We have arrived

Things are good this morning in Czech! We arrived yesterday to rain. It cleare up by late afternoon and the sun welcomed us to our hotel.
Before we unpacked though we ran over to the Slavia Arena and watched the czech National Team practice in prep for the world championships.
Today we eat breakfast at 8am, then skate at 930, and get ready for first game tomorow against Hvezda... a Czech team.
We will keep you posted, it is a sunny day today and we will be able to tour the city after practice. Then take in a pro soccer game tonght!

Cheers

MONDAY NIGHT MADNESS....

Hey gang, just counting down the days til we go, and I am sure you are running around getting all the last minute things in place. It is going to be a lot of fun.

A couple of things you may want to grab/pack....

... small flashlight, may come in handy on airplane, or bus, etc

... small, cheap, throw away RAIN PONCHO.... there is a rain forecast for the night we go to the soccer game.... so you can get these at the dollar store and just toss in your back pocket...

The soccer game by the way is going to be an amazing experience! Cant wait to see these two rivals get at it each other.... it is similar to a Montreal vs Toronto clash in hockey, when SLAVIA vs SPARTA

For Monday night we will get together at the Hall house in south Regina. Have a few snacks, get your goodies to pack in your bags and get to know each other a bit before we get on the bird Tuesday morning.

If you can do me a favor and bring your hockey sticks MONDAY NIGHT so that I can prepack them Monday night in the stick bag.

OK, I think thats about it for now.

Feel free to call me on my cell at 306 631 8957 if you need anything and can get me by email.

Cheers

DONT PLUG THAT IN......

Hey gang, I forgot to mention that you will need an ADAPTER if you are planning to bring anything electrical. You need an adapter that has two round stems, instead of the flat ones that we have here in Canada.

Secondly and more importantly, is to make sure that your electrical device has a built in CONVERTER. The power in the plugs there is 220V, which will instantly fry things from here. We blew up a brand new X Box a few years ago, and found out the hard way that we did not have a cord to it that has the built in converter.

You will know if you have a converter.... if your cord has a box looking thing on it, like you computer for example, will have a box the size of a pack of smokes, and on it will be a sticker that says what range of power it can handle.... in 99% of cases it will says INPUT 100-240 which means you are safe.

But for example plugging in an ipod directly with a cord into the wall likely will result in a melted blob of plastic and tin... unless of course you have a cord that has a built in converter....

Dont be mixed up on this. The ADAPTER allows you to plug into their wall sockets, it does not convert. The CONVERTER that is attached to your devices power cord does the CONVERTING. If you dont have a CONVERTER box on your power cord... dont plug it in, in fact dont bother bringing it....

Which leads me to the style department.....

Hair dryers... if you spent a tad more money when you purchased your current hair dryer, then on the handle, or at the bottom of the handle of it, will be a switch that allows it to go from 110 power to 220 power. If you dont have this switch, then leave it at home or you will be leaving it in a pile of melted goop in the hotel room in Prague.... run over to your local WalMart and hunt around for one that has the two stage ability to take in 220 power..... that is of course if you have hair to dry eh Jim!

So ya thats my quick reminder on power stuff. You can get adapters at Radio Shak and usually a luggage place like Bentlys

Cheers

Barret

THE TOURNY SCHEDULE

APRIL 2 - at 10:00 Hvězda Praha x Canada West

at 15:00 Canada West x KILS AIK (SWE)

APRIL 3 - at 15:00 Canada West x Slavia Bratislava (SVK)

APRIL 4 - at 10:00 Jarvenpaan Haukat (Fin) x Canada West

at 13:15 Canada West x Sdjushor (Belarus)

TEREZIN -

Early history

In the late 18th century the Habsburg Monarchy erected the fortress near the confluence of the Labe and Ohře Rivers, and named it after Empress Maria Theresa.

Construction started in 1780 and lasted ten years. The total area of the fortress was 3.89 km². The fortification was designed in the tradition of Sébastian le Prestre de Vauban. In peacetime it held 5,655 soldiers, and in wartime around 11,000 soldiers could be placed here, and neighbouring areas could be inundated. Fortress Josefov in eastern Bohemia was built at the same time and had a similar purpose.

The fortress was never under direct siege. During the Austro-Prussian War, on 28 July 1866, part of the garrison attacked and destroyed an important railway bridge near Neratovice (rail line Turnov - Kralupy nad Vltavou) that was shortly before repaired by the Prussians. ^[1] This attack occurred two days after Austria and Prussia had agreed to make peace, but the Terezin garrison was ignorant of the news. ^[2]

During the second half of the 19th Century the fortress was also used as a prison.

During World War I, the fortress was used as a political prison camp. Many thousand supporters of Russia (Russophiles from Galicia and Bukovina) were placed by Austro-Hungarian authorities in the fortress. Gavrilo Princip, who assassinated Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife, starting the war, died there of tuberculosis in 1918.

[edit]Terezín during World War II

During WWII, the Gestapo used Terezín, better known by the German name Theresienstadt, as a ghetto, concentrating Jews from Czechoslovakia, as well as many from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Denmark. More than 150,000 Jews were sent there, and although it was not an extermination camp about 33,000 died in the ghetto itself,mostly because of the appalling conditions arising out of extreme population density. About 88,000 inhabitants were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination camps ^[3][4]. At the end of the war there were 17,247 survivors. Theresienstadt was the home of Hana Bradyand her brother George Brady from 1942-1944.

The Small Fortress in Terezin was also used as a punishment prison for Allied POWs who persisted in escape attempts. POWs from Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland were imprisoned and witnessed the horrendous inhuman mistreatment of the largely Jewish population. Keeping POWs in such a camp was against the Geneva Convention, and the camp was under the direct control of the Gestapo who refused to acknowledge the POWs' special status. They saw that elderly Jewish inmates were given food every second day and forced to do hard labour constructing a 1 km long tank trap, mainly using their hands. Prisoners who stopped jogging, with handfuls of dirt, were beaten unmercifully. Prisoners were forced to sit on the head and legs of a victim while the guard repeatedly struck the victim with a nailed post, reducing their buttocks to pulp. Jews were also whipped with strips of thin wire that tore their bodies apart. Prisoners were forced to collect the bloody parts and load them on a cart.

Terezin was the punishment prison for Walter Wise (Australia), Charles Croall (NZ), Roy Lomas (NZ), Ray Reid (NZ), Gerry Mills (NZ), Sid Davison (NZ), Tom McLeod (NZ), Alf Booker (NZ), Jock Bone (UK), Herb Cullen (Australia), Tama Tamaki (NZ), Wal Riley (Australia), Tom Mottram (NZ), Jim Ilott and Alexander McClelland (Australia). All survived but suffered chronic physical and mental health problems for most of their lives.^[5]

For many years the Australian and New Zealand governments denied that any of their servicemen had been sent to Terezin, but after several years of campaigns the Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawkeestablished a committee of investigation in 1987 which eventually ordered $10,000 compensation payments to the surviving veterans. Australian journalist Paul Rea produced the 1985 film Where Death Wears a Smile which made sensational allegations about the supposed murder of dozens of Allied prisoners at Terezin. These claims have been refuted by one of the veterans, Alexander McClelland, in his book The Answer - Justice.^[6]

Part of the fortification (Small Fortress) served as the largest Gestapo prison in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, separated from the ghetto. Around 90,000 people went through it, and 2,600 of those died there.

It was liberated on 9 May 1945 by the Soviet Army.

Terezín after World War II

After the German surrender the small fortress was used as an internment camp for ethnic Germans. The first prisoners arrived on the May 10, 1945. On February 29, 1948 the last German prisoners were released and the camp was officially closed. Among the interned Germans were former Nazis like Heinrich Jöckel, the former commander of Terezín and other SS members. A great group of internees was arrested simply because of their German nationality, among them young boys or elderly people.

In the first phase of the camp lasting until July 1945 mortality was high due to diseases, malnutrition and incidents of simple outright murder. Commander of the camp in that period was Stanislav Franc. He was guided by a spirit of revenge and tolerated whimsical mistreatment of the prisoners by the guards.

In July 1945 the camp shifted under the control of the Czech ministry for domestic affairs. The new commander appointed was Otakar Kálal. From 1946 on the inmates were gradually transferred to Germany and Terezín more and more turned into a hub for the forced migration of Germans from the Czech lands into Germany proper.

A small exhibition currently commemorates the history of Terezín as internment camp for Germans.

Terezín today

After the war, Theresienstadt was resurrected as Terezín, dropping the German "stadt" from its name but still retaining a military garrison. The army left the city in 1996, which had a negative effect on the local economy. Terezín is still trying to decouple from its military past and become a modern, vibrant town. The city was damaged by floods in 2002

327 bronze markers were stolen from the Jewish cemetery in mid-April 2008, with 700 more the next week. Some were recovered.^[7]

Terezín is noted for its production of furniture and knitwear as well as for manufacturing.

ZLEBY CASTLE

The original early Gothic castle was established before 1289 by the barons from Lichtemburk; it was destroyed by the Hussites and later restored again in the middle of the 15th century. The radical Renaissance reconstruction was overlaid by a top Baroque adaptation shortly after the middle of the 18th century but almost nothing of it has been preserved on the exterior of the manor. The reason is that Vincens Karel Auersperg (+1867) had the whole manor radically adapted in Romantic style by architects F. Schmoranz and B. Škvor. These gentlemen followed English models and gradually built an interesting building which however was criticized by the contemporary architects because it did not respect the previous construction development of the manor and moreover according to their opinions did not fit to the Czech environment.
The remarkable interiors of the manor are fitted with valuable armor and many cold steel weapons. The historic furniture is complemented by its high quality copies from the 19th century. The decoration of the rooms is completed by a set of paintings, glass and other objects which add to the venerable impression of the spaces.

KUTNA HORA & THE BONE CHURCH -

ONCE FEATURED ON A&E Discovery Show.....

Kutna Hora is a superb example of medieval architecture. In the Middle ages Kutna Hora was the second most important town after Prague due to silver mines. The core of the town consists entirely of Gothic and Baroque buildings and it is the unique collection of around 457 objects on an area covering 60 hectares.Of the municipal buildings the Italian Court is the most outstanding. It became the mint of the Czech lands. Minting in Kutna Hora ceased in 1726. You can see there St. Wenceslas and Vladislav Chapel, the council chamber and museum of coins. One of the best examples of Bohemian High Gothic is the Cathedral of St. Barbora, the patroness of miners, began around 1380 and finished in the 16th century. It is the landmark of the city panorama.

Also worth to see is the Ossuary of Sedlec Monastery, 1km behind the town. There are about 40.000,- human bones stored in the crypt, from which the blind monk made the pyramides in the 15th century. The monastery was bought by the Schwarzenberk family and they established the tobacco factory there and one of their artist, Mr. Rint, changed the ossuary into a very bizarre place, he made from the bones the chandelier the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberks and the altar.
This is memento mori, symbol of passing character of life.


HISTORY OF THE OSSUARY IN SEDLEC
A cistercian monastery was founded near Kutna Hora (that didn´t exist that time) in the year 1142. One of the principal tasks of the monks was the cultivation of the grounds and lands around the monastery. In 1278 King Otakar II of Bohemia sent Henry, the abbot of Sedlec , on a diplomatic mission to the Holy Land. When leaving Jerusalem Henry took with him a handful of earth from Golgotha which he sprinkled over the cemetery of Sedlec monastery, consequently the cemetery became famous, not only in Bohemia but also throughout Central Europe and many wealthy people desired to be buried here.The burial ground was enlarged during the epidemics of plague in the 14 th century (e.g.in 1318 about 30 000 people were buried here) and also during the Hussite wars in first quarter of the 15 th. century.
After 1400 one of the abbots had a church of All -Saints erected in Gothic style in the middle of the cemetery and under it a chapel destined for the deposition of bones from abolished graves, a task which was begun by a half blind Cistercian monk after the year 1511. The charnel-house was remodelled in Czech Baroque style between 1703 - I710 by the famous Czech architect, of the Italian origin ,Jan Blazej SANTINI-Aichl. The present arrangement of the bones dates from 1870 and is the work of a Czech wood-carver, František RINT (you can see his name, put together from bones, on the right-hand wall over the last bench).
Our ossuary contains the remains of about 40 000 people. The largest collections of bones are arranged in the form of bells in the four corners of the chapel.
The most interesting creations by Master Rint are the chandelier in the centre of the nave, containing all the bones of the human body , two monstrances beside the main altar and the coat-of arms of the Schwarzenberg noble family on the left-hand side of the chapel.

KARLSTEJN CASTLE

Karlštejn Castle (German: Burg Karlstein, Czech: Hrad Karlštejn) is a large Gothic castle founded 1348 AD by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well as the Bohemian coronation jewels, holy relics and other royal treasures. Located about 30 km southwest of Prague above the village named Karlštejn, it is one of the most famous and most frequently visited castles in the Czech Republic.

Founded in 1348, the construction works were directed by the later Karlštejn burgrave Vitus of Bítov, but there are no records of the builder himself. Some historian speculate that Matthias of Arras may be credited with being the architect, but he had already died by 1352. It is likely that there was not a progressive and cunning architect, but a brilliant civil engineer who dextrously and with a necessary mathematical accuracy solved technically exigent problems that issued from the emperor's ideas and requests. Instead, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV personally supervised the construction works and interior decoration. A little known fact is that the Emperor hired Palestinian labour for the remaining work. Construction was finished nearly twenty years later in 1365 when the "heart" of the treasury – the Chapel of the Holy Cross situated in the Great tower – was consecrated.

Following the outbreak of the Hussite Wars, the Imperial Regalia were evacuated in 1421 and brought via Hungary to Nuremberg. In 1422, during the siege of the castle, Hussite attackers used Biological warfare when Prince Sigismund Korybut used catapults to throw dead (but not plague-infected) bodies and 2000 carriage-loads of dung over the walls^[1], apparently managing to spread infection among the defenders. Later, the Bohemian coronation jewels were moved to the castle and were kept there for almost two centuries, with some short-time breaks.

The castle underwent several reconstructions: in late Gothic style after 1480, in Renaissance style in the last quarter of the 16th century. In 1487 the Big tower was damaged by fire and during the 16th century there were several adaptations. During the Thirty Years' War in 1619, the coronation jewels and the archive were brought to Prague, and in 1620 the castle was turned over to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. After having been conquered in 1648 by Swedes, it fell in disrepair. Finally, a neo-Gothic reconstruction was carried out by Josef Mockerbetween 1887 and 1899, giving the castle its present look.

The nearby village was founded during the construction of the castle and bore its name until it was renamed to Buda in the wake of the Hussite Wars. Renamed to Budňany in the 18th century, it was merged with Poučník and called Karlštejn (Beroun District). A Golf^[2] club named after the castle is nearby, too.

The castle was built upon a promontory from the south side of Kněží hora, divided from it by a narrow sag. The first gate, a square, two-storey tower with a tall hip roof, stood above a moat at the western slope of the promontory. It was connected with the rampart traverse by means of a small portal. The traverse was protected by battlement and divided by a covered bastion in the middle. The second gate led to the burgraviate courtyard. Drawbridges closed both entrances. The burgraviate formed the Karlštejn settlement, it was fortified with a two meters wide rampart, the well tower stood slightly lower. In the burgraviiate's rampart a third gate was staved - the main entrance into the inner castle.

The core of the castle consisted of three parts placed on three levels-differentiated terraces. On the lowest terrace there stood the castle palace, above it there was the church (Marian) tower and the Bid tower stood the highest. The palace, a single-tract building, about 12,5 m wide and 46 m long, closed in the east by a simi-cylinder tower, had - aside of the cellar dug in the rock - the ground floor and two walled floors; the third floor aunder the roofwas built from half-timbered work. The ground space was open to the courtyard, the rest was occupied by a granary. Three rooms formed the first floor; largest was the central room, the so-called White hall. The emperor inhabited the second floor of the palace; the floor was divided into four rooms by self-supporting partitions. A spiral staircase connected it with the third floor in which - according to the record from the 16th century - there was a residence of the "empress with her female retinue". The layout and equipement of the second and third floor was approximately the same: bedrooms on the eastern side, then the stateroom, a hall and the rooms in the west.

The central area of the Big tower - the chapel of the Holy Cross - has no analogy in concept elsewhere in the world. In the safety of the chapeel, behind four doors with nineteen locks to each each key was guarded independently, the valuable documents of the state archive were kept along with the symbols of the state power - the crown jewels.

Description

Individual buildings of the castle are situated at different height levels expressing their importance. Dominating on the hilltop is the 60m high and separately fortified Great tower built upon massive walls (4-6 m of thickness) that houses the Chapel of the Holy Cross. From there one can step down to the Marian tower, the five-storied Imperial palace and come to the Well tower and Burgrave's palace located at the lowest level.

A STADIUM WE WILL SEE... and more nuggets of info...

The Great Strahov Stadium (Velký strahovský stadion in Czech) is a stadium in the Strahov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was the largest stadium in the world and is the second largest sports facility worldwide after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, seating around 220,000.

Construction began on a wooden stadium in 1926, and was replaced by concrete grandstands in 1932. Further construction occurred in 1948 and 1975. The playing field, surrounded by seating on all sides, is 63,500 square metres. Contemporarily the stadium serves to Sparta Prague as a training centre with 8 football pitches (6 pitches of standard sizes and 2 futsal pitches).

The stadium is sited on a prominent hill overlooking the old city. It can be accessed by taking the funicular up the hill through the gardens.

The original stadium dates from the First Republic between the World Wars and served as a venue for Sokol displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale. It was later used for large displays during the communist era. Performances with several hundred gymnasts making various complex formations and exercising identically while accompanied by tunes from traditional folk music attracted the attention of many visitors. Each time, among the widely popular shows were those of young well-trained recruits who wore only boxer shorts while on the display or women dancing in miniskirts. The groups of gymnasts (unlike the soldiers who were ordered to practise and participate) were put together from keen local Sokol athletic association members who regularly trained for the show throughout the year prior to the event, which repeated every five years. The ambiguous name of the performance, Spartakiáda, referred to quondam power and strength of once uprising slaves led by Spartacus.

Now (except for Sparta Prague’s training ground) the stadium is used for holding huge concerts. Bands that have played there include Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Genesis. On August 18, 1990, Strahov Stadium housed a Rolling Stones concert with more than 150,000 people in attendance, including president Václav Havel.

The future of the stadium looks at adaptive reuse and preservation of this unique structure. There are plans to convert the mammoth Strahov stadium complex into a commercial zone complete with hotels, restaurants and shops. Another suggestion is to turn the area into a leisure mecca for the 21st century. There are also plans to rebuild the area as an Olympic village if Prague wins a future olympic bid.

Location: Strahov, Prague, Czech Republic
Opened: 1926
Capacity: 220,000
Field dimensions: 9 football pitches

******************

CHARLES BRIDGE

As peaceful and romantic it may seem, the Vtlava (Moldau) River has not always been as calm as it looks today. It’s fury, combined with the power of heavy rains have many times flooded and destroyed the bridges people built over it. Charles Bridge is no exception. It has many times been the victim of floods and natural or human created calamities. Nevertheless, it is still standing and hopefully it will remain a symbol of Prague far after we are gone.

In the place that Charles Bridge is standing today once stood a wooden bridge, destroyed by floods in the 11^thcentury. In its place, in 1172, Wenceslas I ordered the building of the Judith Bridge (after his wife’s name), the first stone bridge to connect the Vltava banks. The Judith Bridge collapsed in a flood in 1342.

The construction of the bridge as we can see it today dates from the reign of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. Legend has it that he had everything thought of up to the smallest detail. The oddest thing may seem the very date of its foundation: 5:31 am, 9. 07. 1357 (9th of June). Only odd digits (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) and what’s more, except 9 all prime numbers….. Another unusual thing is that it is said that egg yolks were used to strengthen the mortar used to bind the stone blocks. Although the saying cannot be verified, modern laboratory tests have indeed proved inorganic and organic ingredients in the mortar.

The construction of the magical bridge was started by Master Otto and continued by king Charles’ favourite constructor and architect, Peter Parler (he build also St Wenceslas Chapel in St Vitus Cathedral and The Old Town bridge tower). The bridge was finished in 1402 and until 1870 was called The Stone or Prague Bridge (Kamenny/Prazsky Most). Originally, the Stone Bridge was supposed to host medieval tournaments and serve as major commerce link between the Vltava banks.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 m wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side.

The bridge is decorated with 30 statues and statuaries, most of them Baroque style, erected around 1700. Now the original statues are kept in the Lapidary, the statues on the Charles Bridge are replicas.

I WILL POST MORE SITES AND SOUNDS EACH DAY!!!!!

THE ROSTER for CANADA WEST

#1 Logan Tisdale

#3 Marcus Hall

#4 Niko Wicharuk

#5 Payton Hall

#6 Lukas Kadlec

#7 Jaromir Kopejtko

#8 Joshua Kropf

#9 Sara Spence

#10 Vladimir Maier

#13 Dylan Pisio

#14 Jakun Tersip

#15 Dalton Shirley

#50 Ryan Shirley

#69 Thomas Spence

#87 Joseph Ardell

#88 Dawson Sawatsky

Coaches:

Barret Kropf

Kevin Wicharuk

Jim Spence

Rodd Sawatsky

Team DR:

Dr. Robert Ardell

Team Photographer:

Ryan Hall (Mali Pes)

Rowdy Cheering Section:

Laura Spence

Jody Hall

Jenise Tisdale

Heather Wiens

Barry Pisio

Daryl Shirley

OK, I am going to spoil a bit of the surprise of our gathering on the 29th... Here is some of the gear the players will get in Regina... they will be a sharp bunch on the trip for sure. Here is a picture of the hoodie (Bunny Hug) that they will get. Sorry moms, it is white and will likely get dirty, but they look sharp! Remember Dad always says... "ya Look good ya play good!"

Here is a picture of the T Shirt that we will all get. YEs even the parents get in on the T Shirts. The players get the hoodies.... but everyone gets a T!

Here re the jerseys. Pretty sharp looking units I think. Each is crested with a number and the players name! In this photo my youngest Jacob is posing in one of our Czech teammates jersey!

Czech Hockey Trip

Woohoo! Only 11 more sleeps until we get on the bird and jet over the pond and Czech things out in Europe! Eastern Europe that is, Czech Republic.... hockey style!!!

This blog is created to keep family back home in Canada informed on our activities etc as we go along in the day. Check back regularly and we will try our best to have something new every day.

Until then, keep your stick on the ice!

Barret