-
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…
-
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…
-
friday things: hello, 2017
maybe i am just one of those perpetually upbeat people. even when things are going kind of rough or i’m wearing an all black ensemble, i can’t really help but be a bit peppy. even in january. the change to the new year always puts me in a great mood of new beginnings and usually brings icy wintery weather to budejovice. (a view from this morning, above) so! i thought i’d put in motion the first ‘friday things’ of the year! just some things that i’ve been into lately or have been making me happy. 1. this coat i’ve decided this year i stop worrying about trying to blend in…
-
a year of travels: 2016
2016 was (mostly) all sunshine and rainbows over in these parts: i can’t believe (unlike previous years) that we managed some travel in every single month of the year. it really goes to show what you can find in your own backyard if you embrace it. last january, almost a year from now, we experienced highly frenetic weather: the earlier part with a cold burst of snow (the only of that winter!) and in the latter part, temps around 12ºC, which made day trips to places like třeboň (above) ideal. we dined on “carp fries” at supinka restaurant (the best fish restaurant probably in the country – highly recommended!) and marveled in…
-
those magical days
even though christmas is over, i do love that stretch of days between the holiday and the new year. nobody is really in town yet, everything is running slowly and mostly still, everyone’s playing, everyone’s happy… i am embracing it this year (as i mentioned in the last post) rather than feeling guilty for lack of productivity. if there’s any time to take it easy, it’s now! i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! we started ours with a walk through krumlov and took ferdie on his first trip (with a bus ride longer than ten minutes). he did okayyyyy, until he upchucked on the floor of the bus! (mental…
-
a first taste of southern moravia
of all the belated trips, a visit to the southern moravian region of the czech republic (southeast, north of the vienna-area austrian border) was the one that has been pushed off for much too long. i mean, how did we just only now go there? well, i can tell you it likely will not be the last time, because i found moravia just lovely. everyone from over here in south bohemia often says that the people from southern moravia are the most friendly, and this has got to be my experience as well, just from a short weekend away at the end of october. not only that, but the scenery…
-
october things + my favorite autumn breakfast (recipe)
i have been a studious, busy little bee lately now that my brain is fully embracing autumn and has already gone back to school! i’ve decided to take a less crazy schedule than i had last year because, you should’ve seen me last year – i was running around like a mad person! there is this cycle that happens to english teachers here (and maybe other places, i don’t know) where you want to get more and more lessons to fill up your schedule. you keep gathering more and more until finally, you have so many that you are starting to go crazy. you are running in and out of…
-
loket? i love it!
it only took seeing one photo of this beautiful little town in northwest czech republic to get me to add it onto my trip, and i’m so glad i made it up there!we spent our fourth of july this year in loket, a sort of “český krumlov of the north”, checking into our cozy little pension facing the long main street. to spend one night here is the perfect amount of time, even more if you are planning to go boating on the ohře river or mountain biking in the lush surrounding forests. as castles go, this one was both beautiful to look at and fun to visit, housing many…
-
loving local: at june’s end
do you ever plan things way in advance only to realize, when the day gets closer, you don’t really want to go through with that plan anymore? that’s what happened to us this week, as was the first really “summer holiday” week for the both of us, we had talked about going camping ages ago until the week got here and i started having major decision anxiety. (holler to all of my fellow indecisive friends; the struggle is real) really, all i want is just to spend a little downtime at home or puttering around budějovice. it has happened: that sobo life has taken hold of me. (but watch in…
-
celebrating summer, art, + love in krumlov
ahhh, the good month of june that ushers in the long-awaited summer season. still the unpredictable spring weather, yet we can rely on its warmer temperatures and suddenly, everything is a-buzz. no longer am i hibernating indoors because how can you when there is so much to do? outdoor festivals and concerts under the stars, barbecues with good buds, and open-air theater. we are lucky here in south bohemia that one of the best and most well-known open-air theaters is right here in our region, located in český krumlov. not only is it an outdoor theater, only open in the warmer months, but it’s a revolving theater (otáčivé hlediště). that…
