Greetings from Europe, where walking is a non-negotiable, the cafes abound in scrumptious deserts and the surroundings are inspiring. On July 29th, I flew into Warsaw, Poland to visit w/ my brother, George. Two yrs have passed since our last visit together and since my 'peeps' were not going to travel to the big 'E' w/ me, I took it upon myself to just go it alone because well, a girl has got to go where a girl needs to go ya know... 
After a few days there visiting my ol stomping ground, I took an arduous 8 hr journey by rail from there to here, at which pt I found myself (and my oversized luggage) at the doorstep of possibly the loveliest city on earth - Prague, Czech Republic! This is 'the' place to be if your visiting Eastern Europe. I send a lot of my clients here as its one of the stops on their 'Imperial Trail' trip - which includes Budapest & Vienna. I always like to place them here last because this city is like a fairy tale and leaves a lasting, impression. In a way then, you could say this is a 'working trip' for me - at which pt my accountant will be allowed to include it as a write off, correct?!
This trip will be unique in the respect that its the first time I've find myself staying in a city where I not only don't have any friends here, but the language is completely foreign
n to me (no worries though, when they don't understand my English, I switch to Polish. when that fails, I start to speak louder English and add a bit of hand movement to make my point ). I rekon it'll really test my social skills though so I'm up to the challenge.
n to me (no worries though, when they don't understand my English, I switch to Polish. when that fails, I start to speak louder English and add a bit of hand movement to make my point ). I rekon it'll really test my social skills though so I'm up to the challenge.Now to the locals. Well, they don't seem to be much different than the Polish, next door. People are not especially friendly here(unless of course they're drinking), and unless your at McDonalds, smiles generally don't come with your meals. But alas I have spent enough time in Eastern Europe to be used to this reality (in comparison, Australia/New Zealand has the friendliest people). In turn, the people I
tend to meet then are usually not the locals, but visitors like me. The other day I spent an interesting evening touring the Old city with a Swede- who was visiting from Hong Kong. After a some sightseeing, we stopped off at this pub he was keen on seeing - thx to his Lonely Planet guide (but of course, don't swedes 'live' at the pubs) It was here that Vaclav Havel spent much of his time during the communist period (can you guess what he went on to become?) . This was a real 'lo
cal' place. When the guys seated next to us found out I was American they began toasting to the men in the iconic photo hanging overhead of Havel and Clinton, clinking glasses together (from their score card, they racked up 50 beers between the 4 of them - how on earth is that even possible??) As with much drinking comes much elimination, however - so I was a bit 'shocked' when, from time to time, I saw a drunkard eliminating himself in public, no one else see
med to mind. But come on, didn't anyone notice that old chap positioning himself in front of someone's 'door' to donate a sample??
tend to meet then are usually not the locals, but visitors like me. The other day I spent an interesting evening touring the Old city with a Swede- who was visiting from Hong Kong. After a some sightseeing, we stopped off at this pub he was keen on seeing - thx to his Lonely Planet guide (but of course, don't swedes 'live' at the pubs) It was here that Vaclav Havel spent much of his time during the communist period (can you guess what he went on to become?) . This was a real 'lo
cal' place. When the guys seated next to us found out I was American they began toasting to the men in the iconic photo hanging overhead of Havel and Clinton, clinking glasses together (from their score card, they racked up 50 beers between the 4 of them - how on earth is that even possible??) As with much drinking comes much elimination, however - so I was a bit 'shocked' when, from time to time, I saw a drunkard eliminating himself in public, no one else see
med to mind. But come on, didn't anyone notice that old chap positioning himself in front of someone's 'door' to donate a sample??As with other European cities, personal crime is not a big concern - this is why I've always said that although I would travel alone in Europe, I will rarely do so in the States. (A sad commentary isn't it) But with these Czech locals, seriously, I think I can 'take 'em',
I am attaching what will be the beginning of many pictures - it'll may actually become tiring looking at all the majestic-ness in one place. ! (Check out the 24hr McD's 'walk thru}
