Language of Love: Czech-American Style

Hi Everyone,
Do you ever have miscommunications or misunderstandings with your significant other? The answer is probably yes--it's normal in any relationship. Even in the best of relationships misunderstandings an develop. Part of tending the garden of any relationship is taking care of communications between you and your loved one--with love and respect, so that your relationship can grow and strengthen as it matures. Cross-cultural relationships can become war zones, however, unless proper care is taken for understanding one another's language.

The language difference was one of the first cultural issues that Jiri and I had to learn to deal with very early in our relationship. This can be a very fun and interesting issue
between two people, but it can also lead to some hot arguments! In our situation, the first language we had to deal with was English. Jiri knew some English, and from this our ability to discuss many topics grew over several years of emailing. We've had some fun and interesting discussions using English. There have also been some misunderstandings. But Jiri and I tried to be understanding and also tried to see the humor in our communications.

Once I moved to the Czech Republic, however, our language differences took a different twist. We were newly married and hadn't really been together full-time when I moved here in December 2006. When people are newly married and begin living together, there are arguments--this is normal as both people adjust to living together, and in our case--adjusting to living in the same physical place and the same time zone. The language difference began to make itself very apparent during our first year together of face-to-face living. During our arguments I would get angry and begin speaking in slang, and Jiri didn't understand it. I remember a couple of times he even thought I was cursing him. I wasn't! We had to stop the argument and then backtrack, and I had to explain the meaning of what I had said--and reiterate that is was only slang. Well, that's one way to cool down a disagreement or an argument very quickly! By the time we were finished discussing the slang I had used, we had almost forgotten what we had been arguing about. We still have this issue with English, and as I learn more Czech, we will have this same issue with my new language. But we've both learned that it's important to discuss everything and make sure we both understand--as much as we're able--during any discussion or argument. We also have a standing rule never to use bad language or call one another names. No one should be treated in such a way--especially the ones you love.

There is much more that could be said about the language differences in a relationship where two people come from different societies and cultures. The main thing is to make sure that each person understands (as much as is possible) what the
other is saying (or trying to say). Make things as clear as possible. Try to stay away from slang in the beginning--let it grow over time as your relationship grows. One of the best pieces of advice is to learn one another's language--and have dictionaries of both languages on hand. Then you're ready for any discussions or arguments when they come along! Dicitionaries have saved us from mishaps and averted arguments for us many times!

Before closing, I would like to remind you about World Blog Surf Day! Be sure to sign up (if you haven't already) and be ready to share a juicy food story on June 13th! Thank you's go out to Hospitalera, Roz, Ricky, and Camille for putting a blurb about WBSD on their blogs. One more note--we now have 19 bloggers signed up who will tell their food tales on June 13th!

That's all for now...you all have a great day! My next post will be an update for WBSD, and I'll continue the series of tending the garden of our cross-cultural relationships.

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Update

Hi Everyone,
I'm interrupting the series that started last week, cultural differences in long-term cross-cultural relationships, with an update about World Blog Surf Day! So far, we have 17 expat bloggers confirmed to take part. You can find a list of confirmed participants here. We have a good variety of expat blogs here! I'm working on getting the news out about WBSD, and but could use some help. It would be great if you could help promote WBSD on your blogs. There are logos on the site and all the information for participants, too! Just a spot on the sidebar, or even a small post would be great--and putting the word out on expat forums and Twitter and other social media would also help. The more expat bloggers we can have, the better!

We also have an official Twitter reporter for World Blog Surf Day! Anastasia Ashman is an American cultural producer based in Istanbul, and is a creator of Expat Harem, the anthology by foreign women about modern Turkey. Her Tweetstream focuses on women, travel and history and she shares resources for writers/travelers, expats, Turkophiles & culturati of all stripes. She will be "tweeting" about each participating blog, and will include your URLs. As a way of saying thanks, each blogger should include a backlink to her Twitter homepage: Thandelike. Thank you, Anastasia, this will be a great addition to our #WBSD, which will be the hashtag she'll be using on Twitter!

Just as a reminder, there are 18 days left until WBSD (June 13th), and the deadline for sign up is June 6th. The theme is "food," and you can write any variation on this topic!

That's all for today. My next post will continue the series of dealing with the cultural differences in a long-term cross-cultural relationship!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photo credit: Nasa, Public Domain

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Foreign Relations--A Czech and an American

Hi Everyone,
A while back I had an email from a reader who was asking for advice on how to deal with the cultural issues in a relationship between individuals from very different countries. That email floored me a bit--and I had to take some time to consider how to answer the questions in the best way. This was not an easy email for me to write--I let the reader know that I'm most definitely not an expert in this area by any means! Jiri and I are still fairly new at tackling this same issue in our relationship!

First and foremost, any relationship (be it marriage, friendship, etc.) has to be based on some firm ground. The firm ground is trust, love, and respect. You can think of a relationship as a garden. The first thing you do with a garden is make one! It's necessary to turn the soil, fertilize it, weed it, and remove any rocks/stumps (impediments)--this creates a base for the garden to produce flowers, vegetables or whatever you want to grow. The next step is to plant seeds for what you would like to grow in the garden. Trust, love and respect are the basis for the garden--the firm ground. The seeds are the actions that reinforce trust, love and respect...and these help to develop the positives in the relationship. The actions include spending time with one another in many different ways, listening to one another, caring for and helping one another. These are the actions in any relationship that help it to grow. I realize this is a bit simplified, but I just wanted to present the idea of a relationship as something that we have to develop, nurture and care for--just like a garden.

Jiri and I had a bit of an unusual beginning to our relationship. We began emailing due to an ad my Dad placed on a genealogy website. Our family name is Czech/Slovak, and Dad wanted to see if we could find any relatives here (Czech Republic/Slovakia), so he put a blurb on this genealogy website about our family, where we came from, and put my email address as the contact!! I was very mad at Dad for using my email address!!! I was divorced at that time, a single mother with two daughters...and didn't need or want any strange people contacting me about being a possible family member!! Well, we had some emails, but none ever turned out to be relatives. But one day, an email came that had the ending .cz. It was from my future husband, Jiri...letting me know that he had a friend with the same last name as our family. Jiri gave me his friend's email address and suggested that I contact him. Something about Jiri's email seemed different (not only due to the .cz ending!) and I felt very compelled to write him back. I just thanked him for this information and asked where he was. One thing led to another, and we began to email back and forth on a regular basis. We didn't exchange any personal information until about three to four months into the emailing...we discovered we were both single and similar ages! Neither of us was looking for a long-term relationship. We were happy just having a nice pen-pal to write. Well, after two years of emailing, feelings began to develop...and we decided it was time to meet. Jiri came to the US and was brave enough to stay at my parents' home! When he walked off the plane...I was smitten...right then and there...it was love. Over the next few years, many emails, and visits back and forth we finally married here, in Prague!

Over this emailing time, we got to know one another very well. Our emailing was in fact the seeds that went on to produce our eventual long-distance relationship and marriage, though we didn't know it at the time. We had a long-distance relationship and we weren't sure where it would lead. It was very hard for us. Email and visits (when we could manage it) kept our relationship alive. After our wedding, I went back to the US due to having my youngest daughter still at home. Jiri and I agreed that I would stay there until she was in college and then I would move here. He couldn't move here due to the responsibility he has for his elderly mother. So, during this long-distance time, we had to nurture our relationship with long, lovely emails...and occasional visits. It was not easy, but we had great honeymoon visits after our wedding!

Once my daughter was safely established at college, I moved here. Now, Jiri and I were forced to deal with one another every day on a regular basis! Thank goodness for the seeds we had planted all those years during emailing! The love, respect, and trust had been built...but were not firmly established in real life. We had to make the change from virtual to actual, real. We have done that, but it has not been easy. We have had to deal with our age...being older we're a bit more stubborn and set in our ways! We've had to deal with the cultural differences--which are many and not always understandable to one another! We've also had the language difference! So much to overcome! Along with this, Jiri's job keeps him busy from sun-up to sun-down. So, how to maintain our relationship with all of this to deal with?

There's no easy answer. We love one another and want this relationship to succeed. So, we work on issues as they are presented. Now, please understand...some issues have to be repeatedly dealt with until they are successfully managed!!! This takes much time, patience and understanding (although sometimes we're both short on these things!). We keep trying to move forward, even when sometimes it seems we're moving backwards. Why...because we love one another and want this to work.

I would never advise anyone to go the route that Jiri and I have taken, unless they have a very strong love and care for the other person in their relationship. People hear our story and think how romantic! It is a romantic story, but what we don't share is the struggle it has been to get to where we are now. This journey has not been for the faint of heart, although many times I felt like my heart could not summon the courage necessary to keep the relationship alive. I'm happy that we were able to grow and move forward--exchanging virtual for reality! It has led to growth for each of us separately and together--which is a very positive thing--and we are still very much in love!!! Still, the route we have followed is not one I would recommend to most people.

Even for two people who are in the same location, but are from different countries, there has to be a lot of understanding, care and nurturing on both sides in order to overcome the cultural differences. It's not always such a struggle--it just depends on the people involved and where they come from. The journey will be easier for some, harder for others...it depends on circumstances, personalities, etc.

Well, that's all for today...I will talk a little bit more about some of the specifics we have had to deal with and how we've managed them in my next post...it's always an adventure!!!

You all have a great day and be sure to nurture all your relationships! And please don't forget to sign up for World Blog Surf Day (see right sidebar and link below this post)...and please invite expats you know to participate, too!!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art

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Housekeeping & World Blog Surf Day!

Hi Everyone,
Today's post was supposed to be about how to deal with cultural differences in a relationship, but I am postponing that post until Wednesday! Instead, I would like to talk about World Blog Surf Day! Hospitalera was originally planning to run the quarterly edition of World Blog Surf Day from her blog. But things have gotten a bit busy over there, so Hospitalera kindly asked if I would be interested in running World Blog Surf Day from here. I said yes...so here we are! If you're not familiar with World Blog Surf Day, please visit Hospitalera's closed Prague blog here. There's a bit of story about why Prague.today.com was closed. You can read about that on Hospitalera's new blog.

World Blog Surf Day is the brainchild of Hospitalera, and is a fun way for expat bloggers to connect and share information and insight about what it is like to live in their new countries. The idea is that there is a common theme that all participating bloggers write a post for. Then each participating blogger makes the post live on the same day. Each post contains a link to the next participating expat blog, forming a chain of blogs around the world! Readers "surf" the world by reading each blog's post and following links to the next blog! This event last took place on March 28, 2009, and we all had a great time!

Not only did we have a great time, but this was a fun way to make new connections and new friends! Another benefit of WBSD is that each participating blog receives several backlinks and a bit more traffic! Not a bad deal at all--new friends, links and traffic! Everyone who participates can benefit!

The date for the next World Blog Surf Day is fast approaching! If you are interested in participating, please visit the site for WBSD. You can click on any of the links in this post, and you can also get there by clicking on the World Blog Surf Day logo in the right sidebar. There you will find information about WBSD such as the history, date and theme for the upcoming WBSD, the deadline for signing up, the rules (not many!!!), a sign up form, and logos to use if you would like to promote this event on your blog. The logos were made by Hospitalera--thank you! There's also an announcement page that will have new news as it becomes available! And as the list of participants comes together, this will also be included on the site.

That's all for today! I hope all you expat bloggers will visit the World Blog Surf Day site to sign up!! And please tell everyone you know, who is an expat blogger, about this event so we can include even more blogs this time!! The more the merrier!!! If you have any questions or comments, then please leave it in the comment section of this blog and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photo credit: NASA, Public Domain

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Vysehrad Casemate & Gorlice

Image by maggiejp via Flickr

Hi Everyone,
While visiting the Vysehrad last Saturday, my friends and I discovered a very interesting place there called the Casemate. What is a casemate? The Wikipedia has this definition of a casemate: sometimes rendered "casement," is a fortifited gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress. I had heard of casements before, but never heard the term "casemate." The casemate, a series of tunnels and the Gorlice, is built inside the walls of the Vysehrad. In fact, when you walk the ramparts of the walls, you are actually walking on the roof of the casemate!

The casemate at the Vysehrad was begun by the French during their occupation of Prague in 1742. After this the Prussians and Austrians improved the the casements during their successive occupations of the city. Nowadays, the tunnels are mostly closed to visitors, however, a part of the tunnels are still accessible. My friends and I paid for the tour and then were lead, with a guide, through the long, narrow tunnels of the casements.

Walking the tunnels reminded me so much of being in a cave! It was damp, dark and a bit musty smelling. The only difference being that this was a man-made "cave." The walkway is lit, so you can see where you're going. But back before the existence of electricity, there were only very vague skylights to let in enough light to help the soldiers see where they were going. The guide pointed out torches were not allowed due to the large amounts of ammunition stored in the casemate! Along the walls of the tunnels are vertical slits in the brickwork that allowed soldiers to fire their guns on the enemy. These slits resemble the slits you can see in castle walls, but the slits in the casemate were much longer than those found in castles. Even these slits did not provide much light in the tunnel!

After walking a few minutes in the tunnels, we came out into a huge vaulted hall! This is the Gorlice. The Gorlice was once used to house soldiers--you could see the places (on the walls) that had once held beds. It's hard to imagine people having to live in that place--it was pretty dank, damp and cold! Near the floor of the Gorlice were more of the window slits we had seen earlier in the tunnel. After the military use of the Gorlice was finished, the hall was used to store potatoes! My friends and I determined that the potato smell was still pretty strong in there! Now, the Gorlice is used as a place to store a few of the original statues from the Charles Bridge. The statues were moved here in order to keep them from being ruined from centuries of weather and air pollution. Our tour guide also told us that the hall is used for weddings--hard to believe!--and for concerts! Concerts I can believe as the Gorlice has wonderful acoustics! You can easily maintain perfect pitch in that place! A concert would sound just heavenly in there!

After admiring the Gorlice and the statues, it was time to walk back through the tunnels and out into the fresh air once more! Our guide took us about half the way back, and then asked if we would like to walk the rest of the way through the tunnels without electric lights! She said we could find our way as the soldiers in the past had done...via the skylights! We thought this would be fun! So, the guide went ahead and turned out the lights. Immediately it was pitch black to our eyes in that tunnel! Once our eyes became accustomed to the dark we walked, very carefully, forward. Truly, I don't know how the soldiers could have managed, except that eventually they must have memorized the way! It was hard, but we finally got through the tunnel and outside again! I was the last one in the tunnel as I couldn't see very well. Thankfully the friend ahead of me had given me her hand as we finished that last portion of the tunnel. I couldn't see very well at all. If I was afraid of ghosts, I would not have wanted to be the very last one in that dank, dark tunnel! It was a bit spooky!!

The casemate and the Gorlice are very interesting and full of history. I would recommend you take this tour if you like caves and such places! Be prepared to walk a ways, and you might want to be sure to wear a sweater or jacket--it's pretty chilly in there!

That's all for today...Monday I will post about a question that a reader sent--asking how to deal with the cultural differences in a relationship that is mixed--like the one Jiri and I have!

You all have a great day and a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photo by maggiejp via Flickr

PS You can see my photos from the casemate in the slideshow on my last post.

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Vysehrad & Czech Legend of the Devil's Pillar

Hi Everyone,
This past weekend some friends and I went back to visit the Vysehrad again...I can't seem to get enough of that place! It is just beautiful up there--and somehow very mysterious, yet peaceful! Just a great place to be on a pretty spring day in Prague!

There are some new pictures in this slideshow from the Vysehrad, though a couple of them look similar to ones I took the weekend before. Some of the new pictures include the Devil's Pillar, a sailboat competition, and pictures of some of the original statues from the Charles Bridge that are being housed in the casemate of the Vysehrad.

There is an interesting legend about the Devil's Pillar! The story goes that in ages past, there was a priest who served at the churh of St. Peter and St. Paul. This priest was very pious and holy and took very good care of all the souls in his care. The devil was most anxious to obtain the good soul of this priest. Well, one day, the priest was invited to play cards with his neighbors at a tavern. He hesitated, but thought it would do no harm to have a friendly game of cards. The priest began to play, and had very lucky cards! He won many rounds that day! The next day, the priest was invited to play again, and again had great luck with the cards and won much money. This continued on for some time.

One day, the priest was playing cards and lost every round. Well, he was invited to play again the next day, and he thought his luck might be better. So, he went back and lost again. This round of playing and losing continued for some time until the priest was hooked on card playing and gambling. Finally, one evening the priest enlisted the help of the devil to begin winning at cards again. The devil said he would assist the priest, but that at the end of three years the priest's soul would belong to the devil, and he would then be taken to hell. The priest agreed.

At the end of the three years, however (after being extremely lucky at cards!!), the priest began to regret his agreement with the devil. The priest began praying earnestly for forgiveness and help to avoid his soul being taken to hell. St. Peter looked down from heaven and had mercy on the priest. He told the priest that he should ask the devil to bring a granite pillar from St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome to the Vysehrad. The deal was that if the devil should bring the pillar back to the Vysehrad before the priest finished the morning mass, then the devil would get the priest's soul. But if the devil was late, the priest would be spared!

The legend goes on to tell how the devil went to Rome for the pillar, but with St. Peter's help, the devil dropped the pillar three times on the way to Prague's Vysehrad. The third time the devil managed to get the pillar to the Vysehrad, but only after the mass had ended! The priest was spared and the devil became very angry and threw the pillar onto the church yard where it sits today--as it landed--in three pieces! And yes...the priest learned his lesson and no longer had an interest in cards for the rest of his life!

Well, that's all for today...this post turned out to be longer than I had thought! Next post, I'll tell you about the casemate and Gorlice of the Vysehrad! You can see some of the pictures of the statues that are stored in the Gorlice!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

All photos are property of S. A. Vacik

*You can read this story in a book called, "77 Prague Legends", by Alena Jezkova. I looked for this book at Amazon, but could not find it. It's a wonderful book full of beautiful legends about Prague. I'm not sure if it's available online--I did a search, and could not find it.

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The Vysehrad--High Fortress of Prague

Hi Everyone,
Finally...today, I'm going to tell you about the visit that Jiri and I took to see the Vysehrad last weekend! We were having some beautiful weather last weekend--not too hot and just a little chilly when out of the sun. The skies were mostly clear and full of sun--just the right kind of weather for being out and about exploring!

Last Sunday afternoon we visited the Vysehrad fortress. "Vysehrad" literally means "fortress on the heights!" This fortress sits on a high hill overlooking Prague and the Vltava River. The panoramic views of Prague are some of the finest in the city--which makes the fortress a draw for photographers! Along with the beautiful views of Prague, you will find a beautiful park and gardens, remnants of ancient buildings, a Neo-Gothic basilica and cemetery, and even hear music being performed in the park! While we were wandering the park area, we encountered a musical group that was playing Medieval music--which was perfect for the setting! You could almost see the ghosts of those who once lived in those long ago times in the fortress area of the Vysehrad!

Legends and mystery swirl about the Vysehrad--starting from as long ago as the first Premyslid rulers, Libuse and her plowman husband. It is said that Libuse and her husband, Premysl, ruled from their seat at Vysehrad, however, there is no historical evidence to support this legend. Legend also says that Libuse was a prophetess. One night, while sitting and overlooking the valley of the Vltava River from the Vysehrad, Libuse had a vision. In the vision, she saw a noble city (what would later become Prague) who's glory and fame would reach to the stars. There is another legend about the Premyslids that says they buried a huge treasure in a cave somewhere on the hill! No one has ever found this fabled treasure, but who knows...it might be waiting for the right moment to come forth! Many more legends exist about the Vysehrad...too many to list here!

Historical records do confirm that the hill was used as a fortified settlement sometime in the 10th century. The hill of the Vysehrad became well-known as the home of Czech royalty under the reign of Vratislav II (1061-1092). Vratislav II, the first King of Bohemia, chose the Vysehrad as his royal residence--which included a palace, a royal mint, a church and fortifications. There is one building on the Vysehrad which has survived from that time--St. Martin's Rotunda--one of Prague's oldest preserved buildings. The Vysehrad was used as the royal residence by his successors until 1140, when they returned to Prague Castle to rule.

The Vysehrad once again became very famous under the rule of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohmeia (1346-1378). Charles IV built a palace and fortifications on the Vyshrad. He also made it a rule that all future kings would begin their coronation procession from the Vysehrad, then on through Prague, following the Silver Line, up to Prague Castle. This rule was established to help future kings to remember their forebears and pay tribute to them before being crowned. After Charles IV renewing the Vysehrad, later in 1420, all the buildings on the Vysehrad were destoryed by the Hussites, except for St. Martin's Rotunda and the church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Even so, there are still some remnants of ancient buildings you can see on the Vysehrad.

A must-see at the Vysehrad is the St. Peter and St. Paul Basilica. This church has undergone many rebuildings over the past centuries. The first building of this church dates back from the reign of Vratislav II in the 11th century. Today, the church is in the Neo-Gothic style. The outside is impressive with the high towers that dominate the skyline of Prague. However, the inside of the church is a real gem! Truly, it is one of the most beautiful European churches I've seen so far, even over Notre Dam! The walls of the inside of the church are painted and highlighted with gold. You can find portraits of many saints there, along with precious paintings dating from Medeival times. The church is still used to this day for regular services. While we were there, we came upon a family who had just had their newborn baby bapitised! This is a spectacular church. There is a small entrace fee, plus a small fee to be allowed to take photos. The charge is well-worth to view the beauty inside!

Along with the church, there is a famous cemetery with a monument called the Slavin. The Slavin is something like a pantheon of famous Czechs who are buried there in the cemetery. The whole cemetery is full of famous Czechs--such as the poet, Macha, and the famous composer, Antonin Dvoark, and many others. This is a beautiful cemetery--a very nice place to wander for a bit of quiet in the midst of busy Prague.

The Vysehrad is a wonderful place! Be sure to take a visit to the very mystical and historical fortress on the heights of Prague! There is no cost to enter, except for some of the exhibits and the church. The views to Prague from there are wonderful, and the park of the Vysehrad is very lovely and delightful to wander about on a nice afternoon! You will not be disappointed--and you will come away with some very pretty pictures of Prague!

That's all for today...I hope you all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

All photos are the property of J. and S. A. Vacik

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Husband Working Today!

Hi Everyone,
I was planning on doing a post, today, about the visit my husband and I made to the Vysehrad last week! Unfortunately, last night and today my husband's been in need of our Internet connection for work! We have one Internet connection here at home...and we don't have a wireless router or anything. I've been hinting that it would be really nice to have a router so we could both do our work when Jiri's also working from home!!!! We have that wireless modem, but it is not high speed--and it takes forever to upload pictures, etc. It's more like a dial-up connection...very frustrating! Anyway, because of my lack of Internet connection, I don't have the post ready yet! So, please come back tomorrow to hear about the Vysehrad--the Fortress on the Heights!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Forest Walk

Hi Everyone,
Today's post is mostly in pictures--in the slideshow above! Jiri and I took a walk in the woods last Saturday. The day was a perfect Czech spring day--the temperature was near 70 F, and the sun was shining very brightly. You can see how the trees are very far along in their leafing out! And this has happened in a matter of three weeks! All the plants and trees are full of new leaves clothed in the new greens of Spring. Our walk was very relaxing, and we encountered a few others on bikes and some other hikers...but on the whole, the walk was very quiet...and very beautiful!

We encountered one tree that looked like it had been enchanted--and that several people had been made into spirits in the tree--you can see it in the slideshow--the tree looks as if it is full of faces looking out! It was a little spooky! In another picture, you can see something or someone through the whole in a leaf...my husband took that picture! You might have to enlarge the slideshow so you can see what he took a picture of!

That's all for now...you all have a great day! In my next post, Friday, I'll tell you about our visit of the Vysehrad in Prague--the first residence of the ancient Czech kings!

God bless,
Sher :0)

All photos are property of J. Vacik

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Trip to Letna Park

Hi Everyone,
Today I would like to show you some pictures from a trip to Letna Park that I took with my friend, Karen, a week ago. I realized that these pictures were waiting, along with others that I took over the weekend, so wanted to get these posted first!

Karen and I took a walking tour around Letna a week ago Saturday. It was another beautiful day here, in Prague. Spring is bursting out at the seams and overflowing into riotous colors and blooms. Sometimes the flowers are even brighter than the sun, if you can imagine! Letna Park sits above the Vltava River and Prague, and belongs to a plain called Letna. This park consists of meandering lanes and paths which eventually lead you to Prague Castle and its surrounds. You can find beautiful flower beds, trees, and green spaces as you follow the paths through Letna. Parts of Letna were designed by one of Prague's most famous gardeners, Frantisek Thomayer. You can see his work throughout the park--the work of a master.

The views to Prague are wonderful! Letna is a favorite haunt of photographers, along with kids, families, and people of all ages! There are benches scattered along the walkways, and you can also find a hospoda or three along the way, where you can stop for a nice cold beer and grilled koblasa to enjoy as you take in the views of Prague. Letna Park is so relaxing and beautiful--walking there is a joy! I would certainly recommend a visit to Letna when you come to visit Prague--and if you live here, certainly you must take the time to visit this wonderful haven above Prague!

Karen and I had a great time that day! Unfortunately, it was the last time we had a chance to visit with one another before she had to leave. You can read more about Karen's situation on her blog. It's sad, but hopefully she will be able to come back in a few months. You can also read a post by Ricky Yates, the St. Klements' Anglican pastor, where he explains more about this situation with the language schools here in the Czech Republic.

Well, that's all for today...tomorrow I'll write about this past holiday weekend Jiri and I spent wandering--and I'll have more pictures of our beautiful spring here in Prague!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher

All photos are property of S. A. Vacik

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Help Support My "Starving" Artist

Hi Everyone,
Jiri and I had a very busy holiday weekend! We didn't travel anywhere, but we did a lot!! Friday we took a walk in the woods and did the required kissing under an apple tree for May Day! I demanded this treatment after bearing with the pomlazka beating on Easter! It was only right that I should also receive the more pleasant treatment of May Day--to be kissed under an apple or cherry tree in order to keep from becoming an old babka (old woman)!! Jiri kindly treated me, so I'm good for another year! I'll tell you more about our weekend in a post tomorrow, complete with pictures!

My post today will be about my daughters--I have two daughters who are attending university back in the US. My eldest, Beka, is a criminology/psych major who will be receiving her Bachelor's degree later this summer. My youngest, Sam, is studying physics and engineering. How I gave birth to two smart kids I will never know...they don't get it from me! I don't often talk about my kids because I have wanted to protect their identies--plus they have asked me not to disclose much information about them. I'm very proud of my kids--we have survived through so many experiences together--including the teen years, and now we are getting to know one another on a more adult level. Parenting is an adventure--from the day of conception to birth, and beyond...you never know what's coming around the bend. But I've been very blessed with two good kids and we continue to grow and change together.

I'm talking about my kids because today, I would like to help out a "starving" artist! Well, she's not actually starving!! My daughter, Beka, the one who made the new banner for this blog (it only took her a few minutes--while we were talking online!!), is in need of funds for grad school. In a few weeks, Beka will be receiving her Bachelor's degree in criminology/psychology! After this, she will go on to begin graduate school. Beka not only attends university, but she also works for the university doing graphic arts for one of their websites. Along with this work, Beka does some graphic arts work on the side. She even has a couple of stores online where people can buy her digital art and even order commissions!

Beka has received financial aid that will cover most of the costs for the next semester of grad school. Even so, she's come up a bit short of funds to cover the entire semester--she only needs about $300 more! So, Beka would like to take graphic arts (digital) commissions in order to earn the rest of the money she will need. I told Beka I would include a couple of links to her stores and online gallery here. Beka's made a price list on her blog and you can find some of her work at her Zazzle store and her online gallery:

Art by Bek

Bekandrews Zazzle Store

Beka's Gallery

If you're interested in contacting Beka for some digital art, then please contact her here: beks.art@gmail.com

Please help support my "starving" artist (who is definitely not starving!!!) as she really would like to earn this money to help pay for grad school! Beka will work with you to achieve exactly what you want as her goal is to have happy customers!

That's all for today--tomorrow I'll have a post about some of our weekend activities, along with pictures!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
Czech Off the Beaten Path Travel Store & More
Czech Off the Beaten Path T-shirts & More
(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath