End notes

I suppose, as an historian, that they should be footnotes, but I will save the footnotes to post photos once I return home. It is the last night for us in Prague before we travel back, and it was a great trip. The weather was great, food was good, beer better than average, and it was simply fun.

Some last minute observations about the trip. Today was spent buying prizes, and seeing favorite places once again. Steve pointed out something that made me think a bit--should I assume that I will never see Prague again? Do I need to have those lifetime memories? I had always thought that I would return, and I have, so I have to say I have never thought about visiting here like that If I do come back, I have no doubt that I still have plenty to see and experience in Prague and especially the rest of the country. But if I don't, I do feel like I have learned about and know much of the city, and I can take that with me.

I know it a bit better after this trip. With the push of a new traveler to the city, I visited parts that I have never seen before, and even if I have seen them, I have looked at them differently. Steve is a very good traveler, and ithat helped it be a great adventure. This trip has shown that sometimes old friends are the best friends. It was comfortable, and while I think that we pushed each other in many areas, it was done safely and kindly. This view is not a small compliment--I appreciate him, and it was good. I hope that he feels the same.

This blog has been fun, and while some might think that it odd that I would be willing to spend so much time while traveling in front of a computer, this has been a positive part of the trip. It has served to focus my thoughts and forced me to reflect on what I have seen and what I have felt. I know that I will never be a great writer, as I simply write as and how I talk, and I am but a stupid Norwegian from theh backwords of Wisconsin, as one of my grad schook teachers pointed out. But it is a process, and certainly the more you write the better you write. I think that most of the time I put subject and verb thingies in the right place.

Photographically, this trip has been interesting, and it will take longer to process (literally and figuratively) the photos I have taken. I took about 60 sheets of 4X5 film, and I earned each one. And learned on each one. I cannot wait to see the results. I am hoping for 5-7 that I like. I took nearly 75o digital photos on my little point and shoot Nikon. Clearly I am practicing the "Blind Robin" approach to photography--even a blind robin gets a worm once in a while. Or at least they are optimistic that they will. I know the limitations of the camera, but I still think that there might be a few that I like and are worth printing. I will make a web site, and share the address of that once I am done.

That is it from Prague. I will write once more when I have had some time to process a bit more. Thanks to all of you who have left comments, or written emails noting that you have actually read what I wrote. I am sorry if I did not respond to all of you in person, but know that they were important to the process.

I will share more in person, if you are interested, once I get back, probably late tomorrow.