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Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. To be updated

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By timv
July 5th 2005

Prague (July 1-4) Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

Charles Bridge and Prague Castle

So my next stop was Prague which, it turns out, is the very place where Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen. I would have to agree with the rumour that Prague is a magnificent city, although there was an unbelievable number of tourists, particularly loud drunken British men who seem to travel in packs of 15-20. I managed to lose my passport in a car after I was generously offered a ride to my hostel from the train station. Fortunately, it was returned to me by Laura, who I had exchanged e-mail addresses with on the train. [View Full Entry]

By Bill and Nancy
June 26th 2005

Prague's Jewish Cemetery Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

The Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery is an absolute jumble of tombstones. Just to look at it you might think, "How can they be buried so close together?" What I have read is that in centuries past a plot of land was given to the Jews living in the Jewish Quarter to be used as a cemetery. Of course as time passed, a century or two, that cemetery became full. When that happened in Prague, the city fathers refused to allow the cemetery to be expanded. So what could the people do? As people died they were buried on top of others. Soil [View Full Entry]

By eurolizandpia
June 26th 2005

16 countries down, 3 to go... Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

WARNING: Longest blog ever. If you make it the end, there´s a reward. If you don´t, I don´t blame you. Hey all, So, I realize it´s been a long, long time since our last blog...many apologies. Except probably no one cares, but I´ll pretend that we have an avid readership. I think Liz left off on our first day in Krakow, but in her half-awake state, she forgot to mention that on our very first tram ride in Poland -- from the train station to the hostel -- we had an unpleasant encounter with the tram police. We each had a [View Full Entry]

By stregerlady
June 23rd 2005

Visit with the Beck's Europe » Czech Republic » Moravian-Silesian Region » Ostrava

Anna and Bethany

Today we all went up to Ostrava, north and a little east of Brno by a two hour car ride. We saw a couple castles up on the hills as we drove along. Crazy to think about how many there are over the countryside that they are just common place. We didn't see anything of the town. When we told the Brno Czech's that we were going to Ostrava they just curl their nose up and furrow their brow and ask why. Apparently there isn't much of a draw to the old mining town. They consented that it was okay when [View Full Entry]

By Shortstuff
June 22nd 2005

The Land of Beer... Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

I have finished my tour of Prauge and it is an amazing city. All you have to do is climb to the top of a hill and look over the city and it is breathtaking. Many of the buildings are done in the Baroque style, even the gothic buildings have facades over the original building. The streets are fun just to wonder. The astronomical clock is pretty neat. At each hour, a skeleton rings a bell repeately while a parade of saints pass overhead before the hour bell is rung. The cathedral in the Prague castle was amazing as well. I [View Full Entry]

By Bill and Nancy
June 22nd 2005

I finally found it Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

The Charles Bridge with Old Town beyond.

There is a wonderful picture in the dining room at ITBS showing the Charles Bridge and Old Town beyond. Several weeks ago I thought I'd found the spot and did get a good picture, but when I looked at the photo closely I realized that I had not found the "spot." The other morning after breakfast Nancy and I carefully looked over the photo in the dining hall and decided where it had to be located ... and sure enough we found the spot. Here it is. We are standing just upstream from the Charles Bridge on the bank of Kampa [View Full Entry]

By stregerlady
June 21st 2005

Castle time! Europe » Czech Republic » South Moravian Region » Brno

Pernstejn Castle

Hey there! Today we, that being Gloria, Bethany, Christopher, and myself, went to Pernštejn castle. At 80 Kč it is a bit of a steep admission price. You have to pay 10 just to get into the area where you wait for the tour. Very bizarre. Thankfully Gloria asked for an English copy of what our tour guide was saying. We met a guy on the tour from Philly who was an interesting character. The castle had a fire in a storage area in April so some rebuilding is being done. The castle was begun around 1380's which is hard to [View Full Entry]

By stregerlady
June 20th 2005

I came all the way to Brno to shop at Ikea Europe » Czech Republic » South Moravian Region » Brno

Okay, so today is pretty boring, but I'll tell ya' what i did anyhow. First I slept in as Gloria has been keeping us up watching StarGate episodes. Okay, we initiated it, but only because Gloria LOVES them so much she is always talking about it. They are actually pretty good and after tonight I just may be hooked myself. Being the neurotic personality that I am, I spent the morning making a list of things I wanted to do and then made a calendar for the remaining time and tried to fit everything in. Something is going to have to [View Full Entry]

By Bill and Nancy
June 20th 2005

Eva Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

Eva and Antonin

We met Eva last June when we were in the Czech Republic on a hiking Elderhostel. She was one of our Czech guides, taking us each day to a beautiful location and hiking with us through fields and forest, hills and mountains. We learned at that time that she was finishing up her thesis for her masters degree. The thesis topic was what happened to the Jewish people, during the Nazi rule, who had lived in her home town. Besides the academic research required, she was also going to everyone she could find and creating oral histories of that era. When [View Full Entry]

By bsktcase
June 19th 2005

Swan song from Praha Europe » Czech Republic » Prague

Next at Týn, the secret handshake and password

Note: there are no actual swans in this story. First, I had to get up early to pack and schlep luggage over to the hlavní nádraží (main train station), where I left my suitcase at the luggage desk. It's attended, cheap (15 Kč/day!), and Rick says it is said to be safer than the lockers. (My bag ended up just fine, so I'm satisfied with his advice.) Next, I headed back into the Staré Město (Old Town) and attended Mše (Mass) at the Kostel paní Marie pred Týnem (Church of Our Lady of Týn). The most interesting thing about this church [View Full Entry]

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