Monday afternoon flood photos

So, to start off here are a few random pics I took while on a walk a few months back. They're not the ones I wanted but I can't find those, so these are the one's you're going to get. They're just to give you an idea as to the dimensions of the river bank and surrounding areas.

Pretty and cheery right? (Yes, that's a bride.)

So, here's today, the same general area. I can't get one that shows where the boat was as it's gone - that region is mostly underwater. The closest I can get is what was behind the boat - a little island with a playground. Click on it and you'll see you're looking at the top of a slide and the top of a swingset.

In the photo with the bride this little restaurant with the red roof is in the distant background. I was standing under the arches in the background when I took the pic of the newly married couple. 

You can see some stairs that lead down - but that's just the first of three sections you take to get to the lower level. 

The streetlamps aren't like sidewalk street lamps, these serve large boats that dock here so they're quite tall.

This is the top of a billboard.

Here you can see how they're keeping Kampa Island and parts of Mala Strana safe. You can't even see where the stairs down to the lower restaurant level start as they're completely underwater.

 The city is pretty dry. There have been deaths but some of those are due to stupidity rather than an general threat (rafting, surfing, etc). Areas have lost power and water but it's being restored. Around the country about 7,000 have been evacuated. Other cities, towns, really, have been much harder hit than Prague has. The metro has been greatly impacted but there are supplemental buses and trams running in order to ensure the backup doesn't get too crazy. It's stopped raining for a bit - it had while I was taking the photos too - but we're expecting more... and they have to release water from a dam in order to ensure the dam doesn't break, so they expect the river to increase even more - but it's already receded a bit. Fortunately they don't expect it to get to the level of the last flood - but the city is prepared for that level of flooding, so even if it increases dramatically things should hold.

Hope you're warm and dry and having better weather than this.

Monday morning flood thoughts

The National Library worked through the night to move books out of the low-lying storage areas. This morning I found a map of the closed streets and realized our school's library borders one of the streets closed for flooding... the school's website has noted the library is closed until further notice, but it says that about the school in general so I didn't think too much of it until this a.m. Now the library is on the first floor (European style first floor, second if you're in the US) and it's hopefully not too likely the water will reach that high, but as I understand it, if you're evacuated you're not allowed right back in to the building once the water recedes. The owners have to clean and sterilize it and get approval from one of the few engineers qualified in the post-flood cleanup process to certify not only that it's clean but that structurally, addressing the building, water and electricity conduits, that it's sound and safe for rehabitation - and then you have to take that paper to the municipality for them to process it and release the lock-out.

This whole process can take a number of days... and now I'm worried that maybe while the water won't get to the books that possibly secondary moisture damage could. I hope that's not the case. I think we have the biggest English language library in the country and it'd truly be a tragedy if it were damaged.

I also realized - my leather winter boots are under my desk inside a building that is currently inaccessible. And my umbrella is right behind my desk, about two feet away from my boots. That was stupid. I went to the Fringe Fest after school on Friday and left my umbrella and boots in the building to collect today as I thought I'd chill at home for the weekend and skip the rainy weather... that was mostly true, but now the weekend is over and the building is still locked up. I think I'm going to need to find my warm rubber boots to head out in a bit and a stupid very thin rain jacket - like a single layer of plastic - that actually does keep me dry but does nothing for the cold.

So here's a repeat photo for you - one that was taken yesterday afternoon (it was already seriously flooded) for contrasting purposes.

And now here's the same location, but taken just before 8:30 this morning.

Flooding June 2013

The country has been hit by massive flooding. (Don't worry, family, I live on a hill outside of the flood-zone and am absolutely fine!) The government has declared a state of emergency and transport across the country has been impacted.

Friends are being evacuated, the zoo has been evacuated, the National Library is relocating all of their books, hospitals and rest homes evacuated, schools and buildings have been closed.

There is a lot of stuff going on and very little one can do. There is a hotline to call to help, but they've accepted 200 volunteers and aren't accepting anymore - and even those 200 aren't being fully utilized.

The first image below was taken (none of them are my own - photographers unknown unless identified) after the flooding had already started, the second today after a bit more time - the peak still hasn't hit.

This is one of my favorite areas of Prague, but it's completely underwater right now... in the lower right hand-side you can see the windows of the restaurant you walk past in order to get to the open air bar and farmers markets areas.

Here's an image where you can see a river-side restaurant underwater. (Foto: Lukáš Horáček)

And here is a beautiful building, the Municipal Building, before the storm.

Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo

Nope... not yet. It was peaking out there for a second, not even a second, half a second but now the cold grey has settled in again.

The Czech Hydro-Meteorological Office had a bit of news release today - not shocking to those of us who've been living it, but.... the sun has been hiding.

Seriously. There's been only 43% of normal sunlight hours. In the month of January, the whole month mind you, there were only 20 hours of sunlight. Last week there were two hours of visible sunlight.

Bleak.Grey. Dreary.

Hope it ends soon. 

Sick, not stuck

Each winter I get really sick. I caught a cough in November, it started to improve in December while I was away, and now it's come at me with a vengeance. I am wheezing when I'm not even breathing. It sounds like my lungs are snoring in between my breaths. I'm conscious of each breath I take. I wake up violently, gasping, wheezing and feeling like I'm choking, within minutes of falling asleep, each time I fall asleep. It has made me hesitant to take the medication that will make me drowsy. Today I had another round of lung x-rays. Have never had to do this in the US but have had to quite a few times here.

And while I'm still waiting for my results I have made some decisions...

Unless there is a complete and final resolution for my breathing problems this will be my last winter in this country. I cannot live some place if I can't breathe there. I don't know where I will go yet, most likely not back to my place of origin (doesn't meet the below criteria), so I am about to start researching other countries: places with a low cost of living, moderate climate, comprehensive and affordable medical care, and some sort of expat community/English language opportunity. If you have any suggestions please send them my way.

Feeling like a grown-up for the first time, all over again

Since moving to Europe I have lived in furnished apartments - at first this sounded exciting, a little luxurious maybe... sorta like a hotel or something. It's not. Its a big ole crapshoot. And after while you become aware that there's nothing substantial that belongs to you , nothing considerable you own and that aspect of adulthood sort of slithers away in to this odd remote concept that no longer applies to your life.

The first flat we had was tastefully furnished, if a bit spartan. The second - not as much... the third flat was filled with furniture from the second and the fourth was awesome. Really, it was freakin awesome. I loved that flat.

Now, I am here alone, living alone for the first time in my life and in a flat that is not fully furnished. It came with a wall unit, a couch and some wardrobes but no bed, table or chairs.

Tonight, for the first time in over four years, I am sleeping in my own bed. I am sleeping in a bed I own. Not a 'bought it cheap from some expat headed home' deal, not a second hand special from the shop around the corner but a brand new bed, new frame, new headboard, new mattress, all of which I went to the store for and picked out for myself. And I feel a little more adult-like, a little more established in my environment and a little more like potentially I may be a long-termer. And dammit, it's comfortable and I like it.

Now I need to bring the rest of the house up to the bed's standard :)

dating doldrums defined

A friend was talking about this speed-dating thing recently - actually a few of them were, both male and female. There is a FB group I belong to that is getting hit hard with this speed-dating company's promotion - they've been called out for spamming but it showed up again today... so, in light of  my recent conversations, I clicked on it to see what they were about before they got banned for their spam.

Here's the take-away... there are various age group divisions. In the 20-something to early 30s, both genders pay the same, full price. In the late 30s  to mid-40s females, early 40s to late 50s men, the men are offered a 50% discount.

That is how bleak it is.