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the shores of bohemia
last month, i was hit by the annual spring homesickness wave and could think of nothing but the ocean. whether in washington or in iceland, i just wanted to walk along a beach, to smell saltwater, to feel waves lapping against my feet. i spoke to a couple of people about this great wanting to be near the sea – something that i feel has been deeply embedded in my soul, if i want to get sappy. one person i talked to (a dane) mentioned they do not share my need for the ocean. somebody else mentioned – well – here in czech republic, we are river people! fortunately my…
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a snowy getaway in the bohemian forest
i haven’t yet had the opportunity to write about this year’s trip to the šumava for the long easter weekend! as we have four official days (or five school days) off for easter, it is our tradition to go on some kind of trip. if easter falls earlier in the year, we typically like to head to a city. if it falls later – some after about the 10th of april– we like to head to the natural wonderland in our backyard that is šumava national park. this year, everything was set and booked to head to a city we both enjoy to get to know it a bit better……
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the place i can’t get out of my head
i don’t know where my obsession with iceland came from… because it is an obsession, full-blown. maybe it was in college at some point when an acquaintance of mine did a one month seminar in reykjavik in the mid-aughts. it was the first time i had ever heard of someone going to reykjavik, besides that one time the mighty ducks went there to play the “evil icelanders” in D2: the mighty ducks. but i digress. i became quickly enchanted with even the idea of visiting this island that met all of my criteria for a fascination: isolated. island. big enough, but not too big. a mysterious history steeped in myth.…
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mamahood in the czech republic: Q&A
no, this isn’t a cheeky pregnancy reveal. i am so pleased to have had a great chat with my friend natalie, originally from england and living in české budějovice, who recently became a mum back in the autumn. i thought it would be really interesting to hear her thoughts on pregnancy and giving birth in her adopted country. at least compared to my home country, there are loads of differences between it and the czech republic in terms of maternity policies from the outset. you may not know that the czech republic has the most generous maternity leave in europe: the first six months are paid leave at 70% of your…
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spring prague staycation
our spring prázdniny (holidays) last week were so nice! after recovering from brno, we had some great days at home (i actually had a few lessons) and finally had time to do around-the-house stuff and some social visits before heading to prague for a day or two. the reason i was so excited to go there was to stay in the gorgeous nicholas hotel which happens to be in our old hood of malá strana (i can highly recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere a bit nicer in this area, also equipped with kitchenette). but before we checked in… a bit of shopping. alex’s birthday is coming up very…
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still learning travel lessons, in brno
i am learning to be a minimal packer, and i’m starting to feel pretty good about it. when i go on a trips for just a night or two, i can fit everything in a normal-sized backpack, for sure. i even pride myself on certain packing choices, for instance, my tiny slipper socks. i bring those for some extra comfort on the road, because sometimes you need something between winter boots and socks for padding around the room or property. also, my lightweight cotton bathrobe. easily doubling as an after-swim cover-up, it’s much nicer to throw on over pajamas or underwear when you need to run out to the shared…
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goodbye to winter
last weekend, we had the final snowy and sub-zero temperatures of the winter. as winter isn’t quite over yet, it seems rather presumptuous to assert this, but a good look at the ten day forecast gives me reason to believe that the spring rumblings have officially begun. so what better than to do all the best winter things?after waking up in flannel sheets with doggie cuddles and a long leisurely breakfast of omelettes, we headed out to buy ice skates. as this was the last cold weekend and the rivers (malše & vltava) had frozen, i was darn well going to get myself ice skates as i had promised myself…
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march friday things
hi guys, time for a friday things-style post. i don’t know if it is just that winter has gone on for what feels like unbelievably too long, or if it’s so so close to spring break, but i’m just not having it lately, guys. it’s hard to summon up the ire for my work, i need way too much coffee, and my enthusiasm is starting to wane. (alex and i have a joke that whenever one of us uses the the word ‘wane’, the other person has to say, in a garth algar voice, “waaaaayyyyne?” because this is who we are. alas, it’s one more week ’til our prazdniny (holiday)…
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what’s in a name?
and now, for a post particularly about czech culture! specifically, the “name day”, or as they call it here, svátek. this is a day celebrating the saint that you are named for, or rather that also shares your name. like some other european countries with similar traditions, each day on the czech calendar has one or two names assigned to it. this day is celebrated as your name day. apparently, this day is like your second birthday. it is more often celebrated with children – perhaps some special treats, like a cake or pastries, maybe candy or small presents are given to celebrate this day. you can see in the photo…
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my anxiety: how it’s going
i never knew what a panic attack was until the year before moving to europe, 2011. earlier that year, i had experienced the worst airline turbulence of my life…. alone… in the middle seat… on my way home from my grandma’s funeral in minnesota. it was so bad, i can barely talk about it. this is about as much detail as i can give. after this happened, i started driving like an eighty-year old woman and began feeling very uncomfortable riding in the car with a fast driver or going too fast on any transport in any circumstances. my fear of heights shot up from “pretty bad” to “nearly crippling”.…
