Golden Prague, Expat life, tips and reviews

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.

The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

“Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”

The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. “Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I’ll meet them there.”

Meanwhile, the guards had scattered, but a few of them went into the city and told the high priests everything that had happened. They called a meeting of the religious leaders and came up with a plan: They took a large sum of money and gave it to the soldiers, bribing them to say, “His disciples came in the night and stole the body while we were sleeping.” They assured them, “If the governor hears about your sleeping on duty, we will make sure you don’t get blamed.” The soldiers took the bribe and did as they were told. That story, cooked up in the Jewish High Council, is still going around.

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

Taken, with permission, from Biblegateway , more information can be found there.

Vale Royal singers coming to Prague

Image source assuming fair use

On Saturday evening, 18th April at 7.00pm will be a concert by the Vale Royal Singers in St. Clement’s Church. The proceeds of this concert will go towards much needed renovation work in the parish and diakonie center of St. Clements. This will be achieved, not by selling tickets, but by having a retiring collection at the end of the event. So please give generous! The Vale Royal singers have graciously offered to perform for free during their stay in Prague, which follows a tour through Eastern Germany.

The 20 mixed voices, that form one of the leading chamber choirs in Cheshire, will present a varied program of English music including Bob Chilcott’s Little Jazz Mass and songs by Rutter, Finzi and Holst. I am sure there is something for everybody in the “musical bag”.

A bit of background information:

The Vale Royal Singers were founded in 1978 and therefore just celebrated their 30th season performing. They have circa 20 members and their repertoire goes from light to classical and 15th century to contemporary music.

More information and some “musical teasers” can be found at the Vale Royal Web Site.

And directions how to get to the event are on the Anglican/ Episcopalian Church web site under “how to find us”.

So THE VISIT is over

Image source by adrigu via flickr

President Obama and his wife, and the approximately 500 people in his entourage, should by now be in Turkey. His speech at Prague castle this morning was attended by circa 30 000 spectators and well received by them and by the media. President Obama made every effort to point out the historical and current importance of the Czech Republic in Europe and the world. Let’s only hope this gives the much needed boost to the chronically low national Czech self-esteem.

Other points of the speech were:

The responsible use of energy, oops Mr. Obama, how was your carbon footprint during this journey and how do you think to off set it?

Nuclear disarmament and the stopping of the testing of nuclear devices; as he stated perhaps not in his lifetime, but as a goal.

Unfortunately he also affirmed the strong wish of the US government to continue with the building of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Apparently to keep Iran under control/ supervision. I am the only one that is now confused? I mean, look at the map, we are not actually sharing a border with Iran, do we???

The full length video of Obama’s speech in Prague can be found here: BBC Web Site

Obama has a cold

US President Barack Obama flew into Prague 18:30 this evening for a summit with EU leaders. The Czech Republic is the current holder of the EU presidency and President Obama is expected to deliver tomorrow at 10:00, a keynote speech on nuclear security.

Image source via wikicommons

As said earlier, the situation here is a bit frosty for him. Whilst he is liked on a personal level by the people, 70% of the Czech citizens are against the planned “radar shield”, seeing it as a provocation of the almighty neighbour Soviet Union Russian Federation. Former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek not only described the economic path Obama took in his own country as a “road to hell”, he also lost the confidence of the parliament some days ago, leaving the country some how “leaderless”.

Now arriving at this central European capital, with its rather interesting domestic political situation, is not so easy to begin with, but arriving here with a bad cold and without an American ambassador in residence makes the situation surely even less pleasant for President Obama and First Lady Michelle. Therefore they plan to have a quiet, private evening together after being welcomed by President Vaclav Klaus at Prague international airport. I hope somebody turned the heating on in the residence

Tomorrow then the “big speech” in the grounds of the castle, rumour has it, that an amount of people is already camping out there, to be the first in the queue tomorrow morning.

This EU-USA summit should have been the highlight of the Czech EU presidency, but as Topolanek is not any longer in the position to speak, and make decisions, for the Czech Republic, and the 27 member states of the EU, this becomes somehow – less relevant?

What will, in all cases, stay with us is the immense cost of such a visit, 30 000 000 CZK or more. I wonder if it is worth it?

Finally! Details to Obama’s Prague visit!

The American embassy in Prague has finally published details regarding President Barack Obama’s visit to the Czech Republic. There will be one public speech by the American president, in the Hradcany Square, the gates open at 07:00 and tickets are NOT required. So please don’t fall for any scams regarding Obama tickets. Please read also carefully the list of forbidden items to bring as surrendered items will NOT be returned.

Image source

Be also aware of pickpocket, the masses that are expected are an ideal “hunting ground” for the baddies. I couldn’t find the time for the speech on the web site, but other sources state that Obama’s speech in Prague will be at 10:00. I am sure that an incredible amount of people will try to gain access to this event, with hundreds, possibly thousands queuing hours before the opening of the gates at 07:00. I am sure that some many will even try to camp overnight to have the best place in the morning. In case you go, have fun, for me it will be a bit to crowded