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bohemian forest, pt. II
three years ago, we spent our annual easter trip in šumava national forest (also known to german speakers as böhmerwald, bohemian forest). it was a simple hiking holiday where we stayed near lake lipno in a cheerful pension with a terrace and was so sore from all that wandering. isn’t it funny that sometimes the simpler trips can turn into the best ones? we’ve been talking for the past three years about what a nice time that was, and so thought it was time to reprise it this year. šumava is a big place. it is a huge protected forest area extending from the south at the austrian border near…
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what you need for a merry little czech easter
the country in which i currently live, the czech republic (or as some are trying to make happen, “czechia”), is currently not known for being a very religious country. they certainly have had their share of religious leaders and famous reformers (such as jan hus and jan of nepomuk), but communism pretty effectively killed off what dedication to religion remained, and the country currently stands as one of the most areligious in europe. which is then interesting why last year, in 2016, the parliament successfully voted to make good friday (or rather as czechs call it, big friday – velký pátek) a public holiday, which will officially go into effect…
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teresa’s valley in early spring
last weekend, we had weather over twenty degrees here in south bohemia. on the first few days of april. what a fantastic development! i am used to the perpetual central european winter that finally subsides sometime after the middle of april, but nothing like this! i think almost every single person that day was outside somewhere – especially in their gardens, if they had one. i saw these temperatures coming from a week away and i’ve been waiting to get back into that day-tripping spirit we felt so strongly our first spring here (for years ago), so we headed to teresa’s valley (terčino údolí) near nové hrady (a town a…
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end of march things + spring cake recipe!
traditionally, i’m not a huge fan of march. for all intents and purposes, it’s still winter for most of it, and here in central europe the trees are almost all still bare throughout. this month however was so much fun with our very important visitor from michigan, loads of travel, parties, games, beer (!!!), and ending with the most beautiful spring weather. i guess it is true what they say about “in like a lion, out like a lamb”. some thoughts, stories, and happenings from the past couple weeks of life in south bohemia… – we have the best travel dog! after our first overnight trip with ferdie (to prague),…
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spring in south bohemia: to-do list
i love making lists. at any given time, there are so many thoughts flying around my brain that list making is really the only way to harness these ideas. normally, i do this offline. i feel odd putting myself out there too much on the internet (really!), but i thought this time (only?) it might be fun to share with you a peek of my spring to-do list. so now that it’s spring (happy spring! how great are all of these extra daylight hours?), here’s what is on my mind…. a day on the river as i mentioned briefly talking about my hopes for this year, no year is complete…
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ten years later, in bamberg
for the occasion of my mother in law’s visit, a little bit of travel was in order. not only was it her first time in the czech republic, but her first time in europe, so she was really eager to travel west to neighboring germany (a country of her ancestry) to set foot in the vaterland. even though we are really close to austria here, nope! germany it must be. but if you know me, you know that i had no problem with that. i also knew that she isn’t a big fan of major metropolises, and because bavaria is the closest region of germany to us, a specific city…
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prague soul
i don’t normally take a week off for spring holidays week, but man, i think i might have to start, ‘cause we’ve just been having so much fun lately. (also, let’s be honest – nobody wants lessons that week – holidays here are serious) we went to prague to pick up my mother-in-law from the airport (kicked off with a long chat over flat whites at costa) and spent such a lovely time immersed in all the things that make up this great city. we wandered old town square at night and watched the “morality play” with the rest of the tourists. night is really the time to go! i…
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what i’ve learned about language learning after 4+ years abroad
“if i spend years in central europe without even bothering to study languages… what a waste of time that would be!” i had this thought shortly after a fateful conversation occurred, the one that spurred me to finally sign up for a czech language class. more and more, this statement continues to be so correct. since last autumn, i’ve kicked my language learning into high gear when my german group course was cancelled, taking it as a sign to sign up for an individual german tutor. so since october, i’ve had weekly german and czech lessons… but turns out, studying two languages simultaneously takes a lot of work. suddenly, it…
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friday things: february
hi all, i’m at you for the monthly ‘friday things’ on the last friday of february! this has been such a busy (yet good) week full of hardcore language studies, teaching, chatting at a čajovna drinking the freshest japanese green tea, and thinking about some great books and stories i’ve read over the past week (and one terrible one, haha). onward with some happy things & a piece of news! i suppose the news part is… 1) summer plans! i can say now that we are officially heading back to the united states for over a month this summer – it will be our “big trip” this year! we’ll be…
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valentine’s day (& why i’ll always love it)
valentine’s day is the zenith in an otherwise cold and dark season. it’s nice to feel excited when february rolls around to celebrate this day of love. something i don’t get, however, is why people are so darn stanky about it. i mean, i see why a little bit on social media where everyone is posting photos of their significant other with mushy declarations of love. to me, valentine’s day is not about just one person and has never been. i will always remember how my parents would surprise me with chocolates and other lovely treats on valentine’s morning every year growing up. or the time that my dad and…
