They gave us a fish instead of teaching us to fish

Our next blog will extoll the virtues of Prague. This blog is about practicing what you preach (and what happens when you ignore your own advice).

Usually David and I are independent travelers. We like making our own arrangements and plan our own adventures. However, with freedom comes personal responsibility. The responsibility to assure you, your family and your luggage will get from point A to point B and back to point A. Also, it means finding a place to eat and determining each days itinerary. A guided tour is a complete 180. You get yourself on a plane and from then on responsible and logical thought is not necessary. This is my long winded way of explaining the complete and utter panic I was feeling as the Gate 1 tour bus hurtled down the Autobahn from Regensburg to Prague. Normally David and I spend up to 6 months prior to a trip doing research. Travel guides, travel websites, other travel blogs and forums. We check them all and make albums of material for our trip. This trip we bought the 60 page 'Top 10 Prague' and barely cracked the spine. David's docorate program and our employers had kept us really hopping.

Immediately upon arriving in Austria we realized one of our mistakes, the language. David and I both have remedial Spanish backgrounds. Our combined 10 years of high school and college Spanish give us the necessary background for many Romance languages. In addition to Spanish we can also stumble around in Italian . And while we can't speak French, we can usually read enough to get around. It turns out my German language exposure was limited to Hogan's Hero re- runs and the Cabaret sound track (somewhere my Muehlhoff grandparents are spinning in their graves). And, unlike Greece where most folks under 40 speak fluent English, outside of Vienna not everyone in Austria and Germany did. However, since we were being lead around by the hand, it wasn't a big deal.



I had emailed myself a list of Czech words, so I could study them prior to arriving in Prague. As we all know now, our interet availability was very limited. I hadn't really even thought about it until Tuesday when boarding the bus. I walked up to our bus guide - Bart and asked if he knew any Czech. He said a little and would teach us a few words on the ride to Prague. Before that we stopped at a rest stop just over the German/Czech border. I walked into the store and got my first look at Czech words. Oh no! Each word had multiple consonants, few vowels and stange accents, too. With a sinking stomach I realized this language was closer to Russian than German.

As promised Bart tried to teach us all a few words before arriving in Prague. When all was said and done, I learned the word for beer - pivo. (Bart was right he only knew a few words). The funniest part was learning the word for Thank you. Bart taught us 'De koo i um" like requiem with a 'd'. Eager to try out my new word, I said it to the bellhop, who looked at me like I had a speech disorder. Michal was great and taught me 'dee koo yi' the correct pronounciation.

We made it through Prague with gestures and smiles. The Czech people were very kind and those who spoke English were happy to assist. I had engaged the services of a private guide prior to our arrival. In addition to English, Czech, German, Eva spoke Slovakian, Polish and Russian, too. Bart, Kate and Rolf from Gate 1 in addition to their native languages (Bart and Rolf Dutch and Kate Hungarian) spoke 4 to 5 additional.

David has been asking me for years, once his doctorate is complete - what do I want to do? Hearing my new aquaintances navigate many tongues has inspired me. I plan to improve my Spanish and Italian and eventually learn German as well.

So, long story long. no matter where you are headed learn a few words of the local language. You'll feel more confident and your country hosts will appreciate the effort.