Czech This Out

6 May

Did NOTHING today...It was a really relaxing day. Usually I go to church on Sunday afternoons in Prague but since I was out of town, i didn't go today. It rained off and on during the day, so we just sat around watching movie and a few TV show episodes. One was "I (heart) Huckabees." WEIRD movie! I liked it but wouldn't recommend that any of you go and buy it! Rent it if it's on the 99 cent rack and expect little! Funny if you want to see Lily Tomlin swearing... ;-)
Finally got out of the house and went to dinner...had fried cheese and french fries - sort of typical pub food for here. Then we wandered up to the Holy Mountain in Pribram, which is a Catholic pilgrimage site, and watched the sun set from the top of an old concrete...bunker??? not sure exactly what it is, but has a really gorgeous view of the city and the sunset! This is the place where we usually go to see stars. We don't have many visible ones in the city, but an hour away, in Pribram, you can get a pretty spectacular view!
Pribram is a nice little town - it's very near the site of the newly proposed Radar site that the US wants to put in. You wouldn't believe the controversy about THAT! About half of my students want the radar, saying that it will "buy" some measure of protection by having U.S. military in the country and that they will get some favor from the U.S. (which sounds suspiciously like gang protection!) The other half are seriously opposed, and for nearly the same reasons...right now, the Czech Republic is a very safe, very neutral place to live... they haven't ticked off anyone lately! Not a military power, not an oil country, no weapons, nothing, so they feel like, by inviting the U.S. in, they're ...kind of taking sides and declaring allegiance to the U.S., who most people think of as trouble-makers. Some seem especially nervous about looking like they are taking sides against Russia, which is no threat to them right now. Anyway, it's easy to see their point of view. I am not sure how I feel about it.
Like I said, Pribram also has a "Holy Mountain," which is really beautiful, and Stephen and Ben live just minutes from the top. It also is a mining town...Uranium mines! Woohoo! They actually warn against drinking the water for too many years, but... I don't know if that's a real threat or not. The town is also not too far from a very controversial nuclear power plant near the Austrian border. At least it's controversial for the Austrians! Czechs usually think of it as a very safe, clean power source. Ben and Stephen got to visit the plant a few months ago! Wish I could have gotten in on that!

posted by Kassidee Kennedy @ 3:00 PM