Little boys at Gramma & Grampa's House

Owen has been taking swimming lessons on our side of town, so we have been watching Elliot during that time.

Thanks to advanced cell phone technology, (:-)) Laura texts us when she is close, and we go down to swoop Elliot out of the car so that she doesn't have to find a parking spot or get out of the car herself.

The first day we did this, Owen was quite concerned about our capabilities in caring for Elliot. He wanted to be sure that we had all the "baby information".

I think we did OK, as Elliot looks quite comfortable!


What's up with "one foot out" sleeping style???

Upon their return to pick up Elliot, Laura and Owen stayed for dinner. Pizza is always acceptable to Owen, so here he is putting one together.

Ready for the oven!

Opening Day in the Beer Tents

The Czech Beer Festival, (see previous post) opened yesterday at 3 PM. In our previous post, we were mistaken as to where this festival would be located, and Chris kindly pointed out that we would NOT be able to walk to it.

That turned out to be a good thing anyway, as the opening festivities were held during a major thunderstorm with high winds and driving rain. We were not to be deterred though, and we made our way from the Metro stop at the end of the Red Line to the festival.

The large tents had welcoming smells of grilled and roasted meats, and other gastronomical delights, as well as lots and lots of beer! The photo below is a large sausage replica marking the entrance to our first tent.

Each tent had musical entertainment, and in the opening hours the music was slanted toward traditional Czech music.

This gentleman and his wife, who plays the bass fiddle, were the entertainers at our first stop. He told us that he was featured in an article in the National Geographic in 1993, although I haven't yet tried to look that up!

Somehow, these folks all seem to know we are American. Here are our friends Jim and Mabelle -is it the french fry that gives us away??

The tents were not crowded because of the rain, and because the festival had just opened, so these musicians, having spotted us as Americans, played American music for us! These folks played "You Are My Sunshine."

The next tent was sponsored by the Svejk Restaurant.

I'm not sure who this horn player was, but he looks just like the restaurant's logo, a caricature of the Good Soldier Svejk! The Good Soldier Svejk is a satiric masterpiece created by Czech novelist, humorist, prankster, natural storyteller, and journalist, Jaroslav Hasek.

We weren't sure what kind of horn that might be, it looked too small to be a cornet or trumpet, but he played it quite well in the style of Louis Armstrong. Again, he and his band of musicians picked us out as Americans and played When The Saints Go Marching In and Blueberry Hill for us.

Not all the fun and food were inside though, and when the storm was over we ventured out to check out some of the smaller tents.

This is a roasting something or other- ox? cow? We don't know for sure because we were not in the least tempted to try any.

Lastly, here is a video of our new musician friends. 9 more days of this festival.......

This looks like fun!!

This festival is this coming weekend. You're all welcome to join us. Of course, as usual we will just walk over to it.

Czech Beer Festival

Weekend Away

This past weekend, Faith Community Church sponsored a Women's Retreat, held in a small village called Cesky Krumlov. The village is a popular tourist destination because of the preserved old buildings and the natural beauty of the area.

First, let me say that there is a reason why Tom takes all the photos for us- the ones following are not so good, but I tried! Of course there were many times when I did not have the camera available, for instance when we were all gathered together, so there are no group people shots here.

Close to 40 women gathered for this retreat, some from the church and others from Riverside School. The retreat was led by a small group of women from Uptown Church in Charlotte, NC, who had prepared an uplifting weekend of Bible study, prayer, and singing for us.

We were fortunate enough to have cars and drivers available for the entire group. I am very glad that I do not drive here, because the following photo is the street on which our rooms were located. Yes, it is EXTREMELY narrow, but cars can, and do, navigate through. Kudos to Laura who was one of the first drivers to arrive and negotiate these streets.

I took a photo of my friend Connie gazing out the window of our room to show that this particular room is available for a comfortable, long-term stay! We had a living/dining area, a fully equipped kitchen, and two separate bedrooms and a bath on the opposite side that I did not try to photograph.

This is what Connie was looking at. The weather on Saturday AM was not very nice- rainy and chilly, but a group of us had signed up in advance to raft down that river. I debated all through the morning sessions as to whether or not I should go, and I finally decided to do it. It was a great decision as the sun appeared about 1/2 way through our journey, and we had a marvelous time floating along on our rafts. When we finally reached our stopping point and were picked up for the trip back to town, we asked the driver how far we had gone. He told us that the river route is 15 kilometers, although the end point is only 5 kilometers away by road! Unfortunately, I have no photos of this event, as I did not think to take the camera!!

Food is always a major part of such gatherings, and we had the opportunity on Saturday evening to choose from some of the many restaurants in the town. Part of our rafting group went to a restaurant on the advice of our raft pick-up driver for some traditional Czech cuisine.

The street on which this restaurant was located was so narrow that I couldn't back away far enough to get a great photo, but here is the doorway. We walked all the way through the small interior space and took a table on the edge of the river.

We ordered the Bohemian feast for all 5 of us. It was served on this huge platter family style, and we all helped ourselves to the different meats. We had rabbit, pheasant, chicken, and ham, as well as one trout which you can't see because it was on a separate plate. There were some potato pancake type things on the platter that were FANTASTIC (my Dad would have loved them) as well as a bready-type concoction made from millet. We all ate too much of course!

Wine was served in this type of chalice.....

Of course the town has a castle. Because I went rafting, I didn't have any free time to do much sightseeing, so I don't have any great photos of the castle. I took this one from the restaurant on the river's edge, aiming up to try to get the most notable part of the castle on the cliff. That's why it looks funny (haha). There are actually more parts to the castle buildings, which I tried to photograph at night, but the photo wasn't good enough to post.

I'm not sure if you can see the colors on that tower, but it made me think of a Mackenzie Childs piece when I first saw it.

This is definitely a place that I would like to visit again!

Prague Marathon 2009

Sunday was the running of the Prague International Marathon. The race is a sanctioned normal marathon race, but also includes a mini-marathon of about 4K for those who don't feel like running the entire 26 miles!!





Chris and Owen entered the 4K race, so Tom and I went to Old Town near the finish line to cheer them on and to take photos.

Lots of activity in the square....(I moved this photo so it might not enlarge)

This was the approach to the finish line. I tried to photograph the winners as they went by, but they were running so fast that they were only a blur :-)

It was very interesting to see the many different types of folks who were running in this marathon. There were several Asians running in pink outfits such as these, but these two caught our attention because one is blind and is being guided by his friend through the use of a short loop of rope.


Unfortunately, what we did not know was that the 4K race had a different finish line- unlike last year where all racers were able to cross the "official" finish line. So we missed Chris & Owen in their race, and were only able to capture some "after" shots!

Lest We Forget

May 8, 1945 - The war is over in Europe!! Celebrations were held across Europe, and this site contains an interesting audio clip of a live radio broadcast from that day. http://hearitnow.umd.edu/1945.htm

Now designated as VE Day (Victory in Europe) this day is celebrated in many different ways in the various European countries.

Here in the Czech Republic, May 8 is a national holiday. Our section of the city holds a street fair (see previous post) with lots of beer, food, and music, but perhaps most importantly visual reminders of World War II and the troops that fought for freedom.

This modern Jeep displays a plate that echoes the sentiments expressed in many of the exhibits at the fair.


It appears that there are several groups of folks in the area who have preserved the clothing, uniforms, weapons and vehicles of the era, and they were present at the fair - representing American, Czech, Russian, French, British and Russian troops. These guys were apparently part of the resistance movement.


The vehicles on display were vintage WWII. They are all still running, and there was a parade of the vehicles and the troops.

Troop lineup....

We were struck by the thought that this young man is probably the age, or even slightly older, than the bulk of the soldiers in the war.

Those who died in the war are honored here by plaques on the buildings in which they lived, and we see far too many of them as we walk about the city- most with the date 1945.

This Jeep came from Normandy....

So, on this day, we remember all those who fought and died for their country- no matter where or when.

"Hot Time In the City" tonight!!!

We decided to have a party to celebrate our move to Prague, so we bought lots of beer..

Got a tent in case it rains...

and hired a few bands to perform on this stage!

Well OK - we didn't set this up, but it is happening on our very block! We heard commotion in the street yesterday and looked out to see the beer tent being put up, right outside our front door.

The festivities get under way today at 11 AM, and we can see the stage and much of the activity right from our terrace!

Have we mentioned that we love this city????

May Day!

Our friends here in Prague, Bruce and Connie, teach English to Czech business folks who have learned basic English and are working to improve their English. They teach individuals or small groups, and are therefore able to build friendships with some of their students.

May 1, or May Day, is a national holiday in the Czech Republic. One of Bruce's students invited him to join a group of Czech families for their annual May Day hike along the Vlatava River, and we were fortunate enough to be able to tag along as well.

We didn't know exactly where we were going, or what to expect along the way, but we were confident that a walk along the river couldn't be that arduous of a hike. We had a super, super day - the photos following are only a small portion of the number that we took!

As an aside, Laura's Dad asked me why some of the photos on our blog can be enlarged by double clicking, and some can't. I think I figured out that if I move certain photos to change the order in which they are posted, they can't be enlarged. Therefore, we were very careful to put these photos in order, and I hope they can all be double-clicked!!

Our new Czech friends picked us up at a train station in Prague, and we drove to the village of Stechovice. The trail starts at the edge of the village. Here is some of our group with our hosts Jana and Reinholdt leading the way.

This is the first trail marker....

And here is the beginning of the trail...

Little did we know that the river in this area flows through a gorge, and used to be all white water rapids until the construction of a series of dams and locks made the river navigable. The river trail, therefore, was not always at river level. We hiked up, and down, over rocks, along ledges...well, keep scrolling, you'll see!

The trail is well traveled by hikers, and is marked by the painted symbol in the bottom right of the photo. There are also informative posters along the way describing the plants and animals that can be seen in the area. We are looking at such a posting...

I was quite disappointed that we didn't meet up with any of these wild animals.

The scenery was spectacular..

As we walked along the trail, the hillsides were dotted with these little seasonal cabins. We were quite covetous of them - they are the ultimate in country cottages! No electricity, heated by wood fires, and some had running water (either pumped from the river if they were on the low side or piped from springs if they were on the heights) while others we suspected didn't have any water other than rain water that was collected in barrels under the eaves. We have no idea how the owners get supplies to these places- but many were occupied, so they manage!!

About half-way through, the trail dips down to the water's edge and we had our picnic lunch, complete with wine! It is amazing how much food we carried in with us in our little packs!

As we enjoyed lunch and a little rest, we spotted our favorite form of transportation cruising along in the same direction we were going. Our hosts said that if we could make the next town in time, we could take the boat back to our starting point!

Needless to say, we were more than ready to set off again!

Sort of reminds you of upstate NY, doesn't it?

We were amazed at the places the trail went....

A signpost we encountered along the way...

We were a little high up here....

And here, we went through a tunnel...

As we approached the village of Trebenice, we began to see signs of civilization. There was even a table set up by the side of the path where you could buy postcards and photo magnets of the area, all on the honor system. A little farther along, the people ahead of us disappeared. As we got closer, we saw the faint trail through these bushes.

If we had missed this turn, we would probably still be out along the river somewhere, as this was the path to the boat dock. Not exactly well-marked!!! It's a good thing our hosts had taken this trail before!

We made it to the boat in time!

Once back in Stechovice, we stopped for coffee before heading home. Reinholdt is explaining Czech-style coffee to Connie!

What a great way to celebrate the beginning of May!!