After returning from a recent visit to Prague (Praha to the Czechs), I found people asking me if it was difficult coming back home to Cranbrook.

Well, yes and no.

As someone who revels in big cities (Prague proper is home to about 1.3 million souls) and big-city culture with a capital C (Prague is renowned for hosting a classical music concert on every other street corner, not to mention opera, dance, theatre and art), it was, of course, hard to leave this Bohemian city after a short but sweet visit with a now grownup daughter who currently calls Prague home. There was still so much to do, so much to see!

Still, not long after I arrived back in the East Kootenay, I had the pleasure of enjoying a lovely Soprano in the Platzl performance featuring Tanya Siega at Kimberley's downtown gazebo and was reminded once again that this little corner of the world is, in fact, not really lacking at all in the cultural department.

It's a matter of scale, of course, but Siega's performance, which pays tribute to the immigrants who came to this part of Canada seeking jobs and freedom, was also a reminder that the culture of many European countries is woven into the fabric of our communities.

A glance at this newspaper's Eye on Entertainment column (it runs Wednesdays) is further testament to the East Kootenay's thriving cultural community.

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Association of Musical Performers (KAMP) regularly brings together local musical talent to perform and jam in such venues as Ali Baba's Lounge in Finnegan's Wake Pub. The buskers are out and about Saturday mornings now at the Cranbrook Farmers Market downtown. The Idlewild Music Festival is coming soon, with everyone's favorite folkie Valdy as the headliner in a Cranbrook Public Library fundraiser. And I was pleased to take in some of the aboriginal stories in Rotary Park (another Cranbrook Library initiative), featuring our own Ktunaxa storytellers, during the month of July.

In Kimberley, despite Kimberley Summer Theatre taking a hiatus this year, there is no end of summer entertainment. The newly formed EK Stageworks Theatre Company has put together an impressive lineup of theatrical offerings for children and adults alike, the Kimberley Community Band plays regular concerts and the Arts on the Edge Festival is fast approaching. Not to mention dance artist Trina Rasmuson's recent vertical dance performance on the St. Mary climbing crag; I didn't seen anything like that in Prague.

So it wasn't THAT hard to come back. Think what I would have been missing!

I'm also a believer in the educational value of travel, no matter if the destination is near or far. So what can Prague teach Cranbrook, and what can Cranbrook teach Prague?

To the first part of that question, I would respond that one of the things I loved about Prague is how eminently walkable the city is. That has something to do with a high-density population in the central core, attractive cobblestone streets and many, many bridges across the Vltava River. I've never been a fan of urban sprawl and each time I visit a city like Prague, I am reminded why. When a city, even a very large one, is walkable (with decent public transit to the outskirts), a wonderful café culture sprouts up organically, along with public sculptures and, yes, a classical music concert on every other street corner. I also loved all the weird and wonderful found-art installations that seemed to spring up here, there and everywhere in the city.

As for what Cranbrook (or Kimberley) can teach Prague, well, one thing might be the value of clean water. Though the pedestrian walkways along the aforementioned Vltava River are lovely, the water in that river leaves a lot to be desired. At one stretch along the river, a sort of fake beach has been constructed, with white sand trucked in and beach volleyball courts set up. But despite the fact that it was sweltering hot when I visited the city, no one dared venture into the polluted waters for a cooling dip. Joseph Creek, Mark Creek, the St. Mary River, Toby Creek and many other waterways in the East Kootenay are positively pristine by comparison.

It was a great visit (thanks Stephanie), I'd go back in a New York minute, and I value more than ever what my hometown has to give me.