The Czech Republic

I made it! The bus ride was actually not as long as I thought it was going to be. The Czech countryside is beautiful and it's the first time I've experienced elevation in a long time. I think my ears even popped.

I was a little on edge as we passed through Poland. I don't know what it is, but that country has always freaked me out. I do have some pangs of guilt however about not going to Warsaw and Krakow to see the holocaust memorials. Family legend has it that my Grandpa Edward Westgard was in the first company to liberate one of the concentration camps. Maybe I could have seen a picture of him that would have confirmed what my dad has been telling me for as long as I can remember.

The hostel I'm staying at is the barest of bare bones that a hostel can be. I'm in what looks like a 5th grade classroom with 7 beds in it. It's ... cozy.

Even there I have to pay for the internet - 50 kc it cost me for about an hour last night. The internet cafe I'm currently at is charging 39 kc which is about $2/hour. I kind of miss E-Stonia.

I bought a book this morning by native Czech Ivan Klima called "The Spirit of Prague". It is very enjoyable reading and just the thing I was looking for about this city. It confirms my suspicions that this is an artists paradise filled with coffee shops and cheap beer. Very agreeable so far. My guide book lists a chain of vintage clothing stores that I'm going to check out later today. I also had some of the best Thai food I've ever had at this restaurant called "The Lemon Leaf".

My days are blurring into each other. I find myself envying those who live in beautiful cities like this and have jobs. I really want to be employed in doing something - you know. Be able to work for something and feel a sense of accomplishment at a job well-done. That's one thing that Wal-Mart had going for it. You could do a project, and do it right, in a very brief period of time. No "life's work" projects - which is probably the direction that my life is heading. A friend of mine once said something to me about this very thing. I'll paraphrase, "Producing something on a farm is different than working in an office. Maybe you have something to show for it like memos and cables and charts - but nothing tangible that really changes. And you don't really have to sweat for it."

This same friend also pointed out something profound in the movie "Schindler's List" that is so allegoric to life. The detainees are trying to build a structure of dorms, or something like that. One woman says, "You're doing it all wrong and this building will collapse within the year. This is how you should do it." The German guard pulls out a gun and shoots her. Then he says, "Do everything like she said." So poignant. Also like my experience at Wal-Mart.

I will have more to write later. I'm also "logging" my travels in a notebook I bought in Latvia. As I'm writing, I imagine that one day my daughter might feel like taking the same route through Europe that I took in 2007. Kinda cheesy, eh?