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autumn dreamland
one thing i really like about living in české budějovice is its proximity to some pretty interesting places. we are only two hours from both prague to the north and linz, austria to the south. of course, because of international public transport tariffs, prague is by far the more affordable place to head of the two when you’ve got a free day and wanna soak up some big(ger) city lovin’. especially if you are a loyal české dráhy (czech trains) customer like i am and rack up enough points on the regular to earn free train tickets (public service announcement: if you live in the czech republic and frequently travel…
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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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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…
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rainy krumlov
may first in many cities across europe means an all day party in the street in celebration of european labor day. may first in czech republic, well, that is probably one of the quietest days you ever did see… probably because everyone gets a bit wild for witches’ night the night before. but of course, i am awake. me, with scheduling a lesson pre 9am and deciding to head out to krumlov for the day. the streets of budějovice , especially usually bustling lannova třída were as dead as doornails. so, krumlov: also emptier than i have ever seen it, even in the dead of winter! the atmosphere was cool and…
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třeboň + april weekends
how odd it was to go from a full day of snow to sunny and 18°C in one week! from winter coat to bare legs and sandals. but that’s april for you. (shrug) in case you haven’t yet guessed, we had to postpone our lovely little cabin trip ‘til august… ‘cause when the proprietor contacts you the day before to tell you “it’s like winter here!”, you listen. (we just took off for prague instead, which i’ll post about on tuesday) so with the forecast looking wonderful this weekend, we spent the afternoon in třeboň, only about a half-hour away. třeboň is one of my sobo (south bohemia) happy places. i love to…
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restaurant i love: kitchen ramen, prague
after reading the inspiring new york times 36 hours in prague article, i realized i hadn’t been to prague in a minute and that it was time for a little restaurant and cafe research of my own, as well as visiting this giant antique fair that was going on at the new town hall (below) on karlovo namesti. the interior of the town hall is gorgeous (still kicking myself for not snapping any photos!) but as it was an antiques show, we quickly noticed that we were the only non over sixty or gay couple around. the fashion market was much more my thing! i persuaded everyone to try this new…
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spring im schaugarten
i am definitely procrastinating my german homework right now, but i figure if it’s talking about my time at the lovely kittenberger erlebnisgarten (botanical garden) in the wachau valley of austria, then that’s kind of german language related! going to the kittenberger gardens was to be the main point, the highlight of the day trip… and besides the dazzling danube scenery, it was my favorite part of the day. i had been tantalized with talk that kittenberger has a fabulous bio restaurant, called the glas.haus, where they make all of their entrees fresh using herbs and plants from the garden. YES! I’M HUNGRY! while the three other ladies we came…
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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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Bohemia Autumn
when you move to sobo (southern bohemia), the first thing everyone tells you to do is go to the top of klet’ mountain. at 1,084m (3,556ft) it is the tallest mountain of the blanksý forest, southwest of ĈB and northwest of ĉesky krumlov. to put it in comparison, mt. erie in anacortes is about a third of the height at 388m (1,273ft). they say on a clear day you can see the austrian alps! so, it wasn’t exactly a clear day…. but we finally made it there. we took the train 35 minutes south to holubov, a hamlet popular with outdoor enthusiasts and mushroom collectors (ie, pretty much all czechs). on the…
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Lately, Fall
life here in czech republic is picking up again! alex and i’ve both started back up with our lessons for the new school year. i chose to stick with my job at the language school that i’ve been with since february instead of teaching only children with alex. i loved being around the kids during summer camp and i do enjoy having young students, but i thought that personally, i have a lot i can offer adults as well. so, i will continue to teach a variety of ages, 7 through 60+. what i like about this job is that i can accept or decline new students as i feel…
