Category Archives: Czech Republic

100 Best Cities in the World – #’s 40 to #1 – Where have you been?


Given that no one has been able to travel for MONTHS, a review of the top 100 cities in the world seems on the face of it an insane activity. But I suppose a traveler remains a traveler at heart. It’s just been a time off kind of year I suppose.

I admit it – when I’m in an airport, I do look at the departure signs – and consider – been there, want to go there, nope – not interested.. Been doing that for years.

So here is the last 40 of the list of the world’s 100 Best Cities – taken from http://www.best cities.org. Out of the last 60 cities, I’ve been to 37 of them – or 62 % – let’s see how we do on the top 40, shall we?

First – an apology – I was so long in doing this – that the list changed! So I’m playing a bit of catch-up – I’m starting with 42 – Seoul (which was much higher in my original list – and then working my way from there, trying to avoid repeats.

42. Seoul – Amazingly beautiful city. I loved the renovation of the Canal (stream) that runs thru the downtown area. It’s below street level, but open to the sky and filled with stones for ‘crossing’ and it even has elevators. And I loved the history and the museums – even the free ones! And the food – oh, don’t get me started on the food. Korean Fried Chicken is a revelation – and while we have Korean BBQ in Montreal – clearly it’s a pale and shameful copy of the real thing. And the best thing – the subway cars have senior sections! Reserved seating for seniors – where folks play a game of – I’m older and frailer than you are. Actually – the game is the reverse – clearly you are the older and frailer one – so you need the seat. With Jill’s white hair – we were always able to sit down! I do think this might be one of my favorite cities in the world.

41. Orlando – moved up from 48 in the last post… read all about it there

40. Bangkok – My first impression of Bangkok – fresh off the plane from Montreal – was dirty, noisy, crowded, scary. But after 5 weeks of travelling thru Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, my return to Bangkok proved how wrong first impressions can be. Bangkok now seemed modern and sophisticated and lovely. So do give Bangkok a chance – it will quickly grow on you!

39. Munich – Home to Octoberfest and Helmut and Andrea – dear friends. Can’t say I thought much of Munich – we just did Octoberfest and left – but Octoberfest was fun – so I must rate Munich well for that.

38. Sao Paulo – moved up from position 44 in the last post – still haven’t been there

37. Budapest – Been there – I was 21 – can’t remember a thing

36. Seattle – drove thru on our way from Vancouver (lovely city) to Los Angeles. Do I remember it? Nope.

35. Zurich – Banking, Banking, Banking – and some decent restaurants and some really really nice hotels.

34. Miami – I’m aghast – I tell you aghast that Miami rates on this list. It’s a gold diggers, wild man’s frontier – no rules, no law, no order. A mess – with some wonderful hotels and a famous beach. Ok – and Joe’s Crab House. That’s probably good enough to put Miami on the map. But trust me – I’m not a fan of Florida in general, and Miami in particular. There are a lot nicer places to hang a hat.

33. Dublin – visited when I was 20 – which is 52 years ago now. So my memory is dim. What I do remember is kissing the Blarney Stone (hey- it’s near Cork which is in Ireland – close enough. I also remember loving Shanty’s – which are basically watered down beer – but I didn’t know that then. Most memorable was getting stuck in Limerick (ok – again not Dublin) when the plane my sister and I were flying in had an engine fire and had to turn around over the Atlantic and fly back to the UK. Limerick had the nearest large airport. We were stuck for 3 days there – waiting for the engine to be repaired. It was 1969 – these things happened.

32. Houston – Cowboys and Guns and Big Buildings and Money. Not what I’d consider a great place to visit. Go at your own risk.

31. Boston – Ah – Boston. I lived there for 4 years while at University – and I met my husband there. Boston has a very special place in my heart. It’s totally worth a visit – or two, or even try living there. I do love Boston.

30. Melbourne – nope – down under is forbidden these days

29. Hong-Kong – Moved up from 42 – doesn’t deserve it – but maybe things have changed. It has been 20 some years since I was there.

28. San Diego – been there. Don’t remember it at all.

27. Milan – been there – I was 21. So I remember almost nothing except that it was – by Italian standards – graceless and busy and industrial and lacking in the pleasures that make Italy so wonderful. Maybe a return trip is warranted?

26. Prague – been there. My food memories are of Beer (which the Intrepid Traveler will not drink) and Sausages. I loved the bridges, and we rode the buses everywhere with our guide books open. You can see a lot of a city with a good bus map and a guide book with pictures…. Just saying.

25. Beijing – been there. The Intrepid Traveler and I went there just before the Olympics and were shocked at how completely the city was being remade. Entire neighbourhoods that had survived for hundreds of years were being completely emptied and razed to make way for the new modern China. Condos were being built to house the folks tossed out of their traditional homes in the thousands – with little or no respect. Many of these new ‘condos’ were still ghost towns, places waiting for folks who might never come. But China is China – and we did love the Forbidden City, the ceaseless natural rhythm of the nights, and the wealth of options for entertainment – some really upright, some debatable. This is a wild and wooly place – the Wild West on Steroids in a foreign language.

24. Vienna – been there. I was 21 – that was 52 years ago – I remember very little – except I went to the Opera – standing room for $5 – and loved it. Hey – I was really really young…

23. Istanbul – been there. Multiple times. It’s a cross-roads from East to West – and really a nifty place. Two strong memories – the magnificent Topkapi Museum – which needs two days, and we only had one to give it. Among other must-see items is the staff of Moses, and the arm of John the Baptist. His head as a child is in another museum in case you wondered. We managed to not see the famous Haram – we simply ran out of time. I think the advantage of having a tour guide would be that they move you along. As the Intrepid Traveler and I are wont to do – we moved slowly… My other strong memory is more unique (everyone knows to visit the Topkapi). We were eating an outdoor lunch in a large park and a couple walked by. The woman was in traditional Muslim covered dress – but still posed for pictures! We found that so interesting. We were less thrilled with the food – I think we just never found exactly the right restaurant – but I’m sure there was one that would have made us happier. But I would go back in a heartbeat. It’s a wonderful city.

22. Washington, D.C. – been there, lived there for 2.5 years. Magnificent gardens, glorious homes, frighteningly poor ghettos (yeah – still). But of course it’s the museums that will bring you back over and over again. There is never ever enough time to see them all.

21. Las-Vegas – been there. Several times. Always a bit sorry I went. Once it was with my Dad, about 4 months before he died. He was in a wheel chair, but basically feeling ok – so we just ‘rolled’ him here, there, and everywhere. Because of the wheel chair, we had to park and get him into the wheel chair and from there into the hotel. So we discovered the fact that it is impossible to get from a parking lot into a hotel in Las Vegas without going thru the Casino. No way! Once we were going from point A to point B – and I had to stop for a ladies break. I left my Dad sitting near the entrance to the ladies room in the Casino area and disappeared to do what was needed. When I returned, he was chatting gleefully with a gal wearing nothing but tail feathers and a head dress. She was doing that bunny stoop that shows off the best features – and my Dad had a grin from ear to ear. Only in Las Vegas.

20. Berlin – been there (one of my favourites). The Intrepid Traveler and I visited for a week, my husband and I for a few days. I found the city completely stunning. The food was incredible – although I most fondly remember just a roast chicken we bought near our lodging from a Turkish Roast Chicken Place. The museums are incredible. The Germans were great at taking ‘souvenirs’ back from abroad – entire Altars, Walls, and such. And they keep them safe and tourist friendly. Amazing. I most enjoyed a very adorable private museum on life in East Berlin – and the History of the rise and fall of Hilter is a must do (and needs a strong stomach). Give the Germans credit for coming clean on how and why things went so wrong. The Eastern part of the city was more interesting – when you go (and you definitely should) – see if you agree with me on that perception.

19. Sydney – haven’t been – and since they are completely shut down – not even the top ranked Tennis player in the world can get in – I don’t think I’m going any time soon. Oh well.

18. Toronto – been there. My daughter lived there for a year, and they have a really good bridge club, and hosted a National Bridge Competition one year. So I’ve been in and out many times. It’s a modern North American City with a very diverse population, some excellent museums, and as I learned when I went with my sisters for my 65th birthday – a very loud, very in your face – Rainbow community.

17. St. Petersburg – been there. The Intrepid Traveler and I spent 3 weeks in St. Petersburg – enjoying ourselves immensely. You can check out my more detailed blog report elsewhere on this site. The trick to St. Petersburg is to avoid like the plaque (Covid or Black) the crowds from the cruise ships. I watched in horror as one lady took out another for getting in the way of her ‘shot’ in a museum. And saw another man lift his iphone over his head to aim at the tiny but incredibly famous painting of the Benoit Madonna. There was a crowd of about 25 people in front of him – so he took his shot – and went on to see other things. We just avoided the famous sections of the Hermitage until the cruise ship passengers left (around noon), and then had the entire place to ourselves. Crazy city but really good food if you are willing to go where the normal folks eat and avoid anything smacking of tourists. And you can get incredible Georgian Wines at the local quick market for around $2. Now that’s worth visiting a city to experience.

16. Amsterdam – been there. Canals are amazing, buildings are amazing, food is expensive but really really good – and there are interesting museums. I did enjoy visiting the Anne Frank house – crowds aside, it’s worth doing. When I visited with my husband, we even checked out the red light district. Interesting. Can’t say much more though – but I’m glad I did it so I can say I did. I did not, I admit, participate – not there, and not in the Canabis houses. Not my thing. But certainly part of the life of the city.

15. San Francisco – been there. It’s hilly

14. Abu-Dhabi – kinda maybe sort of want to go. Know nothing about it though

13. Chicago – been there. I must say my memories are mostly of our hotel – the Trump Palace. I got a Hotwire discount rate – and simply couldn’t resist. Location was perfect – and since this was in the days before he was President – I didn’t much mind taking advantage of a lovely 5-star hotel in a great location. Not sure if I’d easily stay there again, but there you go. My other memory is of our abortive attempt to see a play. We made reservations, got to the theatre to discover that someone had stolen the computer that powered the lights. And without that – the play couldn’t go on. But the Magician that was the ‘star’ decided to offer a free magic show to the very disappointed customers – and that was great! We also had a fabulous dinner in one of the 5-star restaurants – a tiny place open only to 4 tables a night. Meal was great – company even more fun. Chicago is pretty cool.

12. Doha – in Qatar – I looked it up. Never been there

11. Rome – been there. If you have not – why not? What are you waiting for? Have you not read the guidebooks? I’m asking seriously – to not have seen Rome is to not have traveled. It’s a must. If only for the Pistachio Gelato.

10. Madrid – been there. There are some great museums – and some lovely parks. The problem with Madrid is that the rest of Spain is so amazing – it kinda loses it’s thrill because you can’t wait to get on to the rest of your tour. Too bad too – because I think Madrid might be worth a much closer look – I just never had the time. Barcelona on the other hand… sigh.

9. Barcelona – been there, been thrilled. The Gaudi homes, parks, and Cathedral are literally beyond belief. And it doesn’t surprise me one wit that Barcelona is higher on the ‘great cities’ list than Madrid. It literally has everything. Great food, a beach, a proper city, an old city, and all the Gaudi stuff which alone is worth the visit. And it’s driving distance from the justifiably famous Salvador Dali Museum. And home to Museums featuring works by Miro and Picasso. I think it’s the lighting that inspires so many famous artists to call Barcelona home.. the city has a glow about it that is quite the stunner. Anyway – it’s well worth a visit. Or two. Or three.

8. Los Angeles – been there. Not that thrilled – So Sorry. I actually lived in Los Angeles for 3 months – on the beach – in Venice. Which at the time (early 70’s) was cheap and dirty and full of outdoor workout ‘gyms’. The beach was large and flat – and honestly, not that thrilling. I was in my ‘hippie’ days – and spent most of my time selling drift wood sculptures and just hanging around. I had neither the money nor the interest in doing much exploring. Do you think I should plan another visit?

7. Singapore – Ok – I’m going to say been there – but in all honesty – I was only in the airport. But I was in the airport for a really long time. I think that counts. Of course I hated it. Dirty and crowded and no where comfortable to sit. But I watched ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and I think I’d like to go back with someone to tour around with. Maybe when the intrepid Traveler and I plan our next trip to Taiwan…

6. Tokyo – been there several times. Went on business with my husband, and for pleasure with the Intrepid Traveler and her son. This is a massive, massive, massive city with the cleanest subway toilets in the world. And I should know. I’ve visited lots of them. Yes it is expensive – and Yes – I had to go without coffee when I was there with the Intrepid Traveler – but still, it’s amazing. And folks in general are very friendly. I love the museums, I love the people, I hate the crowding and I got seriously scared in a subway station when massive of folks just swarmed thru at the same moment. Moral learned – steer clear of the subways during rush hour.

5. Dubai – nope – not really interested

4. Moscow – oops – want to go

3. Paris – been there. Unfortunately – this is probably my least favourite city on the entire list of 100 cities. I have been there many many times, starting when I was just 16 – and I even have a tiny bit of French so I can handle menus and most signs. But the folks that call Paris home are so universally snobby that I just can’t enjoy the place. One memorable trip featured a subway strike forcing us to walk miles and miles to get back to our lodging. Another trip included one of my worst meals ever – eaten at a 3-Star Michelin Restaurant that should have known better. Yes the pastry shops are delightful – and you can easily get coffee, so I suppose that’s in Paris’s favour. And I’ve been there on Free Museum Night – which was wonderful. But honestly – there are better cities out there folks. Trust me.

2. New York – been there. Like Paris – I’ve visited many many times. I have family that actually own homes in the city, and the Intrepid Traveller has friends that live there as well. So it’s not for lack of a local vibe that New York tends to annoy me. It’s just dirty. For years my mantra was – never wear white in New York City – for obvious reasons. I will admit that during my last visit, the efforts that have been made to clean it up did seem to be having an impact – and I found the High Line really really nice. Green space on a former elevated railroad – that’s a concept I can put my head around. Anyway – I’d take New York over Paris – but I’d take Berlin or Barcelona or London or Montreal over either of those!

1. London – been there – and here right now. As I write this blog I’m actually sitting looking at the traditional January Grey London sky. Not cold enough to be really cold (snow STOPS this city – big time), not dry enough not to be chilly, barely tolerable weather really. And Covid has made London hurt. The theatres are open, but suffering. The Covid numbers (on Jan 7, 2022) are sky-rocketing – everyone knows at least someone who is sick, and hopefully not living with them. 3/4 of my daughter’s team were sick with Covid over the Christmas run-up – which made getting product out the door rather challenging. And now with Christmas sadly behind them, Londoners are slogging their way thru to Spring. But aside from Covid – I do love London. Not as much as Barcelona – it’s the weather that hurts London it that comparison – but it’s got a sweet, kinda anything goes if you are polite about it, vibe. And almost everyone speaks English. Not generally American/Canadian of course – but English. One does wonder why underwear are pants, why dessert is pudding, and why bonnet refers to the engine space on a car, but in general, it’s polite, it’s friendly, they have decent food, and if you ignore the exchange rate – the prices aren’t horrid. London is a good city to top the list

And there you have it – out of the top 100 Cities of the world – I’ve been to 70 of them – that’s an easy calculation – 70%.

How did you do on this list? Do you agree with my descriptions? I think the list has issues – but the folks that created it used a scale that they developed – not a been there, remember it well analysis. So I guess that’s that.

Hopefully some day we shall be able to travel again. Think Positive I say! And Travel safely and be healthy! Signing off to plan for my very scary flight back to Park City Utah from London…. The Soup Lady

Day 243 – Last Commandment for Seniors (#12)


You sill haven’t learned to act your age – and hope you never will!

Hear-Hear! I never ever ever wanted to act my age. I never acted my age all my life, and now is most certainly not the time to rethink that strategy.

When I was in my early teens – and by this I’m referring to that torture chamber we call High School – I was way to studious and concerned with math and science in particular to take notice of the things ‘girls my age’ considered important – like clothes and boys. To be very honest – I’m still not overly concerned about clothes – See Commandment #2 for Senior – “In Style” are the clothes that still fit.

I did go thru a ‘boys are amazing’ period – but for my time – it was very late, and ended rather abruptly with me marrying my still to this day husband – Victor! I arrived at University as a ‘Southern Belle’ – complete with breathy accent – and was immediately considered a very desirable date. This was beyond amazing to me – no boy had ever considered me interesting outside of class before – and I would have 4 dates a weekend. One on Friday night, One on Saturday afternoon, One on Saturday night, and one on Sunday afternoon. With 4 different boys. And for the record – no kissing until the third date!

Sunday night thru Friday afternoon – I was the model student – taking high level math and science classes, and for the first time discovering that there was history after the end of the civil war (for the record – that ended in 1865). I was raised in Atlanta Georgia – and that’s when our history classes deemed that history stopped. Surprise Surprise – it didn’t stop!

So between fending off boys (I took to hiding in libraries to be sure to get my studing done) and then going to parties all weekend – I was very busy.

I suppose this period is the closest I came to acting my age.

After I met Victor – things got really interesting in the ‘boy’ department. Victor was in the habit of waiting until the last minute before making a date – and I would be ‘taken’ long before. After several ‘I’m sorry, I can’t go out with you, I’m busy” conversations, he learned to book me ahead – and eventually we agreed to go steady. I think the crisis was ‘Homecoming Weekend 1967’ when I was the Princess from one fraternity – not Victor’s – and thus too busy to be with him. I think he asked me to go steady so that he could stop having to ask me out so far in advance.

But I still had to keep up my studies – but now I had to hide out in new places – and just from one boy! Fortunately, Victor pretty much hated libraries – and there were lots of smaller ones on campus that I don’t think he ever found. I was able to keep up my work weeks, play weekends lifestyle.

Then I spent my Junior Year Abroad. I choose to go to London to study Drama – which for a Math/Physics Major was a bit of a stretch. But the folks in the Drama department were ok with it, and while the Math Department got their knickers in a knot (I had to drop my double major), the Physics Department agreed to it. So – London, without my boyfriend, for a full year abroad.

This was, I admit, one of my favourite years (Fall of 68 to the Fall of 69)… and again – I wasn’t acting my age. I was interested in studying, getting good grades, visiting Museums and Art Galleries – and my Drama Department co-students thought me dull, boring, and not really a decent drama student. Push came to shove when I won a lottery to go behind the scenes at the Royal Vic and meet Sir Lawrence Olivier – then starring in Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”. Despite pressure to give up that opportunity to a ‘real’ drama student – I persisted in taking advantage of that win, a meeting I remember to this day.

My year aboard ended the way a year aboard for a square peg in a round hole must always end. I drove with my friends to Istanbul – then waved goodbye as they crossed into Asia on their way to India. I traveled alone by train and hitchhiking (ok – I was 20 – it seemed acceptable) back into ‘Europe’ and met up with a friend who I didn’t really know – but who wanted to do a bicycle trip thru the German speaking section of Romania. We met up in her university town – took our bicycles by train into Romania and spent 2 weeks or so biking from village to village. In those days (Summer 1969) the way you showed off your wealth was by the height of the manure pile in front of your house. I grew to love Lard Sandwiches – and we feasted off the garden crops of peas and green beans. One of the villagers bought my bra for her daughter for the equivalent of a weeks living money – and in a Youth Hostel in Czechoslovakia we swapped a $1 American bill for a day’s worth of food and lodging. Interesting times to visit behind the Iron Curtain.

I eventually made my way back to Paris, met up with my sister who flew in from the US, and we continued to wander thru France and eventually to England. We flew home from London – and while she returned back home to Atlanta and University – I went back to Tufts for my final year. Victor had meanwhile changed schools and was now at Cornell. Our plan was to see if we were still ‘an item’, and if so – I’d graduate and continue my schooling at Cornell – provided I could get accepted of course.

We did, I was – and we got married Sept 11, 1970. It’s 50 years and counting today…

Enough of this – bottom line – I’ve always persisted in being a tad different. I had my kids a bit later than other folks, I got married a lot earlier (I was 21 – Victor was 20), I was studious to the point of embarrassment to most of my peers, and when I got close to retirement – my friend ‘The Intrepid Traveler’ and I started our yearly trips to far off places. Not to be left out Victor and I did a fair amount of traveling too!

I’ve been to China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong-Kong, Japan, South Korea, Bali, France, Fez, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malta, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Israel, Amsterdam, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Rwanda, Zambia, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Czechoslovakia, Greenland, Northern Quebec, Most of the US, Eastern and Western Canada, Venezuela, US Virgin Islands, Mexico, British Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman, Belize, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. I realize of course that traveling now is not the same – but I was young, I was keen – and I was willing to travel cheap. Mostly – I was lucky to have a friend willing to travel with me! And grateful to have a husband who also found travel interesting.

There are so many places that I loved at the time I was there that I couldn’t imagine going back to – my ‘roughing it’ ability is seriously suffering from concerns about where there’s going to be a clean toilet – but I would recommend doing it NOW – don’t wait till you are your age to travel. It’s never too late – and it’s always rewarding – Masks on for safety of course.

Enough of this trip down memory lane. It’s getting embarrassing. Bottom line – I’m not planning on acting my age any time soon… Get over it.

Signing off to think of something else crazy to do… Mask on of course – The Soup Lady

Winners and Losers in the Czech Republic


Two Hotels, Two nights each – a world apart.

Hotel #1 – the Belcardi. Located in Brno, Czech Republic – this should have been a contender. It’s located in a Chateau that dates from 1631 – Napoleon’s sister stayed here for 2 years with her daughter, and it features – according to the guide book – fabulous gardens.

Officially – it’s completely renovated and restored – unfortunately in a graceless style that speecks to the Communist side of the Czech mentality. It more resembles an updated monestary than a fancy hotel. Its not that the place in unkempt – in fact it’s quite clean, and obviously cared for. The issue goes deeper than physical plant – it’s staff, it’s a lack of understanding the difference between clean and neat, and bare and boring. At the Belcardi – they are erring on the side of boring.

Our deluxe double room with balcony did indeed have an ensuite bathroom, a comfortable king bed, and a balcony. Albeit that the balcony was only the width of the door that open out onto it – and about 2 feet deep – still, I’ll agree, there was a balcony. And they carefully provided a desk. No electrical outlits, no lamp, no phone – but there was a desk. To plug in our cell phones we had to crawl under said desk and use a plug there.

The bathroom was remarkable for the lack of place to put anything – including towels! There was a European style heated towel rack – on the far side of the room from the shower, so if you wanted a towel for your shower – you had no choice but to hang the towel off the shower door. The shower itself was one of those stick in a corner, already built items – Basic shower facility in other words. On the good news side – it did offer seriously hot water – scaulding in fact.

The sink was one of the porcelin stand ones – no place to put your toothbrush unless you removed their soap tray – and where to put that then? Annoyingly, the toilet required 2 pushes to operate – one to get the water started, and one to stop the water.

Breakfast was easily the highlight of the place. It was free, it was ample, and there was a machine for making Latte and Expresso. If you wanted plain coffee – there was a nice thermos full on a different table. There was an assortment of pastry, cereals, yougurts, fruit, seriously delicous scrambled eggs (that’s actually hard to do in a serve-yourself orientation), a variety of different types of bread, sausages, and some cut up veggies – tomatoes, onions and red, yellow and green peppers. It was a great breakfast.

I just wish the staff I ran into were as welcoming. I saw a maid just once, she ducked her head as if embarassed and hustled on her way. The only staff I saw consistently were hidden behind the large, tall, and extremely forbidding front desk. In the 2 days we stayed – going in and out at least a dozen times all told – here’s what they never did:

Offer to help us with our luggage.
Smile
Say more than ‘hi’
Respond to questions with more than a single word.
Offer any information – in any language – or even on a piece of paper. They did hand me a wonderful history of the Castle, in English – but only after I asked mutliple questions – the place is famous after all.

In summary – a Loser. Cold, forbidding, unwelcoming, unpleasant, basic needs meet – but nothing beyond. For a place this famous – some art on the walls, some signs of humanity, even an occasional throw rug would have gone a long way towards making the Hotel Belcardi a place I’d suggest to a friend.

But there was a Winner too! Dvur Hoffmeister is located about 10 minutes from the Prague Airport – and we only stayed there because we wanted to be able to sleep after travelling for 10 hours from Montreal, and didn’t want to be disturbed by the noise of the airport.

What a wonderful surprise. The Dvur Offmeister is a tiny – 7 room – Pensionne with a bar and restaurant, attached to a huge Horse training center. Huge not only in size – but in size of the horses. This Center is the one of the homes of the Czech National Jumping School – and it had 4 huge arenas, stable space for 42 horses and ponies, a Horse Washing Station – and a Horse Gym. There were outdoor fenced off paddock areas for summer use, but in winter there are 4 Stable areas for Horses and Ponies. Like all stables I’ve ever seen – there is a center hall with stalls on either side. The stalls have gates into the center for moving the horses in and out – but in the case of the Hoffmeister Stables – they have been one huge improvement. Each stall also has a window to the outside! When the weather was sunny – or there was action on the courtyard – the horses would all poke their heads out to get a peak.

What really makes the Dvur Hoffmeister a Winner though is the warmth and good feeling that radiates from the front desk, thru the halls into the rooms. There is art everywhere – apparently the Grand-father of the current owners was a Surrealistic painter – and he collected work from all his friends. There is a completely amazing amount of top drawer art work on display. The ‘surreastic’ motif extends into the lovely dinning area – a brick walled, arch coved space with wide spread tables – and almost comfortable chairs!

Our first night there we did run into a problem – and how the staff handled the problem would make a great episode on “Hotel Impossible”. First off – I arrived feeling really terrible. I hate those long flights – and for some reason the flight from Frankfurt to Prague just wiped me out. I could barely stand up.

We found the place – and the staff member on duty took one look at me and said – I’ll get you a room right now – we’ll discuss where you’ll stay later. They brought me into a gloriously huge suite – 4 poster king bed, glorious art, huge bathroom – and let me sleep. Victor – despite his protests to the contrary – also fell asleep. Several hours later – much recovered – we arose to discuss options with the host.

The problem – a fairly large – 30 person – company party was scheduled in the restuarant and the bar that night – including a DJ scheduled to play until 2:00 AM. Our glorious suite was right over the bar, and they were pretty sure we didn’t want to try to sleep there. We agreed – and chaned rooms.

They moved us into a room over one of the 3 stable areas. It too had lovely art, a huge bathroom (with a whirlpool tub), but no 4 poster bed. That said – it was quiet, and there was plenty of room for our stuff – and when re-enacting – you have stuff. So we dragged out suitcases out of the lovely suite, and up a metal staircase to our room in the stable. We were so happy.

The tiny village hosts another restuarant – but we were so impressed with how we’d been treated – we wanted to give the Dvur Hoffmeister our business – so we asked – what do we do for dinner. They offered us two choices. We could get dinner served in our room – or we could eat in the bar area – while the DJ was doing his set-up. We opted for the bar – and we had a fab meal – pleasant company – and got to see a bit of the party as it warmed up in the main dining room.

Then to bed – the next day we were travelling on to the site of the re-enactment. But breakfast first of course.

Like the Belcardi – breakfast was included – and what a difference. No machine for making coffee – nope – our lovely hostess – who had gotten to bed at 3:00 after the party ended – was there to make us expresso or Lattes with a proper expresso machine – and cook us eggs or an omlet to order. There was a small – but yummy – selection of pastries, bread, jam, sliced peppers, cucumbers – and a bit of meat to enjoy as as well. Yummy. How did it differ from the much larger spread at the Belcardi? The hostess smiled at us – welcomed us to breakfast – made us feel at home. I’m certain she’d put in a lot more hours than our sullen friend at the Belcardi – but she didn’t let on how tired she was – just greeted us and made us feel so very very welcome!

2nd night – We loved the Dvur so much – we checked out of the horrid Hotel Belcardi and drove back to the Dvur after the Sunday formal celebrations at Austerlitz. Now that’s a winner of a hotel. We even opted to stay in our room over the stables. The thought of that lovely warm bathtub was simply too thrilling.

Another glorious dinner – this time in the dinning room – another great breakfast in the bar area – and then back to the airport.

So one winner – one loser – nice trip in total.

Signing off to go run a market stall in London (you’ll have to check the next blog to see how that goes) – The soup lady.

Fighting the Battle of Auterlitz – 210 years too late!


It is always a special thrill to participate in Napoleonic European Re-enactments. Unlike their North American counterparts – they are huge affairs – with even the smallest ones being done on fields that to our standards stretch on forever. And all of the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to attend have been staged on the actual battle fields.

Which is why I found myself at dawn on Dec 5, 2015 – standing along with another 100 souls at the top of Zuran Hill, hoping to see the Sun of Austerlitz rise in the East. All the important people were there – Mark Schneider doing his usual enthusiastic version of Napoleon – encouraging us to victory, Marshall Soult (Portrayed by Oleg Sokolov) – also elicting cheer after cheer for the new Emperor.

The Czech Renenactor Grenadier Imperial Guard unit was there in force, along with a smattering of the Marins de la Garde, 10 Cavalry members (Chaseurs de la Garde) – with their horses, and the Elite Gendarmes.

Of the folks gathered – I found the Gendarmes the most interesting. They wear a unique uniform – and they are the Napoleonic Military Police. They stand guard at the 4 corners of the space – making sure that only the folks who should be there approach. Later on they will be enforcing the rules of the battle field– No women in women’s clothing being apparently their primary target – well that and crowd control – no kids deciding to join in the battle please, and they even direct traffic if necessary!

We wait to see the sun rise – and of course it does – but it is hidden behind the famous haze of Austerlitz. You can make out tree lines and the general topgraphy, but if there were over 150,000 soliders (Russian, Austrian, and French) camped out in the surrounding hills and valleys – you’d never know.

In 1805 – Napoleon himself stood on this hill – gazed out at exactly this country side – and we can envision him imagining how the chess pieces would fall within hours. Today we can only cheer – and agree to meet at the base of Stanton Hill for drill at 10:00.

For us as re-enactors – the morning is spent either in drill – or in walking around the camp site. The outdoor camp is small – even by North American standards – but then we’re talking early December in the Czech Republic. In 1805 – there was snow. Today there is only a light frost – which quickly melts off – making for splendid re-enacting weather – our wool uniforms were designed for just these temperatures – but as the Doctor – I’m thinking that even so – we’ll be running out of water for the troops by mid-way thru the battle.

The camp is sectioned off – the Russians have claimed about half the space – they have a large contingent – and there are Russian Cantinieres who are selling home made Russian cakes and pies. I enjoy a delicious Apple Pastry – and it looks like business is good – they have different things on offer each time I stroll past.

There are some Bashkir Archers who have set-up a practice area – and are allowing the visitng children to try their hand at using the bows. Using a Bow and Arrow may seem silly today – but in 1805 these guys were deadly! They could fire multiple arrows in the time it would take us to organize just one volley. I join the line to try my hand, but while I have good form – I miss the target all 3 times. Oh well – Doctors don’t really need archery skills.

On the other 50% of the area are meeting grounds for Austrian and French troops. Most of the Re-enactors (there are over 2000) are staying in temporary lodging – police stations, gyms, barracks of one kind and another, or at local hotels – so there are many small areas to visit, no one big encampment like there was at either Leipzig or Waterloo.

Drill, Visits, and Lunch over – it’s time for the battle.

This is the 210th anniversery of the battle of Austerlitz – so it’s being held on a fairly large part of the still existing battle field. Since it is early December, there are no crops to deal with – we’re not forcing our way through grain fields – instead the field has already been tilled for winter, leaving a medium dry mud that clings alarming to our boots – inches deep at some points – making keeping boot soles clean an impossible task. I’m going to bet that there will be few wounded today – no one is going to want to fall into this mud!

The French, of which I am of course included, take the far Western portion of the battle field – we’re on the Stanton hill – and Napoleon (Mark Schneider) and his entourage are mounted or standing behind us. Below us are row after row of French soldiers, Some Cavalry – a narrow road – and then up hill from that are the vast array of the enemy on the Pratzen Heights. There are massed Austrian and Russian Troops – their cannon firing on our positions. We can see that some of the French troops have already been engaged in the battle – but we, the Imperial Guard are being held in reserve.

Napoleon’s tactic at Austerlitz was to pretend a weakness on the right flank that baited the Allies into weakening their center in order to try and crush that side of the Grande Armee. We are doing the same – the troops fighing now are just the teaser – the real numbers will not take the field until 3:00 PM.

Conditions are not wonderful for the Cavalry – Even Napoleon is thrown from his horse when the horse loses his footing in the mud. One of the aide-de-camps is unhorsed twice – and that’s only what we can see from our position. Reports are that many riders had to dismount or were thrown. When we are attacked by the Russian Household Cavalry later in the afternoon – we can’t see the impact – they are still a formidable opponent – and we must form square to protect ourselves at least twice.

Smoke and Fire – March up hill in ranks to face the enemy – exchange of fire, and then hand to hand combat. Some folks get caught up in the moment – and there is one guy who must be restrained by his own troops when he draws sword and tried to single handedly take down the Garde. Three Russians run around our flank and make a grab for our flag – but we stand strong and push them off.

The battle ends with the Russians and Austrians abandoning their cannons, and pushed into the crowds of spectators gathered on the far eastern side of the battle field , – much to their delight. As predicted – there are few fallen – but the need for water is great – and I spend much of the battle either giving out water or helping soldiers with fouled muskets to clean and repair their weapons.

At the end – there is a huge award giving cermony – Soldiers selected for getting Medals of Honour are handed their hard won awards at the hands of Napoleon.

Among them is Victor Eiser – who Napoleon singles out to not only receive the Legion of Honor – but to be given it with special thanks and a personal greeting.

Later that night – over dinner at the Stara Posta – Napoleon comes to our table to personally emphasize that of all the medals awarded today – Victor’s Legion of Honour is the one that he personally felt was most deserving.

Nice end to a nice day.

M. Le Docteur Jean Vivant de Clairemont
reporting from the fileds of Austerlitz, Czech Republic.

We sleep in the Stables –


I’m not joking – we are really staying in a Horse Barn very close to Prague in the Czech Republic.

We left Montreal for Prague what feels like months ago – but was only the day before Yesterday. Travel is tough on aging bodies – and long air flights in sub-economy is not the stuff of luxury and relaxation. But given my lowly status – I faired pretty well.

I went on line to check in – and decided to ‘change seats’ – just to see if magically a free upgrade to business or first class with better food, nicer service, and a bed would happen.

Nope. Lowly cheap economy is where I was doomed to be.

But – I did notice that the back 4 rows of the air craft – middle section – were empty. Humm. If I take one of those seats – maybe I’ll have the row to myself.

SCORE!

So I did, and I did. I watched a great movie – Mr. Holmes – you should see it – ate a lousy dinner – jokingly described as an elegant chicken dish with heritage rice and a rich hand picked tomato sauce, served with a fresh salad, hot roll with virgin butter, and a rich chocolate cake, layed with love and 4 different types of chocolate. Would you like water with that?

In reality – it was mystery chicken in a plastic dish with plastic cutlery, a square of semi-fresh chocolate cake (highlight of the meal), a salad that might have been fresh in January, and I’ll agree – a hot roll. And yes – I’ll have water with that.

But it’s not about the food – it’s about the 4 seats in a row that were mine, Mine, MINE!

I ate, watched my movie – and then laid down to sleep. I know I slept because my dinner dishes disappeared – and a ‘breakfast bread’ in plastic wrap appeared when I woke up. Easiest long flight ever.

Unfortunately – I didn’t fare as well on the next leg – from Franfurt to Prague. Either the time change got to me or that mystery meat was a deadly error – but my stomack was in serious knots by the time the plane had landed and we’d found the rental car place. We drove about 15 minutes to our hotel – and I was so seriously sick – the hotel owner took pity on me and put me in the only room that had been cleaned. What did I care – I sunk into bed – and tried hard to make myself feel better.

Several hours later – much restored – I arose – and swore off mystery chicken on airlines forever. And finaly – got to explore my location.

We’re at the Dvur Hoffmeister in Cicovice, Czech Republic – it’s a small Pensionne 10 minutes from the Prague airport  – just 7 rooms and a restaurant and a bar attached to the biggest horse training center I’ve ever seen. The training stable is amazing. It’s spotless clean – and filled with glorious horses. I feel in total love with a giant sweet heart of a horse – He’s what’s known here as a KWPN – Dutch Warmblooded Show Horse – and he’s huge! Seriously huge. My husband, Victor, stook next to him – and his head is probably 4 times larger than Victor’s head. And at 6′ – Victor could not see over his back. Huge.

According to Ria Hoffmeisterova – she’s the gal that runs the stable – and the sister of Ava Hoffmesiterova – the gal who runs the restaurant and Pennsione – and the daughters of the owner of the Dorf Hoffmeister – this horse is owned by an 18 year old gal who is on the Czech National Jumping team. No kidding.

Beautiful Horse.

Anyway – the stable has over 40 horses – ponies to huge jumpers like my friend, two indoor areans – one huge for jumping, one smaller Yurt shapped one for doing laps, at least 2 huge outdoor arenas, multiple outdoor pasture areas, at least 5 different stable areas for horss – we’re sleeping over one of these – a horse washing room that has a sunlamp section for ‘drying’ the hose – and a horse Gym!

I spotted the Ria leading a horse into what seemed to be a small – open at both ends – trailer. But it wasn’t a trailer – it was a treadmill for horses! No TV to watch – I guess it must get pretty boring, but the horse is lead inside, tied to the front bar, and the treadmill started. And the horse gets his exercise. Seriously. You ever heard of such a thing before?

Another odd thing – and maybe this is related to the fact that this is a super fancy horse stable – all the horses – every single one – had a blanket on. Big thick things, that fastened around the horse’s body – covering the butt as well as the entire body. And even when they were riding the horses in the arena area – they kept the blankets on the horses. just rolled a bit back to allow room for the tiny English saddles. Victor thinks it might be to keep them from growing winter coats.

Not that it is that cold here – maybe 45 degrees – warm by Montral Standards – but then the stables aren’t heated. In fact – they are interesting in themselves. I’ve seen lots of stables before – but these are the first I’ve seen with windows. And the horses seem to love standing with their heads out the windows – watching the action in the courtyards. To enter and leave their stalls – there are the traditional stall grates and fences – but every single stall had a window on the opposite wall – room with a view – for the horses!

We wandered freely around the space – watched the young ladies taking care of their ponies – exercising them, washing their feet, general stable stuff. There was no one working on jumping that we got to see – but it’s clear this is a serious place for training – and our host told us that this is the home to one of the National Level Training Schools for Jumpers in Czech.

Not surprised – it’s glorious.

Enough about the stable – on to the food and the rooms.

First – the food.

Victor booked us here because it was very close to the airport – and had good reviews. Well – the food totally justified the reviews. We ate dinner in the bar – the restaurant was reserved for a large party (more on that later) – but they offered us the full menu. I had octopus salad – made with spicy sausage – it was outstanding, and a su-vide preperation of pork belly that was also delicious. The pork meat was yummy- and the fat had been hard fried to a delightful crispness. Victor had a goat cheese appetizer that he thought excellent, and a deer filet dish that he also approved of. I thought my choices were better though. The only disappointment was dessert. I ordered a pear tart tatine – and I expected a tart – but it was deconstructed – so there was too much pear to pastry in my opinion. But I ate it all – so it couldn’t have been that bad.

Now the Lodging

There are just 7 rooms – and we were lucky enough to stay in 2 of them. The first was glorious. The walls leading up the winding stone staircase was filled with paintings and prints by surrealistic artisis – including Chagal, Dali, and others. Mostly sketches of course – but still. The room was ‘over the bar’ – and it was huge. Giant oversized bathroom with double sinks, and a deep European style tub, The room had a king sized 4 postered bed wtih draps tied back on all 4 sides, a giant sofa and arm chairs, and room to wander. The floor boards were at least 18″ wide – clearly old lumber, loving re-furbished to a high gloss.

The bed had those traditional European feather covers – two of them – once for each sleeper. Why they get folded sideways I don’t know – but opened up and turned 90 degress they are very comfortable. But who noticed – I was feeling so ill I just sank into the bed and pretended I wasn’t dead.

The bad news – this was supposed to be our room – but there was going to be a party that night in the bar – with a DJ going till 2:00 AM. And our host suggested that maybe – despite the beauty of the room – we’d be happier in a room that was smaller – but would be quiet.

Which is why we’re sleeping over the horse stable. There are 3 rooms loving rebuilt with lovely grohe faucets and comfy beds, huge sofas and TVs over the Stables. We walk past the horses – who lean out their windows to give us warm sniffs – up a metal staircase and into our hallway. Once in the hall – the space is modern and lovely and clean – and there’s no obvious evidence that you are in fact – above a stable. Our room – while not nearly as over the top as the first is quite comfortable – and our tub is a jetted double seating deep bather. It’s bath time tonight!

As for being over the stables – Except for the occasional horse moving around his paddock and the noise of the staff closing the big doors to the stables at around 6:00 PM – and I’m guessing we’ll hear them being opened tomorrow morning – but for now – all is dark, quiet, and peaceful.

Signing off to go snuggle back in bed.

The Soup Lady

Travel and an Identity Crisis- Can you have both?


An identity crisis is not a starting point for any journey

Rupert Murdock – Nov 30, 2015

Interesting statement, eh? Rupert was refering to the US government, and his point was that to give the US a sense of direction, a US leader muts understand, be proud of and assert the American personality.

But I took the comment more personally.

If you are considering changing yourself, either physcially by traveling to a different country, or G-d forbid, move to a different country – or mentally – it clearly helps to have a solid place to stand.

If you aren’t sure of what you want to accomplish, of what you’d like to achieve at the end of your journey – the path is more likely to be controted and mis-shappen.

On the other hand – It’s 50 years since Abby Road by the Beatles was released – and I’m just old enough to remember what it was like in those days. We all thought that traveling was how you ‘found’ yourself – trips to SF were pilgramiges in search of self – and perhaps a few drugs. I went to London in 68 – in theory to study Drama – but in reality I wanted to see a bigger world. Not that Boston wasn’t big enough – but Europe, London, Travel, New Sights, New Sounds – and no parents – no supervison at all – that’s heady stuff at 19 to 20.

Are we thinking today that the youth I was at 19 wasn’t having an identity crisis? It is of course hard to look back – age does add a distance – and I’ve always worn rose colored glasses – but I would have to say that travelling when you are young is all about identity crisis – and travel when you are old is about seeing what you missed.

Big topic, tiny blog…

I’m off again – this time to the Czeck Republic – I shall have to consider identity crisis another day. Signing off – The Soup Lady.