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bohemian forest
hello friends! just spent a lovely few easter days staying at a pension by lake lipno and hiking through the bohemian national forest, known here as šumava. this was my big chance to actually get out and explore the country that i find myself living in instead of being swayed by more famous or sexier destinations. in the year and a half i’ve lived in czech republic, i’ve only planned one holiday here… something which needed to be remedied! the šumava forest area is in the south-west corner of the czech republic, hugging the borders of both germany and austria. it’s not only full of beautiful forests but many hills…
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lambcake
on wednesday afternoon after i returned home for the day, i noticed a large white box (with breathing holes… ???) sitting on the kitchen counter. having no idea what to expect, i opened it to reveal this… the most elaborate and precious holiday food creation that has ever been gifted upon us. THE LAMB CAKE. i squealed with equal parts joy and confusion. for a couple days this massive cake (called beránek) has been shrouded in confusion and mystery, until i was discussing czech easter traditions with a student yesterday and i found out that lamb cake is a thing. every mamka and babička makes one… and they simply won’t be stopped. you…
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spring im schaugarten
i am definitely procrastinating my german homework right now, but i figure if it’s talking about my time at the lovely kittenberger erlebnisgarten (botanical garden) in the wachau valley of austria, then that’s kind of german language related! going to the kittenberger gardens was to be the main point, the highlight of the day trip… and besides the dazzling danube scenery, it was my favorite part of the day. i had been tantalized with talk that kittenberger has a fabulous bio restaurant, called the glas.haus, where they make all of their entrees fresh using herbs and plants from the garden. YES! I’M HUNGRY! while the three other ladies we came…
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rainy wachau valley
phewww, still out of breath from the weekend. mainly, because i said YES to everything. yes, i will go to a concert of a legendary 1980’s czech punk rock band! yes, i will go to the easter market in the square and eat all the food! and when my tour-guide landlord came and knocked on my door at 8:30pm saturday night and asked if i wanted to go to the wachau valley in north-central austria at 7:00am the next morning… well, of course i did! so we set off bright and early, crossing the border into austria about forty-five minutes into the car ride. as soon as you cross the border,…
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springy, pt II
i am bursting with love for this spring weather and the new greenery that’s popping up around me every day. it’s the time to start waking up and do all the things you’ve been wanting to do in the long winter months. i love that it’s when things start to happen: the first day of spring, alex’s birthday, easter weekend, the may 1st holiday, and then my birthday. this year i also got to add in a visit from my dad into this line-up. killer view of the square from my dad’s suite at hotel zvon looking at the north entrance to knezka street, the black tower greenery along the…
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what i do differently now
since i’ve recently passed the year and a half abroad mark, i thought i’d share a collection of things i do differently now than back home in the states. some of it is completely out of necessity but some of them are things i might decide to adopt if and when i return. so let’s have a look…. FOOD/COOKING I used a counter-top “dorm” refrigerator for over six months until we upgraded to a medium-sized one last fall. there really wasn’t a freezer so anything frozen had to be consumed immediately. it has been nice for reducing waste- you have to really look at your food more! generally, i have to…
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what a week
they say the hardest part of doing nearly everything is taking the first step, which was last week. this week feels as though the first steps are starting to bud: my first german lesson since 2008 will be next tuesday (!!!) and we met with our chill and laid-back engagement shoot photographer to talk plans for the end of the month. last time i’ve had professional portraits taken was over ten years ago at age 17, so what better time than now to have a go at it again? even if we don’t use these photos for really anything, they will be such a special keepsake of our time living…
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krumlov-ing it, pt II
there’s something about tiny český krumlov that makes me really happy. of course it’s beautiful and a unesco world heritage site (also the second most visited town in the czech republic) and its geography is quite unique (the vltava river makes an “S” curve through the compact center), but it could be other reasons. it was the first place i ever visited in the czech republic, way back in 2006. it was one of the reasons we moved to budějovice, because i knew how great south bohemia was already. or that i’ve taught kids there. but maybe it’s just that it’s a laid-back place to be with relaxed people and a…
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springy
some photos above from last weekend’s “spring fest”: a 20C day that was spent taking strolls around the neighborhood, eating ice cream (and a delicious breakfast of apple oatmeal, as you can see above), and loving life. there is something about the first couple warm days of the year that really instills that life loving feeling in you. this week has generally been really exciting and busy. i bought my wedding dress on monday evening, and the entire dress process was so ridiculously painless that i thought i might be doing it wrong. many ladies go to bridal gown salons with all their best friends so they can help them…
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karlovo náměstí
prague’s “other” square is actually quite larger than the more famous old town square at approx. 70,000m² (the 27th largest in the world). it’s the absolute heart of prague’s nové město (new town), founded in 1348 by who else but bohemian king charles IV. when it was built it was supposed to become the most important square of new town until vaclavske namesti (wenceslas square) became far more famous and used in modern czech history. although much quieter than the other famous square in this district, i like it for its proximity to the river and everything that seems important in prague. wenceslas square is great for shopping, but this square…
