Company Trip to Prague

This year our company celebrates its 10th anniversary. To mark this event, everybody (including partners) was invited to a weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. Unfortunately, Luda could not come along because we had nobody to look after Anne Sophie, and taking Anne Sophie on this trip (as much as I wanted) was out of the question with my employer.

(Photos: courtesy of Alex Vishnyakov)

Prague is a really beautiful city. It has a very large and well preserved old town, with several different architecture styles. It was once the third biggest city of Europe (I presume after Paris and London), which was due to the fact that the emperor Karl IV of the Holy Roman Empire made it its capital in the 14th century. Everything is named here after Karl: Karl University, Karl bridge, Karl street, etc. The Jewish quarter, just a couple of blocks north of the main square, is very well preserved (it was surprisingly spared by the Nazis, unlike its inhabitants). Prague is really worth a visit, and it is quite inexpensive to stay and eat here.

It was also interesting to roam the streets of the newer part of the city, which is a strange mixture of the modern western influences and the Soviet past. Many things reminded me of home (that is Minsk).

The Czech people seem to be pretty gloomy and unfriendly. From a guide I heard that it is a complaint he heard many times from the westerners. Even young people, not “spoiled” by the Communism, wear blank faces. This is especially feelable in restaurants, where waiters treat clients in a rather rough, unfriendly manner. Well, may be the Czechs are genetically unhappy people. I don’t know.

I had previously been to Prague once, in the summer of 2000 with a baha’i youth choir from Benelux. This time was different: everything was arranged and paid for by the company. We stayed in a hotel just a couple of blocks away from the headquarters of Radio Liberty (Radio Svoboda), my favorite radio station broadcasting in Russian (among other languages). The hotel reminded me, at least in some ways, of the communist times, but was quite good.

One of the highlights of the trip, was a bike tour of the old city. What a great way to explore a city!

All in all we had a great time! I will definitely go back to Prague with Luda and Anne Sophie one day!

Winter Blues

This blog has been silent throughout the winter. Why? Well, do you know what winter blues is? That’s what happened to me this winter. Basically that comes down to a lot of sleep, little energy, no desire to go anywhere or do anything. It turns out that as much as 10% of the population in the Netherlands suffers from this form of mood disorder. The winters here can be really depressing: no sun, no snow, gray sky, cold wind, drizzle.

So, how do you cope with that? Essentially, I just accepted the situation as it was. I was telling myself: just keep surviving the winter and hoping for the spring to come soon. I cut back on many commitments and projects, did virtually nothing outside work, read several books, watched lots of movies, and spent time with my daughter.

I also went to see my medical doctor, who recommended light therapy, which is about sitting 30 minutes in front of a special lamp every morning for one or two weeks. I had to wait a few weeks before I could sign up for that, so in the end I did my therapy in the end of March, when I already started to feel better. I still don’t know whether it really helped, or whether I was recovering anyway due to longer days and more sunshine. At least it had a disciplining effect on me: I had to get up early every morning to be in down town by 8:30, which was actually one of the biggest problems. But I emerged from those two weeks refreshed and again full of zest for life.

So if you ever get into a winter blues, try light therapy. They say it really helps!