Paris visit today included a visit to the business district (snooze) but recovered with a visit to the Doctors without Borders office and a private wine tasting and boat cruise on the Seine River complete with float past Eiffel Tower.  Doug and I are were both on the river today but his included a new raft on the San Juan and mine was a three-course meal on a fancy boat.  Not sure who got the best deal.  T-minus three more days until I fly home.

 One more shot of Prague--this was the view from my hotel room--pretty amazing.

Eiffel tower this evening from the boat tour.

Prague in a few photos

Walking across Charles Bridge-

 A visit a Chateau outside of Prague

These are the special shoes we had to wear to not damage the floors of the chateau--I'm going to make Doug where these in our new house.

Post on Greek Education System

One more day in Prague and then we'll be in Paris by tomorrow evening.  It has been an interesting several days in Prague but the days here have been very long and a little over-planned so I'll be glad to have a free day when we arrive in Paris to unwind a bit before we head home on Sunday. 

Here is a link to a recent blog post that I wrote for the German Marshal Fund on the Greek Education system.  I have been having lots of great adventures and learning something along the way as well.

http://blog.gmfus.org/2013/03/26/lean-into-it-in-a-severe-economic-crisis-can-education-provide-a-solution/

Prague....Brr...

Whirlwind first couple days in Prague including arrival on Friday and a day-long visit with an old friend from Carolina—Ben Levenson.  Ben has been living here for several years and he and his new wife Lucia took me all around the town including Prague Castle, Golden Lane, the Charles Bridge, and Old Town Square and everywhere in between.  Was great to have a local tour guide and even better to catch up with an old friend.

Today we headed out of the city to South Bohemia and visited two different towns includes Ceske Budejovice and Pisek.  We met with the mayor and the Rector of the University of South Bohemia as well as toured an NGO that serves the Roma community and several historical sites in between.

Prague equals meat and beer and this is not an easy town unless you like to eat meat and lots of it.  Went to a local restaurant today and the name was literally “meat shop” Have already sampled beef stroganoff, duck, schnitzel, and dumplings. 

A couple pics are posted below.  We are here until Wednesday and then arrive at our last stop in Paris.

 

Charles Bridge at night from our cruise

Crew in Prague--Karen from NY, Hill from Atlanta, Greg from LA and Sarah from Alaksa

PS: Back to freezing, cold weather!

A few photos of Athens..

Parethenon on a sunny day!

Team Athens at the Acropolis

By day meeting with the former Ministy of Education, by night partaking in a greek cultural wonder--Bouzokia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightclubs_in_Greece).

Athens!

Athens

“That’s what makes Athens so special, you are not struck by its beauty when you arrive, but you are enchanted by the daily small discoveries you make walking through its streets. “

It has been an enchanting several days in Athens after arriving by way of Copenhagen, Denmark on Monday. The reality of Athens and Greece is a country facing a severe crisis with over 27% unemployment including almost 6 out of 10 youth unable to find jobs.  You see this on the streets, with many shops closed and a general, constant worry about a very uncertain future.  Yet, the city truly does enchant—it is warm, welcoming, relaxed and friendly. It is also loud, dirty, and feels smaller than you think until you climb up to the Acropolis and see the nearly millions of people who live here.

Our meetings have included several presentations to better help us understand the economic crisis and the difficult immigration circumstances.  Their immigration, drastically different than the US’s relationship with Mexico, includes immigrants that come by sea and land with no intention to settle in Greece.  But, Afghanistan and Syrian immigrants find that making a transition into another country in the EU is nearly impossible.  In essence, they are trapped in a country that they only intended to be a transition point .With a lack of NGO’s or educators with similar backgrounds, they struggle incredibly to integrate or find a way in this new place.

We’ve had a chance to have meals with several MMF alumni who have been wonderful and a highlight of all of our visits so far.  And, today we tackled the Acropolis.  The rock on the hill delivered and provided an incredible lesson in Ancient Greek Civilization.  Our tour guide did a great job weaving in the stories of ancient God’s and Goddesses along with some more current information regarding the Acropolis’ role in WWII and in the most recent Olympics.

Sadly, we’ve only got one more day here and then we head to Prague on Friday.  Looking forward to Prague but very sad to leave this incredible place. Hope to post more about the education appointments that I’ve had in the city soon.

My camera batter died so pictures to follow when I can get them uploaded.

Some photos!

 Lopez somewhere in the middle of Brussels

 Amsterdam (XXX is there logo) loves bikes1

 Meeting at the Parliament!

 Tin Tin art

 Visiting bike depository in Amsterdam

View from Parliament building...