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the lennon wall, prague
the lennon wall started in prague in a tiny little hard-to-find lane on velkopřevorské náměstí in prague’s malá strana quarter in 1980, when the world heard the news about the assassination of john lennon on december 8th of that year. the world was stunned, and those hopeful peace and freedom lovers (and john disciples) took to painting this wall as an expression of grief using it almost like an altar. although the communist government at the time didn’t like it, they mostly turned a blind eye and it became a place of art and rremembrance to commemorate john. it’s a wonderful prague landmark, enjoyed by lennon fans and other tourists who…
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second czechaversary
i’m the kind of person that can’t help but to remember anniversaries of everything. if i met you once ten years ago, i probably still remember your birthday (with a couple days of leeway, of course). so it stands to reason that i think about and celebrate every little milestone associated with living abroad. mostly because i am still amazed that i had this kind of hare-brained idea to leave my job in seattle and fly across the world. not only that, but there is a wonderful country that has let me live here for two years now: the czech republic. i didn’t even really know when i became an…
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living without stuff, pt. II
(alternative title: in which i realize that some stuff is good to have) a strange thought occurred to me the other night about all the food products so beloved to me that i haven’t touched for years; obviously not by choice, including cheerios, shredded-wheat cereal, campbell’s soup (don’t judge), and a whole load of other things that i can’t think of right now that i won’t even know i have missed until i see it again. not only that, but all of my belongings and clothing sitting in the family garage. next summer when i’m going through all those things i’ve forgotten about, it’s going to feel like christmas. what better to…
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ABC’s of travel: travel tuesday
happy travel tuesday! it’s a very special one for me as i have been chosen to be a co-host for the next couple months (alongside the lovely bonnie, courtney & yalanda) and i couldn’t be happier about it. so thank you! i’ll do my best to make you all proud. for my first week abroad the #traveltuesday express, i wanted to share a little about myself and travel moments, and if you’re new around here, so you could get to know this orange-haired american in czechland a little better. i present to you, the good ol’ abc’s of travel, cynthia-style. (a)ge you went on your first international trip: age 9, on a family…
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sunday cookin’: lentil-tempeh tacos
crunchy tacos. MY FAVORITE. and after some experimenting, i’ve come up with THE PERFECT vegetarian answer to beef-style taco filling: lentil-tempeh tacos. the lentils are filling, versatile, and make me feel good. combine it with tempeh, a soy product similar to tofu but consisting of a “cake” of whole soybeans, which has a fantastic texture that could be similar to a meat substitute. when seasoned just right, you will not know these aren’t from taco time or your similar favorite taco joint with who-knows-what that beef filling is actually made of, plus none of the fat. it’s so healthy and delicious and can be made in simply the time it…
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a forest wander. have you ever gone out for a hike or walk and just end up somewhere completely different than you had originally planned for (by accident)? this happened to me on a lovely sunday hike through the forests of nearby rudolfov (an old nearby mining village, pictured above). i definitely had a different destination in mind but was shocked to find myself right back to where i started! but oh well, at least the walk was good… and scenic! november can be such a great time for walks, especially in this mild, golden weather which is fading fast. lastly: you know you’re really in the czech countryside when…
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falling in love on the road
some love stories from the road involve a certain special guy or girl, but mine are with a special city. i have told many a tale here about my undying love of berlin, but while i was studying there i unexpectedly fell in love with a different city. a city that i fortunately happen to live very close to now. she’s praha, the golden city. the city of a thousand spires. and while i visited her for the first time a year before this, it wasn’t until the next year when i really opened my eyes to her and saw all her quirky brand of loveliness. i was hanging out in prague…
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halloween abroad pt. III
i love halloween. it always reminds me of roasty, sweet smelling jack-o-lanterns on a cold night and eating candy while watching halloween cartoons at home under the glow of the orange pumpkin lights in the window. so after a pair of mediocre halloweens spent abroad (one in paris, the other here in budějovice), i’ve decided it was time for me to step up my halloween game. this… this would be the year we actually plan a good costume, dress up and go out, ready for the best of what czech halloween had to offer. in the lead-up to the holiday, i planned plenty of quality halloween programming. after the viewing…
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autumn, unplugged
when you’re so excited to spend many a morning in bed reading blogs, a three day internet outage really isn’t timed so perfectly over a leisurely five day weekend. times like that sometimes make you wonder what your other hobbies are. (i just know that they exist… i think) let’s just say my german got a decent amount of refreshing and i made loads of headway on a book i wasn’t so sure about but finally got into. although annoying, those periods of unplugging are good for the soul. and yes. i said five day weekend. tuesday was czechoslovak statehood day: the day in 1918 when czechoslovakia because an independent…
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Sopot, So Good: Poland’s North Coast Jewel
a real highlight of the entire three week backpacking trip to poland was getting to the coast, and one of the places i was most excited about was the small beachy resort town of sopot, only about a half-hour train ride from gdansk. but sopot isn’t exactly the sleepy little coastal town you’d think of: this place is happening. sopot’s famous for its history (both marlene dietrich and adolf hitler stayed at the famous resort hotel) and a reputation for a good party. apparently young poles (and others) flock here by the thousands in the summer time to take advantage of the clubbing atmosphere. but that’s not why i was…
