bye//I'm not sure, why?

Leaving Prague today~~~

The customs process is very interesting. to discern if you are a threat to security, personnel ask you about your trip.

how was it?

what'd you see?

did you enjoy the beer?

could anyone have tampered with your bag?

it was a nice conversation.

security is very thorough. 

I was pat down for the first time.

it was pleasant.

I thought I lost my phone through the x-ray machine wormhole!!!

then I found it in the abyss of my purse.

the smiliest of my travel companions was searched the most thoroughly.

she smiled.

the clouds look nice and cumulonimbus, waiting from the terminal.

I like clouds, generally.

bye, Prague 

i didn't know what glass was made of//eating half an egg

I'm watching How It's Made: Blown Glass right now, to refresh the memories from earlier today. Your patience is duly noted.

Glass: Made from silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO 2), which is derived from sand. According to How It's Made's intoxicatingly calm narrator, other materials--such as potassium and limestone--which function as "thinners and stabilizers," are added to the silica in the glass-making process.

(To help cultivate memorable identities for these beloved minerals~~~

potassium is your friend, the banana. rather, bananas have a lot of it. Of its many benefits for the human body, potassium facilitates muscle function and the synthesis of proteins.

limestone is a sedimentary rock (which forms when particles are transported by wind or water and eventually solidify) chiefly composed of calcium carbonate, and used in cement.)

As our narrator says, it's hard to believe that beautiful, sculpted glass pieces can come from this "lumpy stuff."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nheDVHSUoG0


After about 12 hours in a 2200 degree (F) furnace, the "lumpy stuff" turns to translucent liquid. The glass blower uses a blowpipe to gather some of the liquid and shape it.

(One of the materials used in shaping glass; seen today at a glass-making factory in the Czech Republic):

Why is a blowpipe called a "blowpipe"? Good question!

At the end of the handle is a little hole through which glassmakers blow in order to form a bulge in the molten hot material. They blow very gently~~

Blowpipe.
this is a cool graphic.
Thanks WikiHow.




I get my advice from a lot of things with "How" in the name.

(Oh my goodness--the video at 3:50---wow)

The end product is usually cooled in an electric kiln for 12 hours to prevent cracking.

There are only two vocational schools in the Czech Republic, despite the popularity and demand of the glass-making industry. There may be a deficit in Czech glass-makers in the immediate future, due to waning interest in the profession among younger populations.

Matriculation usually lasts 3 years; our tour guide, however, commented that in order to become or be considered a master glass-maker, 10+ years of experience is required.

(The decoration at the end--around 5:05--wow)

Until today, I didn't really know what glass was made of--

--even though glass is found in most environments I frequent.


Like the one I inhabit now, watching "How It's Made": in a cafe.

eating half an egg.

time-lapses, taken at 2 Czech glass-making factories. watch with this song playing in the background:

Shamir - I Know It's A Good Thing - YouTube

Prague Blague//where is the ground

Marking my last two weeks in Prague, this blog will now function as a travel journal.

"Prague Blog"

"Prague Blague" 

lo and behold, apparently "Blague" is a word: 

 seems fitting.

We visited the Astronomical Clock Tower today, which is part of the Klementinum, one of the largest building complexes in Europe (built on an area of approximately 2 hectares...imagine 2 football fields). 

A brochure acknowledges "generations of famous architects, sculptors, and painters" who "participated in the constructions of Klementinum."

In addition to the Astronomical Clock Tower--completed in 1722, largely used by Jesuit scholars for astronomical observations--the Klementium houses the Mirror Chapel and Baroque Library Hall.

Simply put, the Klementinum symbolizes classical and religious education, brought to Prague by founders of the Czech Jesuit province including Petr Canisius and the philosopher Arraga.

The Tower, according to the brochure, "was used for astronomical observations until the 1930s." In its more than two centuries of active use, scholars developed tools, such as sextants, or instruments used for measuring angular distances between objects. Our guide points to one of these sophisticated mechanisms:

A "visit to the historical Klementinum chambers," the brochure lauds, "is crowned by a magnificent view of Prague." Here's one:

aaand here's this, taken in the Klementinum, and added because I dig the decor:

"Prague Blague." hmmm. I have always wanted to be a travel journalist. Here I go. 

From an astronomical clock tower, I dug into some grounded thought: today, I decided I will learn Czech--mostly because I admire what I've experienced of the culture and people so much that I may someday try to seek a life here.

Rosetta Stone software? I've seen you in commercials.

(For more photos, Czech out my Flickr, Instagram, and Foap accounts:

www.flickr.com/seasphotography

ssimon8 on Instagram

sarah.simon on Foap: https://foap.com/users/sarah.simon )