Prague Blog: Twilight

Twilight came upon us so early that far north! And it was glorious. The sky turned so many colors, I wanted to capture each phase.

And then as the sun set, we came to this beautiful live tree in the town square, decorated for Christmas!

Prague Blog: First Look

As soon as we got checked into our hotel and freshened up (read here: used the facilities), we headed out for the town. We knew we had very limited time, and we wanted to make the most of Saturday night. (read here: eat ham) We rounded the corner from our hotel to THIS!

I don't believe I've ever actually seen anything Gothic except in a textbook. I had one layover in London and another in Munich, but I don't believe I saw anything Gothic. This took my breath away. The sign said it was a late Gothic town gateway from medieval Prague. It would have been here that the Bohemian kings would have walked on the coronation procession to the Prague Castle. I just kept staring at it, then darting into the street between cars to get more pictures. I took a lot of pictures!

As we walked, we began to see street performers. They weren't pushy in any way. Some folks left donations, some did not. They were all quite talented.

Prague Blog: From Here to There

Well, I am excited I get to blog about Prague! I had planned to entitle this series, "Prague Through My Eyes" but thought this morning my wordsmith husband might enjoy the rhyme, "Prague Blog" more. So, this title is for him. My friend L is turning 40 this month. She asked a small group of friends to join her for a weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. The others were unable to attend, but I was so happy that CC said I could go. I must preface these posts by saying that it is nearly cheaper for me fly here than it would be to take a road trip to Gatlinburg for you. Please don't judge my splurge! Now that I am teaching again, I have a little more freedom to do some fun things. So, the first weekend in December came, and early on a Saturday morning, we were off.

Leaving Istanbul looked quite different than...

flying into the Czech Republic.

It felt so weird to not be buckling a little person next to me.

We flew with the national soccer team from Kazakhstan. The manager was explaining all about their tournament and injuries and where they were headed. I left the conversation smiling and having no idea what he actually said about any of those thing.

A 1 hour flight to Istanbul, then a 2.5 hour flight to Prague brought us to a charming hotel in downtown Prague, built in the early 1900's.

Christmas Launch!

I love, love, love Christmas! It's especially meaningful to find reminders in a place that doesn't technically celebrate Christmas. This year we didn't have our traditional Christmas Fair, but the senior class did a scaled down version to raise money for their end of the year trip. It was fun to see Santa. Incidentally, he also gives me my paycheck! 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we always decorate. I made a snack supper for us. 

CC does the tree and lights. He's the master. 

I absolutely love the month of enjoying this look! 

I found a darling Christmas throw. Phaselis had claimed it as his own. 

A vase, some stripped branches, and some Christmas balls. Simple but fun. 

Firstborn converted my door wreath into Christmas. 

How are you preparing? Share your ideas with me. 

Indo Dance

We were invited to an Indonesian dance, sponsored by the Indonesian government. We got to sample some Indonesian food. The satay brought back good memories of Singapore street food. These ladies played a traditional instrument, which we also remembered from when we were neighbors with Indonesia. 

I kept thinking as I watched this dance from the back of the auditorium..."Wow, those gals REALLY look so much like our Indonesian students." I found out later THEY WERE our Indonesian students! 

The gal freaked me out a bit. She did this entire dance with a mask on the back of her head. Then she'd flip around and have a whole new costume with different music. She had several acts. I'm still scratching my head on some of them. 

To show partnership with Turkey, the embassy invited this traditional Turkish dance group to perform. Check out the swords. They meant business. They were very good. CC says he'd still rather wear a Scottish kilt than the saggy pants, though. 

And here is the whole ensemble, along with the Indonesian ambassador. It was a fun night, far different than what we do on most date nights! 

Repurposing

Recently our neighbor across the hall threw out an old table top. Firstborn clicked a picture of it, walked down to her salon, and asked if it was indeed trash. She asked her what she wanted to do with it. Firstborn said, "Paint it." She said, "Take it." Can't wait to see what she turns out! 

3D Madness

We had a little fun money recently. I found a kids' movie in ENGLISH!! That's a first in this country. They had a 5:30PM showing of the 3D Peanuts movie. We loved it! I think CC and I laughed as much as the kids!