Podbaba

Spring seems to be arriving!

Snowdrops in Stromovka Park © Ricky Yates

During the past three weeks, we’ve had numerous bright sunny days, enhanced by the hours of daylight getting longer each day. This has encouraged Sybille and I to get out walking and exploring again, especially on Mondays which are meant to be my regular weekly day-off.

As I wrote in an earlier post, three weeks ago on Monday 16^th February, we made a round trip to Prague Zoo. A week later on Monday 23^rd February, late in the morning, we left the flat, took the tram and travelled to Hlubocepy in the southern suburbs of Prague. From the tram stop, we made our way down to the side of the Vltava River and then walked all along the river bank to the village of Zbraslav.

The Vltava River with Central Prague in the distance © Ricky Yates

Our walk started, a little beyond the more distant of the two bridges in this photograph.

Barabizna Mexican Restaurant & Café © Ricky Yates

Just as we were entering Zbraslav and were about to walk into the main square, Sybille spotted this beautifully decorated building in a street off to our left – the Barabizna Mexican Restaurant & Café. It was just as beautifully decorated inside as on the outside. Here we enjoyed a most delightful very, very late lunch 🙂 Sybille’s only disappointment was discovering that none of the staff hablaba español 🙁

Last Monday 2^nd March, got somewhat taken over by preparation for my presentation the following evening for our Lent Course on the Bohemian Reformation, about the writing of the early English Church Reformer, John Wycliffe and its influence on Jan Hus. But with the sun still shining in the late afternoon, we set off and walked up to the top of the wooded ridge called Baba, that lies behind the complex of flats where we live. As I’ve previously explained, we live in Podbaba. ‘Pod’ in Czech, means ‘under’ or ‘beneath’ – hence we live under the ridge called ‘Baba’.

Residence Podbaba and Hotel International © Ricky Yates

On a clear day like last Monday, the views from the Baba ridge are outstanding. In the foreground of this photograph is ‘Residence Podbaba’, where the Chaplaincy Flat is located. Beyond, is the wonderful example of Stalinist-Baroque architecture, now once more known as ‘Hotel International’ (formerly the Crowne Plaza Hotel). The tall white chimney belongs to the plant that supplies our hot water and heating.

Stadion Juliska, the home of FK Dukla Praha © Ricky Yates

This is the view to the right of the first photograph and shows Stadion Juliska, the home of FK Dukla Praha. With Spring on its way, the Czech football season resumed a couple of weeks ago, following the regular mid-season break.

Kaufland supermarket, Hotel International & Prague Castle © Ricky Yates

Whilst this view, shows our nearby Kaufland supermarket with a large red ‘K’ on the side of the building, with Hotel International directly behind and Prague Castle in the distance.

Farmer's Market © Ricky Yates — Farmer’s Market © Ricky Yates

This past weekend, the weather really has become Spring-like, with warm sunshine during the day. The nights are still cool because of clear skies, but the temperature hasn’t been below freezing for several nights. Yesterday, Saturday 7^th March, under these blue skies, the regular Farmer’s Market at Vítezné námestí resumed, after a break of over two months since Christmas. No market in the Czech Republic would be complete without flowers….

Beer stall at Farmer's Market © Ricky Yates — Beer stall at Farmer’s Market © Ricky Yates

…….and certainly not without beer!

Štefánikuv most © Ricky Yates — Štefánikuv most with the yellow spire of St. Clement’s Church beyond © Ricky Yates

This morning, the warm sunshine meant that it was warmer outside the Church than within it! Following worship and Coffee Hour, Sybille and I decided to walk home. We crossed Štefánikuv most and then climbed the steps and steep path to Letna Park. Drinking Czech beer in a beer garden, with warm sunshine and a perfect view. I think Winter is over – Spring seems to be arriving!

Welcome refreshment in Letna Beer Garden © Ricky Yates

A week of cold showers

Our heating & hot water plant © Ricky Yates

Visitors to the Chaplaincy Flat, when they look out from our main balcony, often ask exactly what is this industrial building, with its very tall chimney? The answer is that it’s a plant that produces hot water and heating for a large number of buildings in the immediate vicinity.

Judging by the utilitarian nature of it’s architecture, the plant clearly dates from the communist era. But it was obviously built with a far greater capacity than was necessary when first constructed. For now, the whole of ‘Rezidence Pobada’ is also supplied with heating and hot water from it. ‘Rezidence Pobada’, where the Chaplaincy Flat is situated, has been developed over the last ten years on the site of a former brewery.

Being supplied by this plant with heating in winter and hot water all year-round, means that we do not have a separate central heating boiler. Hot water is metered as it enters the plumbing system of the flat and the amount of energy we use for heating is likewise taken into account as part of the monthly service charge that the Church kindly pays on our behalf. An adjustment is made annually, dependent on meter readings.

All of this works extremely well, except for one week each year. During July every year, the plant is completely closed down for annual maintenance. Below is the notice telling us of the closure this year, which started yesterday and continues until next Monday.

Notice of the annual closure of our heating & hot water plant © Ricky Yates

Because this happens in July each year, the lack of heating is irrelevant. But what it does mean is a week of no hot water. Yesterday morning, despite the plant having already been closed down for a few hours, there was neither a problem with having a shave or shower, as the water in the system was still perfectly warm. But, this morning, it was a different story.

Boiling water in the hot water jug in the kitchen, then taking it into the bathroom & pouring it it washbasin so I can shave, is an irritation and a little time-consuming, but something I can live with. But having a cold shower, even when the ambient temperature is quite pleasantly warm, is not my favourite way to begin the day Brrrrrrrrrrrr! It is like an act of penitence and it isn’t even Lent!

However, it is a reminder that having ready access to hot water, whenever I want it, is yet another example of taking something completely for granted – until it suddenly isn’t available. Of course many people in this world have no ready access to hot water, all year long.

So it is cold showers in the morning for at least the next four days. Hopefully, as in one or two previous years, the maintenance crew will complete all their work in six days rather than seven. Rather like those waiting for white smoke to appear from the Vatican chimney, on Sunday evening, I too shall be looking for a similar sign coming from this slightly less significant chimney, indicating that my penance of nearly a week of cold showers, is finally over.

PS I haven’t forgotten that I still have the other six questions about my Liebster Bloggers Award to answer.

Russell

One of the things I really enjoy about this blog is when people respond to what I’ve written and leave a genuine comment. I say ‘genuine comment’ for, despite using a CAPTCHA Code, I still have to delete between twenty and fifty ‘spam comments’ each day, whilst approving and replying to the small number of genuine ones. I am also well aware that having to decipher and then enter the CAPTCHA Code, is what puts off many genuine people from ever leaving a comment in the first place.

Most of the small number of people who comment here regularly, are friends who are already known to me. But there are several others who I only know online. These are people who, in a variety of ways, have found my blog and are interested in some of the things I write about and have kindly taken the trouble to say so. They sometimes throw greater light on a particular issue or, occasionally choose to disagree with me 🙂 A big ‘Thank you’, to all of you.

Recently, it was a great pleasure to finally get to meet one of them in person – Russell. He is one of those people who has until now, only been an occasional but very articulate commenter here, someone with whom I’ve exchanged a few emails, and more recently has interacted with me on Facebook. With his permission, this is the story of how, more than two and a half years after Russell first left a comment here, we finally met together in Prague.

Russell first left a comment on this post in January 2011. In his comment he explained that whilst he lives in England, his mother is Czech and his maternal grandmother still lives in Prague. As his comment was most observant and thoughtful, with an excellent use of vocabulary – for example, ‘paradoxically’, I assumed this had been written by someone in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties. I was therefore absolutely amazed to discover soon afterwards, that when he posted that first comment, Russell was just a few days short of his sixteenth birthday!

In July 2011 when he was on his annual visit to Prague and staying with his grandmother, Russell tried to meet up with me by coming to St. Clement’s Church one Sunday morning. Unfortunately, he had not checked our Church website, to discover it was a Sunday when I was on annual leave!

In the past twelve months, Russell has posted several more comments here, particularly when I’ve written about political issues such as the Presidential elections in both the USA and the Czech Republic. I very much admire him for not being afraid to respond and challenge the comments of several right-wing Republicans on my post about the re-election of President Obama. More recently, he also contributed to the considerable debate engendered by my post about ‘Getting over the ová‘, as well as like me, expressing his appreciation of the Czech rail network.

Knowing that this year, Russell would be eighteen, I got in contact with him by email, to ascertain when he would be visiting Prague, so we could finally meet up and talk, whilst enjoying one or two glasses of Czech beer together. In reply, Russell suggested that, not only should we meet, but also that we should walk part of the Šárka Valley together, something he knew I enjoyed doing, from reading my blog. So it was that on Monday 26th August, we finally met.

Martina, Russell's mother, with me at Bar-Restaurace Na Staré Fare © Russell Roe — Martina, Russell’s mother, with me at Bar-Restaurace Na Staré Fare © Russell Roe

Not only did I meet Russell, I also got to meet his mother Martina, and his younger brother Martin. Together, we walked part of the red route from the Divorka Šárka bus and tram stop, to the top of the Baba ridge, above where the Chaplaincy Flat is situated. Before descending down to the Podbaba bus and tram stop so Russell and his family could return to the home of Russell’s grandmother, we all enjoyed a drink together at Bar Restaurace na Staré Fare, where both of the photographs on this post were taken. I was surprised but pleased to discover that the first part of the route that we walked, was totally new to all three of them!

A week later, after Martina and Martin had returned to the UK, Russell and I met up a again, and this time we walked the longer part of the red route, around the other side of the Šárka Valley. We then descended to another of my favourite Bar-Restaurants – U topolu, where we enjoyed a meal and a beer together. For some unknown reason, I didn’t take any photographs on our second walk.

I discovered from my conversations with Russell, how proud he is of his Czech heritage, despite having lived all his life in the UK, with only regular visits to the Czech Republic for a few weeks each year. He is now the proud owner of a Czech ID card, having successfully overcome the intricacies of Czech bureaucracy in order to obtain one. He enjoys that it declares him to have been born in Brno, Czech Republic, when he was actually born in Brighton, England 😉 Part of his reasoning for obtaining a Czech ID card, is that it allows him to travel anywhere in Europe and is vastly cheaper to obtain than a British passport. Czechs are noted for being thrifty, a characteristic that Russell has clearly inherited from his mother 🙂

On our walks, Russell and I had some interesting theological conversations. He describes himself as an agnostic, another very Czech characteristic 🙂 But he is very open to listen to the opinion of others, even if he in the end, disagrees with them. As with his comments on my blog, he is highly articulate in expressing his opinions.

Having done very well in obtaining his International Baccalaureate, Russell has just started undergraduate studies at Exeter University, in politics and philosophy. I look forward to hearing of his progress, and to meeting him again when he is next in Prague. In the meantime Russell – please continue to visit my blog and leave your comments. They are and will be, highly appreciated by me.

Prague Floods – June 2013

This was written and should have been posted late in the evening of Monday 3rd June. However, as I was uploading the photographs, the internet connection to the Chaplaincy Flat died, along with the landline phone. Nearly four days later, we are still without internet or phone. Our provider O2, tells us in a recorded message that they have ‘technical issues in our area’, with no information as to when these ‘technical issues’ will be resolved. We assume that floodwater has got into their system somewhere. I have finally managed to complete this post using the wifi connection in Bar-Restaurace U Topolu whilst eating my lunch 🙂

Don't try walking or parking your car here © Ricky Yates — Don’t try walking or parking your car here © Ricky Yates

I have previously written on this blog, about flooding in Prague. I wrote that post from a historical perspective and illustrated it with some photographs of flood level markers that can be found on several buildings near to the Vltava River, as flows through the centre of Prague. At the end of my post, I remarked that, as serious flooding seems to have occurred with one hundred year intervals, and the last very serious floods were in 2002, I didn’t expect there to be another occurrence during my lifetime. That was until the events of the past few days.

As well as being cold and miserable, as the weather has been throughout most of May, during the last week it has also been raining pretty consistently too. The inevitable consequence has been a rise in river levels which reached dangerous heights over the past forty-eight hours. This was the scene that greeted us after we walked down to the side of the Vltava after Church on Sunday morning. Normally you can walk along here and there is reserved parking for customers of the Botel Albatross in the distance – hence the ‘P’ sign sticking out of the water.

Flooded road underpass at Podbaba © Ricky Yates

Just beyond the Podbaba tram terminus, on our way home to the Chaplaincy Flat, we were greeted with this view, with the main road completely blocked because of flooding in the underpass beneath the Prague-Dresden railway line. I should add that this flooding has got considerably deeper in the past twenty-four hours.

Flood defences erected on Kampa Island as seen from Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates

We returned to the city centre later on Sunday afternoon, to get an idea of how severe the flooding was likely to be. At that point in time, it was still possible to walk across Charles Bridge from where I took this photograph which shows the first flood defences having already been erected on Kampa Island. In the foreground, one of the wooden barriers which are meant to protect the buttresses of the bridge, is almost completely submerged.

The photographs that follow were taken by me this morning, Monday 3rd June. I hope they help to illustrate the flood situation as it currently is. Obviously, the situation is fluid if you will excuse my bad pun.

Malostranská Metro Station surrounded by flood barriers © Ricky Yates

Whilst we were travelling back into the centre of Prague on Sunday afternoon, we heard (and understood !!!) an announcement in Czech, that a a sizeable section of the Metro was being closed until further notice. Basically, any station near the Vltava River has been closed, with flood barriers erected around the entrance, to try to prevent any part of the system being inundated, as here at Malostranská.

Some indication of the strength of flow in the Vltava.

The Kafka Museum at risk of being inundated © Ricky Yates

Flood defences and Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates

Flood defences were in place all alongside the most vulnerable parts of the historic city centre.

Protecting the antique shop with sandbags © Ricky Yates

And around the corner, they were busy filling more sandbags!

Charles Bridge without tourists! © Ricky Yates

Whilst we had been able to walk across Charles Bridge on Sunday afternoon, later that evening, it was closed to the public. Here the fire service, aided by a mobile crane, are trying to remove large trees and other debris building up against the bridge parapets.

Flood defences cannot save these buildings adjacent to Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates

Some buildings that are so close to the Vltava cannot be protected from flooding such as these in the photograph above or this riverside bar in the photograph below.

Nor will boats be mooring here for sometime to come!

Don't try mooring here for a few days © Ricky Yates — Don’t try mooring here for a few days © Ricky Yates

A snowy weekend in Prague

Kostel sv Kliment / St. Clement's Church in the snow © Ricky Yates — Kostel sv Kliment / St. Clement’s Church in the snow © Ricky Yates

Last weekend, we had the heaviest snowfall here in Prague, since early January 2010. It started snowing late on Friday 22nd February and rarely stopped until just before Sybille and I left the Chaplaincy Flat to go to Church on Sunday morning. To give you a visual impression, here is a picture showing what Kostel sv Kliment / St. Clement’s Church looked like last Sunday, covered and surrounded by freshly fallen snow.

But in contrast to the UK, where everything seems to grind to a halt as soon as any snow falls, here in the Czech Republic, that just does not happen. So it was that Tram 8 arrived on time at 10.07 at the Podbaba tram stop, and whisked us off on our sixteen minute journey to Dlouhá trída, two minutes walk from the Church.

Tram 8 arrives at the Podbaba Tram Stop © Ricky Yates

But although public transport almost always keeps going when it snows in Prague, I generally believe that ‘discretion is the better part of valour’, when it comes to trying to drive the ‘Carly’ when it is covered in this amount of snow. The irony of having finally obtained my new Czech driving licence just a few days earlier, was not lost upon me 🙂

The 'Carly', deep in last weekend's snow © Ricky Yates — The ‘Carly’, deep in last weekend’s snow © Ricky Yates

After Church, Sybille and I took Tram 26 to Letenské námestí and had a celebratory lunch for Sybille’s birthday, in Fraktal Bar-Restaurace. Then we walked home through Stromovka Park where some park visitors were not put off by the snow, but were sitting out on deckchairs, enjoying liquid and other refreshments from the Slechtovka Restaurace, located in the middle of the park.

Deckchairs in the snow at Slechtovka Restaurace in Stromovka Park © Ricky Yates

Cross-Country skiing in Stromovka Park © Ricky Yates

Others were taking full advantage of the late winter snow, to practice their cross-country skiing.