What we do not have... is Paleni Carodejnic

Marking the end of winter, Tonight is Witches' Night, or Paleni Carodejnic, through out the Czech Republic which involves an effigy of a hag or witch, burning on top of hills all across the country. On the evening of April 30th, Czechs gather to build a bonfire and celebrate the end of winter. There is usually quite a big gathering of families, and "witches" in Ladronka park out near Vipich and Brenov Monastery. It is a fun time of music, contest for the children on who can be dressed up as the best witch. I understand there will be a Paleni Carodejnic in Petrin tonight. Hezky. a Fun time.

This is an event that is totally unknown here in the US (unless you are Czech or me ;-)

In the US We only "have" witches on Halloween, in the Late Fall, on 31 October.

So Happy Spring to all...

We have them too...

Gnomes...

This one has his own little house in my parents garden...

THE Wedding

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; the future King and Queen of England. Mej se hezky.

Zita, did you get to see it?

A Strip Mall - Pittsford Plaza

Pittsford Plaza is called a Strip Mall, as I mentioned in yesterday's post. It was built 40 years ago and was the first Mall of its kind in Rochester and the northeast. The front page of this web site shows you pictures of how it looks today.

http://www.pittsfordplaza.com/

A Strip mall, is a line of shops, side to side, stretched down a long sidewalk, with parking out in front. It is also called a Plaza. There are 49 stores and restaurants in this "mall"/plaza. This link shows you how the stores are placed; side by side.

http://www.pittsfordplaza.com/Stores/StoreDirectory/

Finally Got it....

I Mailed this book from Prague on the 11th of March and finally received it yesterday, the 26th of April.
It only took 47 days!

One has to wonder where it went first. China? Russia? Canada? 47 days!

The envelop was damaged, with the little bits of padding spilling out, BUT at least it arrived. I am happy it arrived. It is a great book for teaching Anglictinu.

A Bookstore

OK, Now back to US comparisons:

Barnes and Noble. A large chain of large bookstores nationwide here in the US, based out of NYC.

This one is in Pittsford Plaza, a large Mall, but laid out length-wise; a Mall but not in one building as in Pankrac Arkady or Flora. It stretches store to store, one end to the other. They call these types a "strip Mall".

This bookstore store is huge. 50,000 square feet ( 4,645 sq m ) It covers two floors has thousands of books and gift items. It does have a "cafe" but I use that term 'loosely'. Store policy allows you to find a comfy chair, and there are many through out the store, and sit and read to your hearts content, for as long as you like, without even buying the book. Certainly effects the profit margin I would like, but it makes it a "friendly" store.

I had forgotten how big this store was until I visited it the other day.

Much bigger than Luxor on vaclavske namesti...

but, yes, American BIG!

Bottled Beer

Seems most Bottled Beer in the Czech Republic comes in the Half Liter (17 oz) size.

Whereas, bottled beer in the US comes in the classic 12oz (0.35 L) bottle or can.

and this is my favorite Beer over here. Sam Adams started as a Microbrewery and is now a National Brand, but they have maintained the quality of when there were small.
Cherry Wheat does taste like Cherrys as well. And Although, not like a Conventional Czech Beer, I like it.


hummm, so perhaps the normal bottle size over here,is THE only thing that is smaller in the US???

Eastern; ne...Easter

..no, we say Easter. Happy Easter to everyone on this Easter Sunday.

I thought I would show some "eggs" that I found I enjoyed in the Czech Republic, although they are for children, not really for Adults. But I really liked them.

Kinder Eggs. A Hollow Chocolate Egg made up of two quite thin layers of Chocolate: the outside layer is Milk Chocolate and directly under the outside layer is a layer of White Chocolate. Inside this hollow egg is a Yellow oblong plastic container which hold several small plastic parts which can be made into a small toy (bottom photo).

I remember a friend's son who loved these eggs and the toys inside. It was always so much fun watching him enjoy one of these eggs.

As you can see in the photo above, I brought back several, as well as, a couple special 'Non-kinder' brand egg varieties; Bob-the-builder and Winnie-the-pooh. The two yellow eggs are a couple candles I bought in Prague to "complete egg carton".

And after bringing these home in March, I found out these are actually contraband here in the US. Yes, that is right! I never knew that. It is illegal to bring these into the US! due to the possibility that small children may choke on the small toy parts. Therefore the US has make them illegal. In fact, one was taken from a woman recently going through US Customs when she was returning from Europe.

Well, I certainly would not give them to a small child over here.. in fact, now I will just eat them all up...just in case homeland security now comes knocking at my door TO confiscate them, now that I have posted this.

God Bless our US lawmakers for making this a crime(NOT). Of course, Now, there are probably a group of US lawyers that are dedicated ONLY to prosecuting 'Kinder Egg' criminals.

As American as Apple Pie

...This afternoon I made an Apple Pie to have for Dessert tomorrow after Easter Sunday dinner.

Apple Pie as it is made over here is far different from Apple Strudel. Both the consistency of the apples and the crust after is baked make it different, and perhaps even the amount of Cinnamon that is used. The sliced Apples have a softer consistency and the pastry is a bit lighter and there is more "juice" when the pie is served.

I ultimately used 7 fairly large Apples(I added to two remaining apples in the 2nd photo after it was taken). The Green Apples are called 'Granny Smith' apples and the red ones are a variety called 'Cameo'. The spices used were a combination of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and AllSpice, called Apple Pie Spice. Voi-la.

The above photos chronicle the making of my pie; for you to enjoy.

What you can't enjoy though is the smell of the house now that the pie has come out of the oven... It is a smell that I think is purely American. A fragrance of cooked apples, cinnamon and pastry... Mnam.

Wish you were here to enjoy it with me. Cau.

UPDATE: the top photo shows how the pie looked after I sliced a few slices out of it

The Mushroom House

Not far from where my parents live, there is an interesting house, at least I think you might find it interesting. It is called locally, The Mushroom House. The name fits, don't you agree. I drove by it yesterday and had to take a few photos for you.

This link will show you more pictures, especially of the inside.

http://matterofopiniononline.blogspot.com/2009/08/mushroompod-house-pittsford-ny.html

The Mushroom House or Pod House is a contemporary residence in the town of Perinton, NY near the hamlet Bushnells Basin. It has been featured on television programs and in many books, due to its uniqueness.

Patterned after the umbels of Queen's Anne's Lace, its brown color is more suggestive of mushrooms. The house was constructed for attorney-artist couple Robert and Marguerite Antell between 1970 and 1972 and was designated a town landmark in 1989.

The structure is sited in a moderately-wooded ravine adjacent to Powder Mills Park. The house itself comprises four 80 ton pods which rest on reinforced concrete stems which are 14 to 20 feet high. These fan out from three feet in diameter where they connect to the pods to five feet at the base. The sides of each pod's "cap" are completely windowed. One pod serves as the living and dining area, one as the kitchen, and two as sleeping areas. An additional "half pod" provides an open deck area.

The Daffodils are up....

...hoping for some warm weather. The high yesterday: 3 C

The Maple Tree is trying....

The buds on the Maple tree in the backyard are really trying to believe in Spring....

but, as of yet, there are no leaves out on anything. ;-(

Can you beleive it !!! It was Snowing here.....

Yes, snowing here, yesterday early evening. The temperature was 2 C and it looked like the middle of winter, with big white flakes of wet snow hurrying to the ground...

Luckily, it changed to rain very quickly and nothing stuck to the ground!

BUT... SNOW!!!

(...not necessarily unusual for Rochester, since as you may have gathered, Spring does not truly come until May here... To je skoda!)

Been back One Month, as of today

Wow, one month has gone by... already. That month went by too fast.
Incredible to think that time goes by so quickly.

Am missing The Spring-time in Prague.

Still cold here; 8C daily.

But Spring here is just "around the corner"... another couple of weeks.

..and in 14 days I move into my 'flat'...

CZ Prices vs. US Prices then plus tax

I really got used to paying one price while in the Czech Republic. The price shown on the item is the total you have to pay and includes any and all applicable taxes.

So If I found a sweater for 400 czk(czech krowns), I knew that was all I was going to pay.

It is a little different here and I am finding it hard to get used to again(but it is really no big deal, I guess).

In the US, you will pick an item, lets say for $20 USD or about 400 czk, take it to the cashier and then pay state and local tax on it, currently 4% for the county I live in and another 4% for New York State tax; 8% in total. The item then costs $21.60.

I found it nice to just see a price in Prague and know it was all inclusive.

Banany v Cokolada.....only in CZ

This candy bar is unique to the Czech Republic. I grew to really enjoy these candy 'bar' treats. Although the chocolate that coats the banana "moose" inside is not, in my opinion, the best, the banana taste/flavor is really close to the real thing and very good. It is an enjoyable candy and something very different to American tastes.

There is Nothing like this here in the US.

Dobry Den & Na shledanou in CZ vs. in US

I always loved how every time a Czech enters a room, a store, an elevator, they all say: Hello (Dobry den), even when they do not know a single person in that space. ...and upon their departure they always say: goodbye (na shledanou). So in Prague, it was always 'Dobry den' upon entry and 'na shledanou' when they left.. AND everyone in the elevator would each say dobry den upon that persons entry and each would say goodbye as the person exited the elevator as well. Everyone! How cool is that.

and of course after 2 years and many months living there, I did the same.

However, In the US... well, even though we are known for being friendly, it does not happen like that and when it does, it is not all the time. For instance, getting on the elevator... For the most part: Silence. No one says anything unless they know you.

Interesting comparison. Big Differences.

Been back here for four weeks, as of today; ach. Tak, Na shledanou.

Erie Canal in Fairport; Pre-Spring

Fairport. A small Village with a major Rail line running though it as well as the Erie Canal. As many of you know, I used to live in Fairport before I began living in Prague. And starting on May 1st, I will once again begin living in Fairport again when I move into my Apartment in the Village.

The Erie Canal. The Erie Canal runs directly through the center of town and as some of my former students know, since we had a lesson on it at some point back in time. It is a historical inland waterway.

It was built in 1825 and traverses New York State, from the Hudson river in the East(which runs south to New York City(NYC) from Albany) to Lake Erie (at Buffalo) in the West, thereby connecting the Atlantic Ocean in New York City to the Great Lakes, which can take one well into the center of the United States.

The Canal that still runs through New York State is now a recreational Park, used by boaters, hikers and bicyclers. The pictures here show the canal in it's Winter state. Drained. The water is drained out of it each Fall before freezing temperatures to protect the walls of the Canal. There is always enough water left over the winter, so the canal can be used for ice-skating and some ice-fishing.

These pictures show the canal from West Church Street looking West as the canal curves around and heads toward the center of the village.

As this early Spring Matures into Real Spring I will show you the evolution of this path/trail, since I walk it routinely for exercise. It becomes much greener.

I do miss my walking all throughout Praha, though... Nothing can compare to it.

Refreshingly nice. Grocery shopping here.

I went grocery shopping recently and what a nice experience.

Although you know How much I Love Prague, the shopping experience there is quite a rude, rushed & frustrating experience when one goes to check out and pay for ones groceries.

In Prague, the cashier scans your items and you must then bag your own groceries with the two plastic bags provided.

Not a bad thing, but the cashier scans them as fast as she can, never says a word, but has on a nice Grumpy face, places them out of your reach and then expects payment the exact instant she stops scanning and the Total faces you on the tiny screen. You, on the other hand, are bagging your groceries as fast as humanly possible, stop to pay her, then she starts scanning the next person's stuff before you are even done, sometimes almost mixing your items with the next persons, and looking at you like: "why the hell aren't you done bagging yet"

It is a frustrating experience, and not only does the cashier act upset that you are not moving faster, but you have the next person in line, that expects you to move even faster as well...even though they know this experience well and probably feel equally frustrated.

But here at Weggies, what a pleasant experience. The cashier smiles at you, asks you how you are (yes, very American) and makes small conversation while she is scanning your items and bagging them as soon as she scans them. How pleasant. How wonderful. How Customer friendly.

Grocery shopping in Prague, whether it was at Tesco, Bila, or Albert was never a pleasant experience, although I always loved looking at all the interesting items to buy.

Alcohol - Zero Tolerance vs the US

The law in the Czech Republic about drinking alcohol and driving is strict. Zero tolerance. No amount of alcohol can be in the blood stream. None. Therefore one can not drink anything at all, if they are about to drive.

I noted that all my friends, that had a car(not many had a car at all, I might add) in Prague were extremely prudent when it came to drinking alcohol and combining it with driving. If one of them were driving, they either had a non-alcoholic beer or had water or soda. I never saw any of my friends drink an alcoholic drink if they were driving that day or were suppose to drive home. They were 'religious' about it and took the law very seriously.

In contrast, in the US, while all 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above a proscribed level, currently 0.08 percent (0.08 g alcohol per 100 ml blood), which equates to having more than one alcoholic drink per hour(depending on the persons weight). People here can and DO, routinely drive after drinking one beer or glass of wine and/or perhaps two.

...and Yes, it is true that there are abusers in both countries, but in the Czech Republic, I have seen strong evidence of people obeying the Zero tolerance blood alcohol laws, whereas in the US, it is very common for people, me included, to have at least one drink and then drive, knowing that they ( or I ) would not be impaired with taking only one drink.

This is certainly a major difference between here and there.

...on the road again.

Spring is approaching, I think. and April is the time, when I would normally put this car on the road for the Summer and Fall months. So yesterday, I put insurance on it and went to the Department of Motor Vehicles and registered it. This morning I bought a new battery, washed and waxed it and then in the top picture as you can see, I am now driving it around.... it is once again on the road

After storing this for over two years, it started right up once a new battery was placed inside, although it smoked for quite awhile as it warmed up... it is now running really good, just as it used to. It will need some minor engine adjustments and I have made arrangements for those a week from Monday...

The bottom picture is in the storage facility I rent for this, and the top picture was taken in a nearby park.

Pancakes vs. Palacinky

Pancakes over here are much different than Palacinky, its counterpart that are found in the Czech Republic.

As pictured above, Pancakes are much thicker and heavier. This picture shows only two pancakes. The typical way Pancakes are served is with a glob of butter spread on top and then thick rich sweet Maple syrup is poured over the top to ones taste. The syrup soaks into the hot pancakes and in no time, you are full. Pancakes can also be served with fruit sauces, like pie filling, on top as well; flavors like strawberry, blueberry or apple.

The Czech version, palacinky, are thin not unlike crepes, and are served filled with fruit jams, fresh fruit, ice cream, and/or filled or topped with whipped cream in the sweet version, and for the 'salty' version; they can be filled with different types of cheeses and diced meats, sauteed vegetables, garlic or spinach as well. Palacinky are usually rolled so the filling does not slide out so quickly. Pancakes are never rolled up.

The consistency of both are different as well, but that would be difficult to try to explain here... Cheers.

American Television - Constant Commercials

American Television drives me Crazy. So crazy in fact that I have not been able to watch a single program through its entirety since I have been home and have vowed NOT to buy cable TV programming once I move into my new apartment.

Although I am not fluent in Czech, I enjoyed Czech television because there were relatively few Commercials during a TV program. Perhaps one or two. During the Whole program! At least visually, it was enjoyable, without being interrupted every few minutes.

Last night I deliberately kept track of the number of Commercials on TV in a 30 minute period and how long I was actually viewing the actual program.
Ready? What you are about to ready really is quite pitiful:

During this particular program, the Program would break for a Commercial advertisement about every 5 minutes for 3 to 4 minutes of Commercials. AND during these 3 to 4 minutes, I counted anywhere between a low of 6 separate commercials and a high of...
8 separate commercials!!

I hate American TV. Why Americans put up with this crap is beyond me, except that there is nothing we can do about it, other than turn off the TV and not watch it in protest. So I have done just that.

American TV stations have not yet figured out why they are losing their audiences to the internet. Their greed to get more and more money from advertisers will eventually be the demise of American Television.

Anyway, While living in Prague, I didn't watch TV much. I got into a much better habit. I mostly read books...and rarely watched Television, since I was rarely in my Flat. ;-)

Remembering Kavovarna Dva

....but most times in the morning when I stopped in, I would sit at a table in the front room and savor a frothy cup of Cappuccino, as pictured here.

More Remembrances

Back in early 2008, when I was contemplating coming to Prague for a year to teach, a good friend of mine sent me this clipping from a magazine. I still have it and you can see, I framed it. Thanks Andy.

and of course, those of you who are friends and who have been following this new blog and followed my 'Old' Prague blog, know that the thought of this person in the advertisement...

...became my Life.

Just want My friends in Prague to know: I miss You. and that I miss your City.

But, yes, I am re-entering well.

Remembering Kávovarna...

Often I would go there enjoy to just have a cup of hot tea, especially in late Fall and throughout the Winter ... and the exact kind of tea i Enjoyed there is pictured here; Harney & Sons; believe it or not, out of Salisbury Connecticut. ! Tea? in Connecticut?

My favorite: Paris

...and Klara... I love this mug! Diky.

Jazz at Horizons

This evening I went to a place I used to go to a lot when I lived in Fairport. A bar within an upscale Hotel called: Woodcliff. The bar is called: Horizons. It is in Fairport, perched high on a hill, over looking a valley, with great sunsets, surrounded by woods and a golf course. ...and on Saturday evenings they have live Jazz from a regular Jazz Pianist whose music I have grown up with since University: Gap Mangione. A tremendous pianist and the brother of another famous Jazz musician: Chuck Mangione, both whom are Rochester natives.

So this evening was my first foray out into the evening music and wine scene. Tonight was also the first time I have enjoyed a glass of wine since returning to the states, believe it or not. I wish you were here.

The California Pinot was nice and light, following by a refreshing California Chardonnay, equally light and satisfying. The Jazz was superb. Gap was his usual light fingered self as I always have heard him and right on target. Delightful. I wish I had one of you there to join me here on Saturday night.

..and the total for two(2) glasses of wine, not including tip: are you ready for this: $18,90 or about 400 czk. Ach 'freakin' jo!!!

Two glasses of great Czech wine at "my cafe" in Prague, not including tip was: 110 czk.

I will post pictures tomorrow morning as I have a cup of coffee in the Pittsford Coffee shop. I can't post pix via this link.

Have Created a 2011 Calendar...

..these are from 12 of my favorite Photos. I might even consider selling some of these at the Photograph Show I have been asked to give in June at the Coffee Shop that I have frequented in Pittsford.

Here are photos for just three of the months in this calendar...

In other photographic news: I am beginning a revision of The Book which I published back in 2009 entitled: "Prague...A Love Affair Continued" This book currently has photos of Prague as well as of many other places I traveled within the Czech Republic in 2008-09, but yet the Title says "Prague...." Therefore I have decided to take out the Non-Prague photographs and add many new photographs of Prague which I took in 2010 and 2011.

Then, perhaps, I will begin working on another New Book using only photos of the many places all around the Czech Republic that I have visited. Stay tuned...

American School Buses

This is a picture of the typical American School Bus that take our children from the neighborhoods where they live to the school they attend. It is a most common sight in the mornings as they pick the children up and in the late afternoon as they drop the children back off at the designated bus stop.

Each School District has they own buses. So every suburb in the Rochester area, has it own public school system, which means that each school district has their own Bright Yellow School Buses.