Air Mail Stickers

Back in 2018, Steven and Michael took a trip to Canada and sent me three postcards from Québec.  I don't know why but for some reason Steven put Michael in charge of posting them.  Michael put the "air mail" sticker on each card but forgot to put an actual stamp on each postcard.  The Canadian post office must have felt sorry for him because I ended up receiving two of the three postcards in Brno even though they didn't have any stamps.  

Obviously, a stamp is always required when you mail a postcard.  The air mail sticker is optional.  When I was still travelling, pre-COVID, I would ask the post office clerk for a few extra air mail stickers.  Sometimes the post office had them and sometimes they didn't but when they did, no country's post office has ever not given me a few extra stickers.  

Just to have a laugh, I sent them a postcard this week that was chockablock with nothing but different air mail stickers from across the world.  Here's the card I sent prior to buying a stamp at the post office.  I'm sure that they'll get a chuckle out of it.

21 January 2021

In just a little bit it will be...

The 21st second...of the 21st minute...of the 21st hour...of the 21st day...of the 21st year...of the 21st century.

The next time this happens is on the 22nd...in 101 years.

Nat's Visit

Natalie's back in Europe!  Well at least for a visit.  She needs to go to Italy which means that she's made sure to spend a few days here in Brno.  Which is great for me as now I don't need to wait until November to get my Nat fix when we go to New Zealand.

Tünde loved spending time with her godmother.  I see Tünde about every week so I know how much she has grown.  For Nat it was a surprise to see what a big girl she has become.  And that she speaks English, German, Hungarian and Czech.

It's been so great having Nat back in town but her visit has been way too short.  At least it won't be long until we visit her in Kiwiland.

Gdańsk Friday's Flashbacks

I used to work for T.G.I. Friday's many, many years ago.  The first time I was ever in Poland was back in 1998 when they sent me over for a month to open a new restaurant in Gdańsk.  I remember being so excited as this was my first international opening.  It was a lot of hard work with 12 - 16 hour days, six days a week.  But it was so much fun.  

Setting up the bar

This is how openings worked backed then.  A 14-person team was sent over to set a new site.  Usually we walked in to a construction zone and did PUNCH - physically unbelievable number of cleaning hours.

Gdańsk bar training in 1998

Gdańsk Friday's in 1998

We had to scrub everything from top to bottom, figure out where everything would go, receive all of the deliveries and set things up.  By all deliveries I mean everything...plates, glasses, silverware, tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, plus all of the food and liquor.

Then there was normally over a week of training all of the staff, followed by almost a week of mock service where the new staff got to practice.  There would then be a grand opening and we would stay for another week or two in order to make sure that things all ran smoothly.

Scandic Hotel in 2016

The Gdańsk store was part of a Holiday Inn hotel.  Or it was supposed to be.  When we left they were still building the hotel.  I wanted to stop by a visit the restaurant but unfortunately it closed in 2008.  And that Holiday Inn is now a Scandic Hotel.

The bar today

Here's the kicker...we're staying at the Scandic this trip.  What used to be the main dining room is now where the hotel serves breakfast each morning.

Bar trainees on opening night - 1998

I'm having all of the flashbacks each morning over breakfast.  I was sent over as the bar trainer and now the bar in the lobby looks quite different.

I Don't Live Near Ukraine

With everything going on in Ukraine right now, I want to assure my friends and family back home, that I don't live near Ukraine.

Brno is +1,000 km (623 miles) away from Kyiv.


Not only do I not live near Ukraine, I don't live in Czechoslovakia either.  MSNBC needs to fact check their maps.  Czechoslovakia hasn't existed for over 20 years.  

Two Deaths

On Saturday, I was headed out, to do some grocery shopping for the baby shower, and saw some police officers in the foyer of my apartment building.  They then went outside with some people.  I assumed that maybe someone's car was hit or something.

A couple of days later I found out what had actually happened.  On the 9th, a woman in our building died at home.  Then on the 10th, someone else in our building died.  Both were older and died of natural causes.  The odd thing was that their flats were each sealed with police tape for a few days.

I didn't know either person who passed away.  I remember meeting the woman though back in 2009 on the day I moved in to my flat.  I was coming in the front door of the building, behind her, and she asked me who I was there to see.  She didn't speak English but she spoke basic German.  I explained to her that I now lived here which caught her obviously by surprise.  She wasn't able to quite figure out why an American was living in ČR or how could an American speak German.  She was nice, and would always says hello when we ran in to each other, but we probably only saw each other a half-dozen times in almost four years.

Dr. Fish

With all of the walking that we did in Athens, we decided to go for another "first".  Our first fish foot therapy session at Dr. Fish.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  But, hey, why not?  I'm all for new adventures.

We first had to wash our feet and then we put our feet in to the fish tanks.  Garra Rufa fish then gently remove dead skin and make your feet feel soft.  It was a very odd feeling at first.  It felt like your feet were on a mild jacuzzi jet. 

The fish don't have any teeth so it is painless.  They have this suction-cup mouth which they use to eat dry, dead skin.

Garra Rufa are also called nibble fish.  Actually, they are a form of carp.  The experience was fine and my feet felt great afterwards.  But I'm not so sure that I would do it again.  It definitely does not put me in a mood for Christmas carp.

Innsbruck Easter Eggs

Innsbruck has Easter eggs.  Or rather what passes for Easter eggs.  The city has twelve, big, themed Easter eggs on display.

Each egg is 2.2 meters (~7.25 feet) tall and has a diameter of 1.3 meters (4.25 feet).  All are sponsored by various organizations and companies.

I can honestly say that I haven't been in a good Easter egg hunt in years so this version was kind of fun.  Here are a few of the ones we spotted.

Morning Rainbows

Just a quick post and then I'm out the door this morning. I'm off to join Claudia, Norbert and Natalie on a little Saturday outing. Today's adventure will be the Czech spa town of Luhačovice. Then later there is supposed to be some sort of hot air balloon gathering. We'll go view those considering what experts we are now after last week's ride.

The weather has been a bit dodgy lately and we had a touch of rain this morning. However, it did make for a nice rainbow. These photos are from my balcony this morning. Not a bad morning view. But now I'm off on today's venture.

Nuclear Power & Beer

OK, so there are somethings that you just can't say "no" to. When one of my colleagues invited me "to go drink beer at a nuclear power plant", I just had to say "yes". Beer and nuclear power? How could anyone not want to join in the festivities?

The plan was to actually go take a tour of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Station on Friday afternoon and then to visit the Dalešice Brewery, spent the night at a pension and be back in Brno early Saturday. There were about 30 Czechs (OK, a couple of Slovaks) and me. Not quite sure why none of the other foreigners from work came but oh well.

We rented a bus from Brno to Dukovany, about an hour away on the southern Moravia border. Dukovany is the oldest of the two nuclear power plants in this country. The first reactor went into operation in 1985, the second and third units went live in 1986 and the fourth opened in 1987. Bids are in for a fifth reactor and the winner should be announced sometime this year.

There is a visitor's center that anyone can go to. There are a couple of movies (one was in English) and lots of exhibits. Apparently, if you are a Czech citizen and go through a background check then it's possible to even visit the command center. Not an option for this trip.

Then we headed off to what I thought was a tour of the Dalešice Brewery. Much less of a tour and more of a drinking beer and hanging out event.

Apparently, the beer brewing tradition here goes back to the 17th century. The brewery became famous in 1981 when part of the movie Postřižiny (Cutting It Short) was filmed here. I'll have to see if I can find the DVD.

Sarajevo Snowstorm

April in Bosnia and Herzegovina...I should expect nice Spring weather, right? When I arrived on Monday the weather was fine. It was clear. I had a short sleeve shirt on while walking through town. No worries. On Tuesday, it was a little cooler but it was still nice weather. From my hotel bed on Tuesday night I heard it begin to rain. I thought no problem as long as it doesn't rain on my Wednesday trip to Srebrenica.

On Wednesday morning I woke up to 10 cm (~4 inches) of snow. I didn't pack any cold weather clothes. So my first stop Wednesday morning was to buy a scarf and cap. At least they make nice souvenirs from my Sarajevo trip. And looking on the bright side...I got to retake a bunch of pictures with snow. It's kind of like getting two trips in one. Here are pictures form my hotel window on Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

Confederate Czech Hot Dogs

I've mentioned before that hot dogs over here are different. Well now there is a new hot dog vendor in Brno. Actually it's a hot dog truck that's parked by the overpass that leads to IBM and the technical university.

The funny thing is that the guy has a Confederate flag. 

 

Someone told me that he had seen a Confederate flag outside of a club in Munich, Germany. When he asked about the flag he was told that was the flag for rhythm and blues music. Ummm...I lived in Atlanta for 13 years. The flag has nothing to do with rhythm and blues music.

One of my colleagues asked the hot dog vendor and he said that he uses the flag because hot dogs are American. But he doesn't want to fly an American flag because he doesn't like the U.S. government. But he was quick to point out that he's not a racist. Just weird.

1st Time Skiing

This past weekend I went snow skiing for the first time in my life. It's something that I've always wanted to do but just haven't...until now. I went with some friends to Buková Hora which is about 2.5 hours north of Brno.

I'm the only one in the group that can't ski. The equipment rental was only 220 Kč (~$11) for the day and a one-hour lesson with an English-speaking instructor was another 200 Kč. Much cheaper than in the U.S. or in the Alps. After my lesson, my friend Ivo spent another hour working with me on the kiddie slope. Just a short while later and I was able to stop and turn so I was happy with my progress. I figure it will take me a couple of more times before I feel comfortable enough to hit the adult run. At least I didn't hit a tree or anything.

Turkish Bath, Turkey

The Romans passed down the tradition of public baths to the Byzantines and then on to the Turks. Over the years, the importance has declined as more homes now have running water. Many of the hamams in Istanbul are geared towards tourists but it is possible to find local baths that aren't ridiculously overpriced. So I decided to treat myself to a visit at a historical bath.

The Şifa Turkish bath was built in 1777. The water comes from a spring that is 160 meters (~525 feet) underground. When I entered I was given a cotton wrap, a pair of slippers and a key to a private changing room. After stripping down, and the wrap around me like a skirt, I was taken to a humid room and made to lie down on a big, heated marble pedestal. After about 20 minutes of sweating it out I was taken to another room for my bath.

My attendant only spoke Turkish so everything was done through sign language. I had to sit down on the marble floor and had bowls of water poured over my head. Then an abrasive mitt was used on me to remove the outer layer of dead skin. Fun. After that my hair was washed and I had more water poured over me.

Then I was made to lie down on another marble slap. Marble was everywhere. The attendant blew into a lacy cloth that created olive oil soap bubbles. After being soaped up there was a brief massage followed by another thorough dousing of water. Then I was wrapped up in a couple of dry towels and taken to a cool down room and served hot apple tea.

The whole experience took about 45 minutes. I would have preferred a Spa Sydell session in Atlanta but the whole experience was interesting. And now I can cross "Turkish bath" off of my bucket list. However, the olive oil soap was awesome and I slept really well that night.

Door Knobs

The other day I came across an American-style door knob at a local restaurant. Czech door knobs don't turn. I loved the picture they posted showing how to turn the knob to open the door.

Most doors have knobs that don't actually turn the latch. The knob is basically just a prop to move the door as you lock and unlock the door.

It's a good rule to not keep the key in the inside lock. If a key is in the inside lock then you can't open the door from the outside. The key won't fit in the outside lock if there is a key in the inside lock.

I know people who've had to call a locksmith because a flat mate left a key in the inside lock and fell asleep. Calling a locksmith will run any where from 700 Kč to 1000 Kč (~$35 to $50).

Small World

Everyone has one of those "it's a small world" kind of story so here's mine. Back in Southern California, I went to junior high and high school with this guy named Clint. We knew each other and we had some classes together but we never really hung out. When we graduated in 1989, he left for college in Texas and I went in to the air force.

Fast forward to 1992. I was in Heidelberg, Germany and on vacation with my girlfriend. We were craving American fast food so we went on to the U.S. Army base there because they had a Popeye's Chicken. Well, there was Clint, working behind the counter. Small world...right? He was traveling across Europe, on his way to Poland, and working on the base to earn some money.

So now fast forward again to 1998. I'm at home in Atlanta and reading a copy of The Advocate. And there is an article in the magazine about him. The same guy I went to school with and who I ran into on an army base in Europe.

A few years later...here comes Facebook and we friended each other online. He was living in Mexico but getting ready to move to Haiti and I was still in Atlanta. We had a lot more in common that we knew about back in school and over the last couple of years we've continued to catch up online.

Well now I live in the ČR and guess where he now lives? Paris. Small world, right? So we made it a point to get together for dinner a couple of nights while I was in town. One night we met up at Sacré-Cœur and we grabbed dinner in Montmarte. We walked around and he showed me the house where van Gogh lived and we went to Café des Deux Moulins (Cafe of the Two Windmills) for drinks.

It gets its name from the two historical windmills nearby - the Moulin de la Galette and the infamous Moulin Rouge, about 1 block away. The Café was used as a location in the 2001 film Amélie. At times it can be quite touristy but we got lucky and it wasn't very crowded on the night we went.

We had a really good time getting caught up. Neither one of us attended the 20-year class reunion so we had our own mini reunion in Paris. We ended up closing the place and the bartenders let us stay until they were ready to leave. Having gone through several bottles of wine, I learned the next morning that lots of French wine leads to a French hangover. But it was so worth it.