Octavia Gets Broken Window
Hanka doesn’t work on Thursdays. On Wednesday she asked if we wanted to go to the Delvita store with her. It works good for the both of us. Jack pushes the cart with Marek in it so Hanka can get shopping done quicker and more complete. Plus we don’t have to walk so far with our groceries. Bad news came Thursday morning when she went out to the car to come over to get us. Someone had smashed the passenger window and the radio was stolen. Life in the big city. We went over to watch Marek so she could take the car in and then go to the police station to fill out paperwork. She had called the dealership and they had the window in stock. More bad news when she got there. Because of the force to break the window, a piece of plastic inside the door was also broken. They didn’t stock it. She had to leave the car with them until Monday, and then she had to take buses to the police station.
We went over at 1pm. Naturally, we asked if she had broken the news to Mike and if so how did he take it. She said it was a civil conversation, but she was sure after he got home it would change. She didn’t get back until 6pm. Mike had a baseball meeting and wouldn’t get home until later. Baseball and beer go hand in hand here. too
Dog Kennel
We went to the other side of town to check out a kennel that the Chamber of Commerce gave me the address to. I found the street on the map. We found the right bus after we got off the subway. The only thing in question was what stop to get off at. The street was one of the rarer ones that actually go for more than six blocks without changing names. The bus traveled on about half of the length of the street, not the full length of it. There was one stop listed with the exact name of the street. So I figured wherever it stopped to get off there. The street number we were looking for was 58. Logic says if numbers go higher as you go away from the center of town we would know which direction to walk.
This particular side of town is more industrial. In fact, it’s far enough out that it gets into little “subdivisions” or neighborhoods. These subdivisions are very old, not new. I started watching street signs to know when we were on Dolomecholupska. Once I knew we were on the street the next thing was to find street numbers. Once again, nothing is easy. It is old factories. I couldn’t find numbers before our stop came up. Our bus stopped in the middle of a 40 acre field between and the industrial area and one of these subdivisions! Luckily there was a side walk on one side of the road. There was also one house, its number was 22. So we walked towards the houses and away from the industrial area. It was about a 1/4 mile and the first house was number 25. That seemed like a long way between numbers. The next house was 23.... We’ve come across strange numbering before. There was about a block until the next two houses. They were numbered 19 and 17. Obviously,the little neighborhood is its own little burg and is outside Praha and the numbers are going up the farther from the center of the little burg. Okay, we walk all the way back towards the industrial area. A little over half way is a small bridge over a rail road, the side walk ended! However, we can hear dogs barking. Where the barking was coming from was from behind a new building that did not have a number on it. The building listed a vet’s name. Since we only had an address and no name, we went in. I had called a few days before and there was someone there who spoke English. Luckily, she was there and confirmed we had the right place.
She showed us the area where they boarded dogs. They have ten pens in a separate area for boarding. Three were occupied. All three dogs had water, the pens were clean, the dogs were clean, and the dogs were not agitated or fearful that someone had come in; all good signs for an unannounced visit. We had asked why there were rows and rows of other pens in other buildings. She mentioned quarantine and for dogs that must be kept separate. She seemed frustrated that she could not explain better so we left it at that; which to us really didn’t explain why so many other dogs. Since we now knew that the business was associated with a vet, we looked it up in the yellow pages on line. It appears they are also a dog shelter. Which explains some of the dogs, but there were too many for even a shelter, or at least our definition of a shelter.
So we found a place to board the dog. Problem is – however it isn’t easy to get to. Oh well, there is one in a town about 20 minutes west of us. Probably just as far away distance wise, but it would be a lot easier to get to. We have yet to go look at that facility.
Observations
---Saw what I consider another amusing thing on TV. News is on between 6 and 8. They were interviewing a hockey player or maybe a former hockey player; a really big guy in weight and height. His face looked to have met with a few fists and hockey sticks. He wasn’t cute by any means. The amusing part was the program that was on the TV behind him- synchronized swimming! I would have thought the reporter would have considered the background and the TV should have been turned off during the interview, or at least have hockey or soccer on. It just appeared strange to me.
---I have read about, and when we first came here years ago we noticed, everyone seems to always be looking down. They won’t look you in the face and nod in a hello type nod. We have joined their ranks. I noticed we walk with our heads down, rarely looking at the people we meet. For two very obvious reasons: The sidewalks are very irregular and uneven and most of the time they are made of a type of a brick or stone. Generally it is pieces 2”x 2”x 6 ” placed on end and the ends are not smooth. Or the walk ways have been patched over with other shaped bricks, asphalt, or concrete. Time and weather has made them heave in places. The other reason is doggie dodo; lots of it from little pooches. So it seems the only time we glance up is to see if anyone is coming towards us and for traffic at an intersection. We carry on complete conversations with each other directed towards the ground.
---There is no cheddar or Colby cheese in the country. I recall yellow cheese isn’t yellow naturally. But, I can’t even find white cheddar. There is only Edam, German Swiss, and 100 varieties of goat cheese. I’m not fond enough of soft cheese to indulge in the goat stuff. The first person coming over to the Czech Rep. needs to bring a small container of parmesan cheese, the small size lasts us more than a year, and 1/2 lb of Colby cheese, a mild Cheddar, or Co-jack.
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