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It was a great trip. It was a trip to Europe, too, not Eastern Europe (except for the language). My favorite things: the cafes, the Christmas markets, Max's friends, the arts and bookstores, and of course the ancient streets and the efficient transportatipn system. The prices were good as well-- Max was very picky about not paying too much, so we never spent too much in one place until I bought coffee at the airport on my last day and it was 110 crowns!! $4.50 us-- robbery.

Last Days; Kutna Hora

Yesterday was the Contemporary Art Museum. It is known by other names, which are all confusung, but the one above fits. It is five floors, with 3.5 devoted to Czech work and one point five to the Paris school. For such a major collection, it was empty. We maybe saw one person there among the Picasso, Monets,and Gauguins.

Later we had dinner at a highly recommended Czevh place -- not good and then on to the Estates opera house to see Don Giovanni. We had nosebleed tickets, but the theater is small compared to the Academy of Music that they seemed quite good. Really it is quite exciting to see an ora in the house it premiered in withperiod costumes and sets.

Kutna Hora has the Ossuary -- a chirch decorated with the bones of plague ans Hussite war victims--40,000 of them.

The town itself is stunning-medieval with many churches and winding streets, Max tells me thst Czech Republic is filled with these Medeival cities-- like Italy I guess but with less

Public Transportation

It's fabulous here. I was a bit overwhelmed at the beginning, but it is quite good and simple, even in a language that I can never learn. There are three subway lines that cross the city, and tram routes that fill in the gaps. Travel is via the semi-honor system. You buy tickets (paper) from machines, and validate them when you enter the system. There are guards who perform random checks to ensure you are carrying a valid ticket. Max said he was checked three times his first year. If your ticket is expired (or non-existent), you are fined 700Krowns - about $35. I think it's pretty interesting that such a large system works so well with so few checkers of honesty as opposed to systems in the U.S. where admittance is not allowed without a ticket. Also, the Czech system allows for all manner of passes that don't go through the machines. Max has a 3-month student pass, for example, that cannot be validated each time.

Also, I've taken the subways at night -- 11 pm. No worries. And walking several blocks to my flat after that. It is so strange not to worry about walking at night.

The oddest thing of all by American standards is that people will stand and offer you their seat. Or more accurately, if you are of a certain age, they will defer to you. I find it quite disarming, this constant acknowledgement of my advanced years. In the U.S., there is no formal way age is acknowledged socially, so I can always be deluded to think that I am the same age as everyone around me (either younger or older).

When I first started taking the bus alone in Seattle when I was 10, I was taught (by whom, I don't remember) to offer your seat to the elderly and pregnant women. I was very diligent -- I was a girl scout after all. I haven't taken public transit in Philly for yearsm but even 20 years ago, I know that seats were never offered up -- strictly first come, first served.

So now I am the elderly and again, I find the public acknowledgement quite disarming.

We took a break from Czech cuisine last night and had Korean food at the restaurant where Milena used to work. It was very refreshing having a meal that was heavier on vegetables and lighter on meats and fats. The food was very good and not at all leaden in the stomach.