William & the Scottish Whiskey Princess

Greetings from muggy Prague. Summer has certainly arrived with the huge influx of tourists in our neighborhood. But the weather has been summer-lite. Yesterday: absolute torrential window-shaking thunderstorm in the morning, hot-cloudless-afternoon, overcast evening, and humid night. The thunderstorms are truly impressive. No lighting to speak of - just loud, close, and powerful thunder.

So we escaped the tourists and crazy weather with a long weekend in Scotland (where we were the tourists and it rained...but only a little). We had a terrific time enjoying the Scottish hospitality: haggis, whiskey, and plenty of pubs.

On the Royal Mile in Edinburgh before going into Deacon Brodie's Tavern. That's where we met William, the friendliest Scotsman around. He gave Molls a long bear hug and I thought 'hey dude, take it easy with the wife'. Then he gave me one too. And told me never to call a Scotsman an Englishman.

At Stirling Castle outside Edinburgh...

...and Molls at Edinburgh Castle.

This is Stephanie. The Scottish Whiskey Princess. She's young, tall, blond, and knows more about whiskey that you or I shall ever know. That's the definition of a princess in my book. And Molls came up with that title so it's ok if I share it. Really.

(Gents: she works at the Glengoyne Distillery in the Scottish Highlands where the whiskey flows like wine. I recommend a visit if you're in the area).

Hamish, the hairy coo.

Translation: Hamish, the highland cow.

Just walking in Edinburgh. On our way to see the queen's palace.

At Loch Lamond.

And at a viewpoint near the distillery.

That's a quick review of our weekend in Scotland. Lots of violent (but interesting) history, good whiskey, pretty country, and fun people. Oh, and haggis is quite good too.

Until next time.

Prague Weekend

Greetings all. We've had a pretty average week at home since my last post. One hightlight from the weekend was watching the US-Brazil soccer game Sunday night at Caffrey's Irish Bar. When we arrived the bar was full of loud, cheering Americans because we were up 2-0 (I was greeted with an Irish car bomb from a drunk tourist). By the end there were only three of us left, surrounded by a bunch of loud, cheering Brazilians who had arrived at halftime (it's like they knew to arrive at halftime...before the second half lesson started). Although we lost it was fun to cheer Team USA.

Your Government at Work in Prague
Yesterday I learned the federal government is more efficient abroad than at home. I needed visa pages added to my passport, so off I went to the embassy. I arrived at the embassy at 11, completed one form, handed over my passport, and left. The staff said I could pick it up after 2. When I returned at 2 it was done. Simple, quick, and no questions asked. Kudos to the US Embassy.


We were bumming around town on Sunday; here are some randoms.

New advertisement for the Museum of Communism. Great ad campaign.

At the hillside vineyards near Prague Castle.

Harleys in Old Town Square. Took this because...well, there were Harleys in Old Town Square. Oh, and the crowd behind them is mourning Michael Jackson. Now there's something you don't see (and hear) everyday in Prague.

Here are some more dramatic images from the MJ gathering. Very emotional.

With that I'll sign off. Happy 4th of July everyone. We'll be celebrating in Scotland with kilts and whiskey. Cheers until next week.