Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Karlovy Vary. Our first day trip of two while we were in Cheb. This place is beautiful, yet bizarre. It is about 45 minutes east of Cheb; Cheb is as west as you can get in the Czech Republic, which means that one must travel through all of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Belarus or Ukraine to get to Russia -- that's a long distance.

If you want a hint of Russia, though, you can go to Karlovy Vary. This spa town has almost every sign translated into two languages: Czech and Russian. Three countries to cross, yet a huge Russian population is there. It's not like a Chinatown or a small area devoted to another culture, this whole city is largely influenced by Russia. (There was even a beautiful Russian Orthodox church.)

I can understand why Russians would flock to Karlovy Vary. It is gorgeous. It weaves through the hills following a river; it is a spa town -- there were tons of 4 star or 5 star hotels and resorts advertising relaxing spa treatments; Karlovy Vary has money -- it shows. It also has the Grand Hotel Pupp. You might say, "What the heck. Who cares?" I'll tell you the significance. This hotel has been featured in two movies, most notably is 007: Casino Royale. Yup, I know, right?

The Russian Orthodox Church

A Sweet View

Probably Another Resort

Like I Said, A Sweet View

Behind the Grand Pupp

The Grand Hotel Pupp The River that Runs Through

Regensburg, Germany

On Tuesday of my fall break, we took a day trip to Regensburg, Germany. We had a difficult decision to make. Go to a small town and spend the afternoon there or go to Berlin and experience it all in one day. After experiencing Karlovy Vary, we quickly decided that we wanted another small town.

Regensburg was an excellent choice. I don't know the exact details, nor will I look them up so that I can bore you with them, but I will say this. Three major items to note:

1. The Danube passes through the town. If you don't know, the Danube also passes through Budapest. I was tempted to either find a stick and tie a bright string around it and see if I could spot it when I got back to Budapest, or make a raft and sail back to Budapest.

2. The bridge that you see in the photos below is, in fact, a medieval bridge that was built during the crusades. It was used to crossed the river during two of the crusades.

3. The cathedral is St. Peter's Cathedral. It reminds me a lot of St. Vittus in Prague; however, I think that St. Peter's has much more amazing stone work. I wish I could have taken pictures of the hundreds stone wall carvings in the cathedral because the intricacy was spectacular. I don't think any work had to be done to renovate the cathedral after the World Wars; Regensburg was not significantly bombed.

St. Peter's Cathedral
David and Goliath...ON A WALL!

Graffiti Lovin'
The River, The Flag, and The Spires

Me, the Bridge, and the Spires

Reflections

Prague's Second Chance

It's been ten months since I last visited Prague, and my first experience was hard to enjoy; it was a cold blur. It was meant to be two enjoyable days in Prague during January, but we quickly found out that Prague in January is bitterly cold -- We left after an afternoon.

I finally had a chance to return during my fall break and make some warm memories. I spent three and a half days in Prague staying with several other ESI teachers (Ben Nielson, Ryan Troglin, and Dave). The weather was wonderful.

On Wednesday, I was given a mini tour of Prague and then I sat outside, finishing The Book Thief, until the guys were done at school.

I took full advantage of being off on Thursday and lounged around the flat, taking my day of rest. I also took a walk in an awesome park by the guys' place. (That is where the first picture is from). In the evening, I joined Ben and David Reynolds (another ESI teacher) at their pub talk; it is a chance for students from their classes to come and talk about anything in English with each other.

I walked all around Prague on Friday. I sat on a hill overlooking the city for lunch and I was able to feel my hands and feet the whole time -- a rare occurance during January's visit. In the evening, I went out to dinner with all of the ESI folks in Prague and played darts after that.

Staying in Prague made me realize how much I have learned about Hungary so far. I don't understand the meaning of what people are saying, but I can understand the words of Hungarian; where as, Czech sounded like mumbling. The public transit makes perfect sense in Hungary, but the public transit in Prague seems like a maze of trams and metro trains. I also found that Prague is a lot more touristy than Budapest is -- I heard tons of english.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed traveling, eating, reading, writing, and spending time with friends, but all these things made going home a comforting thought.

Fall in Prague. Nice.
Memorial, St. Vittus, and the Castle.

The Charles Bridge.

I think this message is clear.

The John Lennon Wall

Charles Bridge and St. Tyn's Cathedral.

The cross and St. Vittus.

Starting the Gears Again

I got back from fall break a happy person -- as you can tell from the picture above; -- however, I still felt behind. It's one of the worst feelings to go on a break and return feeling behind in everything you have to do. Break was suppose to be a relax and catch up time; instead, I'm still chasing after the ball rolling down the hill; I kicked it and missed my shot. Because of this, I decided I needed a change. I needed to start anew, strip myself of my security. So as a way to do that and say goodbye to the Ippel's guests (Dave and Mary Bosscher), I had Dave Bosscher cut my hair.

Bring it on rolling ball, I'm more aerodynamic now!

Kit Kat Bars

I have my first extended break from school this week. It is a week long, in honor of the October 23 revolution and All Soul's Day on November 1. I'm spending my time in the Czech Republic -- Cheb and Prague -- with fellow ESI teachers.

I've spent most of my time travelling so far on a bus or a train, but this travelling has reminded me about the comfort I find on the "open road." Seeing passing villages. Following a glistening river. Weaving through the hills and fields. Peace fills me up as the sun sweeps across my face.

The attributes of the week will be the following:

1. Relaxation - It already feels so good not having to think about class for a week

2. Writing - Currently, doing it

3. Reading - The Book Thief (highly suggest it!) and The Magician's Elephant

4. Picture taking

I never realized how important the weekend was to recovery for another week, so I'm excited to see what a week has to offer.

Note: I wrote this on October 30, but I didn't have some substantial computer time until today. So since this post I have gone to Karolovy Vary (Do you remember the hotel in Casino Royale? It's located here) and Regensburg, Germany on day trips. I am now back in Prague until Saturday.

The following pictures are from Cheb.

I get weak in the knees for good graffiti.

A view of supposedly one of the oldest castles in the Czech Republic and two steeples of a cathedral.

The town square.

Peace Through Humility

I've always said that the best way to get to know a place is to get lost in it. In that same sense, I have learned, since I have moved to Hungary, that the best way to find comfort/to feel at home is to force yourself into moments of humility.

I say this because I feel at home in Budapest, and it is not because I have sat at home, reading and drinking a cup of tea. I have gone to the market and stared blankely at a stand owner until he said a word I vaguely understood; I have struggled with a beginner student to arrange one-on-one lessons; I have gone to T-mobile and have been stopped in my tracks because the employees spoke no English; and I have gone to the banks, forced to go to a teller because I froze my debit card, and successfully withdrew money, and, on top of that, I learned a new Hungarian word.

It was these moments that reminded me that I'm a normal person. I'm not special; I'm not the English expert that the Hungarians tell me I am; I'm learning and living just like everyone else. I'm just trying to survive just like the seed couple I buy my dried cranberries from, or the butcher I buy my chicken from, and it gets easier every time I go and make a fool of myself as I try to talk to them with the language barrier.

Even though we don't speak the same language, I can see our relationship building. They know who I am and greet me with a patient smile as I try my hand at a new word or sentence -- it's too bad I don't understand their response. I'll figure bits of it out slowly if I keep stepping outside.

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"People don't grow when they're wrapped in cotton wool. They grow when they confront the world." - Russ Rymer's Genie: A Scientific Tragedy. (I think of this quote every time doing something or going somewhere intimidates me.)

The following pictures were taken today at Heroes Square -- statues of Hungarian heroes who weren't sipping tea at home.

The Importance of Imagination

I'm working on a couple big posts currently; however, this is a big week for the American teachers at school because we are beginning an English club -- one of those big posts to come. So to show that I am still alive and kicking, and to give you something to think about, I want to offer an excerpt from a blog post I just read yesterday. This except comes from a post on Banned Books (last week was banned books week) by Sara Zarr. Sara Zarr is a YA author, currently serving as a judge for the national book award. Here you are:

"Imagination is a prerequisite for…everything. Without it, there is no chance for change, growth, hope, faith or peace. If those who have religious reasons for challenging or banning books want to raise up a generation that has religious faith, they’d better be on the side of imagination. If you have a faith, as I do, that centers on a in a God you can’t see, touch, or hear, you’d darn well better have a limber imagination or else that faith will be dry, impersonal, and academic. Which will make it easily lost in the thick of life. If you want a Godless generation, the surest way to achieve that is being anti-imagination, being scared about thinking about things beyond your direct experience.

Books that are about people exactly like us—who believe like us, live like us, love like us, think like us—don’t require very much engagement of the imagination. Sure, they might trigger self-centered fantasies that since we’re sort of like the girl in the book, maybe we could have that boyfriend, those clothes, that social status. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Entertainment is good. But it’s not the same as deep engagement of the imagination, which is the first and most powerful stepping stone to empathy, compassion, and the beginnings of creative problem solving, and thereby hope for change where change is much needed. In the world or just in our own little spheres and communities. "

If you would like to read the whole post, go to sarazarr.com. She also has other fantastic posts that I encourage everyone to dive into -- one recent post about faith that gives links to some other interesting posts.