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Christmas + A Big Surprise
veselé vánoce, friends! my second czech christmas is technically still underway (as people traditionally get the 24th-26th off work) and it’s magical. this year my mother has joined us from far away washington state and we’ve been doing a whole lot of wandering the cobblestoney budějovice city streets, last chance advent markets, and of course: eating a TON of food (i may have gone overboard with grocery shopping, perhaps to make up for what is now known as our poor czech christmas last year) and a lot of relaxing before our trip to salzburg tomorrow. and, oh yeah……. i got engaged! alex and i have had a few chats about marriage before, both…
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A Surprise Vienna
last friday morning, my landlord, martin (who lives in the flat below me) knocked on my door, inquiring whether or not we were free to join a day-trip to vienna the next day, as there were two free seats in his van. ….so, that was a no-brainer. české budějovice is fascinatingly only a two and a half hour drive from vienna and the idea of going there only for the day was blowing my mind! as in: i live somewhere where i can visit vienna. for the day. and then come home and go to sleep. so began what seemed like two days worth of sights packed into one, waking up…
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A Word on Christmas
i’m now approaching my second christmas abroad here in the czech republic. for me, being away from home for christmas isn’t such a big deal since i’m from quite a small family anyway, and a christmas of two or three people feels normal. of course i really think quite fondly about christmases spent at home on fidalgo island and how lovely the christmas season is back in the city streets of downtown seattle or the polar bear plunge at golden gardens and i know i’ll have more to look forward to in the future. honestly, how i celebrate the holidays abroad really isn’t so different from back home in WA–…
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Jindřichův Hradec (or as we call it, Henry Castle)
i haven’t even begun to write and i’m getting distracted by czech kids singing “we wish you a merry christmas”, echoing in the hallway. adorable. CHRISTMAS IS COMING, PEOPLE! HOOBOY! it shows in the amount of lessons i’ve been having lately (ehhh…. 10 out of the normal 15 per week) because of cancellations galore. but that’s alright since it gives me ample time to do what’s important in life, like bake cookies! make homemade decorations! write this blog post! cook dinner! and visit the town square, which is an absolute hot-spot of yuletide activity right now. i can’t walk by it without wanting a glorious vanoci punč– the aroma always…
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St. Mikuláš Eve
st. mikuláš (nicholas) eve, celebrated on the evening of the fifth of december in many european countries, is nice, but a holiday i don’t yet quite understand. we have nothing like it in the U.S. i asked a czech friend, “so it’s like santa visiting?” to which she replied, “no, we have that on the 24th when jezizek visits”. so basically, it’s a freebie christmas holiday. chalk up another reason why celebrating the holidays is wonderful in europe. i know in germany, st. nikolaus visits and puts fruit, sweets, nuts, and other treats in the shoes of good children. well, here in czech republic, it’s a bit different! the fifth…
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December/Prosinec
ahhh, my favorite time of year is here again! and this year i’m not taking classes and studying like mad so i can really enjoy it. the first snow of the winter fell last week and boy, it was perfect. light fluffy swirling snowflakes: my favorite! got into the spirit and ordered myself an early christmas gift of this pine mason jar candle. (big candles are not a thing here) the path from the bus stop to the plant i teach at (my usual monday and tuesday morning) also, the first place i taught last february, always in the snow. we’ve come full circle! an excellent start of the season.…
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Prahably
i sometimes do things on the weekends like walk around charles bridge and take in the amazing lit up architecture of mala strana. drink dark unfiltered beer in some nice friendly pub in hradcanska with friends. going to america bar on america street in vinohrady. explore new streets that used to be unfamiliar to me. refresh my memory of what tram routes go which places. take a nice foggy morning walk to the starbucks at ip pavlova for a gingerbread latte. i do these things and love life. and this view will never get old. (photos from walking home, last january)
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here we snow again. photos of the green (well, white) stretch of park that is wrapped around the northern border of the city center, na sadech. only a few minutes walk from my house. today: staying warm, planning a sunny summer sweden holiday (ahhhh), and overcame my fear of czech post offices. it’s not soooo bad!
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scavenger hunt
in mid-january, alex’s family asked us to do a scavenger hunt of certain things as part of their family birthday activity back in michigan. we went looking for some of these things in prague, especially since we had a lot of time on our hands then…. here is what we found. the stipulation is that we must appear in each photo to prove we were there. a traffic light a flag as big as a table (hard to tell from this, but it’s true) something(s) yellow a fast food restaurant (that time i actually had a panic episode in the mustek metro station right before this) a bus (this on taken…
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still winter
sure it may be mid-march, but it ain’t spring! currently, it’s snowing again. with no wish nor reason to venture out today, i will likely be practicing german, reading books, tea drinking, and un-stretching my favorite wool sweater, blasted thing. here are some photos of a sunnier time but no less cold time, two weeks ago when alex and i ventured out to some lakes in the north part of the city, Ĉeskê Vrbne. i really had never seen an entirely frozen over lake before that day.
