Classic Hits and New Beginnings

We celebrated our last night in Prague in style by going to Radost for a terrific dinner and then to Lucerna Music Bar for their weekly 80's/90's video party.....I know, strong! One of our friends (Finnie!) used to be a regular at Lucerna's 80's night years ago......we were honored to be able to carry on the torch. I think it's safe to say that we were the oldest people in the club.....most of the people there probably weren't even born when the 80's hits originally came out, but that didn't stop them from owning it. The DJ played quite a variety of tunes -- everything from Uptown Girl to Karma Chameleon to Cotton-Eyed Joe. But the indisputable highlight of the night was the back-to-back combo of Livin' on a Prayer, followed by The Final Countdown, which apparently is played at midnight each week on 80's night (great tradition which I'll be adopting at all parties going forward!). Below is a picture of Pallavi....she's a 'Maniac, maniac on the floor...' Also, czech out the short video clip of the club going NUTS during the chorus of Final Countdown. It was the perfect sendoff from Europe (both the continent and the band).

When we started on this trip, we felt like there were three distinct phases -- Phase 1 (heavy on Europe) is now complete, so today we leave for Tanzania and the start of Phase 2, which also includes Dubai and India. In case you're wondering, Phase 3 is Southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand. We don't really know what to expect in Tanzania, but we're both super excited. As you may know, we'll be spending the first 8 days of our time in Tanzania at a middle school for AIDS orphans. From what we understand, Pallavi will be teaching the kids writing and art, while I will be working with the kids on soccer (yikes!) and with the staff on some marketing projects. So when Tanzania wins the Soccer World Cup in 2014, you'll know where and when it all began! The organization, Peace House Foundation, is actually based in Minneapolis. I definitely can't do justice to the organization, so click on the link if you want to read more about it and what they do.

That's all for now......we'll talk to you again from Tanzania!

Czech Us Out!

That's right, we're in Prague. Three days isn't nearly enough time to really soak up everything this amazing city has to offer, but we're doing our best. We've hit most of the biggies, as well as some of the not-so-biggies. Above is a picture of the two of us on the Charles Bridge (where, thirteen years ago, I sang with my college singing group, The Penn Glee Club) with Prague Castle in the background. Below is a picture of Pallavi in Wenceslas Square, where many of the Czech Republic's most historic moments have occured, most recently the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

Here's a picture of Pallavi with the Old Town Square (a medieval stone's throw away from our hotel) in the background.

We also went to a classical music concert, in which nobody in the audience seemed to know when to clap and when to remain silent. For us, it was like being at a Christian wedding....we just followed everybody's lead. Two of the more interesting things we saw were the Museum of Communism, and the Mozart Museum, which is a villa where Wolfgang himself finished writing Don Giovanni. When we got there, we were the only visitors there....and for a while, even the guy working there took off. We had Mozart's old place all to ourselves. We also saw a band of Hare Krishnas as we strolled through the city seeking out buildings in which Kafka used to work. So as you can tell, we had some good variety over the course of three days.

Two more pictures below - one of Pallavi getting her only taste of autumn in 2008, and proof that even Russian doll manufacturers know that Steelers fans are everywhere.....yes, I bought one for myself.....after all, it's my Prague-a-tive (I really wanted to work that pun into this somehow).