tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25145442010-04-19T17:31:26.004+02:00I'm finally satisfying a long-held dream of living abroad.<br> I started with six months in France followed by two and half years in the Czech Republic.<br> Now, I'm giving Turkey a try.Dorisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-84421547860423815382010-01-10T16:17:00.005+01:002010-01-31T12:01:54.719+01:00

As far as I know, there is no Catholic Church in Ku?adas?. The nearest place to attend Mass is the House of the Virgin Mary, above Ephesus, where Mass is said Sunday mornings at 10:30. There is no direct dolmu? (dolmu?es are the little minivans that serve as buses here) service between Ku?adas? and the House, so at a little after 9, I was at the corner to catch the dolmu? to Selçuk, from

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-55940061125159644752010-01-10T15:11:00.003+01:002010-01-10T16:34:35.700+01:00

On Friday the 8th, I visited Ephesus, which contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. The Basilica of Mary, Mother of God, was the site of an ecumenical council in the 4th century. Its existence supports the claim that Mary lived near Ephesus toward the end of her life (since in the early days of the Church, churches were dedicated only to those who had lived

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-11552383329527282542010-01-10T14:49:00.005+01:002010-01-11T09:10:32.155+01:00

I arrived in Ku?adas? on Tuesday, and so have had a few days to start to get settled in. Ku?adas? is a town that reinvented itself for the sake of tourism. As a consequence, now, during the off-season, it doesn't seem to have much reason for existing! In the Bazaar (conveniently near the harbor), only about 1 in 3 of the shops and restaurants are open. But even in the high season, tourists

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-11629397697770208072009-07-28T12:23:00.001+02:002009-09-28T12:29:19.672+02:00

There was also a folklore festival going on this past weekend in Prague. I took a handful of pictures while walking through Starom?stské nám?stí, and I simply offer them up here without comment:

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-51205353832620985832009-07-28T12:04:00.002+02:002009-09-28T12:14:22.444+02:00

There are plenty of second hand stores in Prague, but for some reason, the concept of flea markets or yard sales is unknown. Until now, that is: as of this past Saturday, there is now a flea market in Nám?stí míru on the 4th Saturday of the month. It's rather slapdash, and it remains to be seen if it will really take off:

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-42988088024497073712009-07-28T09:33:00.003+02:002009-08-15T10:36:04.741+02:00

From this week's parish bulletin at sv. Tomáš: "July 28, In memoriam of Father Augustin Schubert, OSA, pastor and witness to the truth.Born in Prague-Zizkov in 1902, who after obtaining his doctorate in Philosophy entered the Augustininian Order in 1924. Ordained a priest in 1929 he was appointed pastor of St. Thomas. In this capacity he soon gathered an eager group of young people and was in

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-14543001468096854902009-07-15T22:57:00.004+02:002009-09-28T11:55:53.326+02:00

On Sunday, I took myself on a little pilgrimage to Svatá Hora (Holy Mountain), in P?íbram. (P?íbram is about an hour from Prague by bus.) From the website: "The most well-known, as well as renowned, place of pilgrimage consecrated to the Virgin Mary in Bohemia - Svatá Hora (Holy Mountain) - has been, in its present-day form, towering high above the old mining town of P?íbram offering a

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-49936969553218384102009-07-13T11:30:00.004+02:002009-07-27T22:57:51.520+02:00

I visited Tábor ("a historic town with a Hussite past", according to one of the brochures from the tourist office) last Friday (the 10th) for no real reason except that I hadn't been there before. This historic center, centered on Žižkova nám?stí, isn't very big. The tourist office offers a free audio-guided tour which takes about two hours. It starts at the Town Hall: The Hussite Museum

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-70743531076266746262009-07-03T10:25:00.003+02:002009-08-13T10:28:34.928+02:00

I visited the Prague Zoo last year, but it was too big to cover the entire thing in one visit, so yesterday I went back. It really is a lovely zoo, and they give the animals plenty of space. The birds: The hippos: The bison: The monkeys: The penguins: It's not a very Anglo-phone friendly zoo, though (not that it has to be, of course), and so I don't know what these animals are: It is

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-21158766377793309922009-06-22T17:15:00.002+02:002009-06-24T13:24:23.737+02:00

Saturday was Prague Museum Night, an annual event when participating museums, galleries, etc. offer free admission from 7 PM to 1 AM; there is also free transportation provided. Besides their usual exhibits, many museums take advantage of the opportunity to open new shows or offer special accompanying events. Not surprisingly, a lot of people turn out with their families to enjoy the free

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-48777211968209940012009-06-14T19:06:00.005+02:002010-01-11T08:34:56.656+01:00

My parish here is sv Tomáš. (The church is tucked into an alley, which makes it difficult to get a good shot.) It was established in the 13th century and there is an Augustinian monastery attached to it. The summer refectory and cloister gardens are used for such gatherings as hospitality after Mass and the annual parish festival: Father William claims that the cloister garden figures in

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-88114921591560149722009-06-12T18:30:00.004+02:002009-06-23T16:34:35.322+02:00

Today, I visited Lidice, the village destroyed by the Nazis in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The History in Brief Reinhard Heydrich died on June 4, 1942 as the result of May 27 attack by Czechoslovak parachuters sent by the government in exile. Hitler ordered reprisals, commanding that, in any village involved in Heydrich's death, the SS should: Execute all adult

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-54536774831857243372009-06-06T10:25:00.003+02:002009-06-23T11:29:08.259+02:00

I finally got around to taking a "Ghost Tour" of Prague the other evening, courtesy of McGee's Ghost Tours. (There are no pictures, as I still really haven't mastered the art of night photography.) This would really be a tour best taken on first arriving in Prague, as a lot of it was old hat to me. For example, the tour starts at the Astronomical Clock with the story of the blinding of the

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-25375678415045580782009-05-24T17:44:00.004+02:002009-06-22T18:30:21.341+02:00

Last year, I joined the pilgrimage to svatá Dobrotivá. This year, I did so again. The experience was very similar to last year's: the bus ride to Olešna, where we began our procession: Then the cross-country procession. I remain amazed that the area surrounding Prague becomes so quickly pastoral on leaving the city: The Augustinians (with the help of some of sv. Tomáš's parishioners)

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-27324652354879597152009-05-17T17:15:00.002+02:002009-06-22T17:44:28.318+02:00

Last year's celebration of the feast of St. John of Nepomuk was a modest affair: Vespers at sv. Tomáš followed by a procession to St. John's statue on Charles Bridge and finishing up with a Benediction at the church of St. Francis on the other side of the bridge. This year, though, there was a grander celebration. Apparently someone affiliated with the Charles Bridge Museum wants to revive

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-60904280678217671962009-04-13T13:17:00.004+02:002009-06-19T08:53:13.765+02:00

Last year, I mentioned my dissatisfaction with the way in which the Triduum liturgy was handled at sv. Tomaš and speculated that I might opt for a retreat in an English-speaking country this year instead. Well, that's exactly what I did: I went to St. Beuno's, a Jesuit retreat house (excuse me, "Spirituality Centre") on the coast in Wales. St. Beuno's was originally built as a Jesuit college

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-36934777342299794482009-03-29T12:54:00.001+02:002009-06-10T13:16:29.401+02:00

I went out the other day to play tourist and visit the Easter markets. Not, mind, with the thought of buying anything, but just to look. My outing coincided with the "Right to Life" (anti-abortion) March: The more Easter-specific booths tend to feature decorated eggs: As at Christmas, though, a lot of booths just sell the usual tourist junk: These dancers were preparing to go on stage at

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-13237978427768581562009-03-28T20:55:00.009+01:002009-06-19T08:56:56.694+02:00

I visited the States for the first time since leaving more than two years ago. It was Little Brother's birthday, which seemed like a reasonable excuse. Oregon Since my putative excuse for the trip was LB's birthday, I started my visit on the Oregon coast, near Lincoln City. I made LB a seafood lasagne and blueberry cheesecake (his favorites!) for his birthday, and we just hung out. We did

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-12269478147716848712009-01-21T19:58:00.002+01:002009-06-06T20:05:23.128+02:00

It was of course possible to watch the inauguration streaming online, but I really wanted to be with like-minded folk for this. So off I went to the Globe Bookstore. Turns out I had more than enough company: The speech was well-received, and I was particularly pleased that Obama specifically refuted the idea that we should compromise our ideals in the name of security. I didn't stick around

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-27604337237344848922009-01-07T19:50:00.002+01:002009-06-06T19:56:39.044+02:00

Before leaving Caledonian School, I tried to present my medical bills for reimbursement. However, the insurance clerk was out sick the week before Christmas. No problem, I was told, just come back in the New Year. This was a bit of an annoyance, since it would have been nice to have the money before Christmas. That, and I didn't have any other reason to go into that part of town. But there

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-70635134302042438012008-12-27T16:18:00.004+01:002009-06-06T17:17:17.826+02:00

December 24 is the first day of the three-day Christmas holiday, and the Czechs take this seriously as a holiday. There's little, if any, last minute running around to buy Christmas presents or groceries, and any stores that are open at all close by early afternoon. The Christmas market at Nám?stí Míru was virtually shut down before noon: Some merchants weren't even waiting 'til after

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-6601874601414951372008-12-23T16:19:00.002+01:002009-06-06T16:48:18.081+02:00

I came back from Milan to a web development job that promises to take enough time to interfere with teaching. It also promises to last long enough and pay well enough to make the decision whether or not to continue teaching a no-brainer. And so I have told Caledonian that I won't be coming back after Christmas. My students have been gratifyingly upset (or at least disappointed), even to

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-23032203133666442912008-12-06T13:53:00.005+01:002009-06-10T13:10:31.849+02:00

In Czech, St. Nicholas is sv. Mikuláš. He does not visit children on Christmas Eve*, but rather on the night of December 5, the eve of his feast. Unlike his English-speaking counterpart, sv. Mikul&aacuteš is still a bishop who wears his miter and chasuble and carries a bishop's crook. He is also accompanied by a devil, who doles out coal or potatoes to bad children (or even threatens to carry

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-53693403034662162662008-12-05T13:42:00.004+01:002009-06-06T13:50:48.517+02:00

There is of course a Christmas market at Nám?stí Míru this year. It seems smaller than last year's though: about 20% fewer booths, and much less well attended. Is the economy making itself felt here?

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514544.post-15620518706653061972008-12-05T10:25:00.009+01:002009-06-06T19:50:51.560+02:00

I took a three-day holiday from teaching to go to Milan for Adobe MAX Europe: I was feeling the need to reconnect with my techie roots. I had an early morning flight on Sunday, and I was amazed at how deserted the airport was: There were also scads of posters announcing the upcoming Czech presidency of the European Union: I knew that the sugar cube is a Czech invention (what, you didn't

Dorisnoreply@blogger.com0