The formal book tour finished, Sue and I are free to spend the weekend with friends. Saturday is devoted to time with my distant cousin, Sylva Pustina (right in bottom photo), her husband Karel, and son Daniel (left in photo). All escaped from the communist regime and reside in Germany. Sylva and Karel have been at their Czech weekend home for three weeks; Daniel drives from Nurenberg (often at 200-plus km/hr) in the morning. We spend the day exploring Prague. Sylva has read a good portion of my book, and she corrects me on one matter, adds information about another, and then floors me by telling me that her dad had been arrested by the communists in 1948 after receiving a postcard from my father, informing him that we had made it "to the other side." When I wonder why I had never been told this by my parents, Sylva tells me that she doesn't think they knew. I will make the correction and additions to the English-language version of the book. If I'm lucky enough to have a second printing, I will also add them to the Czech version.
We spend Sunday with my oldest friend, Vlada Svoboda (left in top photo) and his wife Marie. We explore Prague, pay homage to the Nazi-destroyed village of Lidice, and complete our day at the beautiful State Opera House, where we see Antonin Dvorak's "Rusalka."
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