I’ve come to realize that I understand a place better the moment I begin to leave it. There are things that I recognize I will miss. I know that there are things that might not be replicated in other places. There are people I have to say goodbye to, and there is, of course, always a specific history that every… Read more →
During the last stop on my recent roadtrip, I stopped in Kutna Hora to see the “Bone Church,” or Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel adorned with human skeletons. Though the site is typically open seven days a week, my arrival coincided with the making of a movie inside the chapel, and the ossuary was closed to public viewing. I had to… Read more →
For three days I travelled by car outside of Prague, determined to see some of Western, Northern, and Eastern Bohemia, as well as more of the central Bohemian region. I left Prague early one morning and began heading South, taking a route which brought me through such places as Čerčany, Benešov, Votice, Tabor, Sezimovo Ústí, Soběslav, České Budějovice, Český Krumlov,… Read more →
There is a significant amount of public art in Prague, none so impressive as the moving, metal sculpture of the head of the great Czech author Franz Kafka. Artist David Černý designed this, and if you click on this link, you can see the sculpture move. What also stands out are David Černý’s fiberglass creations of the seeming otherworldly babies,… Read more →
It is absolutely impossible to ignore Prague’s dogs. There is a plethora of them. These are mainly small dogs who can be seen in parks and restaurants and around the streets. They are well groomed, pampered and obviously the joy of their owners’ lives. Why do I mention this here in blog posts which are dedicated to research about Bohemia… Read more →
Being in Prague, it is impossible not to think of revolution. And like all revolutions that one has not seen firsthand or been involved in, the Czech Revolution is incredibly precarious to make a comment about. What I can say without the felt need to qualify my position as a new visitor here and to underscore my ignorance any further… Read more →
For such a short period of time in Prague, do I try to live in or observe the city? One could argue that one could only observe a new place until one has comfortably gained a home of sorts in a place. However, for me, there are two types of travel. The first is to visit as many historical sights… Read more →
Like any place new to me, Prague is difficult to immediately make sense of. It seems to be some kind of mix between Toronto and Amsterdam—a large modern city with an ancient skeleton. What can be said without any reservation is that Prague is beautiful and full of options. In particular, restaurants abound, and anything can be found from traditional… Read more →
Pamela Mordecai’s performances or readings of five of her six collections of poetry are now being shared with the world under a Creative Commons License at the following link: www.mordecai.citl.mun.ca/ After more than a year’s editing, this video collection has just been released by the Centre for Innovation in Technology and Learning (CITL, formerly DELTS) at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN),… Read more →
Martinique is an interesting island, though very different from other countries in the Caribbean. A French territory, Martinique is a blend of the European and Caribbean, which means there are huge differences between Martinique and other islands. Most transparently to me so far, Martinique abides by French law and an overriding French sensibility, and the region is quite safe in… Read more →