SK SLAVIA FOTBALL

The  match was a tie at 0-0 but the action was definitely on the side of the home team: SK SLAVIA PRAHA. 


Taking the tram from my hotel was a snap. A simple trip on route 22 that travels through lovely neighborhoods and crosses the bridge east of the Charles Bridge was terrific. For a moment I could see five bridges across the river. The ride lasted 42 minutes, about the time of a half of fotbal.


My ticket was cheap  but perfect!  I was placed nine rows back from the goal of the defending team. We had 11 shots on goal the first half. One of the shots went high of the net and over my head by about a foot. 


A young man next to me, named Dominik,  was Matt's age and his father had been the keeper for the SK Slavia. Since I was in the end zone, everyone was standing up and singing their songs, waving their hands, and jumping around like  the UW games at third quarter. It was really a lot of  fun and although the stadium seats 22,000 there were probably only two thousand people at the game--and they all sat with me, behind the keeper!

Hotel Adalbert-Prague

On the west side of Prague rests the 1000 year old Brevnov Monastery. This garden of green in the middle of an urban city is the setting for the Hotel Adalbert. Yep, I'm staying inside a room that's been here for a millennium. Pretty neat.

Honestly, it's the nicest place I've stayed since arriving in Europe. I'm a bit sheepish about showing you this place but you must put it on your list if you visit this enjoyable city.

Thanks to Rick Steve's travel books it's half price for me during the month of March. The setting is fantastic and they have worship next door on Sunday.  

Across a cobble stone path, just twenty steps, is the rustic Klasterni Senk restaurant. I ate there Friday night and enjoyed chicken, pork and vegetables skewered and grilled over an open fire.The meal was served on a wood plate.  The salad was delicious. The dark beer perfect. The coffee and apple strudel with ice cream was a complete surprise but fitting end to the meal. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

He was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was born February 4, 1906 and died April 9, 1945.  Dietrich  Bonhoeffer was also a participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism, a founding member of the Confessing Church.  His involvement in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging at Flossenburg concentration camp in April 1945, shortly before the war's end.  His view of Christianity's role in the secular word has become very influential.

This weekend I will journey from Prague to Flossenburg concentration camp just over the Czech Republic border in Germany.  I expect that I will complete the  biography of his life that I have been reading, and  then I go to the place where he, along with two hundred thousand other human beings were murdered.

Dietrich  Bonhoeffer made an impact in my life. His words,
read over and over again, created a  desire within me to become a pastor and theologian.

When I was in my twenties I read his book Life Together. It was  about a secret seminary of the Confessing Church to train pastors for German congregations during the oppressive regime of National Socialists. When Hitler was demanding the Old Testament be stripped from the Bible, and Paul's letter's favorable to Jews be stricken, a small minority of Christian theologians went underground, and preserved the teachings of their Lutheran identity.  In Life Together he wrote words and ideas that captivated me with their power and clarity. As a result of this single book, I continued to I read all the books that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, as well as others written about his life.

This weekend I will visit the place where he died and place a flower near the memorial of those who stood beside him in life and death.

Ski Day on Saturday

Saturday morning was beautiful. I ate breakfast and walked to the train station.  I purchased my ticket to the mountains 90 minutes away.

For $8 bucks I had a round trip rail ticket to Poprad. The train stops in Strba, a  ski resort, immediately across from the station.  Folks get off the train, walk about a 100 yards, stop at the canteen for that last minute candy bar,  buy their lift ticket, and put on their skies. I think it is wonderful!  No problems. It is so easy  to get up to the mountain.

Inside the train families, couples and kids were all heading up the mountain to enjoy the afternoon. Some people had their skies, and stacked them in the racks for that very purpose, others would simply rent. A couple boys were talking about their para-sail, that is something that looks like about a quarter of a parachute. As it fills with air it carries the skier along by the power of the wind. Kids were digging into the food packs to see what they could eat while they rode the train. Some children were hanging onto to their cool bobsleds. These are neat plastic sleds that looked like a miniature snowmobile with a steering wheel. Parents were enjoying coffee and tea and holding their children as they grew antsy.

Down below in the valley of Martin the weather was warming--about 45 degrees--and the snow was melting. Not so on the mountain. With higher elevations and lower temperatures the snow was great, and so was the day.

Martin Students

In most ways they are like any group of young 20 somethings: they like music, sports, cinema, travel and hanging out with friends. Yet, they are different, too.

Each one is studying at the Center for Christian Education. They are learning about the Old and New Testaments, Bible History, Ethics, and more. Some will become teachers, others youth workers and others have plans that are still unfolding.

What I do know for sure is that when I work with them in conversational English they are delightful. They respond to my questions. Question my methods. And together, move forward as they discover and speak a second language: English.

Sophie's Snow Mobile

I think this is perfect for my daughter. Room inside for four people--maybe five if you squeeze.  A large propeller on the back with a simple guard to protect your fingers, hands, arms, upper torso and head. Manufactured during World War II it's tested, proven and snow worthy. Lights help you see where you are going--and the only direction you drive is forward.

The color is terrific and matches her ski coat.  The two-tone paint job offers a special racy style and the interior is leather, with wooden steering wheel. There is room for a cooler in the back and a map holder in the side pocket of the driver's door panel. What more could she want?

Bank + Coffee

Out of money I walked down the street searching for a cash machine. It was morning. I wanted coffee. Hot, rich, wake me up in the morning coffee. But I was out of cash. I needed some money so I could buy the coffee.

Imagine my response when I saw this sign on the building. A bank? A coffee shop? In one building. Starbucks should catch on to this gig.

I opened the door. I smelled the coffee aroma. I heard the swirling sound of the barista steaming the milk. I watched as he poured it over the carmel colored espresso. Yum!

It was too good to be true. I was a customer. No other bank for me. No sir. This bank was MY bank. I walked up to the clerk and withdrew some euros. Then I walked 9 steps to the barista. I ordered a bagel, cream cheese and cappuccino. I paid for it with my crisp, clean money.  I slipped into a bar chair near a high top table.  It was perfect.

In some ways it reflects the new Europe. No borders and barriers with the new European Union. You travel seamlessly across borders without the necessity of changing passports or currency. I like it, just like my coffee.

I