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We moved to Prague in the Czech Republic
in September 2007 to teach. We have certification from Hamline University in
St. Paul in TEFL, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language. We are employed
by an independent language school operating in the private sector of
business in the Czech Republic. Our students are adult business people. We
travel all over the city of Prague on public transportation, teaching them
in small classes in their offices and conference rooms.
Michele and Bernard Ziegeweid
June 2010
Another Dream
During our almost three years of living in Prague we’ve been fortunate
enough to do a lot of traveling. The first time we went to Dresden, we’d
been in Prague only three months. We stood together on a large square
surveying the beautiful buildings and said, “Wow! We’re in Germany.” Then we
stopped to think about it and realized for many Europeans going to another
country, or “abroad” as they call it, is the equivalent of our going to
Minneapolis or Milwaukee. That fact doesn’t make our travel any less
thrilling however.
Our most recent adventure was a trip to Athens, Greece and the island of
Corfu. Greece is a lovely, sun soaked country with an arid climate but still
a lot of green. Its history is so old it’s almost hard to comprehend. When I
stood in a museum looking at gold funeral jewelry recovered from a burial
site from three or four centuries BC, I was in awe. I thought the replica of
the Parthenon in Nashville was impressive, but climbing the rocks of the
Acropolis to the remains of the original Parthenon was amazing.
After four days in Athens we flew to the island of Corfu west of the Greek
mainland in the Ionian Sea. Here we found beautiful flowers everywhere, both
cultivated and wild. Every house or balcony had pots with colorful flowers
and large green plants. I think we saw more geraniums than we’ve ever seen
before. Wildflowers bloomed everywhere when we were on foot up on a
mountain.
Corfu was the real object of the trip. For a number of years I taught a
story, “The
Rosebeetle Man,” by Gerald Durrell to my eighth graders. It takes place
during his childhood in the 1930s and is set on Corfu where he and his
family lived. I really liked the story and enjoyed teaching it. When we
moved to Prague and I found out I could actually go to Corfu, I was
determined.
The island has obviously changed a lot in the last 70 years and there are
many more tourists, but we were able to get a feel for where the story took
place. We rented a car and drove up the coast enjoying beautiful sea views.
We turned inland and began climbing up a mountain to a monastery. We were
following the main road designated in red on our map, and at times it took
us through olive groves and sheep pastures on what we would call a field
road in Buffalo County. Once we got out into the country there were many,
many olive groves. It seemed to us that the olive trees got the better
terrain and the houses and villages were farther up in the hills and rocks
where nothing else could grow. Often when driving through villages we would
have to pull over right next to a building to let another car go by. We were
driving a Fiat Panda, a little car not even marketed in the States, and at
one point I don’t think we had six inches to spare on either side of the
car. Then we started the serious climb. I couldn’t even count the number of
switchbacks, but think Thompson Valley, only narrower, and multiply the
turns greatly. When we reached the summit, there was a tiny monastery,
fabulous views . . . and a café!
Finding the Durrell history took some asking and looking, but we finally
located Durrell Park on the sea in Corfu Town. There are bust reliefs of
Gerald Durrell and his older brother Lawrence in a small park with a
fountain and flowers. I was so pleased to actually have found something
tangible from the Durrell years on Corfu that I even had my picture taken
with the bust of Gerald, something I seldom do when we travel.
We’ve returned once again to Prague with a head full of memories and a
camera full of photos. It’s good to be home, and now we are anticipating our
next visitors and a chance to show them some of the places in Prague and the
Czech Republic we’ve called home for almost the last three years. It’s a
slightly bittersweet time for us though because we realize we will soon be
leaving Prague. It will be great to be home again and do all the things we
love to do with our friends and neighbors, but we will be aware of the world
we are leaving behind too.
Greek Orthodox Church partially hidden by a palm tree
--Bernard and Michele
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