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Posted: |
Nov 14, 2018 - 10:16 PM
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By: |
RonBurbella
(Member)
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With about a week to go, I thought that I'd update and re-compile a more complete (but still slightly incomplete) list of our merry attendees (as I interpret everyone's previous posts):
.....NAME.........................COUNTRY................SESSION(S)..........K+K FENIX
1. Doug Raynes..............UK (London)............(25 + 26??)..........(???)
2. Peter Greenhill...........UK (London).............(???)....................YES
3. Lars MG......................Sweden...................(27).....................(???)
4. Grant Lovell................New Zealand...........(25 + 26).............YES
5. Ron Burbella...............USA (New Jersey)....(25 + 26).............YES
6. Jonathan Little............USA.........................(25 + 26).............(???)
7. Frank DeWald.............USA (Michigan)........(???)....................(???)
8. Erik Nelson..................USA (Texas)............(27)......................YES
9. Holger N......................Germany.................(25 + 26)...............NO
10. Volker Hannemann....Germany..................(25 + 26).............YES
(+ Mrs. Hannemann)
So at least SIX attendees (plus James and Nic) will be staying at K+K Fenix.
That leaves Doug, Lars, Jonathan, and Frank to chime in about their hotels.
My personal itinerary is condensed into a rather tight schedule:
FRI........23........Leave USA (Philadelphia--->Detroit--->Amsterdam--->Prague)
SAT........24........Arrive in the afternoon
SUN.......25........Two 4-hour Recording Sessions
MON......26........Two 4-hour Recording Sessions
TUES.....27........Some kind of "See Prague in a Day" Bus Tour, or something like that
(If somebody wants to pair up with me, perhaps the Fenix concierge can help us set it up.)
(That's all the time I'll have to see the city this time around.)
WED......28........6AM: Leave for home (Reverse of Nov. 23)
Doug, I would love to join the Saturday, Nov. 24th dinner group.
FOOD & DRINK
I've been reading up on Czech food and asking my Eastern European patients for any recommendations.
Any suggestions? In looking through links to Czech food, one thing concerns me...BEER seems to be a big part of the cuisine. I don't drink it. At a baseball park on a hot summer day, I don't mind a Michelob Ultra. But lager schmager or black schmack, I couldn't tell one beer from another. My father was a big beer drinker, a trait he didn't pass on to me. Two drinks close together and I'm likely to be sound asleep. Even when I tried to get drunk as a young student, I never could stay awake long enough to do so. So shoot me. 
Food for thought. A Pilsner seems to be what the tourists drink?
Ron Burbella
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I'll be staying at the Fenix as well and I'm hauling my girlfriend along with me. We're looking forward to the trip!
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I'm attending sessions on both 25th and 26th.
I'm watching the film over this weekend. Haven't seen it in a while
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Posted: |
Nov 17, 2018 - 9:31 PM
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By: |
RonBurbella
(Member)
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Okay, it looks like everyone (plus one surprise extra, Kosmas!) has chimed in.
MEALS
If we include Nic, James, spouses, sons, girlfriends, and significant others, the Fenix will be hosting a KOK group of OVER A DOZEN devotees. Good luck, Doug! Booking meals together as a group might require a gargantuan effort. From the limited website photos, I'm not sure the cozy little bistro at the Fenix will be able to host us all. Their food seemed to get good reviews - maybe we could get together in their meeting room? This won't be in a cozy little restaurant at "a-quiet-little-table-in-the-corner" type of affair.
RECORDING STUDIO
In looking at the videos of the PPO recording other scores, the studio seems a bit tight for space. I was looking around the recording studio wondering just where our sizeable group was going to sit. Is there a designated spot for observers all together, or are we scattered all about the premises?
FUNNY OBSERVATION - WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Yesterday in the office, feeling quite upbeat about my first trip to Europe in over 30 years, I walked into Room 2 to meet a new prenatal patient and her husband. With the first handshake and introduction, it became quite evident that I should (to quote an old Bela Lugosi cliche) BE-VAARE!!! She was coughing with every 10th word, and admitted her Primary Care Physician had just put her on Amoxicillin for acute bronchitis one day before. I had this sudden mental image of me getting sick and the whole Prague trip going down in flames. My initial impulsive thoughts, if committed to writing, would be all in CAPS, with a lot of exclamation points!!!!!, and with multiple crude expletives requiring deletion. I left briefly, washed the hell out of my hands, gathered my wits, and returned with a polite explanation about this long-planned bucket-list trip, insistently offering her a big handful of tissues to cover her mouth for the rest of the visit (she was understanding), which took the better part of an hour. I'm taking mega-doses of Vitamin C, I went on the Delta Airlines website and bought medical insurance/trip cancellation insurance if the worst should occur, and am wondering whether I should look for my late wife's rosary beads. And where is that little souvenir bottle of Lourdes Holy Water my wife used to have? It might come in handy.
Ron Burbella
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Posted: |
Nov 18, 2018 - 12:45 AM
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By: |
Doug Raynes
(Member)
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Okay, it looks like everyone (plus one surprise extra, Kosmas!) has chimed in.
MEALS
If we include Nic, James, spouses, sons, girlfriends, and significant others, the Fenix will be hosting a KOK group of OVER A DOZEN devotees. Good luck, Doug! Booking meals together as a group might require a gargantuan effort. From the limited website photos, I'm not sure the cozy little bistro at the Fenix will be able to host us all. Their food seemed to get good reviews - maybe we could get together in their meeting room? This won't be in a cozy little restaurant at "a-quiet-little-table-in-the-corner" type of affair.
RECORDING STUDIO
In looking at the videos of the PPO recording other scores, the studio seems a bit tight for space. I was looking around the recording studio wondering just where our sizeable group was going to sit. Is there a designated spot for observers all together, or are we scattered all about the premises?
FUNNY OBSERVATION - WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Yesterday in the office, feeling quite upbeat about my first trip to Europe in over 30 years, I walked into Room 2 to meet a new prenatal patient and her husband. With the first handshake and introduction, it became quite evident that I should (to quote an old Bela Lugosi cliche) BE-VAARE!!! She was coughing with every 10th word, and admitted her Primary Care Physician had just put her on Amoxicillin for acute bronchitis one day before. I had this sudden mental image of me getting sick and the whole Prague trip going down in flames. My initial impulsive thoughts, if committed to writing, would be all in CAPS, with a lot of exclamation points!!!!!, and with multiple crude expletives requiring deletion. I left briefly, washed the hell out of my hands, gathered my wits, and returned with a polite explanation about this long-planned bucket-list trip, insistently offering her a big handful of tissues to cover her mouth for the rest of the visit (she was understanding), which took the better part of an hour. I'm taking mega-doses of Vitamin C, I went on the Delta Airlines website and bought medical insurance/trip cancellation insurance if the worst should occur, and am wondering whether I should look for my late wife's rosary beads. And where is that little souvenir bottle of Lourdes Holy Water my wife used to have? It might come in handy.
Ron Burbella
Ron - It will certainly be a restaurant. Eating facilities at the Fenix are rather limited.
I don't know how we are all going to fit into the recording studio either! When I've been there, it's been so cramped that I've only narrowly avoided being poked in the eye by a cello bow .
I certainly hope you have avoided contacting any germs from your patients! I'm always painfully aware of the risk of catching colds and worse when travelling at this time of year; it's happened to me too often in the past. Ominously, for the past few days I've felt as if I'm coming down with something - I hope not. I was at a business meeting in Prague once when a colleague was taken ill and had to be rushed to hospital so I can at least attest to the first rate medical facilities in Prague!
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Thanks for those health tips, Ryan.
Two days before I fly out, and I'm watching a nice selection of City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra videos from the Smecky Studios website. Getting into the mood!
http://www.smeckymusicstudios.com/videos/
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