Special Note: I had this Post finished and ready to publish on 21 December 2023. And then the tragic news of a mass shooting in Prague came through. I have therefore held back the story for a couple of weeks out of respect for the people who lost their life.
23 May – 4 June 2012
PRAGUE
Wed, 30 May 2012 17:35:16 +0200
Hi Nance and Barb,
Hope all goes well with u both.
We have been in Prague now since last Thursday. It took 30 hours to get here. Horrid! We arrived mid morning so were able to do lots of ambling around taking in the sights of this stunningly beautiful & vibrant ancient city.
Our hotel is gorgeous & smack in the middle of the Old Town Square. Our room overlooks the Astronomical Clock which attracts heaps of people just before the hour when it chimes & small windows open to reveal the 12 Apostles rotating & then 4 statues move in various ways to uproarious cheers & clapping from the onlookers. It’s like London Court but on a grander scale ;))
We have a fab view of all the activity & absurdity that goes on in the square. Typical Czech cuisine – huge amounts of pork, potato, cheese, bread, dumplings, cabbage & beer. OMG!! I was unwell on Friday, not from the food but from the travel, so Greg did prep while I rested.
Christine arrived Saturday & we had a lovely time wandering, looking, buying & eating way too much! Sunny weather in Prague, we’ve all brought too much winter gear. Cobblestones lose their appeal very quickly.
While Greg & Chris are conferencing, my intention was to travel solo but on Sunday eve my heart went back into AF. BUMMER! I had to talk to my GP in Perth & am now back on previous high dose pill plan, couldn’t go out Monday (AF so severe, I black out) so spent day in room watching the passers-by & deleting photos.
Yesterday I ventured out for a brief stroll & a cup of tea. AF remains today, so only a brief gentle solo stroll & cuppa again. Being mostly confined to my room isn’t what I planned but there is so much happening outside it’s not too bad.
It does not get dark until after 9pm so the three of us go out for dinner each night & watch all the classical & zaney performers. There are all types of market stalls & a huge range of Nationalities. It is a mix of traditions & way-out craziness which appeals very much.
Fingers crossed AF goes 2moro & I get to do my own thing.
Cheers for now, take care
Lots of love
TrenXOX
A Conference in Prague
By Greg
I was amazed in 2012 when all three of my abstracts for conference presentations in Prague were accepted. Delighted when my employer agreed to let me go.
Of course, Trenna came too.
The above email to her sisters seems like the only written record Trenna kept of the trip. This is unusual, but as you would have seen, Trenna’s heart went into Atrial Fibrillation (AF) not long after we arrived and she would have been feeling terrible and not up to much writing.
Knowing this was a possibility we had booked a delightful and spacious Grand Deluxe room at the Grand Hotel Praha.
The Grand Hotel Praha
It was easily the best located hotel I have ever stayed in. Loads of space, great service, tasteful antique furniture and a magnificent view of the famous Astrological Clock and the bustling Old Town Square below.
The clock, by the way, is more than 600 years old.
Something always seemed to be happening in the square which was clearly visible from our large double windows that opened onto it. Brides having their photos taken, people sitting outside cafe’s drinking, bizzare multi-seat “bicycles” on which everyone seemed to have a beer.
And of course tour groups and tourists gathering every hour to hear the clock strike and watch the complex moves of the mechanical figurines high above them. From time to time human horn blowers in medieval costume would appear way above the clock and blow an impressive fanfare.
There was plenty to see in that square and this considerably ameliorated Tren’s frustration at having to stay in most of the time with her dicky heart.
Some Activities
Despite the optimism of Trenna’s message to her sisters her heart stayed in AF for the whole trip. We would just take that into account when wandering around each night looking for a restaurant to try, and during the leisurely walk Trenna, I and our friend Christine, who was also attending the conference, would have after each meal.
The weather was balmy, the locals friendly, the food and drink good and the company excellent. It was really very pleasant.
There was a brief break in the good vibes one afternoon when I was at the conference. Tren decided to venture out by herself and look at a few shops along the twisty cobblestone streets near the hotel.
Keen to see what treasures she would find she entered an old and poorly lit shop, didn’t see the step, and took a dive into the floor landing on her face. The main damage were a pair of bent specs and a badly traumatised shopkeeper.
Before The Conference
The three of us had had a couple of days before the conference to look around the city and on one of those days we stumbled into an area with some art galleries.
The quality was good, and at one we struck up a conversation with an artist whose work was on display. He had some very large format oil paintings that we loved but really couldn’t afford. We ended up buying a signed print of one of them. It a was an evocative representation of what the Old Town Square might have looked like in times past.
We also saw and bought a very impressively executed watercolour by local artist Eugene Ivanov. Both pictures are framed and hang in my ballroom. I should probably point out that the ballroom is only about 5 square metres and most people would probably mistake it for a short passageway that joins the bathroom, toilet, laundry and bedroom.
The Lady on the Wall
By this stage I was feeling two artworks was plenty to bring home and I was already trying to figure out how I would get them home undamaged. But Trenna and Christine were on a roll, so, we rolled on.
We stopped at one shop and there the lady was, beckoning to Trenna to get me to open my wallet. She had several sisters in different poses and colour combinations, but eventually we settled on one.
We got the shopkeeper to wrap her up tightly in bubble wrap, and I can still remember my relief when back in Perth I unwrapped her and found her in pristine condition.
Now she is on our wall. And she looks right at me whenever I head towards the bathroom. And I look back, and I think of Tren and I, together in Prague.
A Few Other Things I Remember About Prague
In choosing the photos to add to this post I realised there were other interesting things that may interest you. He are some.
The Vltava River flows through the city which allows for lovely walks and many attractive bridges.
There is no shortage of interesting architecture, including this …
And you seem to stumble upon art, a lot.
Plenty of hearty meals …
We loved the Lennon Wall.
And just lots of stuff to see.
And finally kudos to the organisers of the the 11th Global Conference on Ageing put on by the IFA (International Federation of Ageing). We all gathered in the conference facility for the usual opening boring speeches. What we got was a very good band playing rockin’ music. A great way to start what was a very good conference.
If you get a chance to visit Prague, I would certainly recommend that you go.