It was Saturday. I wasn't teaching any classes. I had my lessons prepared for the next few days. I had graded all my essays. Hey! It was time to head downtown and see what I could find to do to keep myself happy and busy. With Bill in Annapolis and me here alone I wanted to have some sort of an adventure and something to write home about. So, I took my money in hand and headed out to the bus and the subway. Since I bought my three month transport ticket last Saturday, I didn't need to stop and buy anything. I just jumped on the bus and took off to Malastranska. After I got off the subway, I headed straight to the number 18 tram stop to catch a ride over into the area ... read more

Nothing is so daunting for me as traveling from the USA to Europe. All the alarms in my head go off. "I'll be so tired. I can't sleep on the airplane!" I'm not upset about a possible boring seatmate or a crash. I just think about what seems always to be an endless night. I remember wiggling and moaning and feeling I will go wild from trying to sit quietly. I especially dread this experience when flying alone. My Bill understands my situation and either sooths me or ignores my trashing about and goes to sleep ignoring the disturbance beside him. He often says ' I pity whoever rides beside you if I am not with you. ' So here I was boarding the plane for Heathrow ALONE. First we had to wrestle with my carryon ... read more

On a hot Sunday afternoon 46 years ago we were married in the small Baptist Church in the small village of Singers Glen, Virginia. Well, here we are 46 years later. ... read more

One of our favorite places in Prague is at the top of Petrin Hill. Our name for the place is The Secret Garden. It is in a sunken area on top of Petrin Hill, not far from Prague's Eiffel Tower. While we were walking around the garden we suddenly heard our names being called and there were two of the students from school also enjoying this beautiful spot. We made some pictures of the two of them since they had no camera and will share with you two lovely friends who made our time in Prague more enjoyable than ever before. ... read more

The words Cesky Raj translates into English as Czech Paradise. Here is information we found about the area where we were hiking. The Vranov castle was founded in early 15th century by Hynek of Waldstein. It is situated on a narrow sandstone cliff on the right bank of the Jizera river and with its length of 400 metres it ranks among the largest rock castles in the Czech Republic. Further owners have built a more comfortable family seat down in the valley, and the old castle has been abandoned. In 1802 the manor of Malá Skála was bought by Franz Zacharias Römisch, a merchant from Mikulášovice, who has changed the ruins into a romantic monument - Pantheon. Its surroundings have been decorated with various inscriptions, sarcophaguses and monuments, reminding of brave heroes and soldiers, outstanding artists, ... read more