Greetings From Prague

The wild tree on the old Seven Mile Bridge illuminated for Christmas, by persons unknown

I sent blog reader George season's greetings and I got back this reply which I liked enough, and thought about enough that I figured you might like to read it too. Tonight is Twelfth Night the traditional end of Christmas celebrations so as we all suffer through a winter blast in North America from minus 50 in International Falls to plus 50 in Key West, a final Christmas thought. George writes for a living and I was grateful he took time out long enough to give me a chance to see into his exotic world, the home of King Wenceslas (the original Santa Claus) from the inside. I find this terribly evocative, like Martha Tenney's pictures of Madison under snow called Wisconsinland .

 

Photo of Prague from Wikimedia

 

"It has been quite cold here through November and December, but temps have eased slightly and are just above freezing this week. Which is extremely helpful, as my wife has run out of room in our small refrigerator and is storing all sorts of food and leftovers out on the terrace. (We live on the top floor of a building in the center of Prague and have a large rooftop terrace overlooking the city, which comes in handy.) I just hope the hawks that live nearby don’t make off with my turkey leg the same way they devoured a pheasant we’d hung out to dry a few years ago! (No joke!)

Worse than the cold, however, is the non-stop gray skies and extremely short (and dark) days. It’s hard not to get depressed with this kind of weather but I’ve got plenty to keep me busy and too many blessing to count!

On the plus side, Prague is extremely festive at this time of year, with lights and decorations and outdoor stalls selling all sorts of food and booze and everyone generally out on the streets carousing and having a great time (sort of like Key West only wearing bundles of clothing instead of shirt sleeves!). The Czechs are making up for years of forced non-decorating under the godless Communists. It’s not that they’re religious (they’re not), but they love dressing up and decorating and old traditions and generally having a good time, which I’m all in favor of. We were in Paris a few years back at Christmas time and were amazed at the absolute absence of ANY lights, trees, decorations, or anything reminiscent of the Christmas season. It might as well have been November or March. To me, they’ve taken the separation of Church and State way too far. London, as I’m sure you know, does a great job on the festivity front, despite the bad weather and with Brits being as godless as the Czechs.

Enjoy your beautiful weather and some time off and I look forward to reading about your new adventures and Holiday musings on the blog.

All the best to you, Layne and Cheyenne!

Cheers,

George"

It makes me nostalgic for snow! Well, not quite, but I wonder what a vacation would be like at Christmas in Bohemia.

 

 

 

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