McCains in Prague

Greece Adventures Day 10

2009-08-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

Day 10 (11 and 12) - Athens (and getting home)

Well, this day was pretty laid back. We enjoyed breakfast at our nice hotel, and this was probably the fanciest little breakfast I had seen in a while, they even had Jello in wine glasses, and it looked like real wine - very cute!

Anyway, after taking it easy, we took the bus to the beach and spent the day in the sun and crystal clear water - very enjoyable.

We had an early evening since we had a very early morning (and subsequent long days ahead).

You know the rest of the story. We woke up early and flew from Athens to Frankfurt. Tried for the afternoon flight from Frankfurt to O'hare - didn't make it. Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, went to the airport the next day, tried for Frankfurt - DFW, didn't make it, but we did make the next Frankfurt - O'hare flight, got on business class (very fancy!) and got on the first flight from O'hare to DFW where mom, Ronnie, Jessica, and Luke were waiting for us at the airport. It was a fun surprise!

Greece Adventures Day 9

2009-08-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

Day 9 – Santorini and Athens

We did even less on this day than we did on the others, but mostly because of needing to check out of the hotel at 11, and being back at the hotel at 2:30 for our shuttle to the port. No worries though, we went back to Thira, had a late breakfast. I got a thick, homemade waffle. I hadn’t had a waffle in almost a year, and it definitely hit the pregnant-lady spot! I really enjoyed this town, for all its winding, narrow streets and shops. Even it you don’t do a lot of shopping (which we certainly didn’t) it is an enjoyable atmosphere to be around.

Went back to the hotel where the world’s friendliest hotel owner gave us a ride to the port. She was easily one of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful people we’ve met. If the hotel was just average, she made it great.

Hopped back onto the ferry. This time we were in business class because they were sold out of economy tickets when we booked. Oh my goodness – there was a world of difference between the two classes!! It had plush cushy seats, a waiter serving us food, air conditioning, and just simply comfortable all around. And the funny thing is, there was not a huge price different between the two classes and we regret not splurging for the first trip, but at least this way we can appreciate it much more.

Our ferry was about 20 minutes late arriving, which was fine except for the fact that we missed the last subway train into the city, so we had to get a taxi, but we got to our nice hotel quickly. This last hotel was incredibly nice, and we absolutely loved it!!

As it was already one in the morning, we went straight to sleep in our cozy bed.

Greece Adventures Day 8

2009-08-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Day 8 – Santorini

We went back to Thira to see some of the views that the city promised. We had gotten there after dark the night before, so we were unable to see all the buildings on the cliffs. So we stayed there and did a little shopping and sight-seeing (and sitting when necessary).

We then walked back to our hotel and relaxed by the pool and took it easy in the afternoon heat.

All the information books about Santorini tell visitors to go to the town of Oia to watch the sunset. So we did as did everyone else. We had to do a little exploring to find a lookout where there weren’t already bunches of people stationed, and even once we found a spot it eventually filled up. No worries though, it was still nice. However, for all the talk about the “not to miss sunsets in Santorini” we weren’t that impressed. I think we saw nicer ones in Thessalonia and Athens, but it was still enjoyable. Then we wandered to a restaurant for dinner. One of the nice things about the restaurants here is that they all have open air seating, with umbrellas for when the sun is still out. Prague had it too during the nice weather, and it is certainly something we will miss once we get back home.

Greece Adventures Day 7

2009-08-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Day 7 – Santorini

Our time in Santorini was most definitely laid back. We didn’t do a ton of stuff, but that was exactly what we wanted to do. We never set the alarm, woke up when we were ready and even then took our time. Still, I do not feel like we ever really wasted time.

After waking up the first day and eating breakfast, we took a bus to one of the many beaches in Santorini. Our hotel owner told us which bus to take and suggested the best beach considering the windy weather. We went to one called Red Beach, named because of the red volcanic rock surrounding the water. It was small, and a bit crowded, but we found some chairs and an umbrella and called it a day. The water was so clear and cool and perfect. We got some grapes as a snack and stayed at the beach until we were hungry again.

We had a late lunch at a little restaurant on the beach and took the bus back to our hotel where we had yet another nap.

Then we headed to the main town of the island called Thira, where we enjoyed dinner at a restaurant overlooking the town and then walked around the cute, winding streets filled with shops. One thing that greatly surprised me (especially after Prague) was the fact that these shops were still open at 11pm – even the little boutiques! We didn’t do much shopping, but the fact that things were still open made the streets feel alive.

Greece Adventures Day 6

2009-08-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Settling in at home is going well, and it still feels pretty nice to be back.

Day 6 – Athens and Santorini

We woke up early and caught the ferry to Santorini. Words cannot describe the chaos that is the ferry. There were chairs, tables, people, and luggage sprawled and shoved everywhere. We sat on the top deck, which was open air, but covered and slightly shaded. The fact that we had to wake up early plus the rocking boat were not a good combination for me, but after the ferry docked at its first island, it emptied out a little, and we got a spot on the bench so I could lay down, and that helped a ton. 8 hours later, we arrive in Santorini.

If chaos is the word to describe the ferry, then complete pandemonium would be the port of Santorini There was a massive crowd of people exiting the boat, cars driving off the boat, and hoards of people trying to get you to stay at their hotel and/or take their bus to the town. We finally just got a cab to our hotel.

After checking in, we got dinner near the hotel, and then went back and relaxed. After being on the boat for so long, I still felt like I was rocking, and needed a lie-down big time. So we rented a movie off iTunes and called it a night.

Greece Adventures Day 5

2009-08-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be back at home. Our first full day back was quite fun and productive. We got to see Luke and Heidi and the girls, as well as my Dad, Ruth, and Grandma. We ran some necessary errands, went out to eat for some mexican food.

Jet lag is killer right now, we were awake at 5:15 yesterday, and Jace did the same today while I managed to sleep until 6:30...

Day 5 – Athens

This day goes down in the books as “bad luck day.” For one, we got a terribly slow start. Despite all our resting the day before, I still felt very worn out. Then we went to another archeological site, walked almost entirely around the perimeter of it, and could not find the entrance. Once we gave up and said it wasn’t worth it – we found it, but we kept on walking. Fail. Besides, we had seen a lot of it walking around it anyway. Then, we made our way to another hill/small mountain that boasted some of the best views of Athens. This one had a funicular railway system to take you to the top, so I would be able to manage it, but by the time we got there, we had 30 minutes before the funicular closed. Fail again.

We went back to the hostel for a nap.

Then we went to the newly opened Acropolis museum. This museum was beautiful and very well done and organized. Bonus: since it was newly opened, tickets were only 1Euro. One of the things I liked most about it was this short film it showed about the Parthenon that began to give you and idea about how it looked and some of the details about the building. When reading some information about different sculptures, we were amused at the fact that some of them had their heads in the Louvre.

We had dinner at another nice outdoor restaurant in the winding corridor of shops, then walked some more and had ice cream for dessert. We then went back to the bottom of the Acropolis where there was a rock we “climbed” and watched the sun set over Athens.

Greece Adventures Day 4

2009-08-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

Well we are home, thank the Lord. It was certainly a total blessing and dare I say even miracle that we got on the plane. Looking at it on paper, there is no way we should have gotten on the flight from Frankfurt to Chicago, but we did, and got on the first flight from Chicago to DFW. We got in at 9:15 pm, and Luke and Jessica were with mom at the airport, a very fun surprise!

Day 4 – Athens

We woke up and took a while getting ready in the morning, then made our way to see the Acropolis. This day was difficult for me. I had to stop and rest before we even got there. We got a ticket that let us into the Acropolis as well as the surrounding areas. There was a lot of resting for me, and Jace had to go and get me water at one point. But he was always sweet and patient and at times made me stop and rest even when I insisted I was fine. The acropolis and the view from it were amazing. The Parthenon was massive, and its unfortunate that it is not still intact – its so hard to imagine how it must have looked in all its glory, but even the ruins were impressive and breathtaking.

We stopped for lunch, which was perfect because there was air conditioning and cold water (with ice!) and we took our time there.

We then headed to another archeological site called the Temple of Zeus – it was part of our all-inclusive ticket. Unfortunately, so much of it was destroyed and left in ruins, so we couldn’t always tell what we were looking at, but there were some columns still standing, and one that had fallen but was left on the ground in its separated pieces.

Then we walked to the National Gardens, lay in the park for a while, and wandered around the park. Leaving the park, we came across the original Olympic Stadium where we stopped and rested again J.

After that, I needed a proper rest, so we went back to our hostel - even though we took it easy and slow paced, I still got tired easily probably due to the heat – something we never fully experienced in Prague, and for that I am grateful. Also good news – most places sold 1.5 liters of water for just 1 Euro, so staying hydrated was affordable.

After our rest we headed to the port where we would be leaving for Santorini in few days. We picked up our tickets and wanted to know where our ferry would be leaving due to the fact that I had read that the port was massive and could take you 30 minutes to find your boat. I think the ticket lady thought we were crazy for picking up our tickets 2 days early – but I felt assured knowing that we had our tickets and knew where our boat would dock, and also exactly how to get to the port and how long it would take.

Then we went to one of the restaurants we saw the previous day and had dinner looking out at the Acropolis all lit up in the dark. The food was OK, but the view made up for it.

Greece Adventures Day 3

2009-08-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

So we are still in Frankfurt, at the Holiday Inn Express waiting for our shuttle to take us to the airport for another round of trying. Still in good hopes today.

Day 3 – Thessalonia and Athens

Thessalonia used to be surrounded by a Byzantine wall, and parts of it still remain, so we wanted to see it. We took a bus “up the hill” to where the wall was. There wasn’t too much to see, but it was still nice, and we enjoyed imagining what it probably used to look like in ancient times.

From there we returned to our hotel, packed up, checked out, took a bus to the train station, and headed to Athens. We had a laugh at the train because when we first approached it, it was fully covered in graffiti, which in the Czech Republic would have meant that the inside of the train would be cruddy and uncomfortable inside; however this train inside was quite nice, clean and cozy. Not a bad ride to Athens. I was worried about motion sickness, but had no problem at all.

We take the public to our hostel and checked in. I was disappointed in the place, and needed a moment to collect myself before we headed out. It wasn’t terrible, but it was tiny, and certainly did not make a nice first impression.

We found a small gyros restaurant for dinner, and then wandered to the Acropolis. It was already closed, but we took some pictures and walked around the little streets with all their shops and restaurants. It was very cute and we decided to go there for dinner before we left Athens.

Greece Adventures Day 2

2009-08-03T21:24:00.001-07:00

So we are in the airport, enjoying some free wifi waiting for our flight to Frankfurt. All up in the air (get it, hehe) from there!

Also, as much as I will miss Prague and Europe, I feel at this point like I am ready to be home. Its time.

Day 2 – Thesselonia

We spent most of the day exploring the city on foot. It is relatively small, so we were able to do a lot by walking.

We first wanted to access the water so from the train station (where we purchased our tickets to Athens), we walked toward the coast, unfortunately for us, there were some other train tracks; therefore, we could not cross the street. We finally managed after a while, and the water was beautiful! We climbed up a tower, which had a museum inside and gave us a great view from the city.

From there we took the scenic route back to our hotel – seeing some cubist globe and an ancient arch along the way. We rested for a while at our hotel, and did some research on beaches in Thesselonia.

We took the bus to the beach, and though you couldn’t swim in it, we still enjoyed it very much. We relaxed, read, watched the sunset, had a small dinner – all wonderful.

Also, we found it very easy to get around despite my initial concerns. Fortunately, our hotel was off a main street and easy to find, but even managing the busses, we felt very comfortable getting around.

This was our bathroom in the hotel. It was tiny, and I had to quickly swallow the fact

that I hate when everything in the bathroom gets wet after a shower.

Greece Adventures Day 1

2009-08-03T09:43:00.001-07:00

So tomorrow we embark on our attempt to go back home. We will fly to Frankfurt in the morning and then rely on standby and God's graces to get back to Texas.

I decided to do the updates one day at a time, the same way I did the Germany/Switzerland trip, to spread out the goodness.

Enjoy day 1!

Arrived in Thesselonia, warm weather greeted us off the plane, and it was wonderful.

Got a taxi to our hotel, and on the way I quickly realized that everything is (naturally) in the Greek alphabet. The map our hotel gave us is the same – getting around will be interesting, but hey, we are on vacation, so I decided to do my best to be laid back about it. Fortunately, we found out it was pretty easy and had little trouble.

After checking in, we were hungry, but faced with a potential problem – with the time change it was already 11PM and we weren’t sure if anything would be open. Well we wandered down the main road for a block, then turned off it due to construction to a small side road, and one turn later and we spot an outdoor restaurant sitting in a short, wide street connecting two bigger ones. So we sit down. The waiters were friendly and tell us the food offers in English. We order, unsure of the cost. The food arrives quickly and is delicious and when the bill comes we are surprised with the affordability of it. The atmosphere of this place was perfect, there were two men sitting at a table who were playing the mandolin and singing, but I don’t think they were hired by the restaurant, it looks like they had just finished eating and broke out the instruments. It was great!

No pictures yet, unfortunately I didn't have my camera at the super cute restaurant.

Baffled

2009-07-25T03:17:00.001-07:00

As is the usual question when we pack up our lives:

Where did all this stuff come from???

Seriously, I thought we were careful about not acquiring too much when we were here, and we are giving away a ton of clothes, and both mom and dad took stuff home with them when they came, yet we still don't have enough space! I don't know what happened.

Also, it is really difficult to do all the last minute laundry for cleaning and packing when you don't have a dryer.

A Year in Pictures

2009-07-25T00:58:00.001-07:00

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

January:

For some reason, there weren't many....

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

Reflections

2009-07-25T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today is our last day in Prague, and it is simply impossible to believe. In the same way that it was surreal when we first arrived, it is now surreal that we are leaving. In many ways, I simply can not believe it. I do not feel it, nothing has really set in. Just today and yesterday have I started to wrap my mind around it, but I still do not feel it. Many people have asked if we feel sad, and I know I will be once it hits me, and who knows when that will be - perhaps after we get back home.

Nevertheless, I have been doing a lot of thinking about our year here, and I feel incredibly blessed that we had this opportunity of countless experiences.

They say that there are 4 stages of culture shock: excitement, withdrawal, adjustment, and enthusiasm.

Excitement: A holiday or honeymoon period regarding the new surroundings

August - October

Right away, there was loads to be excited about. Naturally the big one was my getting to be back in Prague and getting to roam these beautiful streets again, but there were many more new and exciting things: settling into our flat, new job, new friends, starting youth group. Everyday was filled with things to do, people were open and generous with their invitations to join in.

Withdrawal: after getting more time with the culture, one begins to find it strange, different, and frustrating

November (perhaps only November)

This arrival of this stage coincided with the cold, perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not. I remember my first and only breakdown. It was November 1st - the night of my cousin's wedding. I am not sure if there was a connection, but I think the idea of my entire family getting together and celebrating and my not being able to be a part of it probably didn't help. I really don't remember what triggered it, but Jace and I were in the kitchen, and I just started sobbing. I felt entirely homesick and frustrated. I remember feeling frustrated at the fact that seemingly easy tasks like going to the grocery store or the post office were often difficult. We also had the beginnings of our struggles with Jace's Visa, and feeling some of the financial pangs from mine.

Fortunately, November was also the month when we enjoyed our first visitors, our first trip unrelated to a Visa, and the first snow. (I found the cold much more bearable with some snow to enjoy)

Adjustment: A routine begins, and one feels more settled and confident

December - February? (not so sure when this one ends and the next one begins)

I think we also may have experienced another "excitement" section of culture shock because in this time we had many visitors and trips - Sean and Aubrey and our trip to Paris in November; Dad and Ruth and our Christmas trip to Germany and Switzerland; our Moms and the trip to Vienna. This was easily a time of rich blessings and experiences. Also, Jace's visa is mostly settled by this point, I've started Czech lessons in November, we both really enjoy our jobs. It was definitely a huge help that I had my Dad here for Christmas and my Mom here right around my birthday, otherwise, I suspect that the withdrawal stage would have lasted longer.

Enthusiasm: one feels at home, and in some ways prefers the new culture

February - July

The transition from the prior stage to this one was quite fluid, it is difficult to pinpoint when one ended and one began, and I suspect that it was gradual and in bits and pieces.

My confidence in using the language has grown, I can buy credit on my phone using only Czech (which includes giving my phone number), we've eaten at restaurants that have Czech-only menus, the post office is a much less scary place (though still intimidating at times).

Dare I say it: I even like the food, though that has pretty much always been the case.

We have gotten expert at using the public transportation, even using a website to give us exact connection times and details.

Even though it feels more like home now, I think part of me is shifting back into withdrawal (and perhaps this is just the pregnancy) where I miss some of the conveniences of home. And I had some withdrawal in March when it was still snowing at times.

All in all, I think I feel ready to be back at home, though it is difficult to say good-bye and I know that I will miss Prague greatly.

Baby's 2nd photo

2009-07-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

We went back to the doctor today for one last check-up before leaving. Jace got to go with me, so he could see our little baby on the sonogram, it was really something special.

You could clearly see the head and the baby moving his (or her) little hands and feet. The doctor says everything looks good and healthy and the baby is growing right on time, He measured at 2.5 centimeters!

Good Morning Praha

2009-07-23T01:59:00.000-07:00

As planned, Jace and I woke up at 4:30 to go to the bridge and watch the sunrise. It was wonderful! Unfortunately, it wasn't as empty as I had hoped - some people were definitely strolling home from the bar, and some scaffolding on the bridge (which has been there all year) obscured some good views, but it was still calm and peaceful, and dare I say, romantic.

Not on the bridge, but around the corner from it, a Czech flag symbolizing the wars that the Czech Republic was involved in.

An edit, to match the photo on the top of our blog (which I also took and edited)

The bane of my existence (at least while on the bridge)

Vysehrad

2009-07-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jace and I had a lovely evening tonight. We went up to Vysehrad (one of my favorite places in Prague - its up on a hill overlooking the city) and had a picnic dinner. Then we stayed for the sunset, and before it got completely dark, walked along the river for most of the way home.

I was struck yet again by how picturesque this place is, and I will never forget it, and try not to take it for granted while still here.

Cathedral and sun through the trees

If you look close, you can see the castle right above Jace's head.

Tomorrow we will try and get up at sunrise to enjoy old

town and the Charles Bridge in its early morning peace and

emptiness.

Karlstejn

2009-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Since Jace and I finished our jobs on Friday, we have this week to clean, pack, and get our last bits of Prague. We had never been to Karlstejn, which is a town with a castle hardly more than a 30 minute train ride from Prague. So we went today. Too bad the castle was closed :(. We still had a nice little trip though, and it was fun. The weather barely held out, but it did not rain on us!

We also have a few more plans for the rest of the week. It is really hard to believe that all this is almost over (but with new adventures to start!)

First Appointment

2009-07-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

All went well, the doctor said the baby is healthy and developing normally.

Here is our first photo:

Souvenir

2009-07-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

It seems that when we return from Prague, that this blog will continue - with a makeover and a new name.

It will be called: McCain from Prague because that is what we will be bringing home [at least eventually :) ]

Jace got a first Father's day gift:

Obviously, I made it myself.

All in all, I've been feeling pretty good. Pretty tired, and slightly queasy at times, but fortunately, no puking.

Coming Home

2009-07-03T00:40:00.001-07:00

After months of debating, deciding, flip-flopping, and agonizing, we have made our decision to come home. Obviously there were a number of factors to weigh, and at one point, I even made a list, and though the decision was tough, we feel a peace about it. That being said, we will miss Prague terribly, and the people in it. We made some good friends while we were here, and will take some great memories home with us.

We have been asked many times if we are looking forward to going home, and some people ask if we are excited to leave Prague. The answer depends in the wording of the question: Yes, we are looking forward to be back at home, with our loved ones, many of whom we haven't seen in almost a year. But no, we are not excited to leave Prague, and I don't think we will be quite ready for it when it happens.

The game plan:

Finish work around the 17th of July

Leave for Greece on the 25th (I am beyond excited for this trip - 10 days in Thessaloniki, Athens, and Santorini)

Leave Greece for Frankfurt on Aug. 4th

Standby for home beginning Aug. 4th - we hope to be home by the 5th or 6th at the latest.

When mom was here, she took a lot of our belongings home, so we should only have to travel with carry-ons and our big backpacks. It looks like it should work.

And prayers are much appreciated on the Job search front. We have been applying quite a bit, and no responses, but we have faith that God is going to provide, and prayers are still appreciated. The transition back home is going to be a big one.

quick update

2009-06-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long, things have been more than a little crazy over here.

Mom and Ronnie have made it safely here. They arrived yesterday and will be here until Sunday afternoon. It is nice to have them here. So far, Ronnie really likes Prague - Jace showed him the skate park near the metronome, so he is happy.

Unfortunately for them, it is storming right now, so I don't know if they will really have nice weather for their trip. I like storms though, it reminds me of home, and they just started happening lately.

We both survived our school plays, and with huge successes. Hopefully we will receive videos so we can post them on here for your enjoyment.

More to come soon.

The Joys of Working with Children

2009-06-10T09:04:00.001-07:00

Today at school, I was doing my makeup while the kids were "relaxing" (our version of nap time). The kids were rather captivated by this as I rarely even wear makeup. However, we had a small graduation this afternoon, and I had to dress up. Anyway, they told me I needed to put lipstick on, and after I did, Max said "You look like Joker"

Ummm....thanks?

And here is a photo of me done by Marina. The moles are my favorite, with the ponytail and headband a close second.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-06-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

To Jace!

School in Nature, summer edition

2009-06-07T05:23:00.001-07:00

So it appears that I have survived yet another 5 solid days with the kiddos. Actually, I really enjoyed school in nature, sure, it had its difficult moments such as being responsible for 5 girls immediately upon waking in the morning. Overall though, we had a lot of fun.

If the winter version was marked by loads of layers and constant clothing changes, then this time was marked with loads of bug spray and tic checks. Every night when giving my girls a bath, I had to check every inch of their skin for tics, fortunately, the only person in my room who got one was me. :)

There were also a few 'firsts' on this trip: Aside from my first time seeing (and getting) a tic, I got to play tooth fairy for the first time (which was loads of fun, all the girls got a small piece of candy, and the girl who lost her tooth got even more candy and chocolate). Also my first time cleaning poo off a boy who not only didn't make it to the washroom, but also didn't tell us about it. It was discovered about 30 minutes later..... Oh the joys of working with children.

I came home tired, but also refreshed. We spent as much time as possible outside in the fresh air, which probably did me as much good as it did the children.

Playing outside in the woods

Playing "freeze tag"

Doing art projects outside

The kids went on a treasure hunt

We had a little carnival for the kids on the last afternoon of camp.

The girls love it for the sole reason of getting to dress up in princess costumes.

Living, instead of writing about it

2009-05-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've updated - I'm sorry.

Things have been extremely busy here in the CZ so I haven't been able to spend time updating.

I've had a ton going on at work, and it has cumulated all in this past week.

1) I am the director of our school play (Jace's school is also doing a play, Snow White and the 7 dwarfs), which premiers on June 16th, more on that later, but for now I have been prepping, prepping, and rehearsing. We have had to focus on the play this week because

2) Good ol, school in nature is happening again next week. Remember in February when I spent a week with my kids? It should be fun, but we will lose a lot of valuable time to focus on the play. And

3) I have done arts and crafts with some of the kids every Friday afternoon, and my art club and the ceramics clubs had an art show/auction this Wednesday. We raised 100,000 Koruna (about $5,000) for charity! The charity is called Ark Chantal and decorates hospital rooms for very ill children.

Last week my dear friend Libby came into town for a visit, she was here from Thursday - Tuesday. I met her while studying abroad here 3 years ago, and it had been that long since I had seen her. We had a great time. We did some pretty great, touristy things.

Aside from the typical, Old Town and Charles Bridge trips that we do with all our visitors, we went to a Ballet at the National Theater, (we saw a modern version of Carmen, it was pretty great) and we rode paddle boats on the Vltava River. Friday evening she hung out with some friends I've made at work, and we played Bocci Ball, and we went to church on Sunday and played ultimate frisbee afterward. We all had a great time!!

From Friday night:

We were blessed with beautiful weather on Saturday:

Going to the Ballet:

Paddling the River:

Youth Praha

2009-05-25T22:27:00.001-07:00

Jace and I are incredibly lucky and blessed in that we get to work with an amazing group of kiddos every week.

Youth Praha is an international youth group here in Prague. I would say that the majority of the kids are American (though definitely not all) and a lot are missionary kids.

A fellow leader made this video, and now you can see what we have been up to!

Enjoy:

April Showers...

2009-05-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

...bring May flowers!

Note the construction still in the background.

Such a beautiful walk home from work!

Saturday Night in Prague

2009-05-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Jace and I went out to dinner and a movie on Saturday night (we saw Star Trek, it was pretty good.)

As we were walking to get our tickets, we saw none other than a zombie parade. Not sure what was going on, but I managed to snap some pictures from across the street.

I really like this guy who got up close with his camera

Some people got really into character

Not Zombies. We ate at a pizza place for dinner.

Krakow

2009-05-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we enjoyed a 3-day weekend because May 8th was a holiday. Liberation Day to be exact. It celebrated the day the Czechs were liberated from WW2. This used to be celebrated on the 9th, when the Russians arrived, but they didn't really liberate did they, so now it has been moved to the 8th.

In honor of the long weekend, we went to Krakow, Poland with a friend from my work. And of course, we had a really good time. Krakow was beautiful. I didn't really know what to expect from this city as I had never really seen pictures or even heard a bunch about it, and I was surprised at how beautiful it was. I reminded me a bit of Prague, Jace felt like it reminded him more of Vienna.

So, our weekend in a nutshell, plus loads of pictures.

We took the overnight train to get there, it was an 9 hour journey, we arrived at 6:30 AM. We had a tiny train compartment that could potentially sleep 6 people, luckily it was just us 3. Very little sleep was to be had, but it was nice to be able to lay flat if nothing else, and we all felt rested enough for the day.

Friday: Got off the train, dropped our bags at the hostel, went for breakfast and coffee. We had gotten information of a free walking tour, so we went to the meeting place, but no one was there to take us touring. Turns out Friday was also a special day for Poland. There was a university holiday, and all the college students gathered on the square at noon. Many in costumes. We still don't really know why. And we also were at the square at noon, in the middle of it all.

We left the craziness after a little while and did our own walking through Krakow. We walked to the castle and along the river, had a massive lunch which also doubled as dinner. It was nice.

Saturday was a difficult day. We went to Auschwitz - the biggest of the concentration camps. It's difficult to really describe this. It was intense, and moving, and incredibly sad. We went to 2 different camps. The first one was still fully intact and turned into a museum. We saw some really profound evidence of the evil and vastness of it all. The second camp was the main one, and too massive for belief. A lot of the buildings had been removed, but all the land was still there and you could still see the size of it. While this part was difficult, I am glad we went. I felt like it was important to do so.

Sunday was a short day as we had a train to catch. Oliver did a tour of the Jewish Quarter on his own and Jace and I walked to some hills that we had seen advertised. We didn't even get to climb it though because it took us an hour and a half to walk there, and pretty much as soon as we got there we had to leave to meet Oliver and catch our train. We didn't take a night train again, and I am glad we didn't. For one, it was nice to see the countryside, and two, it was great to have a good night's sleep in my own bed before going to work the next day.

Picture time!

On the train

sitting on the middle bed. There were 3 on each side

part of the student gathering

the costumes were everywhere, and throughout the day as well

Dragon outside of the castle, there were dragons all over Krakow

We found this great antique market. They had old photo albums, and war pins.

We saw some fire-dancers walking down the street

being artsy

and again

the entrance, it says "work makes you free"

This was about a third of the size of the camp, it was enormous, and there were actually plans in the works to expand it.

Czech Cartoons

2009-05-03T10:25:00.001-07:00

So here in the good 'ol CZ, people apparently need to be reminded of the etiquette when using the public transportation system.

So they have come up with videos to serve as helpful reminders to the people of Prague.

We recorded them on our camera, so the quality is a bit low, but enjoy!!

Backpacks go on the ground, so people can trip on them.

When the elderly fly, be sure to give them an applause.

Hold onto your groceries better

First offer a drink to the woman, then her child

do not panic when you can't get off, just enjoy the ride!

Skype Number

2009-05-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

So we've got a Skype number, which means that you can "call" our computer from your phone just like you would call any of your other friends with "normal" phones. So now we have a standard phone number, and if we are at the computer when you call, we can talk, and if not, you will be able to leave us a voicemail!

It won't cost you any extra (other than the minutes on your plan) because it is a local Texas, 817 number.

If you want it, just ask!

love you guys!

Making Paper

2009-04-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

So April started out with a bang as far as the updates were concerned, but then we settled very comfortable back into our routine. Last weekend Jace and I went to a youth retreat with Youth Praha and had a great time, it was really good getting to know the students better and spending so much time with them. We came home exhausted and happy.

School has been going very well, I love my job and love my kids. Today we made paper as a part of our lesson on recycling, and I wanted to give you a further glimpse into my day to day life.

We started off by tearing paper (from the recycling bin) into bowls. The boy on the left is clearly ready.

Once they had enough paper (which managed to take about 30 minutes or so) they mixed it with ink and water.

It got everywhere. This table was fully red by the end.

Nothing was safe.

Then we rolled it out onto little screens made with wire and panty-hose.

Now they are sitting on the windowsill drying. Hopefully the finished project will be a success. Will have to keep you posted on that.

Please note, this project was done with 15 kids. It was a mess and carried on for about 2 hours. We were late for lunch, but our lunch lady is sweet. Thank goodness that we have a three day weekend. I need some rest!

Video

2009-04-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.babytelevize.cz/video/bumble-bee-anglicka-skolka-33/

About a month ago, some film-makers came to Bumble Bee to film our school, and there is now a short video online of my school. There are quite a few segments from my classroom, basically anything where the walls of the classroom are green, and the shots of the bulletin boards are mine. Also, the kids dancing in a circle and singing the days of the week are also my bunch.

Enjoy!

Easter Traditions

2009-04-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Remember when I told you about some of the traditions at Christmas time?? Well the Czechs also have some fun tradtions for Easter.

At the markets, they are selling loads of these intertwined branches with streamers on the end. (see picture in the last post) They are made from branches of the willow tree because it is the first tree to start blooming and growing after winter (or so I am told). Anyway, the boys buy these sticks and go around on Easter Monday whipping the girls with them. I was told by my Czech female coworker that this was for 'health and freshness' and my male Czech teacher told me it was so "the girls don't dry up." Then in return, the girls give the boys decorated eggs, or if it is an older group, the boys get shots of a plum brandy called Slivovice. And later in the day, the girls throw water on the boys. This all happens on Monday, it is typically their day off instead of Friday.

Another tradition is on Sunday to take a boiled egg, cut it up and share it with your family members "so that you may never part"

Happy Easter everyone, we love you!!

Sunny Saturday

2009-04-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 3 day weekend everyone!!

Today was a beautiful sunny day, so Jace and I went to the Easter markets downtown and then for a walk in Stromovka park.

The markets were nice, similar to the ones at Christmas, and the trees had been decorated. There were so many people though, and I realize that this trend will probably continue through the summer. Oh yes, and it was hot. I actually opened my mouth to complain about it being "too hot" then I quickly shut it when I realized that I loved the warmth. Going to the park was great, we laid in the grass and read books.

and of course, to finish off the post:

I am so Texan

2009-04-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

I know that this will not seem as funny as I found it, but I still had to share it because today, my Texan really showed.

I was talking to my co-worker George (he is Czech) about his plans for the weekend, and he said that he will be going with his girlfriend to meet her dad and stay at his house. "And her dad has a gun!" The last part is a direct quote from George, and he mentioned that fact a couple of times.

Meanwhile, I keep thinking, "It's really no big deal that he has a gun..."

Then I realized that I am not in Texas anymore, this is the CZ, and not everybody has guns. In fact, I'm not even sure its really allowed, and the only reason that this father has one is because he is the park ranger (or something) in the village where he lives....

I had to laugh. And it made me remember the time 3 years ago that I was on a train from Budapest to Prague and at 2AM, the passport officer checks my passport and says to himself, "Texas...pow, pow" Good times.

Our Easter Decoration

2009-04-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

So when we went to Cesky Krumlov, we bought some Easter eggs there. You see these painted eggs everywhere right now. I also may have clipped some branches off our tree outside....

Czech Construction

2009-04-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are blessed to live both north and south of of 2 parks. One, Letna park, overlooks the river and all of downtown. The other, Stromovka Park (which literally means tree park), is one of the bigger parks here in Prague, and a great place to go running, and I often walk through it to get to and from school.

We are also blessed to live smack in a construction site. Just a couple blocks from us is construction that is being done to create an underground tunnel. As a result, some of the roads are ripped up and therefore, trams aren't running. It is a little inconvenient, but it has been like that since we moved, so we don't know anything different.

Part of this tunnel runs underneath Stromovka, and the agreement was that they could build under the park as long as it was done underground - no construction vehicles, etc. actually in the park.

Sounds great, right. Well all this underground construction caused some sinkholes in Stromovka, so now they have this:

Oh well, they tried. Gotta love the irony.

Evidence of Spring

2009-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Just as fair warning: I may be writing about the weather quite a bit because it is simply beautiful and perfect these days.

This is a tree right outside our building. In fact, that window is our bedroom window. When we came home from Cesky Krumlov, we were greeted with some bright, happy, yellow blooms. It was a nice surprise.

Obamas

2009-04-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

So, as I've said, they were in Prague, but we were not at the time. It would have been interesting to try and see him here but apparently you needed tickets to see his actual speech, so all I would have been able to see were the hoards of people, police, etc.

My co-worker, Oliver, was taking his sister to the airport on Sunday and saw AirForceOne at a hangar, then waited a bit and saw Obama's car and a slew of others pull into the hangar. He didn't have a camera, so no pictures, but he said it was really neat. Also, his sister's flight was 2 hours delayed due to the fact that they shut the airport runways down in order for AF1 to take off.

Here is the front page of one of the Czech newspapers from yesterday. The headline reads: "We will not betray you" promises Obama. Then underneath it says something about ObamaMania and that over 10,000 people came to see him.

For Good Luck!

2009-04-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

Opening day is today!

Cesky Krumlov photos

2009-04-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the other train to pick us up and take us to the station.

Sitting outside drinking iced coffee in our T-shirts and sunglasses!

There were some bears around the castle.

Like a mini-Prague

View from our hotel window

Cesky Krumlov

2009-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well spring is officially here. Actually I think spring was just skipped over and into summer. It has been so warm and sunny lately - so beautiful!!

Speaking of things being here, Obama was here giving a speech this morning. However, though Obama was here, we were not. We went to a cute little town in south Czech Republic called Cesky Krumlov. I loved it and Jace and I had a great time.

We got there late Friday night after an adventurous trip*, slept in on Saturday then walked around looking at the town and its castle. We just got home a little while ago, so pictures are still to come. We had such a nice and relaxing and refreshing weekend. Also, we were able to walk around in short sleeved shirts without our jackets and without being cold. I wanted to cry the weather was so perfect! I had never realized how much I had taken the sun and warmth for granted, but I definitely appreciate it now!

*Prague to Cesky Krumlov: We first had to take a train to Cesky Budejovice before connecting to Cesky Krumlov. However, our train got stopped right outside this tiny little town for an hour. They let us off that train, then it left and we got onto another train coming through. However, when we first got off the train, we left our bags there (but took the purse and wallets) and got our luggage off with just about ten minutes to spare (it would have been such a close call!)

Once we got to Cesky Budejovice, we had an hour and a half since we missed our connecting train, so we had dinner at a restaurant and went back to the train station. While there, we saw that our train was at the track so we made our way to the tracks and almost popped on the train that was sitting there. But Jace saw that the people were walking in a different direction towards this little, tiny, comical one-car train which was to take us to Cesky Krumlov. (also would have been a close call - if we missed that train we would have been stuck in that town.)

In Cesky Krumlov, we were lingering at the outside of the station (near midnight) trying to figure out what to do to get to the center. It was a small town, so there weren't taxis lingering about. Then a group of people offered us a ride to the center. It was so nice of them, and from there we easily walked to our hotel.

Better late than never, right?

2009-04-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

My apologies on the lack of updates. Things have been whirlwind (in a good way) and I finally feel like we've been able to wind down.

On to Berlin:

My favorite thing about the city was easily the history behind it. It was different from Rome in that it was more recent, and therefore, more specific and perhaps even tangible. We took a free walking tour on Saturday morning and our tour guide was incredibly cute and interesting.

I found the Berlin Wall simply fascinating - especially the fact that it was built completely by surprise to the people and in one night. Immediately this caused problems - people got stuck on one side even if they lived on the other. It was interesting, and we went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum which had loads of stories surrounding the wall. I enjoyed the different and creative ways that people crossed the border. There was one picture of someone who hid in 2 canoes stacked on top of each other on the top of a car....

We saw the former site of Hitler's bunker. The actual bunker has been filled with cement (i believe) and the ground level has now been turned into a parking lot. As our tour guide put it, "It is now a place where people take their dogs for a poo."

There was also an incredibly interesting memorial to the victims of the holocaust as well as a very moving museum. This museum had actual letters and postcards sent to families and friends from camps and ghettos, and highlighted different families and stories. I have never seen a museum better arranged and organized. And it was free - so if you ever find yourself in Berlin, you have no excuse not to go.

Overall, Berlin was a great city, and we enjoyed it very much.

The infamous "michael jackson balcony" hotel

In the Holocaust Memorial

Bears like this were placed all over Berlin. Katie loved them all, I particularly liked this Euro-bear.

These cobblestones mark the former location of the wall.

Original statues on a rebuilt bridge.

Touristy shot at Checkpoint Charlie

Part of the wall

Paris Square

one of the largest chunks of the wall still intact. Apparently this summer, the artists will come back and re-do the original artwork which has now been covered with graffiti.

Berlin

2009-03-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well we made it safely to Berlin. Just arrived at our hostel a little bit ago. So far so good.
Keep an eye out for pics and details!!

Finally - an update!

2009-03-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am on my work computer (off the clock) so I don't have any pics right now, but I still felt like updating.

1) The weather has been NUTS lately. Last week we had this day where the weather came in cycles of gray --> raining/hailing ---> sunny/blue skies. Twice in one day we had this pattern. Yesterday was one of the prettiest days we had in a while. Bright blue skies, almost warm, perfect weather. This morning when I opened my front door, I literally stopped in my tracks because it was SNOWING. The ground was almost all white and I could hardly see in front of me it was snowing so hard. But now as I type, there are white, puffy clouds against a blue background again.

I think Spring in Prague means that whenever I go out I need to take my sunglasses, umbrella, hat, jacket, and gloves (and maybe a helmet for the hail). But the blue skies have been so refreshing. It was a gray winter, and I discovered that I really took the sun for granted in TX.

2) ROME - We had loads of fun on this trip. LOADS! I think that Rome may be my favorite city (second only to Prague of course) One of my favorite things about the city was the way the old was integrated with the 'new'. We would be walking down the street and suddenly be walking over this ancient aquaduct or turn the corner to see an area of preserved ruins. It always took me by surprise.

The Vatican was another place that is simply indescribable. Of course we went to the museum to see the Sistene Chapel ceiling (loved it, but I found that it was just one of many beautiful, ornate ceilings in the museum) and we went to St. Peter's Cathedral as well. To say that this place was massive is almost an understatement! You can't even believe it unless you see it for yourself. Two of my favorite things about the cathedral: It is the supposed final resting place of the Apostle Peter, and it is the location for Michelangelo's "Pieta". I studied this sculpture in high school and have always been impressed with it. I feel blessed to have gotten to see it in person.

We also spent a day at a town on the beach. It was refreshing to see the water (especially for Jace) Overall we had really warm weather compared to Prague. Also, we had gone with 2 people from my work, and it was nice to get to know them better.

3) Katie's visit. Currently, Katie is still here and she is having a great time. It is always so wonderful having family in town. We have been mostly doing to touristy things around Prague which is fine because one can never see the bridge too many times. Tomorrow we leave for a weekend trip in Berlin.

4) Kirsten's (and Lauries' visit). I was fortunate to have two friends from Trinity stop in Prague for a day on their European Spring Break Trip. Kirsten was in my education cohort with me and we got pretty close as the year progressed. Even though we had to work, we met up them afterwards and had dinner at a Czech restuarant.

We have been really busy, but certainly in a good way. As always we love and miss everyone from home and always enjoy hearing from you!!

Katie's Here!!

2009-03-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

She made it safely, flew first class from DFW to Germany.

We are going to go to Berlin next weekend.

Sorry I haven't updated on Rome yet, things have been crazy!

When in Rome...

2009-03-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

...take a lot of pictures!

I will give you details later, but know that we had a blast and absolutely loved Rome!!

We spent time in the Rome city center, went to the Vatican, and also enjoyed a day at the beach.

Enjoy!!:

When in Rome....

2009-03-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

and we will be there this afternoon!

We are very excited. We leave in a few hours and will be 'home' on Sunday morning. Check back then for some updates, and loads of pictures!

Czech Skiing

2009-03-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

On Thursday evening, Jace comes home from work and says, "I would like to go skiing this weekend." Fortunately, a friend of our from Bumble Bee, George, already has plans to go skiing and says we can go with him.

We wake up on Saturday morning at 5AM to catch a 6:30 bus. The bus takes us 2 hours to the slopes where we have a beautiful, sunny day of skiing for me and snowboarding for Jace.

I was miserable at first, struggling to gain enough confidence to go more than 3 feet at a time. After a few times down the same slope, however, I pick up some confidence and speed, and end up having a wonderful time.

Jace had a great time from the start, and was so happy to get outside in the winter weather and do something active - not to mention the fact that he loves snowboarding!

Vienna II

2009-02-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

We made it home safe and sound, and I went almost straight to bed last night. Overall we had a really good time, did and saw quite a bit of things. I liked Vienna. It was pretty and charming - reminiscent of Prague, but didn't have as much character.

Day One -

As I said in the previous post, we did a walking tour that was outlined in a tourist map. It started at the Opera house, and took us to places like St. Stephen's Cathedral (where we climbed up the tower), past the Imperial Palace, and on to the museums quarter (where we went to the Natural History Museum). We ended the walking tour at an art museum called the Albertina, but we did not go inside (just to the gift shop). From there we did some souvenir shopping and headed toward a restaurant for dinner.

Day Two -

We started off at the Schonbrunn Palace. This was the summer home of the Hapsburg Empire and was immense! It snowed all day Sunday, so we did not go around the palace gardens, but from the window, they were still gorgeous.

Then we continued on to see the giant ferris wheel and the Hundertwasser Village. It is hard to fully explain the Hundertwasser house and village, essentially it is a small area of Vienna designed by an artist/ecologist and is extremely colorful and unique. It was very interesting to see.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped to look at a church we had passed earlier that day, then we proceeded to head back to Prague.

outside of the Imperial Palace

Outside of the Schonbrunn Palace (unfortunately photos inside were not allowed)

In front of St. Stephen's Cathedral

The Hundertwasser Hosue

Elephant in front of the Natural History Musuem

The museum had penguins!

It was cold in Vienna!! (A little eskimo statue, where I could put my face inside)

We saw this church from the metro, and stopped to see it.

Vienna

2009-02-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

So we made it to Vienna, and had a great day today.

We followed a walking tour that we saw in a map and saw St. Stephen´s Cathedral in the old town and went in the natural history museum which was pretty neat. Tomorrow we will go to the Hapsburg Summer Palace.

The weather is great, snowing off and on, but not too cold.

pics and updates soon!

Still Snowing!

2009-02-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

So tonight, we went out to eat at a restaurant near Wenceclas Square. We left the restaurant, the weather was cold, but clear, and we went into a store, for no more than ten minutes.

Upon leaving the store, the ground had turned white, and there were big, fat flakes falling from the sky! It was gorgeous!

From McCains in Prague

Subscribers II

2009-02-16T22:58:00.001-08:00

So apparently I didn't erase the subscribers as I originally thought as emails got sent out....
I don't really know whats going on.

In other news: ours moms are still here and we are having a good time. They went to the castle, and bridge, and generally wondered around. It snowed quite a bit yesterday so it was pretty out. I met up with them after work, then we went home for some dinner and a competitive game of liverpool!

Subscribers

2009-02-16T10:31:00.001-08:00

OK so to all you kind people who have subscribed to the blog:

Something nutty happened with the subscription service, so now you will have to re-subscribe in order to continue getting updates in your inbox.

Sorry about the trouble!

Fun With Moms

2009-02-14T09:43:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So we ventured around Prague today and last night. Its been cold, but we have been having a fun time. Last night we went to Old Town, and today we walked across Charles Bridge, went to a little food market/festival, and went to lunch.

As promised, here are some pictures:

Me and mom in front of the Astronomical Clock

Old Town at Dusk

Mom and Kandee at the food market. Note the roasting pig behind them

Prague skyline

Moms

2009-02-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

Our moms made it here safe and sound. Tonight we will sleep, and explore Prague over the weekend. Next weekend we will be going to Vienna!

Pictures to come soon.

School in Nature

2009-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

So I survived the week with the kids. There were certainly some moments when I felt overwhelmed with children - especially the meal times, but mostly it was some nice bonding time with my students, especially getting them ready for bed and such.

Overall the weather was nice not too cold, but there was snow for the kids. Actually there was quite a lot of ice and I have a massive bruise on my hip from falling down (and all impact went there - very graceful).

The rooms were set up so that the sleeping area for me and my 5 kids was actually 2 adjoining rooms. Well you better believed that I rearranged some furniture to get the 5 beds for the kids in one room so that I had the other. Selfish, I know, but I needed some sleep and one of my girls talked in her sleep every night.

All in all, it was nice, and when I get asked to go in the summer, I am sure I will say yes.

The kids all brought plastic sleds

walking in the woods

my 5 kids in the room. They really enjoyed running from one end of the room to the other just by bouncing on the beds - especially at 7AM

we did quite a few crafts, but these paper mache penguins were my idea!

Happy February!

2009-02-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

I fully expect these next two months to practically fly by.

Here's why:

2 - 6 Feb. I leave for 5 days for camp with my pre-school kiddos. I will have the lovely opportunity to sleep in the cabin with 5 of them. I predict it will be both fun and crazy.

12 - 24 Feb. - Mom and Kandee arrive!! They will be here for 12 days, and we are going to travel to Vienna over one of the weekends. I am very excited about this.

4 - 8 March - Jace and I are going to ROME!!!! We found tickets online for $175. Thats round trip and for both of us! We are very excited

13 - 21 March - Katie's spring break, and she is probably going to come visit us. Again, very exciting.

love you guys, and sorry the posting has been few and far between. You will be getting more than enough updates soon.

One More Article

2009-01-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5517736.ece

I think this article is better than the one I previously posted.

The whole thing kind of cracks me up, to be honest. Not necessarily the artwork, but the situation itself.

Czechs and the EU

2009-01-14T08:42:00.000-08:00

So, starting at the New Year, the CZ took over presidency of the European Union. They will keep it for 6 months. (You can read about it here)

To celebrate this, the Czech government commissioned a Czech artist David Cerny to do an installation (apparently they commission 27 artists for the piece.)

Anyway, David Cerny is known for his shock value - he decorated a TV tower with bronze babies, and created a statue of King Wenceslas on the dead horse. I'm not entirely sure why he was chosen to be the artist (or one of the artists) but I guess he is very Czech....

Point is, his piece created controversy (shocking!!)

The article about it

Pictures of the art piece

My opinion: I don't think the Czech government was entirely surprised, and they probably knew they were getting into something when they asked him to do this piece.

GSCE Day 8

2009-01-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Train: 11:30 Munich - Fussen; 5:15 Fussen- Munich; 2AM Munich - Prague

Day Eight: Neuschwanstein Castle

This was the final day of our trip, and we decided to go to the castle that inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella castle.

We had to go to the train station and load our luggage into a locker since we checked out of our hotel already. Then we took a 2 hour train ride to a town called Fussen and took a tour of the castle. Often when you go to casltes in Europe, they aren't necessarily the "fairy -tale" type, but this once most certainly was! It was designed by King Ludvig and was decorated in honor of Wagner's operas. Unfortunately it was never finished because he "mysteriously" died before it was completed.

After touring the castle, we had a small lunch as much for the sake of eating as for the sake of warming up then took the train back into Munich.

For dinner we went back to the Hofbrau house. This time we ate in the upstairs area where they had a buffet and entertainment. The upstairs was even more entertaining than the downstairs!! On stage were various performances: dancing, singing, a guy playing the saw, and two people playing the cowbells. When the cowbells were finished, I was the one to yell "more cowbell" (if you've seen the SNL skit - you understand.) This comment came back to bite me, because later in the evening, I got pulled up onstage to play the cowbells! It wasn't so hard, basically I rang the same bell every time the leader pointed to me. It was fun!

We stayed at the restaurant until it closed at midnight (since we still had two hours before our train) then went to the station and waited in the lounge area for our train. We got so lucky on the train rides home! We had two scheduled transfers on our route, and unfortunately, these transfers were also about 45 minutes long (in the cold, early morning.) Fortunately, at our first stop, the other train was already there, so we could just hop on and wait in the warmth, and then that train ended up being the one to take us all the way into Prague (though it did stop in Nurnberg for a while and I guess at that point the info changed so it looked like an actual transfer.)

So what could have been a miserable night on the train turned into probably the best situation possible! We arrived in Prague at about 10AM, got ourselves situated, and passed out!

More cowbell on the right!

Weather Update

2009-01-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

It is cold - freezing by anyone's standards, especially mine and Jace's!! The high today is -5 (it sounds so much worse in Celsius, doesn't it!)

Aunt Laura just told me that she saw on the news that most of Europe is without natural gas, therefore it is very cold for them. That has not affected us, fortunately. We are staying as warm as we know how!!

GSCE Day 7

2009-01-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Train: NONE!

Day Seven: 26 December

So you get two updates today as I failed to give you an update yesterday. (My apologies)

We got to spend the whole day in Munich, and we took full advantage of this by sleeping in! But not too much, we were out and running by 11.

We decided to get one of those guided tour busses where you hop-on and hop-off when you want. We first just took the full loop, then stayed on and got off at the stops of interest and walked around Munich. Munich was a cool city, lots of statues and monuments. One of the cool things about the city is that they don't really have tall buildings, so the church spires stick out. Our tour guide told us that an unwritten rule of the city is to not build anything taller than the spires. Just like the other German cities, Munich was clean and the residents were friendly. It was also cold. I think it was the coldest day of our trip, which is funny since we were in the Alps prior to that.

For dinner we went to the Hofbrau House. This place is pretty difficult to fully describe, but its essentially a huge beer hall which also serves delicious food. The place is massive - filled with long picnic style tables where you seat yourself (if you can find a seat) It seems to be always crowded! The atmosphere was tons of fun, so much so that we went back the next night as well.

Here's someone else's video of the place. These guys were playing music both of our nights there as well.

It was so cold that even the gargoyles were freezing!

GSCE Day 6

2009-01-07T07:25:00.001-08:00

Correction: The last two pictures in the previous post were not from St. Moritz (as previously captioned) but rather from Zermatt.

Train: 11:45 Zermatt-Munich (via Visp, Bern, and Stuggart)

Day Six: 25 December; Merry Christmas!

This day was spent almost entirely on the train, but not before going to the top of a mountain to try and get a better glimpse of the Matterhorn.

Dad, Jace, and I took a train to Gornergratt - one of the mountain peaks, but as we were taking the 30 minute ride, it started snowing - a lot. By the time we got up there, you could hardly see 10 feet in front of you!! The crazy thing to me was that this fact did not stop the many skiers who sailed downhill in almost total blindness!! Though we couldn't see the Matterhorn, there were a couple of shops up there, and we did a bit of souvenir/Christmas shopping.

Then we were off the the train. It was a long day on the trains, but really not so bad. We ended up getting to Munich 2.5 hours earlier than planned due to some very helpful information from the ticket-taker. (basically he told us that when we were going to transfer to get on the train to Bern, we could do so a stop earlier than what we had planned, which allowed us to catch earlier trains throughout - Merry Christmas to us!)

We got to Munich a little after 8, checked in, unsuccessfully looked for a restaurant around the hotel, then decided to simply eat at the hotel's restaurant before calling it a night.

on top of the mountain. It's hard to tell, but we are standing at a lookout point.

White out!!

someone else made the snowman - I just wanted a picture with it

I could never do this.....

Of course it all cleared up about an hour later.

NOW you can see the Matterhorn!

One last shot from the train as we were leaving.

GSCE Day 5

2009-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

Day Five: 24 December

Train: 9:30 Glacier Express; St. Moritz - Zermatt

So this day was pretty much all train! We ate breakfast at the hotel in St. Moritz and hopped on the eight hour train ride through the Alps.

To say it was beautiful only begins to describe it. God only know how many times we said "oh wow, look at that!" Sadly, the pictures don't do it much justice - it is difficult to get good shots on a moving train, especially with glare - but I got some.

We arrived in Zermatt, my favorite town of the trip, and found a cute Swiss restaurant for dinner. Then we went back and attempted some Skype phone calls at the internet cafe (but the sound on the receiving end wasn't so hot.) Then it was time for bed.

on the Glacier Express

I had never seen this much snow in my life!

playing Cribbage on the train. We did this a lot

we saw a lot of little towns scattered throughout the Alps, and most of them had a church like this one.

the Matterhorn in Zermatt

Zermatt

GSCE Day 4

2009-01-04T08:32:00.001-08:00

Day Four: 23 December

Train: 10:37 Zurich-Churr; Churr-St. Moritz

Needless to say, we did some more sleeping in in Zurich, and we also got a nice little breakfast at the train station (we did this a few times.)

On our train ride to St. Moritz, we had to change trains in Churr, now Dad had said that we had about 2 hours or so until we got into Churr, so we unpacked our stuff and relaxed a little (I had my camera battery charging in an outlet). Now, the thing about train transfers is they often ended up being only about 5 minutes long, so we knew that we would have to get off the train and more or less rush to the next one. About an hour into the train ride, we pull up to a stop and Jace looks out the window and says "are we at Churr?" Dad is saying, "No, no way, that's not possible" But low and behold, we are at Churr!! So we all grab our miscellaneous items (forget about packing) and run for the train. We made it, and had a good laugh, but unfortunately when we got into St. Moritz I noticed that I had left my handmade neck warmer from Aunt Diane on the previous train......

The train rides were gave us some beautiful scenery (so much snow!!!) and also a little taste as to what the next day's Glacier Express train held in store for us.

St. Moritz was small, basically just a handful of hotels and restaurants to support the skiers who venture out on the alps. When we were on the train, we noticed a group of people with sleds getting on at one stop, and then a sled-run with people cruising down it. We wanted to go sledding, so that was priority number one when we got to the hotel. We got our information (and lucky for us, there was night sledding, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to go), ate a late lunch, and took a train a couple of stops back to the sledding run.

Sledding was a blast!! We all had smiles frozen to our faces (and Dad had icicles in his beard).

Not too far out of Zurich

The front of our train rounding the bend

This was me TRYING to sled. We thought that the walking path was the

sledding run (they looked similar) and spend a good 20 minutes trying to

get our sleds to go for more than 20 feet.....The real run was much faster,

and pretty much non-stop!

This was on the actual sledding run - Jace stopped to take a picture. Our

train actually ended up going over that bridge (and this is where we

first saw sledders)

We made it!

GSCE Day 3

2009-01-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Day Three: 22 December

Train: 6:50 Frankfurt - Zurich

Zurich was a laid back, and picturesque town. To be honest, we spent most of the time simply walking around and seeing the town. In one area near our hotel, there were a big outdoor market. It was difficult to know if it was set up for Christmas, or always there, but it seemed like they were always there. We also stopped and grabbed some gyros for lunch.

Zurich itself is set up along a river and lake, so we walked along the river to get a view of the lake, and the Alps beyond that. I also needed to find a pair of sunglasses as I hadn't even thought to bring mine since we hadn't seen the sun for a while in Prague. However, Switzerland had sunny blue skies.

Towards the late afternoon, Dad and Ruth went back to the hotel for a rest, so Jace and I continued to walk around, then we saw ice skating listed in brochure of things to do. So we went ice skating at a big outdoor rink. Neither one of us fell down once!

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was close to 10, so we called it a night.

If you look closely, you can see the Alps in the background.

Zurich had some nice churches

This was a huge tree decorated all in Swarovski crystals

I'm a pro!

GSCE Day 2

2009-01-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Day Two: 21 December

Train: 10:45 Nuremberg - Frankfurt

We got a late start this day due to some much needed sleeping in.

We arrived in Frankfurt and made our way to one of the fanciest hotels I've ever seen. It was nice.

We checked in, then made our way to another Christmas market. It was a nice walk along the river to get there. Frankfurt, like Nuremberg and Munich was really pretty and clean. The Christmas market was packed, but we shoved our way through.

After walking around the market, we made our way back to the hotel to enjoy the fancy pool area. Not only did it have a heated pool and hot tub, but a sauna and steam room as well. We spent some time there, then retired to the room.

A little boring, I know, but short and sweet, like our day in Frankfurt. Plus, we had an early train to Zurich to catch the next day.

The Christmas market, note the number of people: this wasn't even the crowded part.

Giant gingerbread house at our hotel

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

We wish everyone a safe, blessed, and happy 2009!!

We laid low last night and watched movies from iTunes, and I am glad we did, because the entire night was punctuated with blasts from outside.

Apparently you can shoot fireworks wherever you wish in Prague. That can't be too safe.....

Germany/Switzerland Extravaganza Day 1

2008-12-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

Dad and Ruth left this morning, so now I have some time to tell you about our trip, sorry for the delay.

Train: Prague - Nuremberg, 5:11AM

So we took the train at the crack of dawn, got a little bit of sleep on the train, but mostly we were all too excited (and a little bit uncomfortable) to sleep.

Nuremberg was a nice little town, it looked like it was set up inside old castle fortress walls, which was neat.

After finding the hotel and checking in, we went to the Christmas market, which was pretty impressive. One of the cute things about most of the Christmas markets we went to is that they served hot wine in a small mug which you could keep, or return for 3 Euro. We kept all the mugs and now our cabinet is full!

After wandering around the Christmas market and grabbing lunch, we went back to the hotel for a nap, where we got to watch a brief anti-nazi parade/protest from the window.

Afterwards, went to the coolest restaurant ever. The place was called Bagger's, and there were no waitresses, but excellent service. Each big round table had two computer screens where you ordered your food and drinks, and each table also had a difficult to describe way of receiving the food. Basically it was sent down to you from the kitchen upstairs and spiraled down to your table. Here is a video of the place:

All in all, Nuremberg was wonderfully fun and I think my favorite German city we visited. Germany was pretty impressive overall. For some reason I didn't expect much from it (maybe it was trumped by the anticipation of Switzerland) but every place we saw there was super clean and everyone we met was extremely friendly.

Our mugs from the Christmas market.

a small section of the Christmas market.

the rally/protest/parade, safe from our hotel window.

Figuring out the ordering system (most of it was in German, thank goodness for pictures!)

our food getting served (the first dish came with a sparkler!)

spirals all over the place!

if you look in the background, you can see the steel spirals.

Tomorrow I will post Day 2 (I think we will all benefit from updates one at a time)

Quote

2008-12-30T16:18:00.003-08:00

perhaps the best from the whole time with Dad.

Said to Jace while Jace kept beating him at cards:

"I hope my son turns gay so I can have a favorite son-in-law."

We're Home

2008-12-28T02:44:00.000-08:00

Alright, so after a 9 hour series of train rides that began at 2AM, we finally made it home.

8 days and 700 pictures later, we are exhausted.

But we had a great time.

I will post many many more details later as well as some pictures.

Love you guys!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody!
We are in Zermatt, Switzerland and having a great time. We just finished taking a train across the Alps, and we went to some Christmas markets in Germany a few days ago. Everything has been beautiful and we have had a wonderful time so far. Tomorrow we leave for Munich and will be going to the castle that inspired the Cinderella castle.

We love everyone very much and will post pictures ASAP!

Christmas Card

2008-12-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry we didn't mail this, but you can print it and pretend we did.

They're Here!

2008-12-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Ruth made it safely! It is great to have them here.

And they brought goodies!!

Dad kept pulling things out of his suitcase as if it were Mary Poppins' bag. It just kept going.

Tomorrow...

2008-12-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

Dad and Ruth will be here!!

And on Saturday we begin our Germany/Switzerland Christmas Extravaganza!

I can not wait!!!!

Czech Christmas Part II

2008-12-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

You know who delivers the presents on Christmas Eve?

No, not Santa....

Baby Jesus.

Here are some more Christmas decorations in Prague

Practical Czech

2008-12-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

In my Czech lessons, we learn many useful Czech phrases like "how much does it cost?" (Kolik stojí) and "I dont speak Czech" (Nemluvím Česky)

But at school, I get to learn the really fun phrases like "gross" (fuy) and "cool" (husty)

Today at school I learned the word vši.
it means lice.

(I am vši-free though)

Jace is Home!

2008-12-13T08:31:00.001-08:00

He went to Dublin to get his Visa, it was complicated and he ended up staying 3 days longer than originally planned, but he has a 3 month visa, and a long-term visa pending, and we will be able to travel without any problems.

We are now both legal in Prague!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

So, aside from the snow, which started falling again yesterday, Christmastime is in full swing over here.

Actually, some Christmas decorations were up the first day in November, I guess thats acceptable since they don't have Thanksgiving here.

There are Christmas markets in abundance which sell food and drinks, toys, gifts, clothing, and soon - live carp. So many stores have lights covering the outside, and there are lights decorating all the streets.

All these pictures were taken from the same street corner:

This is an Advent calendar in the mall windows, each day of the month gets replaced with a lighted picture.

This is a very small example of the Christmas markets that are everywhere. Downtown they are many more stalls. This particular one has a smoked ham cooking over the fire that you can order.

This is how all the streets look, though there are different lights.

And it's Christmas in our house too!

Our Santa ornament from Paris

Czech Christmas

2008-12-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

So the Czechs certainly have some interesting Christmas traditions.

For one, they eat fried carp as their Christmas meal, and you can buy these carp at anyone of the abundant Christmas markets in town. They are alive, and you can buy it live to keep fresh in your bathtub until its ready to be cooked, or you can have it killed right then and there. (I can only imagine the conditions of the market streets on Christmas Eve......)

Now on the 5th of December, they celebrated St. Nicholas Day. On this day St. Nick (better known as Santa) comes and visits the children, asks if they have been a good boy or girl, and gives them some chocolate. This is often done by friends of your family, and we did this at school as well.

But Santa does not come alone - no no. He is accompanied by an angel and a devil. And when we went out at night on St. Nicholas Day, it looked like Halloween: Santas, angels, and devils all around. The tradition - I believe is that the children generally perform for the 3 visitors to earn their chocolate, and the devil walks around with an empty sack to carry off any naughty children.

We had this tradition occur at our school with the kids, but only the devil and Santa - there were only 2 ppl to dress up, and apparently the angel was best excluded.

Here are 2 pictures. No, that is not the Pope, it is Santa. (But I guess it is closer to the likeness of St. Nick than our fat, red man)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone has a very wonderful holiday!

Jace and I are both at work at the moment, but we are thinking of all of you.

We are thankful for your love and support that you have given us during our adventure. We love you so much.

Eat some extra Thanksgiving food for us!!!

First Snow

2008-11-22T11:35:00.001-08:00

So......I love snow!

We walked around today, as it was Sean and Aubrey's last day in Prague, and the snow added a perfect touch!

Here are some more pictures:

And again, just a few minutes ago, the snow picked up drastically:

Right Now...

2008-11-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

It is snowing!!!!

It started snowing on our bus ride home, these pictures were taken 5 minutes ago!!

Paris - full details

2008-11-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to go to the album - there are a lot more pictures in there!!

Day One:

To be dramatic, we almost didn’t make it to Paris. Sean and Aubrey were scheduled to fly in to Prague a few hours before our flight to Paris (that is another story, a bit of a scheduling error,) but their flight got delayed by an hour and a half, so it cut it close, but we made it!

Being a tourist!

We took a taxi to our hotel, found a restaurant nearby, and then went to sleep.

Day Two:

We woke up relatively early and headed out into the city.

Sacre Coeur

This church was up on a hill and overlooked the whole city. It was pretty, but we are certainly spoiled by Prague’s skyline. From there we walked down a hill giving us a nice view of the church then braved the metro. Again, we are spoiled by Prague’s super-simple metro, but we figured it out.

Eiffel Tower

Next we went to the Eiffel Tower, as both of us girls were eager to see it. As we were walking towards it, we got to see a police chase. Throughout the city there are guys selling trinkets, and apparently they aren’t allowed to do this because next thing we saw was a lot of running and chasing. One got away, and another was handcuffed and escorted away. Clearly this doesn’t deter them because as soon as the cops were out of view, the trinkets came out again.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower was definitely exciting. But we didn’t climb up it at this time because of the long lines for the elevators. Instead we walked through the neighboring park to get a better view of the Tower for some pictures.

Arc de Triumph

We jumped back on the metro and went to the AdT. The artistic details of this monument were impressive, and you could climb to the top to get another view of Paris – which we did.

Champ Elysees

This street is much longer than it looks!! We thought it would be a pleasant walk from the Arc to the Louvre, but in reality it was a little too long and tiring. However, we got lunch from a little sandwich place and walked through some gardens near the Louvre and also saw some Christmas shops being set up. (Unfortunately they did not open when we were there, but this was probably a good thing as I could have probably spent all day at these shops)

Louvre (briefly)

We saw the pyramids of the Louvre before making a sharp right to continue our walk to the Notre Dame

Notre Dame

We finally arrived to the famous cathedral and got to go inside, and as is true for most cathedrals, this one was ornate and beautiful inside. My focus at this point, however, was climbing the towers of the church, so we made our way to the line only to find out that the line was already closed as the church was also closing soon. I was bummed, but we got to climb it the next day, so all is well that ends well!

Pantheon

Leaving the Notre Dame, we were near the Pantheon, and since our museum passes let us in for free, we figured we would go and see it. Our information guide said that the Pantheon closed at 6, so we got there shortly after 5, but for some reason they had already closed it for tourists. Rejected again!

This is in front of the Pantheon, some strange statues:

Our walk back to the Metro was amusing as the boys found a self-cleaning porta-pottie (and it was free!). Then Sean lost his 3-day metro ticket, and was scouring the ground for tickets that might let him through the turnstile. After putting a few into the machine, one was finally a success! After this, he bought himself a 2-day pass, and let his wife hold onto it.

Boat ride

We made our way to some boats on the river. Our concierge at the hotel sold us some tickets for a boat tour, and it was really cool to see Paris at night from the river. My favorite thing was getting to see the Notre Dame in its entirety. Because it was night, and we were on a moving boat, the pictures did not turn out so well.

Afterwards, we went back to our hotel to thaw out and charge our dead cameras.

For dinner, we found another restaurant near our hotel.

Moulin Rouge

After dinner we went to see the Moulin Rouge (but only the outside!!!) Mainly this appealed only to us girls and pretty much just because of the movie of the same name. It was cool to see, but we took pictures then went back to the hotel where we promptly passed out.

Day Three:

Louvre

We got up earlier on this day to go to the Louvre. We had been told to get there before it opened because of the long lines to get inside. Well we got a late start, but walked right in, and because we had our museum passes, bypassed the ticket line and went straight inside.

Naturally, the Mona Lisa was our first stop, but on our way there, we passed the statue of the winged victory. This ended up being my favorite part of the museum! I remembered the statue from art history, and I always thought it to be beautiful, and I didn’t know that it was housed in the Louvre, so when I saw it I was equally shocked and excited! THEN we made our way to the most heavily guarded and viewed piece of art in the whole of Paris. To be honest, it is a good painting and all, but I don’t understand its level of fame. Regardless, I was glad to see it in person.

The Louvre itself is a gorgeous building and at times I found the ceilings to be more impressive than some of the artwork. After seeing the M.L. we just wandered around for a while, and I could easily spend a week in that place. We only had a couple hours though because two days in Paris is simply not enough!

The best thing about the Louvre was that they totally allowed photography!!

Notre Dame (for real this time)

We waited in line for about 45 minutes, and then climbed the 400 steps to reach the top of the Notre Dame. This I loved, and I really want to read Victor Hugo’s novel now. We will see if I can find an English copy here in Prague.

Archeology Crypt at Notre Dame

Below the cathedral is a bit of a hidden treasure. At some point when construction was being done in Paris, they uncovered remains of the Old Paris and preserved them. This was a cool thing to find, and we probably wouldn’t have bothered going into the museum if it weren’t for our passes.

Then we stopped briefly for lunch (gyros) then did some souvenir shopping along the river. We got a nice oil painting for 30 Euro!

Back to our hotel for a change of clothes and some relaxing before dinner.

For dinner we found a cute little restaurant with candles on the table, and had a pleasant meal.

Eiffel Tower Part II

We headed back to the Eiffel Tower, this time to go to the top. We figured the lines wouldn’t be so long at night, and this assumption was correct. Paris at night from the air was beautiful, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it as I was a bit freezing. After getting back to the ground level, we walked a short distance to a bridge where we enjoyed a great view of the Tower, and of course took more pictures.

After this we were all a little dead, so we headed back to our hotel. We detoured to the Champ Elysees because we had hoped that all the lights in the trees would be illuminated, but unfortunately they were not.

Day Four:

We took a taxi to the airport, but not before wasting a good 45 minutes at the train/metro station. We had heard there was a train to the airport for about 8 Euro, but it took us a couple of lines before figuring out the correct ticket booth. While waiting in this line the boys found an automated ticket machine where we could get our tickets. Therefore, Jace got us OUT of the line, only to find out the machine took only coins. We did not have 32 Euro in coins, and we heard the train took an hour, and we had lost a lot of time. So we sucked it up and took a taxi. The taxi cost 32 Euro, so all is well that ends well.

Of course this day was long from being over. Thanks to the pilot strike of Air France, we got to enjoy 7 hours in the airport. Fortunately, the flight did not get cancelled, but unfortunately, we didn’t get to Prague until pretty late.

Paris in a Nutshell

2008-11-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Paris was truly wonderful, breathtaking, and surreal. We had a great time!

We also happened to fly on the airline that happened to have pilots who were on strike, and the strike lasted for the 4 days we were there. As a result, we spent 6 hours in the airport waiting for someone to fly the plane, and we are tired. It is definitely my bedtime so I will give more details and more pictures very soon.

But for now, here are two pics:

Perhaps I Should Write Every So Often

2008-11-11T09:00:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been pretty routine here, not in a bad way, just mostly things that would be boring for you at home to read about.

The work week usually flies by. I work everyday from 8-3 and Jace works 3 mornings and 2 afternoons. Monday afternoons I have a 90 min. English lesson with the Ambassador. Those are going well so far, he is a really nice guy and mostly we just have conversations. The conversations are pretty slow with lots of explaining and repeating, but it is nice, and laid back - all things considered. I've also started taking Czech lessons with a group of teachers from my work. We have only had one so far, but already I like being a student again if only for 90 min a week.

This past weekend was spent mostly with friends from church, on Saturday we babysat for a couple from church, and after church on Sun we went to Ikea with a different couple and their child, and they invited us over for enchiladas afterwards. Oh man, Mexican food was so wonderful. It was like a little taste of home.

On Friday, Sean and Aubrey are coming!!!! We are going to Paris Friday - Monday (we have a holiday this Mon.) We are so excited to see friends and also to go to France.

sorry for no pictures, but I can guarantee that soon there will be more than you can handle!

Halloween

2008-11-01T15:07:00.001-07:00

So it came and went without much event, but each of us had "carnivals" at school where the kids dressed up.

Jace went as Darth Vadar:

and I dressed as Sarah McCain (Sarah Palin and John McCain) later in the evening for a Halloween party a friend was throwing.

And in the spirit of Halloween, we went to Kutna Hora on Tuesday (it was a Czech holiday). And in Kutna Hora is a sanctuary if you will decorated with human bones found in a mass grave.

Here are some pics from that trip.

English Lessons

2008-10-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

I just got a job teaching English lessons once a week to the Ambassador of Moldova. Should be a great contact/experience!!

Although I am a little bit nervous, but it will be good, and I met him tonight, he is a good guy. I got the job through my former Czech teacher, who teaches to a few different ambassadors including this one.

Halloween is good so far. It didn't snow as forecasted. It was actually a nice day.

Winter?

2008-10-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

Clearly I was hasty in my post about Autumn.

Now, I don't consider myself a winter expert, but two qualifications I would use to determine the season is 1) snow and 2) below freezing temperatures

Please notice Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 2.

Random Bits of Czech

2008-10-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

First off, I was going to the store the other evening and enjoyed a colorful sunset while waiting for the tram.

This is actually only 2-7minutes from our front door (depending on the cross-walk, or as the Czechs call it in English "Zebra

Crossing") If you look to the right of the picture just about in the middle, you can barely see a street coming off the main road: that is our street.

Now the next two pictures come out of a book my students got from visiting policemen. So the police did a little lesson about

safety.

Accompanying the lesson was a story about a bear who does

not listen.

In the story he does things like ride his scooter too fast and

knock over a lady,

or here he is taking candy from a stranger....

But then this is the very next picture in the sequence, following the bear taking the stranger's candy.

I was a bit shocked and amused. My kids thought nothing of it. Oh..the Czechs.....

We've started the oh-so-fun Visa process for Jace, and it is proving a bit stressful, but I think we've finally got it all sorted. I will be so glad when we finally have all the papers arranged. Mine is still pending, but I think it should be ready soon.

Overall, things are still going really well. Like I've said, we've made a good bunch of friends. Last Saturday night we went a friend's flat where they were hosting a 'pumpkin party' there was some carving and various pumpkin foods (we made pumpkin soup) and just a good excuse to get together and spend time with friends (most were from our church). I've found it remarkably easy to make friends here and I think the reason is the fact that you speak English gives you something in common and actually allows you to communicate. Its been great.

Autumn

2008-10-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

I can not contain my excitement about finally living in a place that experiences all four seasons. Granted, the fall here certainly feels like winter to me, but I am getting used to it. I am also already getting excited about the prospect of snow. I don't know how much is actually snows here. The last winter I was here, there certainly was a bunch of snow as far as I was concerned, but apparently that was an unusual winter.

Look: the leaves actually change color here!