Hey there folks....well, i am trying to get back to the blog a bit more frequently and therefore you get an update sooner....although i am still really far behind....thanks to those folks who wrote me to say hi and let me know they were impressed with my english skills...i guess i just wanted you to know that i do know how to type with capitals and real punctuation...and maybe it happened because i have been applying for jobs and didn't get out of the habit....
before i go any further....a strange request i know, but a friend of mine's father is not doing very well and needs a kidney...if you, or anyone you know would be willing to donate, please check out his website....all you have to do is click on the link....my friend karen would appreciate any and all good thoughts and vibes sent her dad's way....so thanks for that.....
for those interested in my job search....well, it continues...i have some good leads, but am hoping with the beginning of november i will have few more interested folks getting in touch with me....november is the month many schools ask their current employees if they are returning...if anyone here knows of a good job in asia or africa for me, i welcome any and all suggestions...i am looking for exclusively middle school science....but would entertain the possibility of middle school math/science combination or a hs/ms science combination.....thanks for all of the well wishes and send your good thoughts and vibes my way for success....i promise i will let people know what is going on as i know it :)
and now onto the second part of my road trip with martha.....the first shot actually comes from a beer town in the czech republic....plzen - yep, this is where pilsner urquell is made....and of course we had some....we stayed at a place just along the main square....where there was a festival and these really cool fountains in the shapes of greek letters....very cool.....and the beer was tasty too....
we also visited the old jewish synagogue while there....it was under renovation and had an amazing art exhibit throughout it's halls....i think it is still being used, but we weren't sure....the interior was amazing, especially the altar....i loved the arches and the blue ceilings and the stars on those ceilings....just a really cool and historical place...of course this place, along with many other jewish places, was abandoned during the second world war....but they are trying to bring it back to its former glory of the past....a very cool place.....
there was a really big storm in plzen while we were there....so we took refuge at our hotel's terrace, it was covered of course, and while drinking a tasty pilsner we were treated to a rainbow above the square and the old beautiful buildings that surround the square....cool eh?
oh look....a famous dani shot, with the tasty pilsner....too late for the rainbow, but a tasty shot none-the-less....
after plzen for a night we drove onto prague to see catherine and the beautiful city of prague....in my mind this town is the quintessential stop for old town europe.....but be careful of all of the tourists....i actually did not spend much time in the city this time....but we did go downtown around sunset and i was able to take this great shot of the castle on the hill....love it!
because i had my car with me i decided i needed to go out to the "bone church" one day....as you can see from the shot below, the interior of this church is adorned with people's bones....in this church there are bones from 40,000 people...they have a chandelier, a family crest, and an altar that is taller than me....and they are bones form real people....it's call kostnice ossuary in kutna hora, czech republic....and yes....the bones are ALL real....
i LOVED this stop....talk about right up my alley....i thought the shot below was my coolest with the light coming from behind the skull and through the eyes....freaky....it all started when a sacred man was buried here....then other folks wanted relatives and themselves buried in the same spot as the sacred man....and then the bubonic plague hit and they needed to deal with lots of bodies....so many people ended up here....every bone of the skeleton can be found and the chandelier actually has every bone of the human body used once....it is simply incredible....
the creator and artist of bone church made this so that people would be remembered in a work of art....and when you see this with your own eyes, you realize truly that it took many, many hours to painstakingly create this incredible work of art....and it had the effect he was looking for....it is a stop that people make and remember the people that gave their bones to make this awesome place....if you ever get the chance to see this in person....take it, you will not be sorry...this is one of my favorite places i have been to in europe....and i would go back if i had the time....just phenomenal....
in this picture you can see catherine, my teaching twin, who is working in prague and my trip companion martha....we had a blast hanging out together, as it had been the first time the three of us were together since our first year in bucharest....
after visiting catherine, and getting pulled over in germany...not for speeding....just for whatever....really it was a weird pullover and i think it had to do with us having zagreb plates and the germans having no idea what they were....we stopped in salzburg, austria for one night....we got lucky as it was the big music festival and their were works of art, and much music to hear and see....i loved this shot of the castle and the big ball with a fake dude standing on top of it....
from salzburg to bled, slovenia....wowowowowowowow....what a stop this one was....trying to find our farmhouse hotel was a challenge with old towns and streets that rub up against old buildings....but this town is a beaut....as you can see, behind martha there is a monastery on an island...and you can only get there by boat.....this shot was taken from the castle overlooking the entire town....simply stunning.....
plus, there is an amazing gorge with a walkway through it....the water was running hard as we had seen quite a few days of rain, but while we were walking the sun was shining....which was lucky for us, because at the big waterfall at the end, we were treated to a double rainbow....perfect end to a perfect walk.....
and of course we took a trip around the lake and found that the best view of the monastery on the island was from the opposite side of the main town...in the foreground is the monastery and in the background the castle up on the hill....just a beautiful place....
the final stop of our trip was ljubljana, slovenia....which is only an hour and half away from here....and i love visiting it....as we wandered around for the afternoon we visited a few fun shops, ate some tasty mexican food and walked along the river....i love the pink church down in the old part of town as well...it just puts a smile on my face....
and then we came back.....martha continued her trip to the coast and i got ready for school to begin...i think she got the better end of the stick on that one....but what a road trip we had...in the final picture we are in salzburg having a delicious indian dinner....with some prosecco to celebrate the excellent time we were having....what a trip....
okay....so now i am officially caught up on my summer trips this year....but since then i have traveled a few more times and this week i am actually headed back to bucharest as a chaperone for the middle school speech and debate trip....so hopefully i will be sending out pictures about munich and oktoberfest, prague and our october break visit and my weekend in budapest....and now i will need to add bucharest....its been a busy fall...job searching and trying to visit as many places as possible before i leave europe....one last thing before i sign off....my classes have started up their blogs again and i would love it if you would check in and see what they have been doing....i am hoping to post links to our global warming/climate change commercials, some which are good and some....well....you get the idea....but they aren't there yet....when they are, i'll let you know....but in the meantime, check out the blogs.....
8th grade blog - http://www.aisz81011.blogspot.com/
7th grade blog - http://www.aisz71011.blogspot.com/
and please feel free to leave a comment....the kids love to see new "dots" show up on the map for people who are looking at what they have to say....it's really cool....so if you get the chance, check it out....
okay....thanks for reading per normal....and be sure to check out my friend karen's site for her dad and his search for a kidney match, as well as my student's blogs.....i hope you have a great american thanksgiving if you celebrate and if not....happy daylight savings.....all the best....talk soon
have a fab day :)
dani
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