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my favorite things
“raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittensbright copper kettles and warm woollen mittensbrown paper packages tied up with stringsthese are a few of my favorite things” a fun assortment of things that make cynthia tick… or at least that light up my day. funnily enough, most of these are in some way related to travel. of course. nudelboxes in berlin doner kebaps, currywurst, and really legit fallafels from that place in neukölln are great, but i have been and will continue to be all about: the nudelbox. asian noodles. with vegetables. in a convenient, carry-out box. sometimes you can find nudelboxes with tofu, like from this place on skalitzerstrasse near schlesisches…
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the european grocery shopping experience
it all started in berlin, schlepping the goods back from my local kaiser’s at annenstrasse (which i later learned is generally regarded as one of the more fancier, spendier supermarkets in the city) in my canvas tote bag, feeling all so proud of myself for having shopped for myself and able to walk to the store whenever needed every so often to get those weekly or twice weekly groceries for dinner making. and oh, i do have fond memories of those cold, dark autumn months cooking away in my berlin kitchen, making chicken and dumping soup or maybe one of those dr. oetker mozzarella frozen pizzas when i felt lazy…
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at summer’s end
so, it’s time to face the cold hard facts that my whirlwind summer of wonder has come to a close. and oddly, i’m pretty okay with it. it has been the hottest and longest feeling summer of my life, and earliest as i technically count it starting when we flew to the united states in late may, for upon our arrival, it was the warmest, most delicious purple evening on fidalgo island and the marine breezes blew in and i was all, “ahhhhhhh, i’m home”. of course, after months of heatwave and knowing all too well what it feels like for sweat to drip down your back (yuk), i am…
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how i travel often (on a teacher’s budget)
it’s not a secret that ESL (english as a second language) teachers in europe aren’t the wealthiest lot (although i have heard a different story about asia– that’s where you can really rake in the $$). no, for us here on the european continent, the job is a labor of love, but one that puts us very near many intriguing and interesting new places to visit. my travel list is always a mile long and it never ends. a day after returning from a trip, i am already thinking of the next destination! in my three years abroad (yep, i just hit big three! hooray!), besides getting acclimated, settled, and…
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the bake off bake along, week 1
so, what do you do when it’s too hot too go outside? stay in and bake, of course! i have never seen the bbc program, the great british bake-off, until a couple days ago when i decided to give it a go. (hey, it was too hot to do anything else) i actually really enjoyed it– it reminded me of my love of british programming and britain itself. after my seven week stint falling in love with the UK three years ago living with hosts throughout scotland, you can go ahead and call me an anglophile. (full on. card carrying member.) so! with the dog days of summer in full…
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taking stock
i was hoping that my time in the united states would help me figure some things out… to take a step back from life in europe and glean some clarity from looking at the whole adventure from afar. now i’m heading back to czech republic, the country that takes hold of you (or as kafka once said, “grasps you in its claws ”) and doesn’t let you go where it’s hard to make these big decisions about the future. the easy stuff: i knew i would return to the czech republic. (already kinda had that return plane ticket!) i knew i would spend at least one more school year there.…
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A Local’s Guide to České Budějovice
When I moved to Budějovice (international alias, Budweis) in 2013, there was almost no information online about this place, save for an extremely scant Lonely Planet blurb (and thank goodness for that!). Moving somewhere sight-unseen without knowing any information or what is actually there is a little unsettling, which is why I have for you this “visitor’s guide to České Budějovice” (pronounced chess-kay bood-yay-yo-vit-suh), written by a “new local”. As tourists have started to discover this city, more and more info is thankfully online, but I still present to you this guide I have written and keep updated. Whether you are looking into studying here, moving here, or maybe even making…
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of markets & museums, prague
i finally got to see those famous prague easter markets the day before easter sunday after missing them by chance for a few years, and i have to say, i don’t know what i was expecting (perhaps something more low key like budějovice’s easter market?) but they completely surpassed any expectation. i am well familiar by now with the extravaganza that is the prague old town square christmas market, and the easter market was basically the spring version of this. same viewing platform that you can climb to get a good view. same kingswood cider tent, only decorated for spring this time. i loved the (fake) cherry blossom trees that…
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liebster time, pt II
hello friends! i hope you’ve been enjoying this lovely valentýnska weekend. i have been so burnt out the past couple days of the week. on wednesday, i completely forgot to plan any and all lessons for thursday… and i never do this kind of thing. organized and prepared is always my m.o., but guys, i was just losing it. i cancelled one of my lessons just to get my act together. thursday evening, i set my alarm clock for the time i was supposed to leave the house instead of wake up (however managed to catch this error in the nick of time), but something was just not right. i awoke friday in a…
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zima
zima (winter) thoughts… // since i’ve cooped myself up for the entire month of january planning our honeymoon, i feel ready to get back out into the world and out of my hibernation! the only problem: it’s too damn cold. weeeee’ll see how that goes shortly. twenty one degrees farenheit doesn’t exactly scream “day trip” to me, as much as i’d love to. // finally getting my wedding dress tailored and looking at rings, thanks to a lovely student of mine who has a seamstress friend and knows all the best jewelry stores in town. with the czech koruna the way it’s been lately ($1 = 24.5kc… dear lord, please…
