Sunday, June 17, 2018 (Prague)

Both of us woke up early. Tiffany went down to check on laundry and everything was still wet in dryer. Argh, added stress. The clothes were pretty wet so Tiffany started the dryer again while we decided on a plan. There was a laundromat down the street but we’d already paid to use this dryer, didn’t want to haul our wet things down the street, and didn’t know if it would really be any faster. The room was vacant for the evening so our host agreed to let us spread out the clothes on a drying rack to dry for the day and leave our luggage in the room. We left the clothes in the dryer while we went for a quick breakfast. We came back, spread out Tiffany’s clothes and got everything else packed. I had just a couple of things and with the help of the blow dryer was able to finish drying them and pack them.

We left the room and went to the Jewish quarter. Our main goal was to see the cemetery but we had to purchase a ticket which included a couple of the synagogues as well. There was an ambience of sorrow as you entered into the synagogue. There were thousands and thousands of names listed on the walls, entire neighborhoods of families that had been killed during WWII. The names were listed by the streets upon which they had lived. There was a list of the 24 concentration camps which took these precious lives. In the Jewish museum, there were artifacts used in the care of preparing a body for burial. The Jewish had a burial society. When someone was near death, this group would stay with the dying so they could confess their sins and say a final prayer. Upon death, the burial society would dig a grave, build a modest casket and prepare the shoud. According to Jewish law, a body was buried as soon as possible, usually on the day of death. After death, the body is covered with a sheet and laid on the floor. A candle was lit by their head. The main ritual was cleaning of the body. Males were cleaned by men, females by women. The body was cleaned with warm water into which an egg is mixed as a symbol of life. Special silver tools are used to remove all dirt from under the fingernails. Silver combs are used to arrange the hair. Once the cleaning has been done, the body is sprinkled with wine and a prayer is said. Then the body is dressed with underwear, a shirt, socks and a linen shroud with a belt. Men also wear a shawl with one of the fringes missing. The body is placed in the coffin and sprinkled with dirt from the Holy Land. There are no jewels or decorations placed in the casket. There must be no difference between the poor and the rich.

Klausen Synagoge

Klausen Synagogue

Pinkas Synagogue
Memorial to Holocaust victims

Pinkas Synagogue 

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis taught children in Terezin concentration camp art

Children's portraits with their art

As we entered the cemetery, it was so hurtful to see the tombstones knocked over and stacked right up against each other. Our tour guide had told us there was only a small area allowed for the Jewish burials over the centuries, bodies are buried on top of each other often 7 to 10 deep. There was a solemn quietness as people walked through the cemetery path. There were many Jewish families, males with the Jewish hat.

Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery

Afterwards we headed to the Palace for our tour. We thought we could get there easily by public transportation rather than the Hop On buses but wound up being on the opposite side of the palace. We did not make it to the tour site in time. We decided we would just have lunch at a McDonalds and then catch the purple line since each line took a different route and we had not seen that part of the city. We caught the bus and wound up going one stop and then stopped at a park so the driver and attendant could have lunch. This wasn’t exactly our plan but it turned out to be a nice stop. It was a shady park with a creative miniature golf course. I took several pictures of the creative holes to show my students. It was also the site of the ugliest building in Prague. Originally built to be a radio tower to intercept messages, it took so long to be built that it was no longer needed for that purpose. It now has a one room hotel at the top. Tiffany checked and it was available for this evening, at only $1,000 per night. After we got back on the purple line, we rode around awhile (long enough for us both to take a short snooze) then got off and walked back to our room. We got all our things packed and headed for the metro en route to the airport. Metro, bus, airport. We had arrived 3 hours early but better than running in at the last minute. We could not check our bags for 45 minutes. Tiffany was looking on her phone at transportation options in Amsterdam while I searched out the airport for dinner options.

Žižkov Television Tower

Fun mini-golf course

Another cemetery by the TV Tower

Entrance into the TV Tower

A mini-golf hole

Doesn't hole 10 look fun?

45 minutes later we got in line to check in. As the airline worker checked the tickets on Tiffany’s phone, she calmly told us our tickets were for tomorrow. Holy crap! We had to go to another area and see what we could do. There were 3 seats left on the flight tonight. We did not have a room to stay and had plans for a full day tomorrow because we would only be in Amsterdam for two days. Good news, bad news. We did get on the plane but had to buy new tickets ($444.00) which turned out to be cheaper than making a change with our present tickets. Tiffany tried to get a credit for what we had already spent but it was against airline policy. Unfortunately, it works the same in the United States and no amount of pleading was going to get us a better deal. We bit the bullet and bought new tickets. After we went back to check in our luggage, the girl working the check-in then told us our flight was an hour-and half late. Are you kidding? Well, our already late flight was now going to be after 10pm and we would not arrive until after midnight. We’re going to have to run on adrenaline for the next two days and the hype of home being right around the corner.

After our luggage was checked in, we went and got dinner. As we meandered back to our area, we saw our flight on the screen and it did not say anything about being late. We nearly cried. As we frantically walked to the gate, I saw an information booth and the worker told us the flight was in fact delayed. They had not put the flight was delayed until they knew how long it would be delayed--strange. Even though we were ready to leave as soon as possible, we were relieved we hadn’t missed the flight.

Technically our arrival was Monday, June 18 but since it was the end of this day, I’ll continue with arrival plans now. We arrived at about 12:30am. Although our room looked like it was right by a tram, we did not want to risk walking with luggage late at night in an unknown area. We opted to take an Uber which dropped us off right at the door and since it was raining lightly, we were glad. The room was at the Easy Hotel, which is similar to a nice hostel. The room is very small, New York style, but efficient, clean and comfortable. We quickly got ready for bed and crashed.

WALKING ACTIVITY: 7.8 miles; 17,417 steps; 10 floors; 80 degrees F

Saturday, June 16, 2018 (Prague)

We did not not have any set appointments or tours planned today so we are going to sleep in a little later. Later is usually around 8:30 and since it does not get dark until nearly 10:00 pm, each day is full. We took showers, had pastry for breakfast and went to catch the Red line of our Hop On Hop off. Our plan was to ride over to the castle for the tour. Yesterday we had met a nice couple from India on our walking Jewish tour. They happened to be at the castle stop, also waiting for the tour. We had a 20 minute wait and the sun was hot. Finally the next bus arrived which should have been bringing our guide. We were told the guide was sick today so we’d have to take the tour tomorrow. As an apology for our wait without warning, the tour hostess offered to see what she could do to make up the error. She first offered the Jewish tour but we’d already taken it and they couldn’t extend the time of the ticket since we left in one more day. I asked if we could have the River Cruise. It was a $15 ticket. I explained we were nice teachers visiting from the states and on a very limited budget. She liked us and sent a text to her boss asking if the River Cruise could be an option. He agreed and we were excited as this seemed like a good solution at the time.

Beautiful swans

So many of these beer wagons.
Bachelor parties were HUGE here

Tiffany on the river

The Charles Bridge from the water

The Charles Bridge from the water

Tiffany with the Charles Bridge

Some details on a bridge from the boat

Look at the underworking of the bridge

Before leaving our room this morning, we had booked a black light show and a puppet show – both big in Prague. After finding out the castle tour had to be delayed, we took public transportation back to our area of the city for the River Cruise. We found an area right around the corner from our room that had just opened. It was similar to the midtown area of OKC, with several eating places and a couple of shops all established in shipping crates. There were tables in the aisles so people could stop to eat and drink. We both had a pulled pork sandwich and lemonade. Both were very good. We caught another bus and headed to our River Cruise. We got a seat on top so we could enjoy a better view and breeze. The view was there but the breeze never happened. Our boat was so slow that people in paddle boats were moving faster on the water. The cruise was advertised as a one-hour tour of the river. The snail speed of the cruise allowed the waiters to offer drinks or snacks, serve them, and then collect for payment. There were some pretty sites along the banks but not enough to warrant an hour long ride in the heat. There was a group of six big college age boys that got on the cruise right before us. Four of them squeezed into the small booth next to us. We couldn’t help but laugh when the last two attempted to also squeeze into the booth, putting three large men on either side. This would not happen in America. They soon realized this would not be a comfortable ride. We offered the other side of our booth and two of them gladly took the offer.

After the cruise, Tiffany quickly navigated our brisk walk to the theater for the black light show. Black Light Theatre has been around Prague since 1959. The light used on stage is ultra-violet or UV-A. The effect is achieved because the human eye has trouble telling the difference between layers of black material. Black velvet is usually used and the performers are dressed in black. The performer uses florescent clothing or a florescent prop so the audience can see the shape and color but not the black part. We has lucked out with seats in the middle up close. We could see the performer coming out on the stage but it was still awesome. Since attending, we have heard you should definitely NOT sit at the front. Preferred seats should be in the middle or rear of the theater for the best effect. If we ever return to Prague, we’ll know where to sit next time. After the show, the audience was invited to the stage to play with the lights and have an opportunity for hands-on exploration. We used a paint type canister where you could push out the florescence and leave a shadow of your handprint or add highlight effects to a drawing. We would love to experiment with this with our students and they would love it!

Light Show

Getting a turn to participate

Some background information

After the show we had a couple of hours to look at some shops and have dinner before the puppet show. We found a cute shop with inexpensive wooden ornaments and each bought an ornament, one of our personal goals for each city. We found a restaurant called the Fat Cat with a good variety of menu and reasonably priced. Tiffany had quesadillas and I had chicken skewers with rice. We had walked several blocks looking at shops so now how to navigate to the puppet theatre.

We went to the National Puppet Theatre for a presentation of Don Giovanni. It was advertised as a family friendly show and the puppet group toured all over the world. The reviews said it was very humorous and a delight for all ages. We read a little about the story upon arrival since it would not be presented in English. We arrived and found the seats very hard and narrow with wooden armrests. The theater was advertised as having AC but it was very hot inside. We watched the first half and although there were moments of comedy, for the most part, it was confusing and lacked humor. The show was two hours long. After what seemed like a long time, I checked my watch and it had barely been 30 minutes. At intermission, which they call Pause, we decided to leave. Tomorrow we would be leaving in the afternoon for our last city and we had hoped to do laundry this evening. It would be good to get back to the room early and get started.

Don Giovanni theater

Johnnie with the Don Giovanni puppet

Tiffany took the clothes downstairs to the laundry. It cost us about $5 to do a load of laundry and dry them. Washing machines and dryers in Europe hold very little so you can’t do an average size load. We were glad this would be our last time to worry about laundry on this trip. I like to air dry my things so I decided I’d get my things out of the dryer after about ten minutes so they could finish air drying. Tiffany started the laundry and came back upstairs to start organizing for our next venture. She went down and started the dryer and got ready for bed. I was not sleepy so I worked on our journal and was waiting to get out some of my clothes. We heard a knock at the door and our host told us it took two hours for the dryer to run a cycle. Two hours! Neither of us wanted to stay up that long so we decided we’d leave them until morning and then finish packing. Tiffany was quick to fall asleep. I waited about 15 minutes then got out a few things and hung them in the closet to finish drying. Now to bed.

WALKING ACTIVITY: 4.8 miles; 10,375 steps; 4 floorsTemperature 74 degrees, 6 mph wind

Friday, June 15, 2018 (Prague)

I had a hard time sleeping during the night. The bed has the thinnest mattress on it and the absence of sheets made me a little uneasy. There were two duvet covers, one on each side and a cover over the pillows. I had a hard time believing the host would laundry these with each guest and it made me sort of have the “willies”. I looked in the bathroom for sheets in the linen closet but there were only towels. I knew I couldn’t lay a towel on the pillow or I’d wake up with a terrycloth patterned face. Tiffany was out and sleeping hard. I finally pulled out my swimsuit cover-up and used it as a makeshift pillowcase. While Tiffany slept, I looked on my phone for economy priced chain hotels (Best Western) as an option for our next nights. Unfortunately, they were way out of our price range. I then googled where to buy sheets. I did find a couple of places, none real close, but in my search I found other people had questioned the use of duvets instead of sheets. Guess it was more common in Prague but still others had the same concerns as myself.

We woke up about 7:30 and took showers, getting ready for a busy day. We left for breakfast and found a little place down the street. We ordered an omelet and scrambled eggs. The omelet was dry and the scrambled eggs too runny. After breakfast we caught a variety of public transportation, (first a bus then metro then another bus) all heading towards our 10:00 appointment at the International School of Prague. Months ago I had contacted the school after reading they have a strong STEM program. I was thrilled to hear back from their librarian, Jaye Shaer, who is originally from Kansas.

Johnnie at the International School of Prague

Tiffany at the International School of Prague

International School of Prague map

Jaye, Johnnie, Tiffany

Flags representing countries that students hail from

Fun hallway art

Make magnetic marble maze--Coming to Truman now!

Tiffany and Jaye in the Makerspace area

Elementary area of the library

Book display board (empty as school was ending soon)

Makerspace library

The school was out of the busy city area, with a large campus and nicely landscaped. The campus was fenced and there was a guard at the gate. We checked in at the front desk and Jaye came up to meet us. The school is beautiful, very modern. Each grade level has a color designated to that grade. Areas with multiple colors are common areas, such as the cafeteria and library. The school serves Pre-K to 12 th grade with approximately 880 students. There is an average of 20 per class average, 3 classes per grade. All of the teachers speak English and it was the common language heard throughout the school. They use a Reggio curriculum for the primary grades, a Montesorri type curriculum where student interest guides the units of study. Every child has 1:1 technology in elementary but cannot take the devices home. The primary grades have 1:2 technology and grades 6 to 12 have 1:1 technology and may use the devices for school and at home.

Two awesome students showing us a project they were finishing up

Infinity mirror the boys built

Idea Lab

Idea Lab

Classroom storage of iPads

2nd grade classroom (I think)

Just leave messages right on the desk

The school has an Idea Lab where three teachers work as technology facilitators. They had two 3D printers, robotics, and other equipment. They teach classes, collaborate with teachers to help them so they can facilitate future learning, and also have an open lab for students to come in and work on projects most anytime. It reminded me a lot of the Innovation Hub at OU. The library was very big and had two study rooms. The school will be remodeled next year and there will be more study rooms available. There was a nice Maker Space area in the library that will be moved to the Idea Lab next year when it is expanded. This is a private school and the tuition is equivalent to $25,000 per year. If you are a teacher at the school, your child/children may attend free.

Guided Inquiry Wall

Love this idea!

We have an extremely hard time even being able to do recycling.

Tiffany, Patrick, Johnnie

Johnnie and Tiffany

Jaye invited us to join her for lunch in the cafeteria. There was a large variety including vegetarian hot dishes, salads, sandwiches, desserts. Jaye paid for our lunch which was a very nice gesture. There were only a couple of days left of school and everyone was busy. The PreK students have their own little cafeteria and they eat in their rooms. Their learning area was center based with the playground area right outside the windows and private from the rest of the school. There was a nice theater in the round area for students to use for assembles and programs. The morning we arrived, the 6th graders had put on a play of Romeo and Juliet. We appreciated everyone taking time to meet with us and while we could have stayed and watched a lot longer, we left in a couple of hours so they could return to their schedules.

At the suggestion of two of the educators at the International School of Prague, we took a tram to the Czech Technical College. It was very modern. The outside of the building had the measurements of the building. Inside there were many technical “posterboard” type displays. There were three stories and everywhere there were groups of students very focused and very quiet. There was a big open foyer in the middle and very creative and witty stick figure drawings on the walls surrounding the foyer. A few were a little off color but most had a lot of hindsight into the message and illustration. I couldn’t help but think what our students might want to communicate if given this same type of scenario. I did notice a very futuristic shopping cart which I had to take a picture of since the original shopping cart was invented in Oklahoma. After leaving the College, we took a metro to Old Town Prague. We are so appreciative of this opportunity to see other parts of the world and bring back STEM ideas for our students. However, this is our third week and we are also a little fatigued and homesick. We always feel relieved once we have accomplished our set goals for a particular city. This gives us some time to see more of the city, learn about its’ history, and there are always unexpected STEM ideas that surface along the way. As we walked through the Old Town area, we were ready for lunch. We saw some stands smoking hams that smelled delicious. The sign read 100 crowns (about $5.00)/ 100 g for ham. I kept seeing people getting a chunk of the ham and a slice of rye bread. This was a great lesson in knowing measurements/weight. I placed my order and was given a plate with a big chunk of ham about the size of a hamburger. I was then told it was equivalent to $25.00. When I said that was too much, the guy said it was like buying a steak and it was not nice to walk away. Nice or not, we’re on a budget so I did. We asked at another stand if we could only purchase 100 g but they said no. This is a high tourist area and I’m sure many tourists make this same mistake thinking they will only be paying around $10.

Metro newspaper girl with Johnnie

Czech Technical College library

Czech Technical College library
Looking down on the main floor

Such interesting illustrations at the Czech Technical College library

Such interesting illustrations at the Czech Technical College library

1+1=3 (man + women=couple with baby)

Little American humor

Little dig at Communism

Stats on the stairs

Old school Nintendo games

Sonic was very popular at my house at one time

Fun shopping cart

It is tiring to continually be reading schedules and maps to navigate a city and Tiffany has been doing a great job doing this throughout the trip. I have taken the Hop On Hop Off tours in other cities on prior trips so after looking at a variety of tour options, we decided to try this tour. Our first part of the tour would be a walking tour of the Jewish quarter. We had a beautiful and fantastic guide. She was a student from the states that was going to college in Prague getting her Masters in International Diplomacy. She said the masters program in Prague was only about $3000. Sounds like a great financial deal but we couldn’t help wondering if the degree would be as credible as a degree earned elsewhere.

The Jewish tour was very interesting and moving. We heard about how the Jewish had been treated throughout history in Prague and then during the reign of Hitler. We saw small brass plates set in the street outside of the Jewish homes called stumbling stones– one set with the name of a father, mother, and eleven year old son. All had been taken from their homes and sent to the nearby concentration camp to meet their deaths. We noticed several more in the few days we were in Prague. There was a tour out to the concentration camp but both of us felt it would be too emotional to visit. It was close to 6:00pm. Our guide told us the shops and quarter would close up soon and would not reopen until Sunday. Saturday was the Jewish day of worship. She told us there would be armed guards standing outside of the church so no one would bother their time of worship. We will planned to return on Sunday.

Stumble stones

One of the synagogues

Looking toward the Jewish cemetery

Prague's Brutalism architecture

Franz Kafka--rub his foot and you will return to Prague one day

Our fabulous tour guide, Johnnie, Tiffany

After our walking tour, we decided to ride the Blue Line and Red Line of the Hop On Hop Off bus. This would give us some time to rest as we drove around and heard about the various city landmarks. We passed the Strahov Stadium, which has a capacity of 220,000; 56,000 seated. It has a field three times as long and as three times as wide as a standard football field. During the days of communism, there were mass synchronized gymnastic exhibitions held at the stadium. While it was impressive, it was also a symbol of the power and control of the government. We also saw the Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge, and many landmark buildings before deciding to take public transportation back home. As we waited for bus 14, we saw it parked about ½ block from the stop. We thought we were in the wrong spot for the pick up so we walked back to the bus. The driver shook his head no and pointed to the bus stop. We turned and walked back to the stop, thinking he must be taking a break and it would be a few minutes. We were hysterical when he started the bus immediately and literally drove the bus about 8 feet to pick us up at the official bus stop. Definitely a rule follower.

The Dancing House

That's one way to divert traffic

Johnnie at the Lennon Wall

Johnnie and Tiffany at the Lennon Wall

Johnnie's mark on the Lennon Wall

Tiffany's mark on the Lennon Wall

Johnnie and Tiffany at the Lennon Wall

We were now tired and hungry for dinner. Finding something we both want and within budget is a little challenging at times. We looked at several menus along our walk but neither of us were too keen on fish or traditional Czech food. We wound up back at the mall and surprisingly tried a traditional restaurant because Tiffany wanted to try fried cheese, a popular dish in Prague. The fried cheese looked sort of like a round mozzarella stick with no marinara sauce. She also had mashed potatoes with cream that were similar to scalloped potatoes and delicious. I had grilled chicken and dumplings, another Prague favorite. The chicken was adequate but the dumplings were round like the center of Wonder Bread only a little spongier. My mom is a Dumpling Diva so this was no comparison!

Both had some moments of homesickness today and tonight. We were having fun, seeing amazing cities, meeting new people and getting a plethora of ideas but “There’s no place like home.” We were hoping to keep ourselves really busy these last few days as we were on the countdown now. Two more nights here, three nights in Amsterdam and then we’re flying home.

WALKING ACTIVITY: 10.6 miles; 22,727 steps; 14 floors; 73 degrees F