Christmas Eve 2010

The eve before the Eve, we had some special visitors. Owen and Elliot had their first sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa! We had lots of fun making and eating cookies, watching Shaun the Sheep videos, and playing computer games.

Owen has just developed a liking for writing- here he is creating a card for Mom and Dad.


Elliot is more into physical development - getting ready for his first marathon maybe?

The boys were wide awake at 5 this morning, and obviously so were we. After they went home, we took a short nap, and then headed off to church. We enjoyed a simple candlelight service with all the traditional carols, then headed off to Chris and Laura's for a Christmas Eve dinner with some other folks new to Prague. They are a family with two boys, one of whom is in Owen's class. They have moved here for a year for a sabbatical from Hartwick College in Oneonta, so we spent some time sharing CNY stories.

Christmas will soon be here, so Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Christmas is coming

Whew! School is out today, yeah!!!

This last week was very tiring for all. The kids at school are excited and super-hyper, and we add to it with classroom parties and our Christmas show. We were scrambling to make sure that each child had completed those wonderful art projects we send home, as well as their "gift" for their parents, and there is always glitter everywhere!

We did manage to find time to get our tree which, you might note, is much nicer than the one we had last year. It is also much larger, so I need a few more ornaments.



And, it is still snowing........I think we will have a white Christmas....

A sv. Mateje Saturday

It's the Advent season in Prague, and that means the Christmas markets are open. Tom and I braved the cold, (about 15F), and went to some of our favorite markets at Jiriho z Podebrad and Namesti Miru.

Then we went back to our side of the river, to a very small church (sv. Mateje) where we browsed a craft/bake sale. This sale featured crafty artisans who offered original works in ceramics, jewelry, paintings, Christmas decorations, and more.

The building where the sale was held is a very old structure used for the church offices and meeting rooms. It was cold. From there, we walked through a lovely old cemetary to the church, where we enjoyed a concert of Baroque and Middle Ages Advent songs played by the "Hora Fugit" ensemble. (Keyboard organ, violin, and viola)

According to church history, the first chapel was constructed on the site in 971. Eventually that structure became too small for the burgeoning congregation, so the current structure was built in 1770. Central heating was not a priorty in churches at that time, so our concert was performed and enjoyed in temperatures rivaling that of outside. Luckily, we both had our longjohns and smartwool undies and so were able to withstand the cold.

Yes, this is Prague....view from the church wall

I laughed when I read that the previous chapel was too small. The church now contains 4 pews on each side of a central aisle that seat about 6 people each. I can't imagine how small the original must have been!

That's one whole side in the photo below. Note the extra chairs.

It was very pretty inside.....

note the musician is wearing her coat too....

Ah, gingerbread! These nativity figures are a traditional display.......




Still not enough people to generate any heat.......

Despite the cold, by concert time every pew and chair was taken, and about 75 more people were standing in the back and along the sides. We couldn't take any more photos because there were too many people in the way!

After the concert, we zipped back home to drink hot tea and bask in our heat :-)