Tom and Cyndys Excellent European Adventure: December 2011

O Tannenbaum

I can say that here because we're so close to Germany :-) In Czech, it is a "vanoce strom."

Whatever you want to call it, here is the the 2011 edition.

We had a very blessed Christmas, and hopethat you did too. Now on to 2012!!!

In memory of Vaclav Havel

As I'm sure you all know by now, the first President of the Czech Republic died on Sunday.

Here, the national flag is not lowered to half-staff, but black flags are flown on a separate staff. We toured around the city today to view the sites where people had left remembrances to pay their respects to this man.

Diplomats from the various embassies came to the castle today to pay their respects.

Through that arch into the outer courtyard...

One of the areas at the castle where candles and flowers were being laid..

These people were writing something on the candle before lighting it.

There was an official portrait of Havel on display just inside that open door...

In Wenceslas Square, the tributes were laid by the large statue of King Wencelas which has been the gathering place for Czechs in Prague whenever an important event occurs...

The crowds were not as formidable today as apparently they were last night, but the candles and flowers that were left showed what a well-loved man he was.

Gingerbread House party

Looking for something different to help celebrate the Christmas season? You could steal an idea from some friends of ours here in Prague and host a gingerbread construction party!!

We had the pleasure of attending this party last night - the hosts call it Gingeropolis, and last night was their 5th annual bash.

We were provided with the basic building materials - gingerbread walls and roof peaks - as well as crackers, ladyfinger cookies, pretzels, etc. Everyone attending brought two kinds of candy for decorating and finishing touches. This year we all had specific assignments, such as commercial buildings, schools, parks.

Tom and I decided that we might need some help with our construction, so we recruited Hope to help us. We drew a gas station as our assignment.

Our finished product!

Note the vehicles...

Our hostess Amy in the kitchen...

Hot cider and hot chocolate were on offer, as well as great snacks -

including the best cheese ball I've ever tasted!!!

When everyone was finished, we had the opportunity to tell the others about our construction, and why it should win first place. Then we all voted for our favorites.

Here we have a stadium...

and a very Czech neighborhood of those Communist panel style apartment buildings.

getting ready to vote....

Just a side note - REAL candles in the windows.......

It was a hard decision, but the apartment complex won 2nd place. The details were incredible...

Note the basketball court, the ice rink, and in the center - a carp pond with the man at work...

The winners were a husband and wife team from the UK.

They were true neophytes - apparently the UK folks don't do gingerbread houses!

Their assignment was to create a park, and they thought it would be funny to create a trailer park, or "piker's park" as they called it - ala the movie Snatch with Brad Pitt as an Irish "traveler" or gypsy.

Their explanation of the details was hilarious, as they pointed out the TV antennas and the satellite dish, the pile of used tires, the people with no cares in the world, and the kids hard at play. There's a black cat on the roof, and lots of trash, and a real fire burning in the back.