Little, big, shiny, dull, multicolored, simple, complex and everything in between, leaves are all this and more. Stop and look at them. They are quite amazing and very necessary for life to continue on earth. Prague has several botanical gardens including the oldest botanical garden in the Czech Republic located in the Smichov quarter of town. It was moved to this location in 1898 to protect it from the frequent flooding that occurred in its original location. There is a much larger and newer botanical garden near the Prague Zoo and the Troja Palace with its lovely formal garden. We are extremely pleased with all the lovely things in each of these places. We went to see the zoo earlier with some of the new students. But a few weeks later we decided to go see ... read more

Actually it isn't a new drink, but it is another poster that makes us chuckle each time we see it. And everyone wants their mother to be proud of them ... right? We still do not know what is really being advertised. I know-they're advertising their Ad space. ... read more

We enjoy looking at the posters that line the walls beside the escalators and walls in the subway stations. Many are straight forward and a knowledge of Czech is not necessary. Others are a mystery to us. We noticed that an increasing number of posters mix Czech and English and sometimes just have English as the text. There is one line of posters that caught out attention and given us a good laugh. We are not sure what they are advertising, but does that really matter if we enjoy them? Note from Nancy- There is one I have seen and Bill has missed. It says something to the effect of "Just what you always wanted, a new drink that tastes just like shoe leather." Actually each one of these that I have seen have made me ... read more

The images of St. George slaying the dragon pop up all over the Czech Republic. Every time I see one, the poor dragon is just about to get his just desserts. It is enough to make a person begin to feel sorry for the dragon. We were walking with the CAT students from Old Town Square to the Jewish Quarter. I looked up and there, on a building, was St. George killing the dragon .... again. Anyone who has followed this travelblog knows that Nancy and I really enjoy the paintings and the statuary on the buildings of Prague. I had to take a photo of this one. So here it is. Enjoy. ... read more

After our tour of Sternberk Castle, see previous entry, we walked down the hill by a different route that led to a parking area. An ancient, overgrown walking trail paralleled the narrow road we walked and ended at a stone bridge. The path was wide enough that walkers and horsemen in single file could have made their way to and from the castle. Surely it would have been easy to defend and there were times in its long history this must have been the case. There is a modern road just beyond the bridge. We walked across the road to a parking lot. There we saw an inviting, little used path leading up into the mountains. Aren't all trails leading into the mountains inviting? We were not surprised to see a religious shrine beside the ... read more