Czech it out

All right, I know "czech it out" is an overused phrase here in Prague. It's on T-shirts everywhere, but who could blame them? The bad pun is overshadowed by the absolute beauty that completely surrounds you--both architecture and people. I'd definitely like to spend some more time here in the future.

Ich bin kein Berliner

No, I'm not a Berliner, or a pastry, or anything remotely close. But we did have a fun time riding the trains around the city, walking for miles and taking in all different parts of the city in all kinds of weather. There's certainly a New York-ish (in European terms) feeling about the city, compared to other places we've been.

I can't quite figure out what my fascination with East Berlin, the DDR, and the Wall is, but I certainly liked going to all the touristy "Checkpoint Charlie" type things. Any of you who knows me well knows that I dearly want the signboard in this photo to reflect my reality rather than just my vacation.


I suppose I can call it "practice."

The whole city seems very alive, and we really only saw a small, touristy slice of it. I did find this ad rather amusing. In case it's too small to make out, it's an anti-AIDS campaign promoting condom use for Germans (the potato) traveling overseas (gee, where do they grow such tropical fruits? Hmm, Thailand??).



I mean, I've seen MANY Germans in that part of the world, in those parts of town. I'm just glad that they recognize this as an issue in the Vaterland.

Next is Prague!

Fußball? Nein. Limonade? Ja!

This was one of the first lines from my ALM German 1 textbook, circa 1980. Luckily, the German I learned in two years of high school and one semester in college has somehow come out to help me in times of need.

Upon our arrival in Frankfurt, we hopped a couple of trains to Bacharach, a picture-postcard-perfect town on the Rhine.



From Bacharach we headed by ferry up the Rhine to St. Goar, taking in the sights of all the various castles along the way, as well as the famous Lorelei rock. At St. Goar we visited Rheinfels Castle.



From St. Goar we took the train to Köln, and stopped to see the cathedral. From there we got right back on the train and headed to Dormagen/Zons, the sight of the wedding festivities. Koby was a "flower boy", and was appropriately dressed up for the occasion.




The wedding was beautiful—we expected no less from project manager Rebecca and engineer Felix. We had a fantastic time, but finally had to leave the festivities around midnight, when the disco portion of the evening was just getting underway.



We just arrived in Berlin, in the rain, and are looking forward to exploring the city over the next couple of days.