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 note: when traveling with your dog, always bring tissues and cleaning implements!) i was so charmed by the empty streets all for us, of seeing only locals around that we knew instead of tourists, getting a bit of

bramborák,

(potato pancake) on – because a christmas cannot come and go without at least one bramborak in the belly. after a leisurely bit of coffee n’ cake, we (with our friend, marketa) caught the annual “live bethlehem” performance in the castle courtyard. the only christmas play i know that involves bears.

our czech christmas day (the 24th) was lovely as well, spending it with our family friends. to my surprise, there was no carp consumed! babička z made various

řízek

(schnitzel) of pork and turkey with the traditional potato salad and soup with croutons. i think the most surprising bit was when the bell rang, signaling the arrival of

ježíšek

(little jesus – the czech “santa”), the five kids tore into the room and started opening their gifts like madmen. it was some kind of chaos! but it was fun to watch them open their gifts and all the pleasures of christmas written on their faces. (ježíšek

even brought something for us, wow!)

christmas day was brilliant. the weather was absolutely terrible, making it a wonderful cozy time indoors, opening gifts with our new dog hanging around. it really did feel like christmas! we snacked all day on a “smorgasbord” and had homemade eggnog with christmas pudding while watching it’s a wonderful life in the glow of the colorful lights and candles. 

but more importantly, vánočka french toast. how is that not a thing yet, here? (vánočka is buttery, braided czech christmas bread baked with raisins inside, and usually featuring sliced almonds on top)

is it still really christmas without smoked salmon? (no way, dude)

the other night, we were sifting through some old photos from seattle from the time that alex and i had just started dating. it was so strange to see photos of myself from this time – around the time that i moved out of seattle and started this adventure. to me, this seems like just last year, but i know that it has been over five years. i don’t feel so different (nor look so different) than i was in those photos, although i know that everything else and everyone else has changed. i saw the “seattle me” in these photos, the one that was dissatisfied with her job and circumstances but just decided to hussle and “own it”. now, living in europe and having a beautiful apartment, wonderful job, and am married, i felt almost like i had lost that gritty discontent that i saw in those photos, which almost disappointed me a little (i know, i know – when is the grass not greener?). as alex likes to remind my nostalgic self, it is best to leave the past in the past! one must concentrate on the present. and on those notes, i am prepared to do just that as we head into the new year.

“don’t look back – you’re not going that way.” (present day cynthia on her 30th birthday, 2016)

i’ll be at you all in a couple of days with a yearly recap post – in the meantime, will be making and eating all the things. don’t forget to get lazy (if you can) these next few days and enjoy every single drop of the remaining festive season.

čau!