comes from being young as nations compared to these older societies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623101497707/

bridges

In the years 1889-1891 the city of Sofia replaced two of its old bridges with these two new bridges. One called the Lion's bridge the other the Eagle's bridge. They were build by Vaclav Prosek, his brother Jozef and his cousins Bohdan and Jiri, there may have been another cousin once removed but he did not get mentioned. As you can see of this river, that you or I could leap over it, we are not sure what Mark twain would have said about this river considering his comments about the Arno in Florence. But maybe it is not the size of the river that separates us that is important but the bridges that connect us. I loved this city and its people so I will not insult this river even in humor for as David Russell said..."the hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn." These bridges in Sofia we will one day cross again.

Games People play

Like most European cities if you sit still long enough someone will wonder why you haven't brought out your chess board or you backgammon set. The parks and open spaces are all setup for playing chess and people take it seriously. No funny hats playing chess, but playing backgammon it is ok. I could have sold hundreds of my book if I was here in Europe. I may have to come back on a selling mission, or sent Tom G, he would fit in better wearing the fur hats.

Digging into history


Sofia is one of Europe’s oldest cities - founded some 7000 years ago so every time you go to build something new you run into something old. This old stone church is part of the subway system. When you go underground to the subway you walk amongst ancient ruins, and modern stores integrated into the ambiance of the experience. Every structure has elements of the old and the new. Canada will be 7000 years old in a mere 6857 years.

Icons continued

If you read the last blog entry, about how seriously the Bulgarians are about the the creation of icons, you would not be surprised to see this little shrine in the center of Sofia dedicated to a modern iconic image. Michael was a big hit here even during the Soviet times. I was glad to see they have not yet painted a golden halo around his head. I am sure it will come in time, but even I think we should wait until we get the three miracles performed in his name... and i am talking not just card tricks...or the miraculous sales of his records since his passing...or the songs mysteriously released after his death... i want miracles like the one attributed to JPII where a bishop had a scarf blessed by JPII and when back in the states gave it to a boy who was sick and he got better.... now that is what I am talking about....where is the power in the white glove?

Icons


Every where you turn in Sofia Bulgaria you can see religious icons. It appears that they took very seriously the declaration of Seventh Ecumenical Council at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 A.D very seriously---

“We decree with full precision and care that, like the figure of the honored and life-giving cross, the revered and holy images, whether painted or made of mosaic or of other suitable material, are to be exposed in the holy churches of God, on sacred instruments and vestments, on walls and panels, in houses and by public ways; these are the images of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and of Our Lady without blemish, the holy God-bearer, and of the revered angels, and of any of the saintly holy men.”

Book Market

This market was amazing but as none of of the books were in English it did not capture us for long. It is a market several blocks long dedicated to selling old books. I thought it spoke to the literacy of the people and to their love of reading and books. Apparently every second person in Bulgaria is a writer and the other one paints religious icons. I think I could live in a country like this...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623240881494/

Antique Market

The antique market was my favorite market in Bulgaria ... There were rows of tables filled with all sorts of treasures including wind-up gramophone records, daggers, Russian military helmets, communist memorabilia, old violins, silver jewelery, religious icon paintings, pins, medals and a whole host of bric-a-brac. I would have liked to have dressed more like a local or have come with a local because I felt the prices escalated when they figured i was a foreigner...I needed papa to help me try and haggle... Aja would not let me buy any old Swords or military helmets. Sometimes kids are just not as cool as their parents. Besides I could have brought one back for Dave to replace the swiss army knife he had taken from his carry on luggage in Hawaii.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623240881494/

The Womens market


The Sofia woman's market is an ancient market that has run for centuries and is a favorite of locals and tourists.... It is the largest and busiest market in Sofia, Zhenski Pazar offers a wide range of fruit and vegetables, cheese, cured meats, dried fruit and nuts, homemade halva and other Turkish-inspired goodies. Syrian stalls selling sheesha pipes have become popular. The stall holders at the Women's Market were once all women but now male and female peasants from the surrounding hills travel to town each morning to sell their produce here. There are also some stalls selling cheap fake designer clothes and a few tourist-orientated items. The atmosphere is chaotic and fun. There are also some good Turkish cafés around the perimeter of the market selling espresso coffee and cheese pastries.

Roman Baths


This building was built by the Romans as a bath house because of the rich mineral waters. The locals still come and bring their drinking containers to gather the free mineral water, which is apparently good for your health. The building was under renovation so we did not get to use the swimming pools or the sauna's or the mineral baths. This is one of the most beautifully decorated and preserved buildings that we saw.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623240905334/
The picts will be up soon at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Golden girl


Is it a bird? is it a plane? no it is a 24-metre-high bronze woman? This statue, meant to be an allegory of “Holy Wisdom.” It is located in the center of Sofia and it replaced a behemoth-sized statue of Lenin. If your like me, the first thing you probably noticed about her is her hooter... the little owl representing wisdom on her arm. I would say it is a hoot owl and after seeing the owl you just can't miss her laurels (wreathes) in her right arm. The city of Sofia originally got its name from the Church of Sveta Sofia (“Holy Wisdom”) in the center, and this statue was intended to symbolize the connection. However it was far from clear how this abstract concept of “Holy Wisdom” is portrayed in this sculpture. Still Sofians remain unsure whether this shiny female with an owl on her left arm really fits.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Slovak Mcdonalds

Before we head off to blogging about Turkey we forgot to mention three things that are unique about the Slovak Mcdonalds:
1) we have never seen the corporate name written in the local language before.... makgoha/\gc
2) This weird super small McDonalds was in a subway station and
3) the option to buy beer (albeit Heineken beer)...... so except for the walk up window we saw in Dublin this town has added some new touches not before seen at the golden arches ...

End of European Adventure

As we approach the end of our European journey, i thought i would put up a rough map of where we have been so far... it does not tell the whole story but it offers a rough index of the trip.. the world is so big and yet so small.... we have tried to go to some of the not so touristy warm places but to get a little off the beaten path and without pre-bought tickets or much of a plan this is what unfolded for us as we traveled... from here we will be heading to turkey in the next days... Turkey is trying to get into the European Union... it is geographically in Europe... I marked two places where i know for sure we will be going (Edirne/Adrianople and Istanbul/Constantinople ) a black and red dot...on the 19th we go to Thailand and the east.....
(remember you can click on the picture to see a larger version)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Bratislava


From Kosice we went by train to Bratislava in Slovakia. The geography of northern Slovakia is is very beautiful sort of like going through the interior of B.C.. We arrived in Bratislava just in time for a national holiday and a large snow fall. So although we were staying in the heart of the old city we did not get much of a chance to see much. But we spent the night, hung around a funky coffee shop, saw a plaque for the guy that invented something that every Canadian at one time or another has used (answer backwards below).... We were delighted with Slovakia so it is nice to have something to come back to this part of the world to see. answer: (gnihsif for leer gninnips)...

Now for the 16 hr bus ride through three countries to get from Bratislava to Sofia Bulgaria, which seems far until we remember we traveled from Victoria for five days driving between 10 and 12 hrs a day to just get to Ontario.

Ask and yea shall receive

I asked the waitress to suggest some local Slovak speciality.... she suggested Bryndzove halusky which is basically potato dumplings with sheep cheese served with bacon and acid cream... which reminded me of one African talking to another African who said .... "Tourists will eat fire ants if you offer them to them." .... on the up side the chocolate from Slovakia is good enough to make an Austrian proud. A typical breakfast in Eastern Europe is some cheese, meat cuts and bread... Aja is joansing for an A & W breakfast....I on the other hand am looking forward to green curry for breakfast in Thailand....

Fairy Tale Castles


What I liked most about this castle was that katarina who showed us around this town with her son Adam did not know anything about it.... then she said that as a little girl she loved thinking about this building as a fairy tale castle... and i understood why she did not want to know anything about it.... for her childhood vision of the place showed me a far greater way of seeing the castle than thinking that it was for a short period of time inhabited by the Czech president Eduard Benes or that it was built in the 19th century for the rich entrepreneur Peter Jacob. I have seen too many castles built by the rich for the rich... but to see a fairy tale castle through the eyes of a little girl....made this place far more wonderful for me....and even though that little girl grew up and had her own son it was nice to picture this place through the memory of her young eyes.... "Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale of all." -Hans Christian Andersen

Walls

The thing about walls that I have noticed in Europe is that throughout history people build walls almost to see who is strong enough to knock them down... what Kahlil Gibran said of laws also applies to walls....
You delight in laying down laws,
Yet you delight more in breaking them.
Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter.
But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore,
And when you destroy them, the ocean laughs with you.
Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent.
But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-towers,
But to whom life is a rock, and the law a chisel with which they would carve it in their own likeness?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

For Whom the Bell tolls

The most famous bell tower we have seen is the Leaning tower of Pisa, but many towns have bell towers, which although not as well known, still attract a few tourists during the right season. In Kosice the St. Urban Tower (Urbanova veza) is a medieval bell tower which was erected in the 14th century. At the time it was common to have the church bells in separate towers as the large heavy freestanding bells, often hung from ropes, swinging back and forth had caused major damage to some churches. It was then found that if they secured the bell and struck it, it was safe and made little difference to the sound, so the bells were moved back into the churches and hunchbacks everywhere lost their separate living quarters.

Singing Fountain

Sometimes coming to visit in the off tourist season allows you to see sights that are more for the locals than the visitors, however, sometimes you miss things of interest. In the case of the 'singing fountain' we had to be content with a few Christmas lights arched to simulate water (which only looked cool after dark) and some small bell chimes that played the odd Christmas tune. The lights did not move or even twinkle. In the summer the singing fountain responds to music and to the sounds of neighboring chimes and even to the music transmitted from the nearby theater and is as enjoyable for locals as much as tourists. I am not sure we missed a singing fountain because to me, responding to music is dancing not singing. This fountain does not make the music it just responds to it. I think someone should send a snappy letter off the the Kosice tourist bureau informing them that a dancing fountain sounds far more interesting than a singing one.

A dying profession

At one time Kosice was large enough and important enough to have a resdant executioner. The role of executioner was an hereditary post and it was held by one family. It was kind of like a hereditary guild position and apparently it wasn’t all sword play and wearing cool gothic clothing, they also had to study much of the same things, about the human body, as doctors do today. Where crowds used to gather for the executiones there are still bleachers for public performances. Today the executioner’s house is home to a natural science exhibition where you can see the various tools of the executioner’s trade. Archaeological explorations at the location of the executioners residence in Kosice unexpectedly revealed a shoemaker’s workshop dating back to the 15th century. Considering that shoes of the Gothic and medieval period were narrow and pointy, it reinforced my suspicion that only someone with an executioner’s sadistic tendencies could have been involved in the creation of women’s fashion and shoes.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Face of a Town

In the words of Winston Churchill "We shape our buildings: thereafter they shape us." The face of Kosice is shown in the variety and appeal of the facades of its beautiful buildings. The different styles represent the colorful history of this small town and it's people. The aesthetic impact of the buildings drew us in and made us feel like exploring the character of the entire city. One of the local Bahai’s and her two year old son Adam proudly showed us around the town. And what is not to be proud of as her husband is trained in how to preserve these worthy old buildings and as a sculpture knows how to shape and maintain the depth and richness of these buildings and this great town.

Plague Monument

Along the main street of Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia, is the Immaculata Statue. It commemorates the victims of the plague in 1710 and 1711. The 14 m high statue was erected in 1723 on the place of the medieval gallows. In Trnava, the other Slovak town we were in, they did not depend upon classical medicine alone to deal with the plague. There the town voted that after a period of fasting they should take a vow to be celebrate, hoping the virgin Mary would help them.... it is said to have worked and apparently the Italian national soccer team still depends upon the same course of action...maybe the NHL should try it during the playoffs instead of the not shaving thing... This statue was heavily damaged in bombings during the second war but ... as Ray says "if it ain't Baroque don't fix it" but it was so they did.

Beggars can't be choosers

One of the most elaborate houses in Kosice Slovakia is also one of the most legendary . It is called the beggar house. There was a poor man who sat and begged for most of his life but it turns out he spent very little of what he was given. After he had collected a sufficient amount of money he built this very artistic and ornate house complete with a statue of himself tipping his hat in thanks to the town for its generosity. The best line I ever heard from a beggar was..."sir can you spare a few coins." when I said no... the beggar said "then sir you had better join me."


Friday, January 8, 2010

Journeys in Europe ending



As we approach the end of our European journey, i thought i would put up a rough map of where we have been so far... it does not tell the whole story but it offers a rough index of the trip.. we will be heading to turkey in the next week... Turkey is trying to get into the European Union... it is geographically in Europe... I marked two places where i know for sure we will be going with a black and red dot...on the 19th we go to Thailand and the east.....

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Wooden moments

While the great soaring cathedrals dominate the large and even small cities across Europe and attract mobs of tourists and visitors. In the backwoods of Slovakia there are approximately 300 unique wooden churches that only attract locals, curious travelers, architecture buffs, photo hounds and perhaps the odd anthropologist, oh yeah and termites. Part of the charm of these elegant yet simple wooden churches is they are built without nails because nails are associated with the crucifixion. Despite the termites and the elements it is said that some of the churches might be 500 years old... certainly not as old as some of the stone churches however we have not seen any straw churches... so perhaps there is something to that old story....

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Bye great City

As we say good-bye to this great city situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, we wish we had more time to explore this city which has been the political, cultural and economic center of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. Prague suffered considerably less damage during World War II than some other major cities in the region, allowing most of its historic architecture to stay true to its original form. So unlike so many modern cities which are are more like monuments to money and power Prague seems like it was built to honour art, literature and even music. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau, Renaissance, Baroque, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and lastly the Ultra-modern. Of course after a few modern buildings, like the dancing house, were built the public response was a great wave of historical preservation projects ... nothing like the new to make you remember what you liked about the old.... old and new we loved how they blended in this great city...

images


Since Israel I have been trying to explain to Aja the purpose of the many highly venerated stone statues of Mary, Jesus and the various other saints, figures and angels in the cathedrals that people bow to and light candles in front of... so I mentioned it to one of the free church tour guides who said that these statues hold the spirit of God.... after leaving the chuch we came across all these other statues and wondered how he would explain their significance... Aja simply said that the artists of Prague don't appear to be 'a very cheerful lot'..... we did laugh pretty hard at the two reports on the internet about images of Jesus on an iron and on the ladies bruised arm... nice to know the spirit of God can be found in modern appliances

Time of the day


The Prague Astronomical Clock or Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock with mechanical and astronomical dials that dates back to 1410.... The clock shows the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displays various other astronomical details.. one of the free tour guides, who had a part in one of the restorations, seemed to know all about the hourly show with figures of the Apostles and the mechanical workings of the clock but seemed woefully unaware about it predicting the end of the world in 2012, nor did he seem to care that it was two min different than my modern casio watch.

rich history


Along with a rich history to draw people to Prague there has been a wealth of made up history connected to the city as well. Prague has been featured in Hollywood movies such as Dungeons and Dragons, Mission Impossible, Blade II and xXx to name a few. Most recently it was featured in a music video by Kanye West for his song "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" all of which feature famous Prague landmarks.

Monday, January 4, 2010

nimbus 1000


We were expecting Eastern Europe to be old and medieval, however even the old seems to fit very nicely into the modern ... but i guess being modern is something that no society can avoid even if they tried... actually we have noticed that time only seems to freeze for those who leave a place.. the scotts in Canada, for example, remember a Scotland from the time they left.. those that stay behind continue to change and grow and of course marvel at how more Scottish those in Canada seem than they do...
Anyway while admiring the high tech society around us in Prague we see these guys carrying nimbus 100's right out of Harry Potter and then we see this guy carrying a pitch fork.... We tried to follow him but he lost us him in the crowd... oh well it would have been interesting to see a mob trying to drive Frankenstein out of a castle or capture a few witches like we had been expecting to be doing... oh well instead we will head off to Starbuck for some modern Brew....

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Traditions

This trip has cemented my admiration for the power of art to present a message. This potent image is a reminder of some of the Jewish suffering... for example in Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that a Jew had desecrated the host (a single Eucharistic wafer) so under encouragement of the clergy mobs pillaged, ransacked and burned the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (3,000 people) perished. Now that communism has left, locals have gone back to again openly supporting the Church and its ancient traditions and so the lands and buildings have been given back to the church...but still not all of the Jewish lands and buildings have been returned...

Old Town Square gathering


In the Old Town Square there is a statue for John Hus, who was, during a time when the crime for possessing a non-Latin Bible was execution, one of those who suggested, that people should be permitted to possess and read the Bible in their own language... . Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, in the very square where this memorial is... The church did however, find a use for the local language Bibles, they were used to light the stake. The last words of John Hus were that, “in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention into the church door at Wittenberg. The prophecy of Hus had come true! Public burnings are a thing of the past, and although not as exciting we did enjoy the glow of Christmas lights, a black smith's fire, and a host of bbq stands which have taken their place.

Old Town Square




While the Wenceslas Square is a place for revolution and change the Old Town Square is a place for more enduring tradition and seems to have weathered the centuries with a quaint resistance to change... designed for tourists but attracting the locals too with a central stage which hosts daily carol singers and bands playing seasonal tunes to replace the earlier drawing card of public hangings and the burning of heretics who suggested foolish things like the Bible should be read in the local languages... this idyllic Baroque setting of the cobbled stone square seems perfectly suited to offbeat seasonal markets and attractions with rows of colourfully decorated wooden huts packed with hand-made stocking fillers, and locally made wood-carved puppets, jewellery, toys and candles. And for those that say the square is too old fashioned, for having resisted centuries of attempts to change it, they need look no further for proof that things are indeed changing than the new Starbucks Coffee shop and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Wenceslas square


This square, named after the Czech patron saint, St Wenceslas is the Main boulevard and Square in Prague... it can hold up to 400 000 people so you just know that when there is change or trouble afoot in the Czech republic it has a place to congrigate. It has seen gatherings to overthrow monarchy, the nationalist upheavals in 1848, the independence of the Czechoslovakia from the Austrian monarchy was celebrated here in 1918 as well People gathered here in 1969 after the Soviet invasion into Czechoslovakia and the sqare was also the setting for the Velvet revolution in November 1989 which marked the withdrawal of the Communist regime. But probably the largest overthrow celebrated here was when Czech Ice Hockey team won the winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano Japan marking the end of Canadian dominance of hockey in the olympics.

digging deeper


Prague is a city of layers... things hidden within other things... everything in Prague seems simple and normal on the surface but if you take the time to explore and dig a bit there is a wealth of history, culture, science, spirit, human emotions, human actions and thought in each building and cobble stone along its fascinating streets and of course in it's toys.