Tuesday: Tobogan Run

Tuesday: Tobogan Run
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Today we went to the tobogan run. The tobogans run on rails so there's no fear of flying off ... it gives a reading of your speed at the bottom and Luke and Lucas managed 36kph. I got video but no pictures from the tobogan run so I've put a picture of Renata with the puppies instead ... we've decided there's enough for us to sneak one each back in the luggage!

Monday: Rest and Cheap Beer

Monday: Rest and Cheap Beer
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Monday was spent recovering from the train journey. Lenka's mum, Anna, is a fantastic cook and has made sure we've been well-fed the whole time we've been here. The family, which also includes Lenka's dad, Leopold, sister, Renata, and brother, Lucas, live on a small-holding with a goat, a pig, chickens, rabbits, a dog, eight gorgeous labrador puppies, a massive vegetable patch and a river at the bottom of the garden. In the evening we popped just over the road to a tiny pub that serves Czech beer for 19Kc a pint ... that's less than 50p! In the photo you can see how Lucas taught us all to use the head of the beer to do an impression of Lenin!

Sunday: Pickpockets

I just realised I didn't tell you about the pickpockets on our way into town on Sunday. We had all our luggage with us as we were on our way to the train station. As I got on the subway at Malostranska I couldn't get into the carriage because some bloke wouldn't move out of my way. Peter had spotted this guy following me earlier and realised he was blocking me on purpose while unbeknowns to me one of his mates was trying to get into my bag from behind me. So Peter swung round with his backpack and whacked this bloke out the way so I could get further into the train. Then we watched as the guys got off at the next station and straight back on thru a different door. But because we knew what they were doing, each time they went to pick someone's pocket we shouted and pointed at them and they couldn't manage it. At the next station armed police were already waiting to board the train and we pointed the guys out to them.

Sunday: Tortuous Train Journey

Sunday: Tortuous Train Journey
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Sunday evening we went for dinner at Prague Inn in Wenceslas Square. Sat outside we ended up on the end of a table full of witnesses and met a really encouraging, lively couple of special pioneers from South Carolina. Then we went to catch the train to Lenka's parents which left Prague at 11.30pm. The eight of us crammed into one compartment in the old-style carriage and attempted to get some sleep on the 6.5 hour journey to the Polish border, where Lenka's parents live.

Sunday: Last Day of Convention

Sunday: Last Day of Convention
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

The last day of the International Convention is always the best ... in fact, the half hour immediately after the convention has finished is the best bit! After Theodore Jaracz of the Governing Body presented the stirring resolution and all 19,000 said "Aye!" we sang the always emotional "We Thank You Jehovah" and then Bro Jaracz closed in prayer. As soon as the final Amen was said the whole stadium erupted into applause, rhythmic clapping, waving hankies, holding up banners, singing, cheering ... it went on and on like noone wanted it to finish ... the atmosphere was amazing ... I'll put video of it on my Bebo page when I get back.

Saturday: Boat Trip

Saturday: Boat Trip
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

At the end of Saturday we headed down to the river to take a boat trip. As we sat and drank Czech beer we glided past all the main sights of Prague getting unrivalled views that would be impossible from anywhere other than the river. Afterward we walked to Staromestske Namesti (Old Town Square) which was teeming with brothers and sisters who had all gone down there to meet up, make new friends and bump into old ones. We stopped at a beautiful Italian restaurant and then, a short tram ride later, collapsed into bed about 1am to ready ourselves for the final day of the convention.

Saturday: Convention

Saturday: Convention
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Our first day at the convention was incredibly hot. There was no seats left in the stand so we were sat right on the track but at least it afforded us a good view of the baptism! In the picture the 2 stages on the left are the English and Czech stages facing opposite corners of the stadium. The stage in the distance, just under the blue umbrella, is the Russian stage. During the baptism everybody clapped non-stop, sometimes breaking into a united rhythm ... I thought the Americans were going to start chanting at one point! The Brits were well-represented in the program with Jack Dowson saying the opening prayer, Sidney Smith and Bill Bull giving talks and Luke Farmer and his Dad doing a demonstration. I took loads of video which I'll put on my Bebo page when I get back.

Friday: Krizikova Fountains

Friday: Krizikova Fountains
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Peter, Deb and I skived off the convention today ... well, we have been to 2 already! So after a day of sight-seeing, shopping and Debbie getting a portrait we met the others to go to the Krizikova Fountains ... these fountains, originally installed as part of the 1891 Prague Exhibition, are shown hourly every evening with the main show including live dancers. We saw the Exotic Night show which was a musical journey around the world. The show is set against the stunning backdrop of Prumyslovy Palace, an Alexandra Palace style exhibition hall.

Thursday: Cafe Slavia

Thursday: Cafe Slavia
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

After visiting Petrin we took a walk across the famous Charles Bridge with its statues of apostles and saints, rows of portrait artists and hordes of tourists. We then wandered thru the old town passing one shop which offered 10% discount for all convention delegates! Finally we arrived at Cafe Slavia opposite the National Theatre, once frequented by the cream of Czech's actors, dancers and musicians. It's traditional decor and menu are complemented by the gentle sound of improvised piano music. Lenka had a word with the waiter and arranged for Luke to have a turn on the piano, which he reluctantly agreed to do ... even playing a Kingdom Song to see if we could get a reaction from anyone. A couple of American families noticed straight away and gave us all a wave.

Thursday: The Castle and Witnesses Everywhere

Thursday: The Castle and Witnesses Everywhere
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

On Thursday we visited the Castle ... not just a single building but a complex of palaces, towers, gardens and churches. The whole castle was overrun with Witnesses mostly from America. Everyone was eager to say hi and find out where we were from and get photos taken. Everywhere we've been in the city we've bumped into groups of witnesses. The group in the photo were from Texas, including some from a Spanish congregation. After pulling faces at the guards at the Castle we walked over to Petrin. Petrin is on the next hill to the Castle and is the largest green space in Prague. We climbed the look-out tower, a 1/3 scale, octagonal replica of the Eiffel tower to see the best available views across the city.

Wednesday: Bethel

Our visit to Bethel was both interesting and surprising. In a district dominated by high-rise tenement blocks that felt like a strange combination of communist Russia and a 1950s holiday camp, one block had been taken over and converted into Bethel. If you've visited the London Bethel recently you'll know that the tour of the office block consists mainly of going up the lift and back down the stairs with a brief stop on each floor to be told what goes on behind the closed doors. Czech Bethel has no factory so most of the tour consists of the stairwell ... however, it was really interesting to learn how the brothers coped thru the ban, we saw the rooftop garden, the kingdom hall and laundry as well as meeting lots of brothers and sisters from America, Greece, Germany and Italy. Afterwards, we were hot and tired (we hadn't slept for 48 hours) so we had dinner at a nearby restaurant, went back to the Pension and sat on the patio with beers and Yahtzee till we all collapsed into bed exhausted.

View From Castle

View From Castle
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

On Wednesday we visited Bethel, which I'm going to put in a separate post. Yesterday we spent the day in Prague city starting at the castle. The view across the city was amazing, as you can see. I'll tell you all about the rest of the day in a separate non-picture post. (Not sure if my phone can cope with too much at once!)

Sleeping Beauties

Sleeping Beauties
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

We got to the airport really, really early so we slept in the car for an hour ... and how attractive we all look! We've checked in now and should be meeting up with the others soon. More interesting stuff to tell you later.

Packed

Packed
Originally uploaded by philiposborne.

Another test entry just to make sure I can email photos from my phone! Well, I'm packed and I think I should do this professionally. I've got in this one backpack 2 pairs shoes, 2 pairs trousers, 2 pairs shorts, 8 t-shirts, 4 shirts, 2 ties, 12 pairs socks n pants, a belt, a towel, a pillow and a whole bathroom full of toiletries!

Less than 24 hours

Less than 24 hours to go before we fly out to Prague, so I'm busy setting up Blogger and Flickr accounts so that I can keep you posted about what we're up to. So consider this a practise run, and it seems to be working fine. If you click the link you can track our flight! We're on flight 3621 arriving in Prague at 05:55 on Weds 26 July