Football Czech Style

It's Saturday night inside a crowded Czech tavern. Two Americans sit together watching soccer. Scores flash on the screen. We cheer for Manchester United. Suddenly a dozen Czech's are looking at us like "What the hell are you thinking?"

I didn't know it would be this hard. These folks really take their sports seriously. Fortunately they cut us some slack. The waitress smiled at us. "English teams not favored here."

We looked a bit sheepish. We ordered another beer, grabbed some stout pretzels--about the size of my hand--and both made mental notes to remember what country we are visiting. No doubt about it, we learned what it means to follow football Czech style.

Only A Sandwich

Street vendors are a welcomed sight. Along the cobblestone Old Town Square in Prague, some have fires burning with large hams roasting over the coals.  You smell it before you see it. You want it and you didn't even know you were hungry.

I walked by the vendors. I looked carefully. One after another offering a variety of meats, drinks and desserts all staged in a long line  with high top tables near by to enjoy this food on the go.

The ham smelled so good. The fire was warm to stand near. I turned back. I took my place in line. I ordered the ham on rye sandwich and a Coca-Cola.

I began to eat my hot meal standing by one of the tables. It was a cold night. The square was lit up and the buildings were beautiful. People were gathered enjoying the time and spirit of the place.

I saw an old man walk by the garbage. He looked inside. He reached in and searched for something to eat. He went to the next one just a few yards away.He did the same thing.  He did this at every garbage container set out for the stands of food vendors.

Although  I had already taken a bite of my sandwich I put the plastic fork and knife on the plate, lifted the food and walked after the man. He searched in two more garbage containers before I tapped him on the shoulder.  "Are you hungry?"  He smiled--few teeth--and nodded his head.  "Would you like my sandwich?" I said as I lifted it up for him. He nodded his head and reached for the dish. I shook his hand.  "Good night" I said. He walked away to find a place to eat his meal of ham, rye bread and American soda.

It was the best meal I had in Prague, and it was only a sandwich.

Time Clock

Prague's Old Town Hall has an extraordinary clock.  During the day, on the hour, the bells ring, the cocks crow and the 15 century statues dance.

It's fun to sit in the cafe across the street and watch the crowds gather. It doesn't matter if it's day or night because the show goes on for everyone and anyone. 12 wooden figures are sculpted and turn out for the crowds. These are the Apostles and there is a brochure that describes who is who but I didn't bother to sort them out. However, I did catch the rather ghoulish characters--four statues that give you a clue to the outlook of the 15 century point of view: A Turk with a mandolin symbolizes hedonism, a Jewish moneylender is greed, and the figure staring into the mirror represents vanity. The last is the best and tells us all these worldly goals are vain in the face of Death, whose hour glass reminds us that our time is unavoidable running out.

Yikes! I've got to keep trekking while I'm in the heart of  Europe cause I have only so many days left. I guess this clock with revolving discs, celestial symbols, sweeping hands, and time that's measured in  Bohemian time( the gold Gothic numbers on the black background),  and the Roman Numerals that count for modern times, keep things in pretty good order.

At the top of the hour things happen quickly. First, Death tips his hourglass and pulls the chord, ringing the bell; then the windows open and the 12 apostles parade and strut, acknowledging the gang of onlookers; then the rooster crows; and then the hour is rung, and then last night, the trumpet player--a human--blows his horn to let us know that all is well.

Thanks to Rick Steves for explaining this to me cause I wasn't game for climbing the stairs up to the top, although I now know there is an elevator!  Next Time, if there is time, I'll make the lift climb!

Prague

In a city filled with photo shots I didn't take one.  That's not to say I didn't bump into a few folks as they stopped dead in their tracks to get that perfect, one of a kind, picture. Instead, I left my camera home because I just wanted to enjoy the beautiful, sunny, winter weekend with  total strangers in this magnificent city.

I enjoyed a fun conversation with four British mothers enjoying a weekend away from husband, children and futbol. They were laughing and reading texts from home and joking how little they missed their families.  In fact, they were already planning their next trip. The location will be Chicago.

We began to talk when they mentioned Chicago. I told them I lived near the city they were planning for their next trip. They started to ask questions about this and that, and then suddenly they grew concerned that I was in Europe for three months and with out my wife.

I'm  not sure what prompted their concern. Maybe it was my circumstances: I was sitting comfortably at a cobblestone cafe outside, next to a warming heater, on the Old Town Square, with a blanket over my lap, reading my Kindle as I sipped my Pilsner Urquell and ate my Prague ham and cheese paninni. "All alone. What about your wife and children?"  "Oh, they are fine. Busy. Back home."

Those wives and mothers all free of their family charges for the weekend didn't back off a bit. In fact, after I explained that my wife had enjoyed her sabbatical in the summer time, and I had stayed home with the kids and the dog and the schedules of getting this one here and that one there, all they said to me--and in total agreement was this:. "Oh, but  you must fly her over for some time with you here, alone, and without the kids."

"You betcha" I said.

Carnival in Martin

On Tuesday afternoon at the Elementary School in Martin children gathered in the gymnasium to celebrate carnival.

The costumes were wonderful. Lot's of parents came to photograph their children. Teachers were great sports and dressed as a cat, mice, hockey player, even Donald Duck!

The event began as a teacher gave instructions on how to do the Hoki-Pokie and I couldn't sit that dance out.  The music was loud and raucous--just like Carnival music. The children were full of glee and danced and danced and danced. I shared with the photographer that my congregation back home in Wisconsin had just celebrated a Carnival with their children. He smiled and asked "Is it this noisy?" "Sure" I said, "kids are kids."

Slovak Girls

Question: 
How do you make an entire class of Slovak college students smile?
Answer:
Tell them that your college age son thinks European girls have way more style than Americans!

This morning I met with my Communications class at the University of Zilina. It was a meet and greet kind of class where I introduced myself to them and they to me. We talked about why I came to Slovakia, my family, my wife, and one student even wanted to know how I proposed to my wife (it was in the kitchen and I think she thought it pretty unromantic).

Anyway, before we got down to talking about the upcoming semester, with grades and exams and essays and vocabulary words (I'll share that with them next week) we talked about ourselves and I offered Matt's now famous quote. They whooped!  A few girls clapped,  and one even said "We are!"

It was a fun moment. One of many more to come!

Slovak Bread

The best part of grocery shopping is the baked bread section. The market is filled with all shapes and sizes of bread, pastries, baguettes, rolls, buns, in all varieties of white, wheat, rye, almond nut, pumpernickel, cinnamon, cardamon and bread as black as a crayola crayon.

I eat bread at breakfast, lunch and dinner. All different types at every meal. Some bread, called rustic is dense and warm and even a bit browned on top. It's cut thick. It is served with soup and you dip the bread into the broth. It soaks up the warm flavor and doesn't fall apart. Yum!

The Christmas and Easter season has a plethora of breads to choose from and the photograph illustrates an Easter bread. Cooked in a small pot, it's carefully braided and seasoned with butter. These breads are generally sweet breads. They can be served as dessert with sweet wine.

My favorite bread is a rolled baguet. It's hard on the outside but soft on the inside. I slice it down the middle and put ham and cheese inside. I open the sky window in my room, pull my Urquell Pilsner beer inside from the snow shelf, and enjoy dinner. It doesn't get much better!

Idioms

...at the eleventh hour
---don't beat around the bush
---I aced the test
---piece of cake
---easy as pie
---be on the road
...I'll be in and out
---apple of my eye
---bite of more than one can chew
...break a leg
...she broke his heart
...I need 10 bucks
...he's so bull-headed
...Scott burned the midnight oil
...by the skin of one's teeth

Imagine your learning a new language and you hear people speak these words. For Americans we understand  what they are saying because we've grown up with these phases, called idioms.  But, to a Slovak or someone for who English is a foreign language, when I say "I need ten bucks" to go to the movie, they don't get it. Ten bucks? Ten stags? Ten big male deer? Antlers?   You can see the "wheels turning" (another idiom) in their head.

I find it humbling to sit and visit with people who are professionally proficient in their fields: journalists, pharmacists, pastors, and yet they labor to speak English and they desire to speak the language well. One of the notes I share with them is that English is articulated in many different ways. For instance, last summer when I was in Maine we asked a sheriff for directions. His accent was so strong I could hardly understand the first few sentences. I've shared the same experience in Louisiana when listening to people from the bayou country talk in an airport. I picked up about half of their conversation.

So, what I do is this: I invite them to read a few paragraphs of something that I know they have not read before our visit. Then I complement them because I understood every word they spoke. They might emphasize different syllables but big deal.  I remember trying to pronounce the store name Pamida.  I pronounced it as PA-me-dah.  The correct way to pronounce the word was PA-my-duh. So, what did I learn? Even if you speak the word differently people hear the word and know what you mean. See, it's a piece of  cake!

Lunch Time

Lunch is for everyone at the Center for Christian Education in Slovakia. The  kids, the staff, the teachers and aids. All of us gather in the dining room between 11:30 and 1:00 for a delicious meal.

Today was just another wonderful example. It begins with soup. A large bowl  is carried to the table. There's enough for four people. It's hot and steamy, fresh from the stove. Each person fills his or her bowl.  The bowl is about 7 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep. Then the meal begins. With warm bread and hot soup in front of you it's easy to pray "come Lord Jesus be our guest."

Next course is hot meat. Each day is different. Some days we have  beef,  other days chicken  and some days pork. But we always have gravy to go with  our potatoes or rice or spaetzel type noodle. All this fills the plate pushing over the vegetables and vinegar cabbage.  Warm sweet tea or coffee is served, too. It's delicious, and the cooks are so proud!  They stand in the kitchen like three great-grandma's beaming with their smiles. I think this is what "blessing" feels like.

The meal is so large it serves as the main meal of the day for my diet. In the morning I have coffee and roll and fruit. In the evening I slice a fresh baguette and fill it with ham and cheese, and drink some milk. I'm eating light tonight because I know lunch time is coming tomorrow!

Sunday Train Travel

On Sunday afternoon in Bratislava trains are full. Students home for the weekend are traveling back to school. The train wagons are packed, almost. My car--wagon is what they call it--seats 8 people facing one another four by four.

I’m sitting with 6 Slovak college kids. Two couples sit close together across from me blushed in young lover affections. Oblivious to the old man they are lost in their own world. It's curious how they are yoked together: arms entwined, sharing iPod ear plugs and music player. They are in touch in more ways than one: physically, emotionally, and electronically.

Outside the snow begins to fall and the cloudy sky is as white as the landscape. You really can’t tell where one begins and ends. Inside there a sea of color as backpacks, T-shirts, camping pads and winter coats share their respective red, yellow, blue, green, purple, orange and peach.

Reflecting on all this I've deceided that the next time I travel on Sunday afternoon I will be sensible. I'll spring the extra ten euro for a reserved seat in first class. But for now I sit with my laptop on my lap recording what I see. Funny, this all takes me back 35 years ago--the summer before my senior year of college when I was riding the train with a backpack, cuddled close to my own sweet adorable girlfriend, totally unaware of any  old guy on the train.

Film Noir

Last week in Erlangen, Germany I had lunch with a seminary classmate and her husband. As we visited I discovered that one element of American culture he appreciated was film: especially Film Noir--which may or may not be a genre depending on whose evaluating the topic.

Anyway, it's surprising to me that you can download Film Noir movies to your laptop computer and watch them in Martin, Slovakia. In fact, if your really skilled, you can even find German Film Noir. I'm not that skilled but I've been told you can if you know the right source.

So, I want all my antique helpers out there to see if we can find this poster. If you can buy it for me. I have a wonderful Franconian acquaintance who would find a place for it his publishing office! Oh...by the way this film poster is for Double Indemnity!

Munich Snow Day

Eleven hours of comfortable train travel brought me to a beautiful German city. The plan for the weekend is simple: enjoy some delicious Bavarian food, stroll the Marianplatzs, be there at noon for the glockenspiel jousts, eat at Viktualienmarkt,visit the Hofbrauhaus (already done), take in the Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek art museums, tour the  BMW-Welt building, find a souvenir for Luke & Sophie, and take the tram out to a neighborhood for a good look.

The trip began in Martin, Slovakia at 8:00 am this morning where I caught the train to Zilina, then into Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, then to Vienna and into Munich via Salzburg, Austria. I enjoyed a breakfast of ham and eggs and coffee on the train, sitting in the club car, and then settled into a comfortable Austrian rocket train that swooshed along at 200 kilometers an hour--that's 125 miles per hour.  My coffee didn't even jiggle. The cabins are pressurized and quiet and clean. Did I say CLEAN?  Squeaky clean and with a nifty euro design.

After dinner this evening I enjoyed a beer and pretzel at the Hofbrauhaus with a stately German grandpa who had on the most beautiful green, hand knit sweater with polished George Washington quarters as buttons.  I commented that it was beautiful.  He started to move his hands like a knitter and indicated that he had made the entire sweater himself.  We were sitting near the polka band and someone at our table spoke to him in German, discovering that he was 86 years old, and in fact knitted the sweater 20 years ago the first year he retired. It was a wearable work of art and he beamed with satisfaction that we would admire it.  Together we lifted our beers and clinked our glasses. Probst!

Sole Care

ECCO shoes world headquarters are in Martin, Slovakia. I've looked at their shoes in America. I liked the style and feel, but they were just to expensive for me to purchase. Not so in Martin.

Today, along with the student pastor and staff journalist, we trekked through the snow after work to the Outlet Store. It's a cool Euro shaped building near the highway, not far from the only McDonald's in Martin.  We went inside and to my surprise found a great pair of shoes at about a third of the price in the US. I tried them on and found a pair that fit wonderfully--like a smooth leather glove on a cold winter day.

Cologne Cathedral

In 313 it was the house of the early Christians in Cologne. Over the next 500 years it was expanded then destroyed by fire, then rebuilt in the 1200's and 1300's and  finally completed in the 1800's as more than 700 people worked 38 years.

The towers are 515 high. 11,000 yards of stain glass windows compose images of Holy Scripture. Inside the gold Shrine of the The Magi rest three bodies, purportedly the first Gentiles to visit and worship the infant Christ. For me the Gero-Crucifix was most moving. It features the oldest surviving monumental crucifix from north of the alps. Life sized, it was carved in 970s. It depicts Jesus not suffering and not triumphant--but with eyes closed....dead....he paid the price for our sins. As they guide said, great art and powerful theology.

Time Out!

Time Out!

I walked out of my office and heard the teacher and student. It was pretty clear what had just transpired.

Just like in America kids need a time out every now and again. The little boy's face was flush and red, his feelings hurt, and his body language said it all.

It doesn't matter if you're Slovak or American. When your only 10 years old and another kid takes advantage of you at recess the teacher never sees the whole thing.

What's the remedy?  Take some time to settle and calm and catch your breath, and then maybe in a few minutes the world might be a better place.

University of Zilina

University of Zilina 

It's pronounced "jah-leena" with a 'J' sound and not a 'Z' sound.  Letters  do not sound sound the same everywhere in the world. Nevertheless the University of Zilina provides tech-nological, economics, management and a limited range of humanities and natural science education at the undergraduate level. Currently, around 13,000 students are enrolled in all forms of study and one of those schools, recently accredited in January 2012, is the Department of Religious Studies, of which the faculty at the Center for Christian Education--where I am serving--are many of the professors and even the Department Chair!

It's amazing. I've never been involved in a place like this community of Lutherans at CCE in Martin, Slovakia. Their education credentials are remarkable: husbands and wives both with full doctorates; brothers and sisters and spouses who are physical therapists,pastors, journalist, computer technologists, orthopedist and surgeons, MBA's,  lawyer, and many, at least 6 couples with children who are infants or less than 7 years old, all share their labors and vision for the sake of shaping a Christian vision in their world.

You can feel the pulse and energy of  a new opportunity. Think of it...most of these young people were the first to go to school and learn English after the Berlin Wall came down.They traveled to America as teenagers and university  students and have a pretty good command of English They created relationships with churches, schools and individuals, and they have nurtured these relationships. The privatization of industry, coupled with electronic communication via the Internet, has allowed this first generation of university graduates to emerge as leaders with special skills. Of course these skills are valued in industry, but their love for Christ leads them to serve in this new venture. Together, they educate children in a loving school, they communicate to skeptical parents the merciful love of Christ, they teach lay members how to serve Christ's people, and they prepare with Bachelor and Master's programs at Zilina, teachers and youth/children leaders for congregations.

Today I visited with two professors and received my assignment, schedule and students as the semester begins. I'm looking forward to the opportunity. The kids--mostly 20-25--are friendly and open, but like any college student, need to be pushed a bit!  I guess instead of reading American Literature in English, they cut the corners and read it in Slovak!

Snow Day Today

  

It snowed today--about 7 inches. Wouldn't you know it but the children from school have been enjoying the ski slopes in the afternoon all week long. They come to school. Study in the morning. Eat their lunch of warm soup and hot dish and then load their snow & ski gear into the bus. Minutes later--I mean like 12 minutes later-- they unload at the resort and hit the slopes.

Yesterday I walked in the city square and passed seven snow shops with skies, boots, poles, snow boards, sleds, ski cycles and all sorts of mountain gear--snow shoes, helmets, ropes, axes, shovels and caribeeners. Every house or apartment I've visited has skies, poles,helmets and skates stacked by the door with mittens, scarfs, gloves and water bottles at the ready.

Martin sits in a plateau surrounded on three sides by beautiful sylvan hills with mountains and evergreen forests. The foothills of the Fatra mountains nestle Martin and to the east rest the larger Tatra range. You even pass an old castle along the river--it used to stop the timber rafts and charge a tax as the logs were transported to Budapest. See ya later...it's beautiful outside tonight!

Kids Are Kids

 

Riding on the train from Bratislava I met a bunch of kids and parents returning from a soccer tournament. Surprisingly, my train car with seats for 6 had only one non reserved space. I was there first and in minutes surrounded by 15 jubilant third graders-- victoriously happy after their soccer matches.

My son's team is loud. These kids were loud. The mothers tried to "shush" them but the boys could care less. They wanted to drink their victory juice and feast on cookies.

I got up. I gave my seat to one of the moms. She smiled. She thanked me. Her husband did too. He spoke  English and welcomed me to Slovakia. He told me the team was from Martin. I told him I was going to Martin. Smiles all around in the train car--now about nine little boys and three mothers and one father and the American.

I made my way to the dinning car. I sat down at a table. I ordered a beer. It was cool.It tasted of wheat. The space quiet. For awhile anyway. Then, soon enough, the soccer dads moved in and together we began to visit. They bought be a shot of juniper liquor. The drink of Slovakia! We tossed it down. We smiled. We weren't strangers any more. It warmed my belly.

By the end of the trip--about  three  hours-- I was sharing my booth with parents and kids. They celebrated and snapped a photograph at the end. One of the mom's gave me her soccer scarf. I put it on around my neck and with  the kids in the rail car we all cheered the team cheer...over and over getting louder each time.

Then the conductor came. He scolded us. We were still and we smiled when he left!

I Have Arrived!

What began as a Lutheran Elementary school for the children in Martin, Slovakia has progressed to a Center for Christian Education (CCE) with classes for adults and two degree programs at the University of Zilina. After one day of working here I've discovered two things: the staff deeply enjoy their work, and they eat very well at lunch!

A community of 48 people compromise the staff and teachers of this growing center of learning. Devotions on Monday reminded all who were gathered that while we may have different responsibilities and functions in this "nest" of faith-filled learning, it is one God who gives life to all. And, if I might add, for the good of all!  

Only A Book!

"Look at this" said Armin, the librarian at Augstana Holschule, "it's a book written by Martin Luther and published during his life."   We stood together huddled in the rare book room of the seminary library. Armin, myself, the seminary pastor Susanne, and two students--one from Germany and one from Wisconsin.

It was a pretty cool space. The library was designed to float out into the landscape of trees and grass. The rare book room was small, maybe 150 square feet.  We looked carefully at a picture that was most certainly controversial in its day. Martin Luther even wrote his own introduction. He commented that his words were  of little value, how could they be valued,  but then, on the next page he acknowledged his own celebrity and thought why not me...after all they published the church fathers!

Oh well, it was fun to touch the book, see it's cover,  and realize it was printed in the 1500's.

Schools Out -- Look Out!

Elementary kids in Germany get out of school at 12:30 pm. Can you believe it? That means they are everywhere inside the train station five minutes after the bell rings.

They show up like a Tsunami. They surround you at the drugstore looking for magazines, buying Star-Wars collector cards, trading Mento mints, and hanging on their buddies. All this of course is done dressed for the cold, frigid weather in their parkas, caps, boots, scarfs and mittens. They are just adorable. That is until the middle aged American gets on the bus and discovers he's the only one over 12 besides the driver.

They stare, they smile, they giggle, they talk about me but to each other. I ask them how old they are and one girl giggles and tells me 9.  "I have a son who is 11," I say.  "I'm 11" another girl says. She giggles and I ask if she wants to see my boy's picture. Something is uttered in German that seems like "sure" in English so I flash her a photo of Luke. More giggles, more words spoken that I don't understand, and then she blushes as a friend hits her on the shoulder.

The ride lasted 20 minutes through a pretty Bavarian countryside from Ansbach to Neuendettelsau. That was the last stop, and the bus driver asked the last girl on the bus to show the American where he could find Mission EineWelt. She did. I did. Life's good.

Copenhagen Airport

It sounds so welcoming when they say the word. COPE -N- hagen. They place all the emphasis on the first syllable. I liked the sound of the pilot's voice--a woman's voice for a woman pilot. 

The plane was late 8 minutes. I had to go through customs and move from B terminal to A terminal. At least that's what the screen on the plane instructed me to do. Half way down the A corridor they changed the gate and the terminal from A to C. I missed my connection to Dusseldorf--DOOOS-EL-dorf. It sounds fine but not as welcoming as COPE -N- hagen.

I was told that 55 passengers made the flight and that I would have to pay for the difference. Tough luck...I walked to slow. So, I went down and claimed my baggage and met Karl, a SAS supervisor, who walked me through the red tape. He told them the plane was late and to give me another flight at no charge. "Welcome to COPE -N-hagen" he said "and while your here have a strawberry apple smoothie at the juice stand. They taste terrific."

I did. It did. Welcome... to COPE -N- hagen.