Charles Bridge 1965-2001

My passion for the Charles Bridge on the Vltava River in Prague began in 1965 when I received a gift from a penpal named Milena.  She sent me a beaded handbag which contained a small hand mirror.  On the hand mirror was etched an image of the Charles Bridge in her hometown of Prague, Czechoslovakia.  I looked at the little mirror quite often and said to myself, "One day I am going to stand on that bridge."  In 1965 that was an impossible dream, since travel to communist Czechoslovakia prior to 1989 was nearly impossible for US citizens.

The beaded handbag from Prague

 The small hand mirror

I spent five weeks in Germany in the summer of 1968, but it still was not possible for me to go to Czechoslovakia.  My first chance to travel to Prague came in March 2001 when my good friend, Bill Sucha, invited me to travel with the Irondale High School Orchestra from Minneapolis on a trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest.  We only spent two days in Prague, but I had invited my penpal/cousin, Jarda, to meet me there so we could finally meet after having been penpals for nearly 40 years.  The Irondale Orchestra arrived at the hotel in Prague after a long flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam and then to Prague. Within an hour of our arrival the phone in my hotel room rang.  It was Jarda and he was in the hotel lobby.

Jarda and I were born three weeks apart in 1949, Jarda on January 26 and I on February 19.  His mother, Jarmila and my dad were first cousins.  Jarmila's father and my dad's mother were brother and sister.  Dad's mother was the only one of her family to emigrate to the USA (in 1912).  Jarda and I had exchanged photos and many letters over the previous 40 years, so I knew I would recognize him when I saw him.  He was much taller than I had expected, but I knew him right away.  However, I was totally surprised when he introduced his mother, Jarmila, and his wife, Helena.  I did not speak much Czech at that time.  I only knew a few words, but Jarda and I had always corresponded in English.  His English was excellent, so he translated for Jarmila, Helena and me.  The orchestra was about to go on a bus tour of Prague, so Jarda, Helena, Jarmila and I joined them.  Jarda is a building engineer, so along the way he pointed out a couple of buildings that he had constructed.  At the first stop on our tour, I was able to take my very first photo of Prague Castle off in the distance.

Prague Castle -  March 2001

The next time the bus stopped, we all got off and walked to the Charles Bridge.  I asked Bill to take this photo of Jarda, me, Helena and Jarmila. So . . .  I finally got to stand on that very special bridge that I first saw etched on that little hand mirror.  AND I got to stand there with my Czech family.

Jarda, Jeannette, Helena and Jarmila on the Charles Bridge - March 2001

We only  got to spend three hours together that day, but those memories remain fresh and vivid today.  I returned to Prague in 2003 and traveled to their little village of Breznice near Zlin to visit them for four days before returning to Prague to take a ten-day Creativity Workshop.  That visit gave me the idea to spend my sabbatical in the Czech Republic in 2005-06.  Angie and Dave came to the Czech Republic during my sabbatical year, but at different times.  Then I took Mom to visit the Czech Republic in May 2007.  Jarda and I are now email pals instead of penpals, and we look forward to meeting again some day, hopefully soon.

Na shledanou. (Till we meet again.)

Jeannette