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still learning travel lessons, in brno
i am learning to be a minimal packer, and i’m starting to feel pretty good about it. when i go on a trips for just a night or two, i can fit everything in a normal-sized backpack, for sure. i even pride myself on certain packing choices, for instance, my tiny slipper socks. i bring those for some extra comfort on the road, because sometimes you need something between winter boots and socks for padding around the room or property. also, my lightweight cotton bathrobe. easily doubling as an after-swim cover-up, it’s much nicer to throw on over pajamas or underwear when you need to run out to the shared…
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june things
middle of june already! it’s basically summer in south bohemia, and you know it because the public art is currently being installed in the square (photos forthcoming). i wanted to thank you for your honest, enthusiastic, and heartfelt comments about my last post. it was pretty hard to put that one out there because i fully realize that not everyone living in another country (and especially in another language) has an easy go of it, but i’ve always been pretty honest in this space and hope to continue to do so, so that’s just me. that’s what’s going on. i think sort of a random life lately style post is…
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slow pace or rat race?
happy june! we are entering one of the best times of the year and i couldn’t be more pleased with these light evenings and warm sunny days. not only that, we have now had our little dog for six whole months now (!!!) and next month we’ll be headed back to the united states for five weeks! life is so good. lately we’ve just been living the “south bohemia” life – nothing much to put on paper. in fact, i suppose that’s why i haven’t had much to say lately (that i haven’t already micro-blogged on instagram, that is – hah). i certainly have been around and not too busy (although…
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the art and balance of treating yourself
i’m still figuring this ish out. it may seem like i’ve got it all handled, but it’s been and continues to be a process. learning how to budget for two people on teacher’s salaries has been a slippery slope, but i’m finally grasping it. then add a dog into that mix (ohhh, so that’s where the extra cash for the past few months has been going…), and a five week trip back to the u.s. this summer (across four different states), and well, there can be complications. i think i’m getting the hang of it, though, and our “seasons of poor” have been less and less frequent as i learn…
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the glorious oncoming of may
i always adore the beginning of may. even moreso this year. i know i may have been gloating a little about our summer-like weather on april first, but trust me, i got my comeuppance, because it snowed last friday. all over. big dumpings. and it wasn’t okay. we opted out of this year’s boat trip because of it (of course, the most hardcore went and survived). after stumbling through the frigid last week of april, i just couldn’t get my ire up and was so glad to see the end of that month. we diiiid squeeze in a fun date night that night at fancy schmancy u solne brany which…
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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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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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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…
