Anchorage

I met a new friend at the Anchorage Museum and as we looked out the window over the whole city she said with an almost rhapsodic voice, "Anchorage is not the ugliest city in America... but it's definitely in the top ten."  Walking around, it's hard to disagree.  It reminds me of the flat blocks back in Prague, built for one purpose, and aesthetics was not it.  

It's easy to look just in front of you.  It's easy to discount the city for its blocks of beige boxes.  But they serve an essential function.  The hold the offices of businesses and industry that provide us the opportunity to live in modern comfort and...

 to live in a city with this as the horizon.  

I've been in Alaska three weeks.  I found a job teaching preschool and I took it!  I do not view this as wildly-adventurous.  We live in a time when opportunities must be seized because it is unlikely that they will come along again soon.  But one thing I have found about Alaska is that there are opportunities here.  Things are not as rough as in the rest of the country.  This is the first place I've been where most recent college graduates I meet are working in their chosen fields.  

And I'm digging the people.  The fashion is blog-worthy.  The beer is good.  Public transit is working well for me so far.  The public libraries are awe-inspiring.  

And I can be friends with this reindeer on Facebook.  

(My roommate tells me that this is not the original Star, but a replacement.  As a child, she would drive by and whisper, "I will free you someday, little reindeer.")

Expect more Anchorage love from me!
-Colleen

Little Friends on the Road

I made the acquaintance of these three lovely individuals in one day of our trip!  

Bebenhausen Kloster (near Tuebingen, Germany)

Bebenhausen Kloster (near Tuebingen, Germany)

Schloss Hohentuebingen (Tuebingen, Germany)

Summer Solstice

A walk by the Vltava yesterday turned into the perfect first day of summer.  While walking back from ice cream at Old Town Square, we heard some music coming from a beer garden on an embankment.  Amy was sure the voice of the singer sounded familiar, so we went closer to investigate.

Lo and behold, Amy was right!  Looking down at a familiar face, having him wave and smile up between songs--it made this big ol' city feel like a small town.  

We went down to listen.

And have a beer.

In the background, you can see some boaters enjoying a lazy afternoon on the river.  We decided that the time had come.  We had had enough I've always wanted to do thats and someday, we should try thats.  

So we rented a paddle boat!  It was only 250 CZK per hour (about $13.00) for up to 4 people.  Quite reasonable prices!

We befriended some ducks and ducklings who obviously assumed we would feed them.  They also had fine taste in art and chose to swim around the giant chair and marching yellow penguins.

Amy and the beautiful view!  

We decided that the river is actually one of the best places to take photos of the city.

Vyšehrad Fortress in the background

Tančící dům--The Dancing House! 

Shades

Mo loved how this ladder leads down to the water and how the tree appears to be growing out of it.

Národní divadlo--The National Theatre 

Something is hilarious.

Casual Paddling

Feeling really casual.

Zebra striped zoo boat.  I was very nervous about how close it got to paddle boaters.

Off the boat, back on the docks, we saw this little ugly duckling.  Last spring, part of the beer garden on the embankment was roped off because of a swan nest.  This is obviously the small friend who hatched out of that egg.  It seems likely since his parents were hanging around where the nest was.

I highly recommend seeing the center of the city from a paddle boat!  Best solstice ever!