London 2012: To be, or not to be: that is the question

Since I was a young child, I have always been captivated by the myriad athletes who devote years of their lives to preparation for the Olympics; both those who succeed and earn gold as well as those who fall short of a medal. Some may find boring the long human interest stories with which networks break up competition, but I eat it up. I remember learning about the lives of Russian and Chinese gymnasts, being sent off hundreds of miles away from families to go to sport schools and who can forget Dan Jansen. Well, somewhere along the way I added "attending the Olympics" to my at least once in my life "to do" list.  So, I'm trying to go to the London 2012 Summer Olympics since it's seemingly close. However, it's not going so well. Unfortunately, I missed the March deadline to join the lottery (who knew?). I really should have done my research early on! Then I discovered a way to go through the official U.S. site. Well, I confused days and thought the 2nd chance lottery was today, but it was actually yesterday. NICE! After two strikes, I'm not yet giving up. There are a few sites selling tickets at quite a profit as well as some that are offering packages. Tonight my friend Liz and I found a Czech site offering 3 event tickets plus coach transportation (bus from Prague to London - SWEET) plus accommodation at a university dormitory for about 1,000 USD. That might seem like a lot, but I'm not so sure... We shall see!  

Lidice

Yesterday I visited the site of Lidice, a former town which was razed to the ground on June 10, 1942 by the Nazis, who believed the town was somehow linked to the assassination of Reichs Protector Reinhard Heydrich - Hitler's right-hand man. The men of the village were rounded up and shot; women were sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp; the vast majority of children (82) were gassed on a bus ride to Lodz, Poland, and a few children were selected to be adopted by Nazi parents. The town buildings were burned and then detonated so literally nothing but bare foundations were left. The Nazis cut down trees and even destroyed burial grounds. After the war ended, 143 Lidice women returned and 17 children were reunited with their mothers. The Czechoslovak Republic agreed to build houses for women who survived. We walked pass these houses - the first of which were completed at Christmas 1949. Here are a few pics from our trip.

The Lidice Memorial is a touching tribute to the town and it's inhabitants who perished. The exposition starts with a short movie after which you proceed through several exhibits showing life before the war; pictures of townspeople; the doors to the church; letters from children to their relatives asking for stockings, a spoon and fork, some food, new clothing which were received after they had been killed; and testimonials of survivors - mainly children who were selected for adoption. We walked around the grounds as well and looked at the foundations of the St. Martin's Church, the school dating back to the early 18th century, and the farm house of one of the Horak family. Very sobering to say the least. Only 20 km from Prague.

If you'd like to learn more check out the video below:



My interest in Lidice was sparked by the recent release in the CR of a new movie about the tragedy. I thought the director tried to pack in a bit too much, but it was overall really well done. I'm sure it will be an Oscar contender for best foreign language. Here's a trailer to the movie with English subtitles: