One Hundred-Towered Prague

One Hundred-Towered Prague
by Czech Republic poet Nezval (1900-1958)

One hundred-towered Prague
City with fingers of all the saints
With fingers made for sweating falsely
With fingers from the fire and hail
with a musician’s fingers
with shining fingers of a woman lying on her back.

With fingers of asparagus
with fingers with fevers of 105 degrees
with fingers of frozen forest and with fingers without gloves
with fingers on which a bee has landed
with fingers of blue spruces
With fingers disturbed by arthritis
With fingers of strawberries
With spring water fingers and with finger of bamboo

Reflecting on my limited global travel experience, I wish to strongly recommend to friends - be sure to include Prague if you are planning to go to Europe.

Prague can offer unusually deeper cultural / historical insights than any other European city. I shall say better than Vienna, London, Paris, etc. You can witness old and new architecture; Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Rococo, even Art Nouveau and contemporary - castles, churches, monasteries, libraries, museums, gardens and parks. I read and heard comments by visitors to Prague saying that it was as if they were visiting a fairyland.

The above quoted Czech poet Nezval also wrote about the River Vltava running through Prague:

‘Bon voyage, Vltava!' Your bubbly string playing string for us glorious tunes along with harp while the Vysehrad* soaring up in the bright moonlight as if straining its ears to listen to Vltava".
(*Vysehrad - the name of the hill where the Prague castles or fortresses are)

Nobel Laureate poet Jaroslav Seifert also referred to Vltava as his river of hope and faith. And Bedrich Smetana dedicated his first symphonic poem “My Fatherland” (in Japanese) to Prague. The Czech name of this symphony is “The Moldau”, meaning Vltava in German. I enjoyed the Vltava riverboat cruise when I was there.

My favorite Mucha’s artwork are St.Vitus Cathedral’s stained glass windows. I remember there is a colorful area called Golden Lane where it was rumored alchemists transformed lead into gold. In reality, the area was home to the castle’s gunners and goldsmiths, where Franz Kafka once lived. The strangely named “Powder Tower” enchanted me.

I returned often to Wenceslas Square recalling the so-called Prague Spring or Velvet Revolutionary demonstrations. In the Old Town Square, I marveled at the old but still operating astronomical clock and bustling flea market.

My visit to Czech was in the spring of 2005 when I visited the Architectural College named after Jan Leztel (1880-1925), the architect who built the Hiroshima Prefecture Business Exhibition Hall Building. The building itself was destroyed by the Atomic Bomb in 1945 but the dome skeleton has been famously kept as a war memorial, now designated as a UN Heritage site. The college is in Nachod, East Bohemia, a border town to Poland through Krkonose Mountains (see riosloggers 2009).

Of Mice and Men

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy ! 
- "To a Mouse"  by Robert Burns 

Another ski season!  George, my best friend in Pardubice, Republic of Czech, sent me his recent Toastmaster speech, titled “Of Mice & Men”, my favorite novella and play by John Steinbeck.  I featured him in my blog “Silver Iron”, a top skier in the authentic Orlicky Half Marathon Cross Country (XC) event in 2012.  

His venture this time, he fell more than once in the Hervis Jizerske 25, completing a circular loop, both thousand meter level ascending and descending trail.  I asked him about snow conditions and he answered it was perfect. Sounded like the trails were overcrowded with fellow racers, which brings me to the Burns poem. Anything can happen suddenly to upset your expectations, however perfect a plan you have made.  I wrote to George “But You made it!  Bearing pains and cramps.”  Steinbeck quoted Burns poem and used it as a title of his novella. 

Krkonose!  The top Czech mountains and National Park in northern Bohemia and the source of River Elbe, bordering  Poland. George told me about Giant Krakonos (Rubezahl in German) that inhabits and tricks men in a friendly manner, symbolized in wooden carved statutes along the mountain paths.  I loved the sound of Krkonose. It must be a lovely summer resort as well.  The town Nachod, the birthplace of Jan Letzel, the architect of the Hiroshima Dome, sits at its foot.  I visited the Jan Letzel College of Architecture accompanied by Toastmaster George in 2005.

I have loved both Burns and Steinbeck ever since I was a student.  While traveling in Mexico after retirement, I met a woman who was completing Burns’ works. When I visited her house in Los Angeles, she showed me part of her research papers before she died. Regarding Steinbeck, I had visited his Salinas home a long time ago. I also visited the National Steinbeck Museum built in 1998 in Salinas. Traveling to Monterey, California on business, I took the time to visit Cannery Row to Fishermen’s Wharf.  Both literary giants have inspired me greatly.

George also seems enjoying running with friends to keep him physically fit for winter sports, the source of his stamina.  Go-go-go George! 

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Of Mice and Men
by Jiri Pscenicka

My dear toastmaster friends. Some of you may remember that about a month ago Eda and I took part in Orlicky Half Marathon. A cross country-skiing race on a windy day and in a bit tricky snow conditions. Well we both had falls there, traces of which remained for some time on our faces. Perhaps some of you said: „Is it wise for men of their age to do such things? Well, George is an old fool, but Eda is a respectable doctor, he should know better!“ Our answer would be: But we LOVE cross-country skiing!“

My next love affair with cross-country skiing happened just 6 days later. Hervis Jizerská 25, a race in which I took part a year ago. I considered the race in the Jizerské Mountains much easier than the Orlický half-marathon. So my expectations were high. Last year I was too shy, I started almost from the end of the field and I overtook many skiers during the race. I finished even in the first half of result list (which never happened to me in the Orlický marathon), so this year I planned to start from the front. „More assertivity, George!“ I said to myself.

To prove my assertivity I placed my skis in the fifth row from the front. And OFF we went! Well, my first impressions from the race were promising. I was not overtaken by many people and when we came to the first uphill part, I said to myself:“ Jolly good show, George! Your choice of ski-wax was good“. Some people were sliding backwards, some already had to use herringbone, but my Silver Swix Klistered skis slided beautifully up the hill!  So, full of hope, I eagerly moved forward. But on the 3rd km it happened. A girl fell right in front of me! And when I was avoiding her, I fell too. I managed to get up quite soon. But I felt an excruciating pain in the back of my left thigh. „ Oh dear, it must be spasm! I went to the right side of the track trying to massage it. It did not help. So I limped very slowly forward cursing myself that I had forgotten to take with me Nutrend Magnes Life solution which is supposed to help against spasm immediately.

On the 5th km there was the first refreshing station. I drank ion drink there and asked the volunteers: „Have you got something with magnesium? I have a terrible spasm in my left thigh!“ They did not, but they offered me kitchen salt instead which should also help. A girl brought it in a big open box. I grabbed it in my left glove and put it in my mouth. Ugh! A terrible taste. But I was too shy to spit it out, so I went on. And then I said to myself: „George, you old fool, you should have taken salt first and then the drink!“ I salivated profusely for the next 10 km to the second refreshment station to get rid of the unpleasant feeling in my mouth. And there I asked: „Just the drink, no salt, please!“ 

After the fall my ordeal was to limp for 22 km to the finish. I moved a bit like Vladka on her scooter. The weight of my body was mainly on the right leg, the left one was flapping behind. Luckily, I had two ski poles and two arms to push me forward. And also, the circuit of 25 km race was oriented in anti-clockwise direction, which meant that most bends were to the left, when the body weight is on the right ski. But crowds of people were now overtaking me. At the start we had a snowfall, but later the sky cleared up and the sun was shining! From the upper parts of the course between Čihadla and Hřebínek we could see rolling hills down below. „Po modrém blankytu bělavé páry hynou, lehounký větřík s nimi hraje!“ (* See translation below), I recited loudly to other skiers. But nobody was interested in poetry. They just panted heavily overtaking me. (Well, if they were Germans, Swedes or Norvegians, that might be an excuse.) I noticed one thing which made me afraid: A lot of girls kept falling even in very easy downhill parts. They usually screamed, threw about their arms and fell on their buttocks. At one time I saw three of them on the ground and had to do slalom to avoid them. Well, there was only one sharp bend to the right before the finish. And I fell there, as could have been expected. But I got up quite quickly and finished the race. A girl at the finish slipped a ribbon with a massive glass medal round my neck. But I was unable to loosen binding on my left ski. Somebody had to do it for me.

Now you must be thinking: „Did old George also hit his head apart from his buttocks in the race? Why did he call his speech „Of Mice and Men“, when he talks about skiing?“ Well, it is purely for educational purposes.  „Of Mice and Men“  is a novella by American author John Steinbeck. But he himself was inspired by a poem „To a Mouse“ by the Scottish bard Robbie Burns. In it he says: „The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.“ That’s exactly what happened to me! Expecting triumph I met with disaster! Great Expectations gone with the wind! 

Oh, George, don’t be so hysterically histrionic! Your fall was not a disaster, it was just a minor mishap! No broken bones. You were able to finish the race. You should be grateful to God for getting away so easily. Yes, I am grateful to God for that, I know I might have finished much worse off. And here is the question again: „Was it worth it?“ My answer is: „Yes, it was. I love cross-country skiing.“

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* In his speech, George recited Karel Hynek Macha (1810 - 1836), Czech's romantic poet in his native language (I took as his curse). This poet was a young judge. I asked the meaning in English. He gave me the following answer.

"In the azure vault of heaven the blanching mist are dancing. In light dissolving zephyrs tattered,
And on the far horizon scattered white cloudlets over the placid sky go glancing."

Jan Letzel, Hiroshima Atomic Dome Architect

Lowland corridors were my first impressions of the Czech Republic as I traveled by train from Sachsen, Germany to Bratislava, then on to Budapest, Hungary with stopovers in Prague and Pardubice. The northern border of Czech shares the Krkonose Mountains with Poland and is as high as 1,600 meters above sea level. The mountain ridges curb south to the right and comes down to an elevation of 1,000 meters, where part of Poland is surrounded by the Czech Republic. Nachod, the gateway to Poland and noted for Primator beer brand, is situated there and has a population of 22,000. In 2005, I visited the city, with the help of my Czech friend Jiri Psenicka, a Pardubice Toastmaster.

Jan Letzel (1880-1925) had been recognized by the Japanese as the designer/architect of the "Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall" (built in 1915) and the postwar "Hiroshima Atomic Dome" , with UNESCO designation. When Hiroshima celebrated Letzel's 100th birthday, Czech writer Olga Stolskova participated. Pavel Hayslore, Letzel's great great nephew was invited to Hiroshima on August 6. 2000. Thanks to the excellent pre-arrangements of my friend Jiri, I had a chance to visit Nachod's two year College of Architecture, which was named after Letzel in 2000, the same year Hiroshima celebrated Letzel's 100th birth year; the city of Nachod honored the architect as "Letzel Year".

Jiri drove his Czech car "Skoda" that day for me. We left Pardubice, where Jiri worked and lived with his family, early in the morning and headed for Nachod, about 80 kilometers northeast of Pardubice. It was a smooth, scenic country drive, after hitting a little morning traffic in the Industrial Hradec Kralove. Prinicpal Ing. Chraska met us in his room in the company of Vera Vlckova, the Englsih teacher in charge. They treated us to breakfast before we went to Vera's English class.In my address to the English class, I gave a brief talk on the "island" Japan, rich in marine and farm products, but exposed constantly to the threats of nature, such as seasonal typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis. I told them about the earthquakes that just hit Fukuoka after my departure and about northern Kyushu where I live, and the telephone conversation I had with my wife about the earthquake. I told the students that Jan Letzel himself experienced the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1925 that made him build the dome sturdy, which withstood even the atomic bomb. I emphasized that the Japanese people were determined not to be engaged in any war again so as not to repeat the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After my speech, I presented Japanese souvenirs that included fans, picture postcards, chopsticks. During the Q&A session, I was requested to demonstrate how to use chopsticks, and sing some typical Japanese songs. I sang the "Sukiyaki" song, a Japanese pop tune and "Sakura", the cherry blossom song.

After class, Ms. Vlckova took us to the grave site of Jan Letzel, then to the nearby castle on the hill. We had lunch at Masaryk Square (named after the first President and founder of Czechoslovakia, 1850-1937). She bit her lip when she spoke of the poor student exchange offers, despite her willingness to deepen ties with Japanese counterpart colleges. On our way back, Jiri drove me to Ceska Skalice, not far from Nachod. There is a national park and forest called Ratiborice and a summer palace a Bohemian lord built in the 18th century. It was off-season so we met no one while visiting. The brimming river was running through a scenic area with a water mill, cottages and dams.

Jiri pointed to the stone statue of a stooped grandma and children looking up to the sky, which depicted a scene from the book written by Bozena Nemcova (1820-1862). Bozena‘s two best known books are The Village under Mountains and The Grandmother (1855). The latter is about a young girl named Barunka (name is a pet form of Barbora) and her childhood with her grandmother in the countryside. Both books were inspired by Nemcova's own childhood in the village of Ratiborice, where she lived with her parents, siblings and maternal grandmother, Magdalena Novotna. Grandma, on her deathbed, asked the children to tell the bees her message. A couple of mock-up beehives can be seen on the slope of the river banks. The sprouting bare branches of poplar trees along the River Upa shone brilliantly in the sun.