The Prague Castle doesn't look very, well, castle-ish. So today we trained through pretty river valleys to Křivoklát. Thick walls, arrow slits, gates, towers, perched on a steep hill - the girls could imagine Kings and Queens living there. The 90 minute tour (in Czech) of the interior was a bit much even for me, but the girls were very patient (and we got ice cream and beer in the castle courtyard to raise our flagging spirits. I love that you can get ice cream and beer in castle courtyards here. The U.S. would be a much happier place if ice cream and beer -good beer in BIG cups- were more readily available.) We had fun crawling around the towers and peeking into shops, but the coolest thing was shooting crossbows. The girls' videos are on their own blogs. David doesn't have a blog so he gets to be on mine.
24.5.08
21.5.08
Barbies and Snails
I couldn't stand another day at home with the whiny girls, so I dragged them out into the rain and made them go to the Toy Museum up at the Castle. The girls were mildly interested in the turn of the (20th) century wooden, tin, and ceramic toys, dolls, and train sets (and, inexplicably, an 8 foot tall Jar-Jar Binks.) They got more of a kick out of the 2 rooms of cases and cases of Barbies - from the original 1959 version (which had a problem with pigment stability and turned white within their first year) to modern Barbies. The girls even found a Barbie that we have at home! Guess we should have left that hand-me-down Flamingo Barbie in her box...
But, even more exciting was the Hill O'Snails that we found on the way to the castle. We stopped at a new tram stop (the one Rick Steves recommends) and took a nice little lane through some overgrown hills. There were snails and slugs everywhere. The girls were fascinated. We might go back tomorrow with baggies and collect some to live on our terrace. Or maybe we'll send them to our friend in France. (Don't laugh - snails are exported from the Czech Republic to France. For some reason there are lot more snails here than there.....)
20.5.08
Claire's Birthday
Claire's birthday started with presents, and ended with presents - which she thought was just about perfect. She opened her gifts right after breakfast. The highlight was the marionette she picked out at the market.
After lunch we headed out to Beckiland. (Claire chose Beckiland over the Zoo because the weather turned cold and rainy.) Beckiland was everything the girls had hoped for and more - a bouncy castle, giant twisty slide that landed in a ball pit, a climbing/sliding tent thing (the green and cream thing in the pictures), rock climbing walls, 2 different climbing areas, more slides and ball pits, ball shooters, bumper cars, train rides, trampolines, a bouncy castle alligator that ate you, scooters and tricycles that you could ride anywhere you want, fussball tables.... I think that's it. We stayed there almost 5 hours. Claire had wanted to get pizza for dinner, but elected to go to the McDonalds across the street so she could have 1/2 hour more of playtime.
So after the Happy Meals we headed to Old Town to get Claire's birthday ice cream (she chose ice cream over a cake this time.) The four of us got every shade of pink gelato that was at the stand. We got to Old Town Square just before the centuries-old Astronomical Clock rang the hour. And then, despite insisting she wasn't tired, Claire did admit she was cold and she would like to go home.
When we got home Claire discovered that our landlord had left a present for her on the door. It was a Prague Castle pop-up book that his wife helped to edit. Claire said she loves the book and will take it with her forever so she will always remember her birthday in Prague. And that was how her birthday started and ended with presents.
19.5.08
My 4 year old!
Here's the big girl, exhausted from a day at Beckiland, covered in ketchup and strawberry gelato, standing in front of Tyn Church in Old Town Square. She had a fabulous last turning-4 birthday (she has had 3 birthday parties already.) I think this one was extra-special! We're all exhausted. I'll put more pictures up tomorrow.
18.5.08
Beer Marathon
Last Sunday was the Prague Marathon. I'm no where near being able to do a marathon yet (I blame most of that on the February O' Appendectomy.) But had I known about the Beer Marathon I might have been able to hold my own. The article in The Prague Post is a little sketchy on details, but I think I could have figured it out:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Alternative events
While there was also an inline skate race course, a family “mini-marathon” of 4.2 kilometers, an “eco-walk” of 2 kilometers and other fun stuff (paintball, anyone?) the new marketing event we liked best was the beer marathon, which had just 17 entries.
It seemed like such a great idea, too — anyone could participate in the “buy one drink, get a free beer” deal at 11 participating restaurants and bars around town, which included our Karlín favorite Gate Restaurant (Sokolovská 31, Prague 8); two Modrá zahrada pizza locations (Pařížská 14 and Národní 37, both in Prague 1); and two Potrefená husa locations (Bílkova 5 and Platnéřská 9).
Some folks filled out more than one entry form, apparently, since they picked up more than one prize.
Winner Miroslav Bouška received 5,000 Kč for getting at least six different beer marathon stamps on his entry form from participating locations.
Alena Mášová kissed her prize — a 5-liter keg of Staropramen given out to winners No. 2 through No. 11. She was cheered mightily by her compatriots in the bar, most of whom also received 5-liter kegs.
Sounds like a great exercise regimen. Pivo, anyone?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Alternative events
While there was also an inline skate race course, a family “mini-marathon” of 4.2 kilometers, an “eco-walk” of 2 kilometers and other fun stuff (paintball, anyone?) the new marketing event we liked best was the beer marathon, which had just 17 entries.
It seemed like such a great idea, too — anyone could participate in the “buy one drink, get a free beer” deal at 11 participating restaurants and bars around town, which included our Karlín favorite Gate Restaurant (Sokolovská 31, Prague 8); two Modrá zahrada pizza locations (Pařížská 14 and Národní 37, both in Prague 1); and two Potrefená husa locations (Bílkova 5 and Platnéřská 9).
Some folks filled out more than one entry form, apparently, since they picked up more than one prize.
Winner Miroslav Bouška received 5,000 Kč for getting at least six different beer marathon stamps on his entry form from participating locations.
Alena Mášová kissed her prize — a 5-liter keg of Staropramen given out to winners No. 2 through No. 11. She was cheered mightily by her compatriots in the bar, most of whom also received 5-liter kegs.
Sounds like a great exercise regimen. Pivo, anyone?
Knedliky
The girls have fallen in love with knedliky. Houskove knedliky to be exact. Dumplings made from bread. At dinner tonight (at home - being a good Maminka I made pork and knedliky for my děti) David realized the reason the girls love these dumplings so much. The are ideal kid bread - soft, white, with NO CRUSTS. And absolutely no food value I'm sure. But it's only 3 months, right?
There is a potato version of knedliky too, but continuing with their tradition of only eating a potato if it is deep-fried, the girls refuse to try it.
Let the Jogging Begin....
I found a post-communist running track yesterday. The discus cage is rusting, the long jump track is choked with weeds, and the concrete stairs are crumbling away. But there were some kids playing futbol and a guy practicing juggling (martini mixing glasses and bottles of liquor - he was trying to be Tom Cruise in that bar movie....) so it wasn't totally creepy. And the track would have an extraordinary view of the castle if there weren't so many trees in the way.
My excuse for not jogging here was that Europeans don't jog through cities. But now I have a track 10 minutes (uphill) away, so no excuses.
I learned some lessons yesterday:
1.) Hauling kids around town and on and off trams does not equal a real workout.
2.) Eating a klobasa (sausage) from the stand on Vasklavski Namisti is not a good pre-work-out meal.
3.) I have a LONG way to go to get in shape for the 2009 Flying Pig.
There are 3 beer gardens on the way down the hill between the track and my flat. Wonder how good a post-jog pivo would taste?
My excuse for not jogging here was that Europeans don't jog through cities. But now I have a track 10 minutes (uphill) away, so no excuses.
I learned some lessons yesterday:
1.) Hauling kids around town and on and off trams does not equal a real workout.
2.) Eating a klobasa (sausage) from the stand on Vasklavski Namisti is not a good pre-work-out meal.
3.) I have a LONG way to go to get in shape for the 2009 Flying Pig.
There are 3 beer gardens on the way down the hill between the track and my flat. Wonder how good a post-jog pivo would taste?
14.5.08
Photos
I'm adding photos to the slideshows over to the right as I take more pictures. So if you're interested in pictures of Prague, check the links to the right periodically.
Playgrounds save the day
We are so grateful that the Czechs have had babies while we were gone and have realized that children need playgrounds. I'm sure there were some playgrounds around 10 years ago, but we certainly didn't notice many (not that we were looking too hard for them). But now they are all over the place!
There's our main one by the Main Train Station - one tram stop away.
Today the girls and I went to Vysyhrad (site of the old castle - now a topped by a very cool Art Deco church and a graveyard full of important dead people like Dvorak and Smetana). We found a small older playground on the walk up the hill, and then a very cool new playground right at the top near the really, really (I can't remember how many 'really's) old round church. At first I thought it was a Wild West theme of forts and stockades (the Czechs have a thing for the American Wild West thanks to an author who made up stories about Indians...) but then I realized that it was based on Old Czech foundation myths. How cool is that - to build a playground based on the Czech equivalent of the Aeneid on the site where Prague was originally founded!
There's another playground up a hill from our apartment. David took the girls, but I haven't been there yet. It is situated between two beer gardens. That could be fun. Or dangerous.....
There's our main one by the Main Train Station - one tram stop away.
Today the girls and I went to Vysyhrad (site of the old castle - now a topped by a very cool Art Deco church and a graveyard full of important dead people like Dvorak and Smetana). We found a small older playground on the walk up the hill, and then a very cool new playground right at the top near the really, really (I can't remember how many 'really's) old round church. At first I thought it was a Wild West theme of forts and stockades (the Czechs have a thing for the American Wild West thanks to an author who made up stories about Indians...) but then I realized that it was based on Old Czech foundation myths. How cool is that - to build a playground based on the Czech equivalent of the Aeneid on the site where Prague was originally founded!
There's another playground up a hill from our apartment. David took the girls, but I haven't been there yet. It is situated between two beer gardens. That could be fun. Or dangerous.....
12.5.08
My Mother's Day
2 sweet photos of my darling little girls, taken in the window of Maly Buddah (Little Buddah), one of our favorite restaurants from 10 years ago. It is in the same place above the castle, still non-smoking, but now they serve pivo! We had a lovely day wandering some of my favorite haunts. We found my favorite ice cream stand near Charles Bridge and introduced the girls to Magnum bars.
11.5.08
Happy Mother's Day!
I'm never very good at getting things in the mail in time for Mother's Day (often I beg my brother to just sign my name to his flowers.....). But this year I have more of an excuse than most years.
So, a semi-public thanks to my mom for helping me become the type of person who is brave/adventurous/foolhardy enough to haul her family half-way across the world for the summer. Who thinks figuring out trams and metros and fending off pick-pockets and drunks is challenging, not intimidating. Who thinks pointing at menus in foreign languages and eating whatever comes is fun (Oh, wait - that was from Dad). Who will haul her kids through churches and art galleries (and buy them ice cream before they sit down on the curb and refuse to go any further!). Who for her own Mother's Day is going to take her family to her favorite ice cream stand on an island in the middle of the Vltava, then ride the funicular up Petrin Hill for a great view of Old Prague.
So, thanks for all the adventures and love and education that has helped me become the person I am! I wish you were here to have some adventures with us!
And for your present this year I'm NOT posting the only picture of you that I have on this computer (sleeping in your chair with your dog and cats perched all over you.) Instead I'll put up your newest (and dare I say most-trouble making?) child.
9.5.08
Prague Blog 2
We finally took the girls to the cute parts of Prague today. We had a nice wander around the castle, down the hill, across Charles Bridge and through Old Town Square. The girls were duly impressed. For dinner we went to one of our favorite old restaurants - the one Uncle Ralph dubbed "hearty Czech food" the last time we lived here. My, oh, my - the sticker shock. Over $50 for dinner. Not very expensive for dinner for 4 by American standards, but by Prague standards from 10 years ago.... Have I mentioned Prague costs more this visit?
Pictures from today should be showing up in a slide show below. I'll also include links to the albums over to the right. You can order pictures through shutterfly (and other places) through those links if you want. Grandmas and Omas - I've left the pictures of the girls in high quality, so they should print nicely if you order some.
Pictures from today should be showing up in a slide show below. I'll also include links to the albums over to the right. You can order pictures through shutterfly (and other places) through those links if you want. Grandmas and Omas - I've left the pictures of the girls in high quality, so they should print nicely if you order some.
IKEA
The girls and I might have found our regular hang-out spot in Prague - IKEA. I LOVE IKEA in general - it's just cool (almost as cool as Barack Obama....). But now I love this specific Prague IKEA. The main reason? The play place. We saw the sign walking in that kids 3 - 10 years old can go to the play place. 7 year old Eleanor was much relieved. After we checked the girls in, the woman assured us that she spoke some English and the girls would be fine, but we could only leave the girls there for 2 hours. 2 hours??? I can envision dropping the girls off and heading upstairs to the cafe for some book time with a cappuccino. I wonder how many times a week we could do that before the IKEA people catch on?
8.5.08
Our Byt
We went to IKEA today to get a few more things for the apartment. (More on the IKEA trip later....) We now have a very serviceable apartment for the next three months. Although I do miss living out in Worker's Paradise, our apartment here is much nicer and closer to Old Town. We're a good 10 minute walk from the main train station, but we haven't heard any trains so either the Czech Republic has converted to electric trains like the rest of Europe (which would surprise me) or we're far enough away that the regular city noise drowns out the trains.
When we entered our building I was immediately reminded of Italy - and then realized that was because the hallway smells of damp plaster. But it is a nice wide entryway with some cool stairs going to the upper reaches. But we've never been up the stairs because we're on the ground floor. Go past the mailboxes, turn left, go past the elevator, and you're at our apartment.
When you enter our byt there is a large and mostly useless foyer (not useless when we're using the space to dry laundry inside!). Immediately to your right is the water closet. After you use the loo you have to cross the foyer and go into the kitchen. To your left is the shower/sink room. The cabinet/counter top space is tiny but functional. We have a large 'fridge by European standards, for which we are very grateful. Keep going through the kitchen and you'll get to the "master" bedroom (master because it has the double bed.) From the kitchen you can also go to the living room, and from the living room you get to the girls' room. They don't get a door - just curtains. The other end of the living room has the door to the terrace. When we roll out of bed at 10 each morning we try to get outside as soon as possible so our bodies can learn that there is daylight at that hour!
The byt has nice 12 ft. ceilings and the windows and doors are in 8 ft frames, so it feels big and airy. The thick plaster walls will be appreciated when it gets hot this summer, but right now we have to wear our sweatshirts inside and then strip down to go out into the beautiful 70 degree weather.
When we entered our building I was immediately reminded of Italy - and then realized that was because the hallway smells of damp plaster. But it is a nice wide entryway with some cool stairs going to the upper reaches. But we've never been up the stairs because we're on the ground floor. Go past the mailboxes, turn left, go past the elevator, and you're at our apartment.
When you enter our byt there is a large and mostly useless foyer (not useless when we're using the space to dry laundry inside!). Immediately to your right is the water closet. After you use the loo you have to cross the foyer and go into the kitchen. To your left is the shower/sink room. The cabinet/counter top space is tiny but functional. We have a large 'fridge by European standards, for which we are very grateful. Keep going through the kitchen and you'll get to the "master" bedroom (master because it has the double bed.) From the kitchen you can also go to the living room, and from the living room you get to the girls' room. They don't get a door - just curtains. The other end of the living room has the door to the terrace. When we roll out of bed at 10 each morning we try to get outside as soon as possible so our bodies can learn that there is daylight at that hour!
The byt has nice 12 ft. ceilings and the windows and doors are in 8 ft frames, so it feels big and airy. The thick plaster walls will be appreciated when it gets hot this summer, but right now we have to wear our sweatshirts inside and then strip down to go out into the beautiful 70 degree weather.
Prague Blog 1
We started our second day in Prague by getting up at the crack of 10:30. The girls aren't adjusting well to the time change. They go to sleep fine, but around 12:30 they have woken up both nights and then can't get back to sleep. Poor little things think it is dinner time then. And then we have to work to wake them up at 10 am. But we'll keep drugging them with benadryl at bedtime and hopefully they'll adjust soon (although I wouldn't mind if they kept sleeping in a little bit!)
But despite being a little tired we've enjoyed our first 2 days in Prague! The girls have experienced some of the typical Praguish things we remembered from last time - a hearty czech meal of fried cheese and french fries (though they didn't care for the tartar sauce accompaniment), crowded tram and metro rides, eating sausages from the stand in Wenceslas Square, grocery shopping in the basement of Tesco.
I have noticed a few changes since living here 10 years ago. The major shock is that Prague is no longer cheap! Our hearty Czech meal for 4 cost $30! Last time it would have been around $12. Looks like we'll be doing more of our own cooking. Beer is over $1 too. Sigh. Well, we probably shouldn't drink as much with the kids around anyway!
The other big shock is that customer service people have been NICE! We went to the main train station to get our tram passes and we needed to show ID. David happened to have his drivers license on him but I had stashed mine (I'm not driving for a long time!). I had found my tram pass from 10 years ago, so David pulled that out and said, in Czech, "Well, she had to show ID when she got this last time - doesn't that count?" The woman accepted that argument - it was probably bending the rules. Official workers NEVER bent the rules before. In fact, I believe that they made up new rules expressly for us.
Other examples of nice customer service - at Tesco I bought a big tub of whole grain mustard. The check-out (or is it czech-out?) lady automatically wrapped it up in a produce bag. Sure enough, when we got home the lid had come off and the mustard leaked out. She knew that it had a leaky lid and took care of it - again, something that never would have happened during our previous sojourn. And the surly matrons at the sausage stand in Wensceslas Square have been replaced by young, smiley, and MULTI-LINGUAL girls. Maybe that's why the sausages cost 50 Kc now. My girls adored the sausages - Claire kept saying "will you put more hot dog in my roll?"
David is out right now at the T-Mobile store getting his cell phone tuned to the Czech network. He'll probably get me a pre-paid phone too. When I'm out and about with the girls, it will probably be useful for me to be able to reach someone if necessary (and to be reachable!). No more hours losing myself in art museums and cafes. Maybe we'll be able to do that for half-hours, though.
But despite being a little tired we've enjoyed our first 2 days in Prague! The girls have experienced some of the typical Praguish things we remembered from last time - a hearty czech meal of fried cheese and french fries (though they didn't care for the tartar sauce accompaniment), crowded tram and metro rides, eating sausages from the stand in Wenceslas Square, grocery shopping in the basement of Tesco.
I have noticed a few changes since living here 10 years ago. The major shock is that Prague is no longer cheap! Our hearty Czech meal for 4 cost $30! Last time it would have been around $12. Looks like we'll be doing more of our own cooking. Beer is over $1 too. Sigh. Well, we probably shouldn't drink as much with the kids around anyway!
The other big shock is that customer service people have been NICE! We went to the main train station to get our tram passes and we needed to show ID. David happened to have his drivers license on him but I had stashed mine (I'm not driving for a long time!). I had found my tram pass from 10 years ago, so David pulled that out and said, in Czech, "Well, she had to show ID when she got this last time - doesn't that count?" The woman accepted that argument - it was probably bending the rules. Official workers NEVER bent the rules before. In fact, I believe that they made up new rules expressly for us.
Other examples of nice customer service - at Tesco I bought a big tub of whole grain mustard. The check-out (or is it czech-out?) lady automatically wrapped it up in a produce bag. Sure enough, when we got home the lid had come off and the mustard leaked out. She knew that it had a leaky lid and took care of it - again, something that never would have happened during our previous sojourn. And the surly matrons at the sausage stand in Wensceslas Square have been replaced by young, smiley, and MULTI-LINGUAL girls. Maybe that's why the sausages cost 50 Kc now. My girls adored the sausages - Claire kept saying "will you put more hot dog in my roll?"
David is out right now at the T-Mobile store getting his cell phone tuned to the Czech network. He'll probably get me a pre-paid phone too. When I'm out and about with the girls, it will probably be useful for me to be able to reach someone if necessary (and to be reachable!). No more hours losing myself in art museums and cafes. Maybe we'll be able to do that for half-hours, though.
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