calm before the storm – Adventurings

mild sunny days mixed with rainy cloudy ones, but the latter still seem anything but gloomy. i see the peace in them, especially on a quiet friday morning to myself with an over-sized mug of chai with milk and honey and a big bowl of oatmeal (my favorite, banana with cinnamon and chia seeds) topped with dried cranberries, walnuts, and brown sugar.

these rare rainy sort of days we don’t often see in south bohemia make me feel so peaceful, calm and relaxed. i really don’t miss the rain too much and moving here to a sunnier climate has been really lovely. sometimes months pass without a drop of rain, it seems! but when those rain clouds do decide to visit, it makes me feel right at home. not necessarily miss home, but i feel like i’ve been greeted by an old friend.
who knows how long these calm and peaceful spring days will last when the biggest event of my life is only two and a half months away! hopefully this period will continue right up until my departure, but just in case things start to get crazy, i’m savoring this time.

today was a big market day: the return of the farmer’s market after a three month pause and i’ve never seen it so busy! all of the easter crafts you can handle! i bought some daffodils and found that our usual favorite coffee-stand guy wasn’t there. why they call it the willows market (u trh vrbny, above)

we went hunting for coffee elsewhere and found it at the annual easter market! today is a cold, grey spring saturday but the mood was jovial as live fiddlers played, people drank their beer and ate klobasa. easter sticks, crafts, ceramics, and meat and cheese galore; the usual czech festival fare. finally we found our coffee guy. on the way home, we passed a promising newly-opened american diner which offers american breakfasts, the usual hamburger fare, and my favorite: chicken wings with celery and blue cheese omačka. i never thought i’d be so excited for an american diner to open in my neighborhood. but yep, i’m over the moon.