:: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 ::

Got a ticket for my destination

I'm a scant fifteen minutes away from the start of my journey to the good ol' U.S. of A. After a really long trip involving trams, metro, trains, and planes, from Prague to Frankfurt to D.C., I'm picking up my Polka dot in Pittsburgh and heading west to join the family McC in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park for a week and change of fun-filled, mountainous vacation time! So adieu to you and bon voyage to me - I won't be posting in the next week or two (like that's a surprise!). But when I return to the City of Spires, I'll post all about the trip. And just to keep you waiting, I'll also fill you in on some extra-special super-secret JOB news that's coming up. So stay tuned, and send any extra monkey-mojo or bright, shiny karma you've got laying around my way. I'm gonna need it!

:: posted by Rob 8:50 PM [+] :: 1 comments
...

Hear! Hear the pipes are calling

Yeah, yeah, I don't post often enough. Too bad.

Yesterday, my Polka dot and I went with some friends to the Highland Games held at Sychrov castle in north Bohemia. I needed a little touch o' Scotland in my blood, and figured where better to get it than in the Czech Republic? (One could say Scotland, I suppose, but that will have to wait until next year.) So we boarded a bus, switched to a train, and arrived in Sychrov to enjoy all the Caledonian flavor we could find. We had quite a good time, feasting on Celtic pancakes and Irish sausages (sadly, the only haggis available was canned haggis) and watching a variety of events. There was amateur rock throwing and caber tossing, living history (from maybe 17th century to WWII), and of course, a wee bit o' the pipes as well. I found it somewhat amusing that the big musical group at a Czech Highland Games was a Polish pipe and drums group (with dancers, too!) from Czestochowa (near Krakow), but they were quite good! There was also a historical birds of prey show, with eagles and falcons and owls and ravens. Unfortunately, we had to catch a train back to Prague and so missed the caber tossing finals, but we still had a good time. Sadly, the kilts on sale were a wee bit on the pricy side, so methinks I'll have to wait until we go to Scotland to outfit myself in true ancestral style, but I need to decide on which tartan to get anyways, so maybe that's a good thing. And hopefully, I can find kilts (relatively) cheaper in Scotland than elsewhere, particularly if I don't go for handmade or touristy kilt providers. We'll have to see.

Last weekend, we went to the Love Planet music festival, where the highlight of the weekend was the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand on Friday night. If you haven't heard Franz Ferdinand, I highly recommend them. I've been listening to them almost constantly for the last two months or so, when I heard they were coming to Prague and have become quite a fan. We also got a chance to see and hear Ministry, and, in a blast from the past (from 1991, in fact), we also got to see Ice-T's hardcore metal band Body Count, most famous for their controversial (to Tipper Gore, anyways) song/album Cop Killer. They had a really good show on Saturday, playing their old Cop Killer-era songs as well as some songs from their new album Murder 4 Hire (read a great review here). We followed up two days of concerts with darts Saturday night, and a good time was had by all.

So that's what's what in the land of the double-tailed lion. My Polka dot heads for the red, white, and blue shores of the American Empire ® next weekend (sent there by her American company) and I follow scant days later, whereupon we will then visit the Great American West ™ for a week or so. More specifically, we will be visiting the great state of Wyoming and staying in the beautiful and scenic Grand Teton National Park. I've made no secret of my feelings for most of the US, but I do love the west and the Rockies. It's like the home of my heart or something, and if I could just get over these lingering political hangups I have, I think I could be quite at home out thataways. Well, we'll have to see how the future develops. Polka dot and I have been discussing just such a topic of late, but there are many cross-cultural hurdles to overcome, and we both tend toward indecisiveness where serious matters are concerned. Anybody got any spare change lying around that we could use to keep houses in both the American frontier and the Old Country? Let us know - we'll even let you visit for free!

Right, so I've rambled on enough for a Sunday afternoon. I may post a few pics of the Highland Games if there are any good ones. Until the next time, ahoj, čau, and na shledanou!

:: posted by Rob 12:07 PM [+] :: 0 comments
...