StringGrrl sees the World

StringGirl posed for this picture not long before the 600 year anniversary of this incredible clock tower in Prague. We were there in late September. the video below was from October 9th. Too bad I did not get this explanation of the clock before I was there, but glad that it was posted. That's to Boingboing .net for the post and reminder. Just around the corner from here Jan took me for dinner the last night in Prague. The place alleges to  be a medieval tavern. U Pavouka does offer a completely touristic experience of food, music, entertainment, and libations. Around 50 dollars (900 Czech Korunna) gets you a bottomless drink (I opted for Dark Czech beer) Several courses of food (chicken, duck, pork, goulash, dumplings, and more) Czech bag pipes (OK not that authentic but fun) live pirate show and dancing girls The show can be cheesy at times with live "pirate" brawls and dancing girls, but the drum and pipe group is a little infectious and peopl...

StringGirl at a Beach in Michigan (yep the US for a change) Digging through the photos to find other pix that StringGirl has not posted to the photoblog yet we find pics from Andy's Birthday and the day at the beach that preceded it. The state park at Grand Haven was the first stop that morning. To enjoy a day at the beach before heading over to GR for Andy's B-day picnic. View Larger Map A great beach with inviting sandy beaches and just perfect fresh water was a treat that day (though wind made for a nasty rip current). Then over to Andy and Melissa's house for AJ's birthday party. turning 31 (I think, since I am 40 now). StringGirl and the Birthday boy Now yer famous bro. StringGirl and her 10 blog viewers all send you another belated birthday greeting. (I know you'll probably get the Google update on this so I guess I better make it worthwhile.) Next stop on the StringGirl World tour (another stop to beautiful Dortmund Germany and Zurich). Will ha...

StringGirl with AutoFormers Guido, Silke, Alan, and Brian Prague's Celestial Clock

StringGirl on Charles Bridge in Prague Prague Castle Charles Bridge

Prague is a beer city. The beer of the city is Pilsner Urquell. Went for a beer with Jan from work, and he introduced me to a Pilsner Urquell served Mliko style . The beer is tapped from vats, not kegs, direct and unpasteurized--cepujeme nejkratsi cestou (apologies for the lack of appropriate accents). In some pubs, like this one, the beer comes direct from brewery via tanker truck and into vats that are visible under the bar. Yes the beer is foamed heavily, and no it is not the sign of a bad pour. Don't worry it is only considered a half beer when the foam is up to the rim like this so you are not paying for the foam. However, the pleasure is in  rapidly imbibing the cool foam, which is where the aroma lives. In fact Jan was a little bit scolding me for pausing to take the picture, lest this perfect "Milk" beer settle into a regular pour. StringGirl is too young to drink.

 StringGirls first visit to the Czech Republic (or for that matter any portion of Eastern Europe) is so far tainted only by less than good weather. It has been raining since our arrival here-sometimes quite heavy. In the photo above she poses in front of the National Museum. Wandering around Prague in the rain does not allow one the ease to pull out the guide book for very many of the pictures. So we are not sure what the building behind signifies, but it looked nice so here it is. This grand church is in the Castle of Prague. High on the hill looking over the river and the old town. StringGirl got a boost from me and the camera had to sit on a rock pylon. One of these days I should consider a tripod (a small one like the Gorilla Tripod ) but until that time. Balancing the camera on a few coins from my pocket to control the angle and a hope that the wind does not knock the thing over will have to do).

The area near Witten am Ruhr, is the home of Coal mining in Germany. Here the seams of high density coal needed for smithy work, as well as general heating, and iron work was found in abundance right at the surface. The Gallery above was dug immediately into the seam and made it straight through this hill. The seam of coal here is seen clearly high  in this rock face just above the gallery shown above. However, After only 50 meters into the gallery that seam was at waist height. To reach the deeper coal, angled shafts like the one marked by this hoist frame. This hoist was used up until the 60's. Producing coal even during the major modern coal work in nearby towns like Dortmund and Essen.