Miscellaneous

It's been a bit since the last entry and I think it necessary to clean up a few things.  We have been focused on presentations everyday this week -- with a couple on some days -- but have been otherwise occupied also.

Third Community Lecture
We had our third community lecture, this time on the American healthcare system with a specific

Third Community Lecture

focus on Obamacare and the current Republican proposal on healthcare.  This translated lecture prompted the most interest by far and ended with a vigorous discussion of the comparison of our system to the European approach in general and the Czech system in particular.  The current debate on healthcare in the U.S. pointed out a lot of weaknesses with our for-profit approach and actually tempered some of the attitudes here about the level of taxation regarding Czech health services.  That is, the overall benefit of universal healthcare outweighed the individual cost of supporting their system.  As an aside, after the lecture we were approached by a good friend of our translator, Renata Popelářová. Her friend, Jana, conducts English classes for adults in nearby Žamberk and asked if we would speak at her last class this season on the previous topic of Trump vs Clinton. We gladly accepted and had a very meaningful evening along with a entertaining dinner at a local restaurant; they were appreciative of the topic and the chance to engage  native English speakers.

Local Gardening Show & Nad'a Critters
Motivated by the numerous huge announcement banners scattered around our part of town, we --well,

One of many storks in the
Letohrad area

Nad'a and B.J. at one of the
exhibits

B.J. actually-- thought it a good idea to check out the gardening event.  A couple members of the church mentioned it also but the directions we got were a bit convoluted..not their fault but our reliance on our rudimentary Czech.  So after a rather enjoyable tour of the area adjacent to the local train station we finally stumbled on the site.  Still a bit unsure we ventured into the tented area in the open field where we found booths for lawn equipment, food, beer, feathered friends in cages and a small theater/food bench tent.  It was not until we bumped into Nad'a that we realized the actual plants were in a nearby nursery-- quite an expansive complex with a stork perched atop one of the building structures.  It was fun touring the various exhibits and greenhouses on the property. Of note, to me anyway, was the really weird vegetable that could only be a prop for a SciFi

The garden creature

Athena eating.  She had a sore foot and needed
 some 'persuasion' not to chew on it. Yes, there
is a food bowl under there!

movie.  I was informed it was a kohlrabi.. and after some bantering we took a couple home; an interesting taste but not an addictive one for me. ....Er... and speaking of Nad'a and critters, we popped by for lunch one day and enjoyed meeting a couple of her critters ranging at her house. There was the expected Newfoundland 'beast', Athena, and a very adventurous turtle in the garden.

The Walk at Klášterec nad Orlici and The Bells

OK, only 5 of 6 kids and one with
back turned....ever heard of "herding cats"?

Dija on Lookout

Aleš and Veronika Pomikálovi, their friend, Jane, and a total

The Footbridge

of 6 kids set out for a hike along the Orlici river near the town of Klášterec.  We were invited along out of hospitality but it turns out more to assist in kid collection... a challenging task I will admit. The weather was grand.  There happened to be a fishing competition that day and we passed several marked areas with a couple fly fishermen wading in the water and a 'scorer' on the shore; I never got a look at a fish but there are trout there.  We made it safely to the 'stone bridge' and ventured up the nearby hill for some refreshment.  It was an equally
inefficient return trip to the cars but an equally enjoyable one.  On the way back it was suggested if we 'pick up the pace' we could try to make it back in time to participate in the ringing of the bells at the historic chapel in Letohrad.  Let me explain.  As referenced a couple times previously, there is an 18th century chapel on a high hill in Letohrad called Kapel sv. Jana Nepomuchého.  Now... a bit of a head-slap here ... B.J. and I assumed the chapel was to someone named "Jana" and thought it strange there was an 18th century chapel dedicated to a woman.  Well... after a few weeks of  Czech lessons we realize that the chapel is actually the Chapel of St. John of

Practice....

The Pro...

Nepomuk; the 'Jana ' being a declination of "Jan" or John... ok, we are slow learners. But, back to the story.  The chapel is still part of the catholic church but has become accessible to the public.  As such, each year for the month of May, at 7AM and 7PM each day, the chapel is opened and anyone is allowed to ring the bells there.  There are four bell towers situated on the corners of the courtyard (yea, the courtyard is in the shape of a pentagon but.... go with me on this). The lower bells are rung for 15 minutes and then silenced and the main bell in the central tower is rung three time in succession.  It is a really cool thing to trek up the hill and join the kids and adults in ringing the bells.