It's that time of year...

... when I need to wish the most wonderful mother a person could hope for a very happy birthday. I love you Mom. Just so you know...  I've called you at home a few times, on your cell, at Dad's office and at your parents. You already know we didn't connect, but I wanted you to read this because - it's the first time I've felt like your mother - trying to track you down and not succeeding :) I hope you were out having a lot of fun!  And I hope you enjoyed our silly serenade.  Happy Birthday.

Polish Pottery

Last year I took a trip to Bolselawiec with the mother of my kid's friend while they, the kids, rather the senior class, were on a school trip.  Apparently, even though they were in Istanbul at the time, the girls had wanted to go pottery shopping too.  Well they both graduated and one moved away.  This is the first time since graduation we've all been back in Prague together so we scheduled a trip.

Here is the outcome - my purchases only - the monkey had her own.  I spent no more than $50 USD.

 What you see there, from the top left, is a rectangle serving dish, 2 cereal bowls (one is tilted so you can see inside it), another deeper bowl, a little teapot thingy  for teabags, 4 salad plates, 2 little tiny bowls, a big mug, and a spoon rest.

I love Polish pottery.  I love the colors and patterns and the heft to it. I started buying it in the US about 16 years ago, when I was in my early 20s. Part of what I like about it is that other than the 4 plates and the 2 bowls, nothing I have is the same - plates don't match bowls that don't match cups that don't match anything else.  But they work together.  If you break something you can just add something new and pretty and make a nice trip of it while you're at it.

new year, crazy weather

This year I continued my streak of uber-fabulous and exciting NYE celebrations.  Since moving to Europe in 2008 I've spent the occasion:

2009: Landing in Prague after a Christmas visit back home - sick and without my daughter who had visa problems.  Unbeknownst to me, at the time, I had pneumonia. I spent the night in my cold, empty flat way out on the edge of the city, without much food or any company, exhausted, coughing and watching fireworks in the valley beyond my flat from the comfort of my bed.

2010: Some of my family had come for a visit.  This was the last night for my brother who had an early AM flight back to Canada.  It was quite and mellow and an early evening. (My personal high note when reviewing the years covered)

2011: On a plane. Probably over the Atlantic, somewhere between the North America and Europe. With my daughter. At least one of us was sick but I don't remember which one, it might have been both.

2012: Bought tickets and was excited for a 5 day celebration some friends had organized. Promptly got sick and missed the whole thing. Gave the kid my pass and she, and her friends, had the best new year's eve celebration of their lives. I stayed home, watched fireworks from both my bedroom balcony and the roof-line windows in the living room and then watched movies with the cat. We live in a different flat now, one near the center, fireworks started about 3:30 pm and lasted until about 7 am... and then started again the evening of the 1st, but only for a little while.

Today - it's the 2nd of January, 2012.  We don't have any snow in the city, have hardly had any rain. it's 52F right now.   Cloudy and gray but not cold by any stretch of the imagination. Which is good cause I'm still sick, we both are now,  and I have to go for a walk to the grocery store to get some food for dinner.

Vaclav Havel - the end of the official 3 days of morning

The government declared thee days of mourning in recognition of Vaclav Havel's passing.  During these three days casinos (non-alcoholic establishments) and gambling bars (alcohol is served) were closed, concerts and performances were cancelled and citizens were asked to moderate their personal celebrations.  A lot of holiday work parties and other events were toned down, including the for-profit Christmas markets - they're still out there and still operating but apparently in a slightly more reserved capacity.

As I mentioned earlier a few days back I saw black flags being flown by the neighborhood schools - this turned out not to be an anomaly - local government institutions were sort of split between the Czech flag at half mast and a black flag, and some residents flew black flags as well.

Yesterday was the official state funeral. There was a bit of an political spat about the planning of the ceremony which I found interesting. Vaclav Havel and the current president, Vaclav Klaus, were not friends. In fact they were political rivals and on opposite dies of everything - Klaus was a major thorn in Havel's side, gate-crashing his parties and events in order to draw publicity, their conflicts were so infamous a documentary was made about their dynamics . (You may know Klaus best as the presidential pen thief, just in case his name alone doesn't bring him to mind.) Upon Havel'a passing Klaus took charge of planning the funeral. One of Havel's close friends, his  long-term personal adviser and a current major political figure, the Foreign Minister Karl Schwartzenberg, likened Klaus's lead in paying tribute to one of Havel's absurdist plays, an unintentional homage in it's own right.

As it turns out it was a religious ceremony, despite Haven's lack of ties to Christianity,  held at St Vitus Church located within the Prague Castle compound.  There were over 40 dignitaries representing nations around the world.  Throughout the city the emergency sirens marked the start of the funeral - we were up in an area of town near the castle running holiday errands and so heard the gun salute when it as delivered.  Havel was the last Czechoslovakian president and was given a funeral in the style of the first Czechoslavkian president.  While all of this state business was going on there were other events under way.

Haven's wife and his brother, along with a major support team, put together a memorial concert last night. It was a six hour event that took over the entire Lucerna complex.  The top Czech bands, both current and pre-revolution played, and performers flew in the from the US, both Czech and American.  The initial lot of tickets were released on Wednesday, and without publicity were gone in less than 2 hours - that is 3,000 free tickets released at no more than 2 per person without any news of the event.  The second lot, another 1,000 were released on Thursday and were gone in 12 minutes.  I was lucky enough to be gifted a set of tickets  - and when they were delivered to me I was given a third ticket as someone had become ill.

I have never felt such an affinity with this country before.  I took a friend and gave the ticket to a colleague whose family had close ties to Havel - his brother was a recent adviser wrote a book that Havel wrote the forward to.  My ticket benefactor had suggested a spot to meet inside the main music venue and his suggest was excellent - my friend and I were stage level just off the foot of the stage and were located right at the backstage entrance... when bands were waiting they stood with us to watch the show and when they came out for interviews it's where the interviews were held too.  We weren't crowded but occasionally had to move an inch as the press wanted our spots for photos and some video.  In other words - we were had a great spot.  Upon meeting she had expressed some doubts on lasting the full six hours - but each band played 30 minutes - the stage was divided in to different sections and they rotated spaces.  When one band ended the next started. We got there at the beginning and nearly 5 hours went by before we knew it - it was my sprained knee that made me realize I need to sit down for a bit, so we went to the other music hall, grabbed some chairs and watched a few more amazing bands.  After that we went to the movie theater and watched part of a documentary... and then it was ending.  We walked outside while the final band was still playing - and watched in on the giant screen set up in the middle of Wenceslas Square.

After she left, and the commotion was over, I walked up towards the museum to look at the public memorial. It was huge - truly impressive.  It had spread a bit and 2 areas are full of candles and now the front of the museum has a large image of Havel.

This week has been a little draining. Locally the country has been consumed with Vaclav Havel's passing, personally I have a friend who passed away at this time of year many years back that brings some sobriety to the holiday and that was compounded by the death of another friend this past weekend.  As a family unit we were already feeling a bit low about not being with any of our rather large extended family for the first time, ever. However, the week has passed and we're ok. We've done all of our shopping and meal planning, we have options to connect with friends here and things to do together that we're both looking forward to. Tomorrow we'll connect with family and friends via skype and take lots of pictures to share.

My heart goes out to the Havel family and to my friends' family as well as all others who have lost someone during what is supposed to be a season of joy and laughter.  I hope that each of you reading this, regardless of the time of year or your religious persuasion, has love and laughter in your heart and joy in your daily life.  Peace. And Merry Christmas.

Vaclav Havel - his return to the Castle

This morning was the formal procession from the church where Vaclav Havel lay for public mourning to the Castle, where the formal state funeral will take place.  There were well over 10,000 people who walked the path from Old Town, across the Charlies Bridge, through Lesser Town and up to the Prague Castle in the drizzle and the cold. I was told to come to school a bit later as those 10,000 formed a wall between my home and my school, so I did.

And on the way I saw something I've never seen before. Not a massive gathering of people, not people teary-eyed and blank faced, but rather black flags.  The schools in my neighborhoods had strung up black flags on their flag poles. While official buildings were flying their Czech flags at half-mast, they were flying black flags for mourning.

There have been a few other remarkable things in the past few days - the comments and recognition that have been coming through form all parts of the world. The local embassy has been sharing numerous links and quotes which I will share with you here (some are excerpts from articles and not properly credited, sorry):

‎"Vaclav Havel believed in freedom, and had the courage to speak out about the evils of communism. He will be remembered as a hero to the people of the Czech Republic and to lovers of freedom around the world." -Nancy Reagan, widow of ex-U.S. President Ronald Reagan

‎"We have lost a hero of our times, a friend of freedom, who lived his life with integrity and sent forward ripples of hope into the world. He will be missed and remembered..... In an uncertain, always evolving world, I am certain of this: Vaclav Havel's words and example will endure and continue to provide inspiration, lighting a path forward, reminding us that history takes place in the here and now and that we all contribute to making it." CNN           

‎"All Americans loved him, regardless of party or creed, because of his courage and his extraordinary commitment to the values he exemplfied and that we share with the Czech nation. We will miss him greatly. But I am comforted with the knowledge that the spirit, ideals, and wit of this great statesman and man of letters will live on in his writings, in the memory of all who knew him, and in the thriving democracies which he helped nourish." -U.S. Ambassador Norman Eisen on the passing of Vaclav Havel

‎"Vaclav Havel went from being a playwright to a symbol of the new Czech state and democracy in Eastern Europe. Along the way he became Czech's first democratically elected president, nominee and winner of prestigious peace prizes, and one of the world's preeminent anti-communist revolutionaries." CS Monitor  - and in the American version of the paper the he was remember as “Czech president, playwright, and peacenik” and “one of the world's preeminent anti-communist revolutionaries”.

‎"Barbara and I join in mourning the death of Vaclav Havel, a gentle soul whose fierce devotion to the rights of man helped his countrymen cast aside the chains of tyranny and claim their rightful place among the free nations of world. His personal courage throughout that twilight struggle inspired millions around the world, including those of us who worked with him during a historic period of transformation for Europe." - Former U.S. President George Bush (1989-1993)

‎"President Havel spent his life removing chains of oppression, standing up for the downtrodden, and advancing the tenets of democracy and freedom. When communism threatened the peace and prosperity of our world and covered Eastern Europe in a cloud of hopelessness, he wrote plays so powerful they changed the course of history and created new democratic opportunities for millions." -Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 

 “…a politician whose vision and wit embraced not just the art of the possible but of the impossible too… (All the states of Europe)  have to be open to the new, the brave and the difficult without abandoning the moral, the wise and the treasured. In that sense, Vaclav Havel's Europe belongs not to the past but the future.” UK Guardian

 “(Havel) came to personify the soul of the Czech nation. His moral authority and his moving use of the Czech language cast him as the dominant figure during Prague street demonstrations in 1989 and as the chief behind-the-scenes negotiator who brought about the peaceful transfer of power known as the Velvet Revolution”. NY Times

TIME magazine, in an overview of their coverage of Havel dating back to 1968, “rarely do politics and art find such a tempered combination as in Vaclav Havel”

The Spanish press noted “Václav Havel, the Hero of Prague, has died", and the German stated simply “The Conscience of Europe is Dead”, while Al-Jazeera noted “The leader of a small country but a giant on the international stage, a statesman equal to any of his contemporaries, Václav Havel’s standing and influence stemmed not from his leadership of armies or command of political institutions, but from his commitment to the freedom of the individual, and to the power of ideas and human rights.”

And here is where it gets interesting - there have been so many more memories, tributes, formal recognition of his passing it's nearly impossible to keep track. President Obama has released a statement and the Clintons will be attending the funeral, as will a number of heads of state.  There is one place that, will their local Embassy has sent condolences, the heads of the government have yet to do so - that country is Russia. I hope that they are able to step beyond any past official resentment they may hold for Havel and his peaceful path to democracy and recognize that this was a great man who devoted his life to a fight against tyranny and oppression in all forms and actively worked, until his death, to create a more peaceful and united world. I hope that more people take the time to learn about his path, his work, his organization, Forum 2000, and realize that living your beliefs can be the impetus for great change.

May truth and love prevail over lies and hatred. - Vaclav Havel

Yesterday the greatest modern Czech stateman , Vaclav Havel, passed away. He was an author, a music lover, and the figurehead of the Velvet Revolution. He was the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first of the Czech Republic. On a more personal note, he was one of my very few personal heroes and the founder of the organization that helped attract me to Prague. He actively worked to make this world a better place, not just for his countrymen but for all citizens. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak on a few occasions and a very brief, albeit for me, memorable, introduction. While no man is perfect, Vaclav Havel was inspiring.

"Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance." Vaclav Havel


If you don't know much about this man I'd suggest you pick up a book or two.


Here's a link to a condensed review of his life.

More on the Martins

So many Martins, such a big mess! Here's an update on a few Martins, as derived from today's news.

Martin Kokoureck - the minister whose mother had an inexplicable bank transfer of a few million crowns after her son awarded a tender, is now being sued by his ex-wife.  Turns out this Mr. Martin mentioned that he had given his mom 16 million crowns a few years back in order to hide his assets prior to his divorce.  Probably not the best way to try to explain away a problem.

Martin Vimr, the IT Director for City Hall, is out after the public disaster related to the OpenCard debacle and the loss of hundreds of millions of crowns.

Related to Vimr's situation is Martin Dvorak who was finally removed as chairman of Prague Transport Company.

Another good day to not be a Martin.