Eastern Europe: Days 1-3: getting to Olomouc

Day 1

It's time to start another trip, this one to Eastern Europe to bring an experimental theatre I helped create to a small tour through the Czech Republic!

Today is a Saturday.  Last Sunday I threw my back out and wasn't sure that I'd be able to make the trip.  As recently as Tuesday I was using a walker to get around the house.  I've seen three different doctors who have helped me try to get ready to make this trip.  I'm still not feeling 100%, but I feel well enough to give it a shot.  So, I packed my bags, a back brace, a lumbar support bracket, and headed to LA to begin my flight.  

My flight from LAX to Amsterdam was uneventful.  Bringing a bunch of wireless microphone equipment through checked security definitely triggered the additional screening, but it wasn't a hardship and by the time I got on the plane, everything was fine.  The lumbar support bracket worked like a dream, and because I had booked an aisle seat, I was able to stand up on occasion to move around.

Day 2

We landed in Amsterdam on time, and I had a few hours to kill before my flight to Prague.  I used the KLM lounge, which let me sit down, stretch out, and not have to worry so much about my bags.  The flight to Prague was easy, and once I got to Prague, I met up with B, G, and K for the 3 hour drive to Olomouc.  L was supposed to have met us, but he got caught in some travel snafus and wasn't able to come in until much later.

The drive through the Czech countryside was lovely.  Rolling hills, bits of creativity along the way (a sculpture of cars and shipping containers, a trio of silos painted to resemble  wooden soldiers).  The most exciting moment was when we saw that an ambulance helicopter had landed on the other side of the road to transport someone who was in a traffic accident.

We got to Olomouc in the early evening, and met E (who had taken a bus from Vienna).  B, G, and K turned in for the night while E and I grabbed Czech food at a traditional restaurant. 

Day 3

I woke at 4.30, jet-lagged.  I rolled over to check my phone and learned that H had broken her wrist while I was sleeping.  I quickly facetimed them and got to chat before H turned out the light.  

I was up, so I read, got cleaned up, build the RF rack (which I had to disassemble for transport), and got some work done.  At 11, everyone but B (who was recovering from injury and also had to prepare a talk) met to walk into town.  We spent the afternoon wandering through the city center, poking our heads in churches, looking at public art, and grabbing refreshments.  In the shade it was cool, but the sun was pretty intense.

Late in the afternoon, we met B for his talk.  K, E, & G listened to the talk, while L and I snoozed in the hallway.  After the talk, we went to check out the venue, and I passed a poster for our show!

Then, D (our faculty host at the U) took us for another Czech dinner, where we ordered WAY too much delicious food. I had duck with purple sauerkraut, potato dumpling, and a fresh tomato and cucumber salad (and a homebrew beer). No one ate all their food, but it was delicious!

Fed and tired, we took cars back to the hotel and settled in for a quiet night before we head to the theatre tomorrow morning!

Day 16 & 17: Stonehenge and departure

Wednesday morning, we got up and checked out of the airbnb in Bristol.  It was a delightful place (other than being on the fourth floor of a walk-up - but everyday is leg day in Europe!) that we didn't want to forget.  Here's the view from the rooftop patio:

We packed up our stuff and headed southeast for Salisbury.  The roads from Bristol to Salisbury were hilly, narrow, and windy.  That, plus driving on the left side of the road made for an exciting trip!  S was all nerves the whole way, but we made it safe and sound to Salisbury for lunch.

The town itself is charming and full of shops, churches, and pedestrians.  It's the only large town around for miles, so it was both a tourist center AND a social/commercial center for the surrounding villages.  It was cute, but honestly, forgettable (we're not church people, so the cathedral was not on our list).  We grabbed a quick lunch at a pub, did a bit of shopping, and then drove the ten minutes further to Stonehenge, the reason for our trip.

The Stonehenge visitor center is about a mile's walk from the henge itself, which they did (I'm guessing) because there were other historic sites in the area and because this provided good views of the henge from all directions.  The walk took us through a grassy field where we dodged cow pies and could observe the burial barrows (those hills) in the distance:

As we rounded a corner, we could see Stonehenge in the distance, covered in tourists.

As of a few years ago, tourists could no longer wander amongst the stones,  but instead had to stay on a path around the stones.  Among other things, this made taking lovely photographs easier - I just had to wait for moments where the tourists in the shot were all behind stones!

After seeing the henge, we took the tour bus back to the visitor center and headed back to our airport hotel at Heathrow. This drive was much more pleasant - multi-lane highway, higher speeds, etc.  I only made a mistake once, driving through a roundabout and forgetting to chant 'drive on the left.'  But other than a few angry drivers, nothing amiss happened.  We got back to the hotel, dropped off the car, and settled in for the night.

The next day was our trip back to the states!  Up at 5.30, at the airport by 6.30, on the plane by 9, at JFK by noon (local time).  Once we were back at JFK, we had a hell of a time getting through customs and making our next flight.  We ended up missing our first connection, but we made our second and were in VA by 6.30.  H was awake and alert (and a great traveler) for the whole trip except for the last leg to VA, where she finally conked out.

We were at V/P's house by 8ish and got H to bed right away.  S was out by 9.30, and I turned off the light at 10.17pm.  What a memorable trip!

Day 15: Day trip to Bath

Months ago, when S and I were planning these few days in Bristol/Bath, we trying to decide where to stay.  We scoured websites and consulted friends/colleagues we know who had visited both cities.  Everyone had an opinion, and they general fell along these lines: if you like cities and activity, stay in Bristol.  If you like history and genteel stuff, stay in Bath.  We chose Bristol as our home base, but planned a day in Bath.  I'm glad to say that we chose wisely.  Very wisely.

We planned to spend the day in Bath.  From Temple Meads Station (the main train station in Bristol), the trip to Bath was about 15 minutes and three stops along the Great Western Railway, one of about a gazillion things that Isambard Kingdom Brunel is responsible for in these parts.  The train was fast and comfortable, and the Temple Meads station is beautiful on the outside.

Once in Bath, the whole town is super walkable.  We had 4 points on our agenda: Roman Baths Museum, Herschel Museum, shopping, and hanging out along the river.  After a quick lunch of handpies, our first destination was the Roman Baths.  The facilities and exhibition were terrific.  The excavation was thorough, the galleries informative, and the whole experience was remarkable.  Each guest got a free audio tour guide, which was not only done in multiple languages for the international guests, but also had a separate track of recordings for kids.  S and I could listen to academic-y bits about the Baths, and H could listen to the same basic information, presented to her by one of a half-dozen different characters who were representative of people at the Baths.  She got her own valuable experience that was customized for her.  S and I even got to listen to her experience at times!  

After we were done with the Baths, we wandered across town, which is truly beautiful:

... until we got to the Herschel Museum.  William Herschel was a musician an amateur astronomer credited with discover Uranus (tee-hee).  For many years, he lived with his sister Caroline (also a musician and astronomer) in Bath, and their house has been turned into a monument to their lives and accomplishments.  It should be noted that the house is mostly focused on William, since has the vast majority of discoveries attributed to him, but Caroline was no slouch in the discoveries department, and she did so while also cooking, cleaning, managing the house, taking notes for William, and also occasionally hand-feeding him since he couldn't bother to feed himself while working.  As far as I'm concerned, Caroline is William's equal (if not superior) in the astronomy department.  Side note: If you're interested in reading more about them, I can't recommend highly enough The Age of Wonder.

So, two goals down, two to go.  BUT, the stores in Bath were very disappointing.  A bunch of the indie shops were were looking for were shut today (unsure if they were shut just on Tuesdays or on weekdays in general), and the shops that were open tended to be large international chains (Athleta, Apple, etc.).  Totally in-line with catering to weel-heeled tourists, but far far far from local flavor.

And... we never got to meander along the river.  We just ran out of steam. 

SO!  Back to Bristol!

Once back at Temple Meads, we hopped a cab to the Clifton Mall area, high up on the northwest of Bristol.  Our cabbie was born in Pakistan but had lived in Bristol for 50 years: he gave us recommendations, told us stories, made us giggle, talked about how his daughter hated the US (too much racism and too many cars).  Side note: all of our cab drivers have been wonderful. They've all been first or second-gen immigrants, and they've all enthusiastically shared what they love about Bristol with us.  Their joy was so pervasive that after our last cab ride today, H remarked that one of the things she loved the most about visiting Bristol was hearing about what the cab drivers had to say.

In Clifton Mall, we ate a lovely dinner at The Ivy.  H had a mocktail with juices, elderflower tonic, and a passionfruit garnish.

After dinner, we walked the short walk to our last destination in Bristol: the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  Yet another of Brunel's contributions, the bridge spans the Avon in a section of town that is far above sea level.  We walked across the bridge twice before heading to an observatory point just NE of the bridge:

After that, we walked the .8 miles downhill home, where we settled in for our last night in Bristol.  Tomorrow, Stonehenge!

Day 14: Exploring Bristol (again)

We had planned to travel into the countryside to see some castles/abbeys/estates/gardens, but after our trip to London, we'd had enough ancient history, so we decided to take another day in Bristol to check out the town some more.  

First stop was back to St. Nicholas Market, which was finally open and did not disappoint.  Loads and loads of stalls filled with crafts, clothes, wares, and other gifts.  We started out in a board game shop and then kept going!  It was a little too much for me, but S and H both had a field day.  

After that, we walked north, where we happened to pass the Palestine Museum and Cultural Center.  The facade features a huge window edifice that is bulging out slightly over the sidewalk.  If you look closely at the mortar sealing the small window diamonds, you'll see that they're filled with broken glass.  It's a powerful image, reminiscent of the instant after a bomb explodes, when the windows are pushing out from the blast but before the explosion shatters everything.  Very moving.

We kept walking towards the Christmas Steps, which are the oldest stairs in Bristol and are lined with shops (including a board game cafe, where we paused after lunch).  One of the shops along the steps had replaced signage for their shop with a notice about a former enslaved Black American who had lived there after his escape to the UK.

Lunch was a forgettable meal at a crap brewery with a hell of a view.  

After lunch, we headed down to M-Shed, a museum that tells the story of Bristol. I was particularly curious about the Windrush Generation, but the museum was closed today.  So, we wandered around, admired the beautiful riverside, and sought out another Banksy before we headed home.

Once we were home, I headed down to a music shop to buy an instrument while S & H took a siesta.  We got take-out for dinner, and while I was picking up the food, I got to sip a quiet scotch (my first in the UK this trip).

This city is full of graffiti & public art - big and small, coarse and refined, political and not, ugly and beautiful.  Here's a few shots from today (the last two are Banksy's):

I had a thought later in the day about Banksy's work that recontextualized things for me.  Prior to this trip, I had thought of Banksy as a standout political artist who chose to use an unconventional (and politically charged) medium for his work within the fine art world.  But in seeing the state of public art in Bristol (and graffiti specifically), I'm seeing Banksy more as a graffiti artist in a sea of graffiti artists who happens to have both a wry sociopolitical take and the imagination and craft to execute it well.  

Day 13: Exploring Bristol

An exceptional day in Bristol!

We all slept in and woke rested after the stressful end of the day yesterday. I got up first and caught up on email, and when S and H woke, we had a bit of a lazy morning.  I took a run out for coffee and groceries and ended up finding a student art exhibition at the local university.  

After we got cleaned up, we headed out to explore Bristol. Our first stop was St. Nicholas Market, which is a legendary food stall/market that happens to be closed on Sundays (whoops!).  Plus, even though the day started with bright sun and puffy clouds, by the time we  got to the market, drizzle had set in.  H was unimpressed.

We hung out under the covered roof of the market until the drizzle passed and continued to explore the town.  Bristol has a long history as a maritime center, so there's a fair amount of old buildings that were constructed with plenty of money.  

Plus, since there's a naval history and it's a college town, there's a strong anti-establishment sentiment.  That means lots of tattoos, graffiti, and piercings.  

Relatedly, Bristol is also Banksy's hometown, and there are bits of their work around town, such as this message painted on the loading door of a university library:

When the next rainshower passed over, we found a board game cafe and introduced H to Forbidden Island, which she enjoyed (but didn't quite understand fully).  When the sun came out again, we meandered our way to the main section of town, where we rode a ferris wheel and lamented that the kids science center was closed for repairs.  

From there, it was a short walk and a shorter ferry across the river to the SS Great Britain, a dry-docked ship that was an engineering marvel when it was build.  It's dry docked in the very place where it was built, and the whole thing has been turned into a museum.

H was very excited to swab the deck, but does she ever 'swab the floors' at home?  Nooooooooooo.

Because the ship was in dry dock, we could go below and explore the outside of the hull!

Once we finished up with the ship, we took a ferry back across the Avon, grabbed some gelato, and then began the walk back to the airbnb.  We passed through Bristol College,

then into Brandon Hill, a luxuriously green park full of hills, climbing structures (this being a maritime town, most of the play structures have a heavy rigging theme),

and Cabot tower!

After climbing up to Cabot Tower, we headed for dinner and then back to the airbnb, where H got a bath and S and I are current planning tomorrow's adventures.