Prague Journal—09.07.01 (Continued)

Today I made my journey to Liberec to visit Vladimíra Erhartová, who (with her children) has attended all of the English camps since Bayview has been involved. I had written to tell her I was in the Czech Republic, and asked if there was any way we could meet. I offered to come to Liberec (about 75 minutes north by bus) to make it easy on her. We had a walk around Liberec (it wasn’t raining when I arrived) and a nice visit over lunch, catching up on our respective family news. She just finished her school term (she teaches physics), and she and her husband are going to Japan for 10 days in the middle of the month. We also talked some about where she is in her thoughts about the Bible and Christianity these days.

When I set out in the morning it was sunny, mild, and no clouds in view, so I decided (foolishly, as it turned out) to leave my umbrella and jacket behind. I had calculated that it might take me an hour to get to the other end of the metro “yellow line” (Černý Most, where the buses leave for Liberec). But I got a phone call as I was walking out the door with an important inquiry about the women’s conference in September Marilyn has been involved in planning. (That conversation took a few minutes, even though the caller spoke English well.) Then with the bad weather, road construction, and morning traffic, the bus ride to Smíchovské Nádraži (the train/metro station) took more than twice as long as usual — it wasn’t looking good for catching the 9:30 bus for Liberec! (There was another bus leaving fifteen minutes later, but it’s route was longer and travel time double. What’s worse, I had rushed off without the Farniks’ cellphone, so I’d have no way to contact Vladimíra to tell her I’d be late.)

Crunch time. There were sixteen stops between me and Černý Most, and it was 9:02 when I got onto the metro. I was praying that God would enable me to make it. When the metro stopped, I dashed out the door — it was 9:29! I ran downstairs to the bus depot. There was no time to read signs (a very time-consuming process under the best of circumstances), but thankfully there was only one bus at the various loading platforms. I hustled over to find “Liberec” posted in the bus window. Relief! The driver was at the rear of the bus helping a young man in a motorized wheelchair get on the lift to get into the bus. That had delayed him five minutes from his scheduled departure, and I made my connection. Praise God for his kindness in small things (again). I even got a nice front row seat and a good view of the Bohemian countryside as we drove the 90 km north to Liberec.

As I mentioned, it had not rained in the morning. When I arrived, Vladimíra met me at the downtown bus depot and we strolled through town — past the city hall and town square, the regional theater, an interesting bus stop with a sculptured shelter called “the giant’s feast,” and then down a beautiful, broad 19th century cobble-stoned avenue with large villas on either side of the street and streetcars wending their way picturesquely down the middle. (I thought about taking a picture, but decided to wait until the return trip to the bus depot, later in the afternoon, when perhaps the sun would be out. Another miscalculation.) We also walked through a large public park that contains the Liberec’s zoo.

But, the rain was not to be put off, and the ride back proved to be a wet one. Just ten minutes before I was due to catch the bus back to the main bus stop downtown, the heavens opened and it really poured! (I’ve heard it described in the U.S. as “axe heads and hammer handles,” and apt description.) The two-minute walk to the first bus (even with the benefit of a shared umbrella) left me thoroughly soaked on the street side (car splashes added to the dousing). Again, weather and traffic conditions extended a seven-minute bus ride for several more, but compared to the close call in the morning, the five minute arrival window I had this time seemed positively leisurely. I said a quick goodbye to Vladimíra and boarded the waiting bus. The main depot was sheltered, so I didn’t get any wetter, but I did have to sit soaked and steaming (not angry, but evaporating) for the ride back to Prague.

By the time I got back to Prague the rain had resumed there too. As I approached the center of town, the people who were getting the metro at each stop looked pretty wet. Since I had no umbrella, I debated whether to head straight for Zbraslav, or to risk further soaking by trying to make a pass by “my Starbuck’s” to see if I could contact Sherry and say hello, and catch up on email. I decided to risk it — after all, it’s only water.

I was thinking so much about the weather that I lost concentration and got off the metro one stop too soon. Oops! When I got to the street I realized I was still on the wrong side of the river, and dived back underground. I went on to the Malastranska station. There I dashed out to the tram shelter (where a lot of wet would-be riders were crammed). One stop down the line I was back in the welcome dry and coffee-smelling refuge of Starbuck’s.

After a Skype call to Sherry and some email work, I headed back for Zbraslav, where Buddy had the nerve to ask me for a nice romantic walk in the rain.