• Summer

    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…

  • Summer

    a real winter

    this month has been quite the opposite of last year’s super mild, almost spring weather. no, it’s even colder and snowier than the first winter we lived here in czechland (2013). this winter is frigid, the kind with a constant layer of snow and ice on the ground. (wasn’t it a great time to get a dog and have to take him outside all the time?) we’ve been experiencing regular temperatures of between -8°C and -14°C, with one today about a week and a half ago even getting as cold as -17°C (1°F!). i can say, undoubtedly, that these are the coldest temperatures i have ever been in in my…