Fencing

One of the things we most anticipated in moving to the Czech Republic was fencing lessons. We knew historical fencing and sword fighting were more popular here and we were lucky to find a website for a company called ARGO that offers classes in České Budějovice. So, when we came we looked them up and got registered.

 Things started off a bit rocky with my first attempt to speak with the people in Czech. You may recall the post where I tell of discussing whether the breast lesson was free (the words breast and first are similar). For a long time, we were the butt of many a wise crack about our inability to speak Czech. We were also always a step behind because after the teacher explained what to do, we had to sort of watch the other students do it because we couldn't understand the words.



Because of this, we worked extra hard. In November and December we took extra lessons with our assistant teacher, Čenda, and a very experienced young woman and fluent English speaker, Veronika. We also practiced together nearly every day. We figured the only way to gain people's respect would be to be able to defeat them in combat.
 

As time went on, we got a lot better. Also, the teachers seemed to be extra observant of us and did a lot of correcting, which meant we had lots of opportunity to improve. Even better was when Veronika and another young woman who speaks English very well, Bara, started going to the beginners lessons to help us out.

As Caleb and I would practice, we'd spend a fair amount of time fighting. That was my favorite. Caleb has better form and is lightning quick, but I am (despite his daily regimen of pull ups and clap pushups) still a little bit stronger. When we compete, though, he usually wins. We use wood that is about 1/2" x 1" as blades. We have no protective gear, so bruises and scrapes are common. They helped us recognize what parts of our bodies we were leaving open to attack though.

Most of our training was in the Italian School of Fencing, but we did get some demonstrations in the French and Spanish, and some time training in the German School that involved broader, double edged blades.

Back at class two things were a bit frustrating. Of course when you learn a new physical skill you go through it slowly. I understand that to develop good form, slow is critical. But we also wanted to know what it feels like going fast, especially whether it would ever work in real combat. As a result, Caleb and I were always being told to slow down. Sometimes we looked around to make sure no one was watching so we could try things fast. Really, nobody seemed to care about real combat. ARGO does historical reenactments and trains actors. So they are all about making a cool looking choreography instead of fighting. That's their thing. I would have liked more emphasis on combat though.

The other problem was that the class size was getting huge. You couldn't swing a cat without hitting someone, much less a sword. When we discussed this with the teacher, he suggested we try out the more advanced class. We did and it was so much better. The focus was more on sequences of attacks, parries, and counter-attacks. The other students were very knowledgeable and helpful.

So, what will we do to keep up fencing when we go back to Mankato? Caleb and I will keep practicing with what we know. We'll also look around (ad in the paper) and see if we can find a teacher. We'll see if we can hook up with people from the Society for Creative Anachronism (they have regular fighting practice, but it is on Sunday, which we observe as the Sabbath, so we'd need to get people together on a different day). We're also looking at the possibility of Caleb going to Sword Camp at the Minnesota Sword Club this summer. Finally, a friend has asked if Caleb would share his skills with her children, which will improve his skills and provide for more sparring partners.

The whole experience, on the whole, has been great fun and the fulfillment of yet another life long dream of mine. You can't beat that.

Our fencing class. The fellow to the right of Caleb is our instructor, Čemla, he's fun to watch, he moves so smoothly. Bara is behind us with the black and white shirt, Veronika is two people to the right of her and next to her is another one of the assistant teachers. The other fellow who helped us a lot, Čenda, is not in the photo. From fencing

-Peter

Hubler Girls in Prague

It's Saturday morning. I'm exhausted. I just spent the last two days trying to keep up with Eileen and Jeanette on their whirlwind tour of Prague. Here's a quick summary, but then I'm taking a nap.

The train ride went fine, as did checking in to the Pension U Lilie - a small restaurant that rents a number of rooms to travelers - in Prague's Old Town.  While I waited at the statue of Jan Hus on Old Town Square for my friend Bryan to arrive from the U.S., the ladies looked around at the Astronomical Clock, the baroque St. Nicholas church and the Gothic Church of Our Lady Before Tyn (see photo at left).

Meanwhile I noticed that thousands of people from all over the world had descended on Prague to see the sites and eat anything but Czech food. When I went to a bakery to get a sandwich and asked for a poppyseed kolach and they told me they didn't have poppyseed, I popped. Thus began a personal crusade to each Czech food in Prague.

Bryan arrived and, after stowing his gear, we set out to find a place to eat. Prices horrified me, they were 2-3 times higher than for the same meal in České Budějovice. We found a nice place, real Czech food, decent prices, and chowed down. When it came time to leave a tip things got complicated. My book says to leave some 10 Czech Crowns or 10%. When we ate with a Czech friend in a small town recently he thought that leaving more than 10 or 12 crowns on a bill of 800 crowns was too much. We weren't sure whether Prague has evolved to expect more. Meanwhile, the waiter was making disparaging expressions. Kristine assures me that 5% for good service is about right.

Later we walked along Wenceslaus' Square. This long square lacks the charm of the Old Town Square, but it was a nice walk. We paused at the statue of St. Wenceslaus, reading the words inscribed - "Svatý Václave, vévodo české země, kníže náš, nedej zahynouti nám ni budoucím". Actually, we were only looking at the last clause (the first part was on the other side). Despite understanding 80% of the words, I had no clue what it was saying. A young Czech kid tried to help us out. I still didn't get it. Here is the translation as given on Wikipedia..."Saint Wenceslas, duke of the Czech land, prince of ours, do not let perish us nor our descendants"

Then we paused beside a city social services van that was handing out food to homeless people while I consulted the map. Not the best place to obviously be a tourist. We moved on.

After strolling through the streets, stopping at the Myšak Cukrarna for a spot of ice cream, we went back to the pension to listen to loud music everytime somebody opened the door to a nearby bar.

Friday morning we went to Prague Castle. We tried something I had not done before, we paid through the nose for the audio guides. It turns out it was a good investment. I learned a ton. We saw the Old Royal Palace with its phenomenal vaulted hall and sloped steps for horses to go up. We saw St. George's Basilica with its romanesque architecture. We saw Golden Lane with its little shops and Daliborka Tower with its torture devices. Finally, we went into St. Vitus' Cathedral. Nearly 1000 years in the building, it is a magnificent monument to the history of Christianity in Bohemia. The sun was shining through the windows and, since there had been a mass during the morning, the air was filled with incense. It was stunning.

Having spent about two hours longer in Prague Castle than intended, we stumbled down the hill, through Mala Strana, across Charles Bridge with its phenomenal statues (see Bryan on bridge at right), and finally to another little Czech restaurant to eat more dumplings. By this time it was approaching 3:00 p.m. and we still had plenty to do. We pushed on.

In the Jewish Quarter we saw the Pinkas Synagogue with its walls inscribed with the names of the Czech and Moravian victims of the Holocaust. We went through the cemetery and Ceremonial Hall. Then off to the Moorish style Spanish Synagogue and Maisel Synagogue.

By this time Bryan was slurring his speech and stepping off the sidewalk into the street as he dozed off (jet lag). We headed back to the pension. The ladies got ready for the opera while Bryan and I packed up to go.

The final big event was going to be the opera, The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach at the richly decorated National Theater. The ladies looked stunning. We meant to get a picture, but forgot at the last minute.

So, we left them there. After the opera they just needed to get back to the pension and then get picked up by a taxi at 8:00 this morning. Bryan and I caught the 7:16 train to home. Someone, please let us know if my mom makes it home.

How was the trip for the ladies? We hope the memory of sore feet and breathless climbs up hills will fade and what will remain are the breathtaking sites and time spent with the kids. If nothing else, they have earned the right to brag about the many kilometers walked and many hills climbed.

Peter

Over the Hill

My mom, Eileen, and Aunt Jeanette have been visiting since last Thursday. They fly home this Saturday. Given the short time they have here, I really wanted to make sure they see all the best sites and eat all the best food. To that end, we've kept up a fairly energetic schedule. One thing I hadn't contemplated in planning our activities is that all the best sites are on the tops of hills and all the bus stops and train stations are at the bottoms.

They made it safely and on-time despite the initial Icelandic volcano rumblings. Thursday night we had a light meal and got reacquainted.

Anticipating some jet-lag, we planned an easy schedule for Friday. A stroll around town in the morning and a duck for dinner. České Budějovice is flat. It sits at the confluence of the Malše and Vltava Rivers. The most climbing they had to do was up to our apartment. The 236 foot tall Black Tower called, however, and Grandma couldn't resist. We entered the black iron door to reveal the stone, spiral stairs. After a tight race up with a fellow half her age, she set foot on the 225th step. It was a sunny day, the view was magnificent. It was also approaching noon, the bells would be ringing soon, so we hurried down. Duck, red cabbage, and another attempt at bread dumplings made a filling dinner.

On Saturday we took a bus to Nove Hrady to visit a park called Terčino Udolí. This nature park was established by a noble for his daughter Teresa in the Stropnice River valley. It affords a relaxing stroll up and down the valley walls overlooking the babbling river. At one end is the gothic fortress Cuknštejn. It is privately owned - quite a house. The premier attraction is the artificial waterfall formed by diverting water in a concrete aquaduct for over a quarter mile to a 20 meter high rock outcrop when it spills over. We had chicken schnitzel with potatoes and a tomato, cucumber salad as a light dinner that night.

Sunday was church day. It was all in Czech, except two verses of I Believe in Christ sung by the choir (the link is not a recording of our choir singing it). Otherwise, the day was spent strolling to see peoples' gardens and talking. We had svičkova with dumplings for dinner. Still struggling with those dumplings. Crepes with Nutella spread on them for dessert.  

All adjusted and rested, we were ready to begin our adventures on Monday. The ladies, Silas, and Peter took the train to the village of Třisov where we hiked the 1.5 km to the castle ruins of Divči Kamen. The walk through the woods was nice, but when the ruins came into view across the Křemežský Stream valley, I started to wonder if this was a mistake. The hike down to the river is treacherous. The hike back up the other side into the castle is tiring. After a quick look around, during which Grandma once again insisted on visiting all the highest places in the ruins, we set out to catch our train. Jeanette got a head start while Eileen was exploring because the climb up the other side of the valley was going to be a bugger. When the rest of us got down to the river, Jeanette was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't resting in the shade. She wasn't visible climbing the opposite valley wall. I asked a school group that came along one of the trails that followed the river if they had seen her that way. No. I ran along the river trail the other way to see if she followed it. No sign. I was getting worried. Silas and I hurried up the slope all the way to the top. Finally, in the distance, through the trees, we could see Jeanette trucking along the trail. How she made it up that hill that quickly, I don't know. BBQ chicken pizza for dinner.

Tuesday was a celebration day. The kids skipped school and we all rode in a van lent to us by the Chrdlovi family to Česky Krumlov. This is a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in the Vltava River valley tightly surrounded by hills. The striking castle sits on a bluff overlooking the river. After a (relatively) short hike up to the castle, we wandered about the gardens and took a tour of the complex. The pictures that follow are from that trip. That night the Tučkovi family had us all over for Šišky s makem (poppy seed covered potato dumplings).

Cesky Krumlov Castle from across Vltava. From 2010-04	At one of the gates. From 2010-04
The toweriest of all towers to the left, city to the right. From 2010-04	The city. From 2010-04

Wednesday was a rest day. Just kidding. This time we took the bus to Hluboka nad Vltava. This is a quaint city set in the Vltava River valley. On a bluff overlooking the city is the ornate Hluboka Castle. I glanced around for horse drawn carts, rickshaws, taxis, anything to ease the journey to the top. No luck, we walked. After a tour in Czech and a walk through the collection of medieval religious art and later Dutch paintings, we walked back down, greeting a horse pulling a cart up the steep slope. Dinner consisted of Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Naan Bread and a Banana Pudding Trifle.



What remains? Lots. But there's only time for a whirlwind tour of Prague (Old Town Square today, Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, and an Opera tomorrow). Kristine has been to Europe five times now, always the Czech Republic, no great desire to see the rest until she has exhausted the treasures here.

It's been a nice visit. The kids have enjoyed having their Grandma and Auntie. The ladies look no worse for the wear.

Peter

Eileen and Jeanette are Here

They're here. Eileen and Jeanette made it to the Czech Republic right on schedule - no Icelandic ash problems.

So far they have eaten almost every heavy Czech meal I can cook and have hiked many miles.

More details later. If you need to talk to them, you can find me on skype or peter.harff@gmail.com.

Peter

Jihlava Revisited

We made a trip to the city of Jihlava on Saturday and Sunday. You may recall from a previous post (way back in October) that Jihlava was where we had originally thought to move. Kristine and I each felt impressed instead that we should move to České Budejovice, but this visit reminded us why we had been attracted to this historic old town.

We took a train most of the way, with the last half hour of the journey on bus. This part of the country is called the Vysočina, the highlands, and a bus ride up and down the hills around Jihlava left us all feeling a little motion sickness. Kristine's ancestors are also from the Vysočina (farther north and east near Polička) so she gets a primal coming home sort of feeling in addition to the queasiness.

Our first stop was the Hotel Vittoria, where we would be staying. I have to put a plug in for them because it was a huge room (we all shared a two room suite) at a good price less than 20 meters from the main square and they gave us a bunch of pastries for free. If you're ever looking to stay in Jihlava, I'd recommend checking it out.

We met Riša and Pani Peškova (Pani mean missus, she's his mom) for a tour of the catacombs under the city. I don't have any pictures (you have to pay extra to take them - I should have). The total length of tunnels under the city is 25 km. There are three levels, the first are two to four meters below ground and were built in the 14th century. The second are four to six meters down and the third are 8-14 meters down, these were added in the 16th century. They are carved out of the native granite and gneiss, though some corridors were reinforced with brick during the 17th century and concrete was poured to reinforce much of it during the 1960's. The passageways are generally 2.5-8 feet wide and 4-11 feet high. They have gutters running down them to drain the water that continuously drips from the rock. The water is collected in pools. There are also accesses to water wells and ventilation shafts that reach ground level. Their purpose was originally to store beer, wine, and dry goods. Later, they were use as underground utility corridors and air raid shelters.

The tour only covers a very small portion of the catacombs, but it is interesting. They show the various levels, the old construction, some of the original water pipes (charred, hollowed out logs), and other neat things. The most mysterious is the shining corridor. When the lights are turned off and one's eyes adjust to the dark, it becomes apparent that the walls are glowing. Is it some sort of biological material? Is it phosphorus leached from the bones of monks buried in higher level chambers? It turns out that it is from zinc sulfite and barium in the mortar on the walls. It is believed that this was either applied while German soldiers occupied the catacombs during WWII as orientation lighting or was the result of experiments they were performing.

We left the catacombs and rode with Riša to Roštejn Castle. We climbed the tower (which is frankly scary as heck with a three year old in your arms on drastically steep wooden stairs-more like a ladder) and looked around the courtyard. Here are some pictures...

The entry gate. From Jihlava2	The tower (also notice how the castle is built right into the natural rock on the right side). From Jihlava2
The courtyard featuring the corner with the chapel. From Jihlava2	The wall from the outside. From Jihlava2

The next morning, I went for a walk along the city walls in Jihlava. These are really good old walls. I walked along the outside of a portion that overlooks a steep valley with a small river running at the bottom of it. This was remarkably beautiful. This picture is from a different part that runs along a main highway through town.

Then we went to church. The cool morning air was perfumed with the scent of pine from the surrounding hills. This was Kristine's favorite area on her mission and, after all these years, the affection she shares with people from the branch here is obvious.

Afterwards we had lunch with the Peškovi. Pani Peškova made a knedliky, zeli (cabbage) and a duck that just about brought tears to my eyes, it was sooooooo good. Hanka (the young woman with whom Riša is friendly) made some spectacular prune kolache and linzer torte (she's a nurse, but I believe her true calling is baking). While we were eating, an American,Mark, who splits his time between working in Iraq and living in the Czech Republic arrived. He rents from the family. So we all sat together, eating and telling stories. Then, he revealed a special treat...A&W Root Beer. You can't find root beer here (Mark says there is one place in Prague that carries it sometimes, but when word gets out to all the American expats living there that a new shipment is in, it sells out in hours) because Czechs hate it - they say it tastes like medicine (which, frankly, if you will hearken back to the old creosote-based cough syrups, it does taste medicinal).

Then, an old friend, Jarda Svoboda, picked us up and took us to his mother's place in a village outside of Jihlava. There we sat and talked with Jarda, his mother, and his sister while we snacked on, among other things, an Apple Strudel (capitalized out of respect) that was phenomenal (what a day). This was really nice. Jarda and his sister were among the first members of the church baptized in Jihlava back when the missionaries first came following the Velvet Revolution. It is, of course, bittersweet to see photos of the vibrant youth group from back then. Some of the faces are familiar, older now, with kids of their own. Others, for whatever reasons, have drifted away and you feel sad for them, knowing the peace the gospel brings. Anyway, two interesting tree stories. Jarda planted a peach tree in the garden. Peach trees don't grow in that part of the Czech Republic, but he is passionately determined to see this one become fruitful. Then, while we were on a walk, he pointed across some fields to a stately linden tree on the next hill just before the forest. He explained that his great, great grandfather sent all five of his sons to fight in WWI. When they all finally returned safely from the war ( the youngest son fighting in Russia took three years to get home after the war ended--all had assumed him dead), he planted the tree as thanks to God for preserving them.

Then we went back to Jihlava and met, briefly, with Riša's sister Daša and her two kids, Viktor and Katka (who are the same ages as Caleb and Lucy). They are super energetic people and great fun to chat with. Unfortunately, we got there late and missed seeing her husband Otakar.

 We had to leave in a hurry to catch our  train (filled with obnoxious teenagers headed back to Ceske Budejovice for the school week and some disgustingly drunk fellows who stumbled past us on their repeated trips to the bathroom). We spent about 29 hours in Jihlava, not nearly enough, and this was our last visit there this time around.

Oh folks, between parting from people for the last time and knowing that my days of walking along the Malše River are numbered, I'm starting to get a little emotional. It's great to know so many wonderful people here and to realize, that while we will miss them, we will soon be surrounded by wonderful people back in Minnesota.

-Peter

Easter

Easter in the Czech Republic is like no other place in the world. Well, that is until Mankato, Minnesota adopts some of the finer traditions beginning next spring.

The kids had off from school last Thursday, Friday, and this Monday. Their presence was a nice reminder that it was a special time. It helped me think about the events of the Thursday (Christ's last passover with the Apostles, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane) and Friday (His trial and death by crucifixion).

Then on Saturday, we made a little pilgrimage. Twenty kilometers from Ceske Budejovice lies the village of Řimov (Little Rome). Along a trail some five kilometers long, they have 25 little chapels that depict the events from the Last Supper through the resurrection. Constructed in the second half of the 17th and early 18th century, each chapel contains paintings or statues or, unfortunately, large photographs of the statues that have been removed from the chapels so they don't get stolen. Below are some of my photos, but there are really good ones on this site.

Jesus Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. From Easter	While his disciples slept. From Easter
Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary. From Easter	While the women of Jerusalem wept. From Easter

The pilgrimage ended at the church in Řimov. This is about the most interesting church I have ever been in. When you go through the doors you enter a courtyard. There is the outer wall and a ceiling that extends inward some 15 feet, but then it is open to the courtyard. The walls around, the ceiling, and the columns holding it up are covered in paintings of the saints and with statues. There are confession booths along some walls and the little chapels in the corners. But it's all open air. In the middle is a very small building. Inside is a chapel that was made to hold maybe 10 people. It was a striking mix of simple (being open like it was) and ornate.

Church on Sunday was great, as you know it's going to be on Easter. There were some special musical numbers, great hymns that we only get to sing at this time of year, and bearing of testimonies.

For the Czechs in general, Easter is really all about the festivities of Easter Monday. Prior to this special day, men and boys go out to the woods and cut suckers from willow trees to weave them together into pomlazky - flexible willow switches decorated with brightly colored ribbons. You can also buy them at the market, like we did. During the morning hours on Easter Monday, the males roam around town, visiting friends and relatives. Using their pomlazky they gently swat the females on the bum while singing:

In Czech:	Translated:
Hody. Hody. Doprovody. Dej nam vejce malovani. Nedaš-li nam malovani. Dej nam aspon bily. Slepička za to snese jiny.	Revel. Revel. Entourages. Give us colored eggs. If you don't give us colored Give us at least white The Hen will give you others.

The female then thanks the swatter by giving him an egg she colored.
Now, hang on there, before you get all excited about it being sexist and unfair, you need to understand that this annual switching makes the girls beautiful and fruitful. Girls and women look forward to this event even more than the men do. What's more, walk down the street of any city in this country and you'll see that it works to make the women hezky (beautiful).

Afternoon, it's the girls' turn. They throw cold water on the boys.

This tradition goes way back in Czech culture. So, how did the Picha-Harff's do in adopting it? Well...

Silas couldn't hardly wait for the big day. He got up on Easter Sunday ready to go at it, so we reminded him it wasn't Monday. He swatted his mother, friends, and older women from church - they thought he was adorable. Caleb felt weird about the whole thing and only barely participated in swatting his mother and the Tučkovi girls. I jumped in with both feet and plan to make myself a pomlazky next spring and keep up the tradition.

Silas swatting the Tučkovi girls. From Easter	Caleb, coolly swatting the same hezky houlky. From Easter

Lucy had resisted coming to the Czech Republic out of fear for Easter Monday. I don't get it, but she was super opposed to being made beautiful and fruitful. None of us got to swat her, except one of the missionaries, in the middle of swatting Kristine, switched over to Lucy. She was not amused (I thought I got a photo of her expression - she may have deleted it).

Our pomlazky and eggs and bread from the Tučkovi. From Easter

Kristine was a perfect Czech girl. She was delighted at the swatting, allowing family and missionaries to take part. Then, come afternoon, she devised a plot to pour water on the missionaries. We invited them over for a special Easter treat. We arranged for them to come at 4:30. Right on the nose, the buzzer chimed. Kristine dashed to the window where she had her watering can, fully loaded, waiting. She threw open the sash and rained Easter greetings down on...our neighbor! The painfully shy, middle-aged, single engineer that lives below us and has never said more than four words to us looked up to see a stream of water rushing toward him. Meanwhile, the buzzer chimed again. I opened our door and there stood the missionaries. It turns out they had buzzed, but then the neighbor let them in as he was leaving. All's well that ends well though. Kristine wrote a note of apology, which he graciously accepted in a return note. And, Kristine was able to still get the missionaries wet as they left.

Kristine and Silas surveying the effectiveness of her attack on the missionaries. From Easter

- Peter

Lucy and Morena and the Swedes

Happy Birthday to her.
Happy Birthday to her.
Happy Birthday Dear Lucy.
Happy Birthday to her.

She's 11 now. April 4th being the first Sunday of the month, it was fast day (we don't get the Church General Conference until next Sunday) and Lucy thought the idea of a party with no food and a hunger-weakened family sounded lame. Therefore we celebrated on Friday. We had svičkova (roast beef with a creamy vegetable gravy), homemade dumplings, and a cheesecake with M&Ms and chocolate sauce. Then, she and her friend, Johanka, watched a movie and hung out until late.

Living here with Lucy has been an interesting experience for us all. She was a reluctant traveler, preferring to stay in Minnesota, but we dragged her along. It's growing on her though. She's got some friends and enjoys the food. While she knows a lot of words in Czech, the grammar makes forming complete sentences difficult. Another difficulty has been living in tight quarters. We've had our challenges trying to get through the winter in the apartment here, but I think we are all learning to get along better.

Lucy got some Hannah Montana things for her birthday and taped several pictures up on her door. Silas followed suit on his door. When Kristine found him, he had a 2" wide roll of masking tape, a scissors, and a lot of determination as he stuck tape all over the picture to attach it to the very lowest section of the door. Kristine helped him get it higher and less entombed in tape.

Lucy's door plastered with Hannah Montana and friends.	Silas' door with Hanna Tanna. From 2010-04

Two weeks ago we celebrated another annual event, the coming of spring. We joined a group of people from the Waldorf school in Ceske Budejovice to burn an effigy of the winter witch, Morena, and throw her into the river which symbolizes spring's victory over winter. With it they chant a little rhyme that goes like this...
 „V ten čas sněhů a ledu, dlouhých soumraků a nocí vládla Mořena, až bůh Slunce počal déle, vlídněji a tepleji hleděti na tvář země. I rozbíhala se vodou ledová pouta; veselili se po všech dědinách, po všem plemeni. Za zpěvu brali se k vodám, k volným téd' potokům, řekám, házeli do nich obraz zimy a smrti a radostným hlaholem vítali Vesnu, líbeznou bohyni jara.“
The Google Translate program (which does this in an instant, but would take me an hour) translates it as...
 "At that time the snow and ice, long nights and twilight reigned Morena, the sun god began to longer and warmer look more kindly on the face of the earth. Even the ambitious commitments on climate ice water bonds, making merry after all breed. Singing, he came to water, to free now streams, rivers and threw them into the image of winter and death and a joyful shout was greeted Vesna, sweet goddess of spring."

Procession to the river to burn Morena.	The crowd gathered along the river for the drowning of Morena. From 2010-03

Here's a video of the lighting...

From 2010-03

It was also our pleasure to receive a visit from our friends Kim, Peter, Felicia, and Lukas Johansson, formerly of Mankato, Minnesota, now of Mariestad, Sweden. They drove to the North Sea, took a ferry, then drove across Poland to come see us. We spent a day and a half together, talking, eating, and, what else, visiting Divci Kamen. They taught us Swedish, we taught them Czech. It was great seeing them again and we look forward to their visit to Minnesota this summer.

Lukas	Felicia
Pete	I don't have Kim, but here are the kids making Swedish chocolate balls.

Spring is here, time is short, and we're starting to get busy now. We'll try to keep the posts timely and short.

Peter