Czech Christmas Carp

Tom got his Christmas wish! Ever since he heard about the Czech tradition of a carp dinner, he has been bugging Laura and I to cook one for him. Since we both refused, he tried our friend Connie, who amazingly agreed to give it a try.

As you may know from previous year's posts, about December 18th temporary carp ponds spring up all over Prague. I counted 6 such carp stations in our neighborhood alone! These little tanks hold live carp, which are to be cooked and eaten on Christmas Eve. The Czechs either buy a live fish to keep in the bathtub until the appointed time, or the fish guys will cheerfully kill, skin and fillet the fish for you.

Our job was to get the carp, so we headed out to our local carp station......

We actually had to wait in line for our fish - so while there we struck up a conversation with the woman ahead of us. She was Czech, but spoke English, and she was amused and happy to think that a bunch of Americans would join in this tradition. She helped us out by suggesting the size of fish to purchase, and approved of the one that was caught for us.

I stopped watching right about here- let me just say that we ended up with some nice fillets. We declined to take the fish head or guts with us, but I noted that the guys put it carefully under their counter, as other customers were buying extra heads for their fish soup.

Connie had asked all her Czech students the best way to prepare the carp, and she had specific instuctions. We soaked the fillets in milk, flavored with a bay leaf.

Bruce and Connie's daughter Sarah, visiting from LA, was chef number 2. (I mostly watched and told them where to find needed items in my kitchen.) Sarah cut the fillets into smaller pieces, which were then rolled in spiced flour - a mix of cornmeal and regular - then dipped in egg, and lastly rolled in bread crumbs.

Then into the frying pan they went!

Sarah had also prepared a fantastic German potato salad, which is the usual accompaniment to the fish dinner.

And you know what? It was really good!! We managed to eat almost all of the fish. Even I ate two pieces, and I don't like fish much. We topped off our meal with apple pie and ice cream, and agreed that this meal was a success!

Veselé Vánoce from Prague

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King!"

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love to all,

Tom and Cyndy

Views out our window

We were enjoying the view of our courtyard the other day, when Tom looked to the left and did a double-take.

It seems someone has discovered a novel way to keep their Christmas tree fresh!!! (Double click on photo below to enlarge).

Party time for the teachers

The week before the end of term we had a very nice Christmas celebration for teachers and staff. The restaurant is not far from where we live, and is a very old building that has been recently renovated.

Notice the beautiful Czech chandeliers!


The band was comprised of school staff members- quite talented musicians all! We had a very nice evening!!

Faith Community Church Christmas celebration

Last Sunday's service was a time of singing traditional Christmas carols in English and Czech, and reading the Christmas story as written in the Bible.

Yes, that's Chris playing guitar with the worship team.


I was asked to read a portion of the scripture.

Funny story about this particular reading- it is Luke 2: 10 -12, the account of the angel Gabriel appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus.

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a Manger."
When I was in high school, I sang in the senior choir of our church. For one Christmas service, someone thought it would be effective for me to hide behind the organ in an angel costume complete with wings and halo ( as I was the smallest choir member) and at the appropriate time, I would climb a small step ladder to the top of the organ and speak these same verses. :-)

Luckily, Faith Community does not have an organ.......

Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas!

Out and about

One of the nice things about public transport is that you don't have to scrape the ice and snow off your car. It is helpful, however, to check the tram schedules so that you don't spend a lot of time waiting on the platform. This one is going the wrong way for us....




And this one is not going where we want to go.....

We eventually got to the mall to do some shopping, and Cyndy got some help from a friend!

Back home again, time to relax!

R and R time

School was out Friday at noon. Yeah!! I don't have to be back until January 11, so I am looking forward to resting up at home and oh yeah, our trip to Spain!

Check back for random photos soon.

Christmas Time in the City

Last weekend was the official lighting of the Christmas tree in Old Town Square. We did not attend because we were having our Thanksgiving dinner, but we did go downtown mid-week to see the lights and all the tourists! :-)

This is one of the many manger scenes that adorn the squares in this city. These figures are beautifully hand-carved wood that are larger than life.

Below is a photo of the square known as Namesti Miru - it is our favorite Christmas market location. As Laura showed us a few years ago when we were visiting, the goods sold here are of a better quality and price than the markets in the tourist areas.

This young lady is preparing trdelnik - a traditional Czech pastry that is wound around the wooden cylinders, cooked over an open flame grill, and served hot with cinnamon-sugar. Very yummy fare for a cold winter's evening.

Decorations for sale...

There are even Christmas market stalls and an entertainment tent at the circle in Dejvicka - right at the end of our street and just a few blocks from our house. The tent (which is heated) is booked from late afternoon through the early evening with various groups presenting musical offerings or stories/puppet shows for children. There are also opportunities for children to create seasonal artwork such as those you can see hanging on the left wall.

In addition, our street has added speakers to the street lighting decorations so that you can hear Christmas carols on the street all day long. Oh and it's all traditional music, some hymns, some classical - but no Chipmunks, no Holly Jolly Christmas, no Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer! What a way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Here's a video of Old Town Square.......

And yes, there is room at the Inn.......come and see.