Here I sit in the waiting room at Dulles Airport, awaiting my flight back "home" to London, after a lovely visit back "home" in the US.   Which one really is home?  Well, my comfy pillow and my husband and youngest son await me in London, although my 2 oldest sons, the rest of my family, and my photo albums are in the US.  So which is it?  While in the US, it was great to be back in our awesome house in Vestal, NY - but I don't feel at all attached to that community.  Kyle & I drove to NJ for a few days, where I felt right at home, although I don't have a house there.  I have many wonderful friends in the US, but have made some wonderful friends in London.  And we have some friends that live beyond both of those locations.  While in my "hometown" of Liverpool, NY, I stayed with my sister Maria and of course visited with family at the old homestead on Berrywood Road, but my childhood bedroom is now my stepmom's cool state-of-the-art sewing room.  And is Liverpool really my "hometown" anyway, when I was born at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and lived in 3 other  places before my dad retired and moved us to Liverpool when I was all of 8 years old?  I spent time with a friend of 34 years (gulp - yes, Nancy - that's 3-4 years) during my visit, and also time with newer friends of only 7 years.

What is it that makes a place home?

Lots of things.  Berrywood Road is my home because it's the place where I witnessed my mom ace "Jeopardy" and my dad nearly blow a gasket laughing at Archie Bunker, and smelled their fried onions cooking on Saturday night steak night (theirs, not ours), and fought with my sisters, and listened to Elton John on my red transistor radio, and talked to Chris on the phone for hours - after 11 pm of course - when he was away at college.  Michael was born when we lived there.  Ithaca, NY, is my home because it's the first place our young family lived on its own - moldy cinderblock walls, Campbells Soup and all.  Virginia will always feel like home as I've lived there longer than any other place - albeit not all at one time; Eric & Kyle were born there, and we purchased our first house there.  It's where both Mike & Eric live now and where I still have good pals.  Even Brookfield, Connecticut feels like home; even tho' we were only there for 2 years, it was our biggest challenge in many different ways and at the same time a great community to live in.  Medford, New Jersey is where 2 of the boys graduated high school, where we lost our 2 beloved pets, and where I struck out on my own and established a "career" of sorts completely separate from the needs of my 4 guys.  The house in Vestal is where my Christmas decorations are; our flat in Hampstead is where I keep the Pyrex baking dishes that I've had since my wedding shower.

Before our first move away from Virginia, my neighbor and dear friend Enid gave me a hook with a sign that read "Home is where you hang your hat."  At the moment, the place I hang my hat is 20 Pavilion Court in London, England.  But I suppose what truly defines "home" are the memories and experiences from all of the places, however many or few, where your hat has hung.  Having so many darn hat hooks has not always been the easiest of lifestyles, but in the end, I am blessed to have had so many wonderful places to call home.

A Year in the Life

26 March, 2010: Wheels on the ground at Heathrow.  Exhausted!  Daffodils in bloom.  Shopping for the entire flat at John Lewis.  Easter at Cristina & Wycliffe's.  First night in flat:  dog barking.  Kyle: "you have got to be kidding me!"  Cigar smell lingers.  "What do you mean you don't deliver groceries?"  Air shipment arrives; suits stuffed in cabinets. "What do you mean I don't have enough credit to get a mobile phone?" British Museum.  Kenwood House.  Linguine with cockles just doesn't cut it.  Weekend in Wissendine with the Wilsons.  Seriously - Kyle and I were not lost in Hampstead Heath!  Greenwich.  Colin Farrell?  SCOTLAND!!  Fitness walks.  National Gallery. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth - pinching myself.  Windsor Castle - awesome; Royal Ascot - freezing!  "What do you mean I still don't have enough credit to get a mobile phone?" British lamb is scrumptious. 4th of July with the American Ambassador & Bianca Jagger.  Cristina & Wycliffe's lovely wedding.  Mike visits!  Golf at the Belfry.  PARIS!!  David Hyde Pierce.  Maria visits!  Jersey Boys.  Chris sees Andrew in Oz. Anniversary at the Ritz.  Back to US.  Les Mis.  Brussels!  The Wallace Collection. STONEHENGE!  Thanksgiving in Prague with Matt.  1st snow in London.  Flights resume at Heathrow. Michael & Sarah & Eric & Lauren.  BRUGES!  Westvleteren #12. Christmas!  Fabulous Bath.  Bearable winter.  SPAIN!!  Daffodils in bloom. 26 March, 2011.  Yeah?  So what's next?

La Lluvia en España...

... not only stayed on the plain, but it stayed away from us altogether.  Our trip to the southern region of Andalucia in Spain was unforgettable - one of our best trips ever.  We'd originally been planning an excursion to somewhere hot & sunny for February - Egypt or Jordan perhaps.  However, political events in  the area gave us pause and we decided to play it safe and head to the Canary Islands, a Spanish owned volcano-created chain of islands off the coast of North Africa.   Then, the later our trip kept getting pushed back due to schedule conflicts, the more I thought that the south of mainland Spain might just be warm enough.  Many Brits travel to Spain for their  holidays so I had lots of advice and recommendations, and we decided to take our unpredictable-springtime-weather chances and go for it.

We're so glad we did!

We flew from London to Malaga (mah-lah-gah) (I learned quickly that the correct pronunciation is important if you don't want your British friends making fun of you), then rented a car - they drive on the right there - and headed to Marbella (mahr-bye-uh) and our first hotel.  (I've decided to skip the details of not being able to put the address into the GPS and going first to the wrong hotel.)  It was rainy and late so we decided to stay put and have a bottle of wine and some tapas in the hotel bar.  This was the only appearance of the "r" word on the entire trip.   I was a bit discouraged the next morning when I looked out over our balcony to the outdoor walkers below and saw many wearing hats & gloves.  But by the time we finished our fantastic breakfast and got showered and dressed, the sun was more dominant than the clouds and out we went to explore the old town area of the city - "Casco Antiguo".  It was lovely.  Marbella is a coastal city and our hotel was right on the Mediterranean Sea, so we were able to get our ocean-fix as well.  Of all places we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner that was highly recommended and it was good.

The next day we mistakenly left my coat behind in the lobby as we checked out - the good news was that I didn't need it the rest of the trip!  We left Marbella and headed for Seville, planning to make a stop on the way to a town called Ronda at the suggestion of a friend in London.  Ronda is also said to be the home of bullfighting, and who can resist that distinction?  After winding our way up the mountain road (brought the Lucy classic "The Long Long Trailer" to mind), we did go to the "Plaza del Toros" and saw the bullring and the Bullfighting museum and found both worthwhile stops.  What we weren't expecting, however, was the absolutely breathtaking views and vistas we encountered in Ronda.  The town is perched on a cliff, split by a  330-ft. deep gorge called El Tajo ("the cut").   The resulting scenery is, in a word, spectacular.  We truly had to tear ourselves away from the views in order to make it to Seville (seh-vee-uh) by dark.  And we did.

Seville is the capital of Andalucia and is a beautiful place.  Our hotel was in an area of wind-y city streets, barely the width of the car we drove.  The hotel itself was a former palace and had retained most of its original structure and decor, but the room was quite contemporary and comfy.  After a busy day (not only sightseeing, but Chris was called on some work issues dealing with the crisis in Japan and the LM employees & families living there) we decided again to stay at the hotel for dinner - which was truly the only letdown of the entire trip.  The food was, shall we say, lacking.  Our Napoleon waiter was wonderful and charming, but the dinner was disappointing to say the least, and poor Chris was forced to eat a well-done steak - those of you who know him know what a sacrilege this was.  But we rallied!

We toured the Seville Cathedral (amazing!) and royal palace (Reales Alcázare) the next day, and happened upon O'Flaherty's Irish Pub just outside of the cathedral (talk about sacrilege), so it being St. Patrick's Day, and myself being nearly completely Irish (blarney is the word you're looking for), we of course had to stop for a pint o'Guinness... and a green Heineken for me.  Yes, we've seen many cathedrals - just about every city in Europe has one - and as I've said before, they each have their own impressive distinctions; Seville's was no exception.  For example, it houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus.  Chris-to-pher-Col-um-bus for crying out loud.  And it was beautiful.  As were the gardens of the Reales Alcázare (btw, pronounced "al-cahth-uh").  In fact, these gardens were one of the highlights of the trip for me.  I almost could not stop taking pictures, as you'll see in the photo album.  Following our tours, we found the guidebook-recommended restaurant for tapas, where I tried the first of my two "mystery meals".  "Mystery" because the menus were completely in Spanish and the waitress/waiter spoke little English, so their explanation of the item sounded, well, like they were speaking in a foreign language.  I figured, hey - I ate ant eggs in Mexico City and liked them.  What's the worst that can happen?  In both cases, I was pleasantly surprised.

Back to the hotel for a needed siesta, then on to "Tablao el Arenal" for an authentic flamenco (or as Chris says, flamingo) show.  And what a show!  I will not claim to know a thing about flamenco and its origins, but I can say that it involves clapping of the hands, stomping of the feet, excellent guitar skills, singing that in some cases sounds like moans of pain, and a great deal of emotion and interpretation.  We really enjoyed it... but was not terribly disappointed when it ended.  What followed was a frustrating 30 minutes trying to find the restaurant that the concierge had made a reservation at for us; I must inject here that so far our experience in the UK & Europe has been that even if and when there is an actual street name, people don't use it when giving directions.  They simply say things like "Just go left up this road then across the square and down the alley and you will see it.  You will definitely see it!"  So then when we don't see it, and have to go back to where we asked directions and they look incredulous and say, "You didn't see it?!"  we feel incredibly estúpido.  C'est la vie.  We finally did see it and had a fine dinner.

The next morning was another simple but memorable interlude - breakfast of "york y queso" at what the concierge called "just an ugly bar on the corner - but the food is good."  It was a real working class, family-owned and operated corner eatery with pictures of Saints covering the walls and puerco legs hanging from the ceiling and no one spoke English aside from us and we still made do and it was great.  And then we left for our final - and perhaps favorite? - destination, Granada.  Ah, Granada.  I think what helps to make our stay there so memorable was the blue, blue sky.  Literally not a cloud in the 48 hours we were there.  This is why so many Brits love to travel there.  As we drove down the highway on our way there, I was struggling to get photos out the car window of the amazing views of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains; little did I know that this would be the view from the hotel balcony.  The city of Granada lies in a valley which our hotel overlooked.  Also overlooking the city is the spectacular Alhambra Palace, built by the Moors from the 13th to 15th centuries, taken over by the Christians around 1500 and declared a national monument in 1870.  It's also an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Alhambra is a city within itself, containing remarkable gardens, chapels, bath houses, armories, palaces (yes - plural), and more of those breathtaking views I keep speaking of.  We were also fortunate both nights there to eat at restaurants in the Albaicin region of the city which itself overlooks the Alhambra.  Our first night in fact was the best dining experience of the whole trip - the concierge back in Seville had made the reservation for us at Restaurante las Estrellas del Mirodor de San Nicolas and she must have pulled some strings, as we were seated at probably the most sought after table in the entire city of Granada.  Chris fell in love with the Rioja (Viña Ardanza Rioja Reserva 2001), the service was wonderful, and the food fabulous.  Much of southern Spain has a strong Muslim/Islamic influence, and Granada is where we noticed it the most.  Granada was also the hilliest place we visited and we got a good workout just walking around the city for two days.

I'm not going to say that my expectations before our trip were low; I was a bit concerned about the weather, and that this might not be the veg-out and just relax vacation that I knew Chris needed.   As usual, my worries were for naught.  The weather couldn't have been better, and although we hardly vegged-out, we had a fabulous time in an amazingly beautiful place.  And our first hotel had a spa so Chris got a relaxing massage in as well.  We hope to get to Italy later this year which is one of the trips I've been most looking forward to - our Andalucia experience will I'm sure hold up to anything Italia will throw at us.


https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Spain?feat=directlink
We just could not stop taking pictures!!  Hope you enjoy them.

Ode to January

According to Wikepedia, an ode is a type of lyrical verse, classically structured in three major parts.  So this won't really, after all, be an "ode" to January, as I'm hardly a poet.  It just sounded like a good title for the blog.

But I thought it was worth marking the end of this month, the longest of all dreary, grey, months; a month that I believe the British just lift their chins and bear year after year and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of it for having tolerated 31 days of dark, dull, and wet.  Ironically, as I type, I'm squinting due to the sun coming through the window - a soft, pretty winter sun that we've actually had the benefit of seeing more than a few times over the past week, as well as earlier in the month, so 31 days ends up being something of an exaggeration.  On a clear day it's apparent also that it's staying light later into the afternoon, and I saw the tips of crocuses out front contemplating making a go of it,  so can spring really be far behind?

January was a pretty good month, really, all things considered.  After recovering from our Christmas & New Years visit and shoveling up the pine needles from our "no-drop" tree, we settled in nicely.  Kyle interviewed for admission to a well-reputed culinary program that begins in September - fingers still crossed as he hasn't heard back yet.  Chris & I visited the Churchill War Rooms & museum which were extraordinary.  We also took advantage of a sunny Sunday afternoon and visited Holland Park in Kensington, which was lovely!  I took lots of photos on my iPhone (Japanese garden, peacocks, parrots) then unfortunately lost them all when I plugged said phone into my desktop computer and iTunes restored all of my previous settings from my old iPhone... nevermind, too long a story, but they were great photos, darn it. (And yes - there really were peacocks & parrots!)

Saw the movies "The King's Speech" and "127 Hours", both of which I would recommend.  We spent a lovely weekend in Bath (see my previous blog), and then last week Chris & I attended a Burns Supper at our local butcher shop, which was a lot of fun, complete with the reading of the Burns poem and the serving of the haggis.  We'd tried haggis in Scotland and found it somewhat tasty.  I found last week's haggis tolerable as well, although keep in mind - I did grow up occasionally eating Spam & canned corned beef hash for dinner.  Now that I think of it, if you can imagine the two of those things mixed together and cooked inside a pig's stomach lining, you sort of can imagine haggis.  Anyway, at the Burns Supper they served the course with a taste of Scottish whiskey, which made it go down much more easily than it should have, resulting in my eating too much of it and paying the price later.  Consider it safe to say that I will most likely never eat haggis again.  (Given my above description of it, I'm sure you're wondering why on God's green earth would anyone try it to begin with?)

This past weekend I took Chris to the Wallace Collection to show him what all of the fuss is about, then spent yesterday mostly vegging on the couch and taking Baracca (the UK's version of Airborne) in order to fend of a pesky cold, and I think it worked, as today I happily ended the month on an up-note, walking with my wonderful fitness walking group and enjoying blue skies.  February looms, but if it's anything like its predecessor, winter here in London is shaping up quite nicely.  (Yes, I'm knocking wood, thank you very much.)

No photo album this time, but enjoy this one taken just moments ago out of our back window.  With apologies to the folks shoveling snow in the mid-Atlantic and northeast, Happy Winter!  :-)

Weekend in Bath

It being the middle of cold, dull January, without a whole lot going on, I decided to surprise Chris and plan a weekend in Bath for he & I.  I was assured that despite the weather, we would still have a lovely time and I was not misled.

We took a train on Friday afternoon from London's Paddington station for the 90-minute ride to Bath Spa.  We had a warm welcome at our hotel/B&B and it was a very comfortable place; the only disadvantage was that it was about a 10-minute walk into town, and the walk itself was not very scenic (and I think the next day was trash day.)  After settling in and unpacking, we took that cold, dark, un-scenic walk and were quite surprised once we got into the village as it seemed almost deserted.  Shops were closed and not many people out on the streets.  We managed to find a pub (no surprises there) and had a pint before walking a bit more, then hailing a cab for our dinner destination that had been recommended by a colleague of Chris's.  This was one of the highlights of the weekend for sure.   We went to the Bath Priory and it was a fabulous place - we had a drink by the roaring fire while we looked over the menu before we were seated, and the food & service were fantastic.  It was definitely a splurge but worth the visit.

After our "full English" (breakfast that is) Saturday morning, we walked back into town and were relieved to see many more people out on the town; things were bustling.  We did a bit of shopping (mostly looking) then headed for the Roman Baths.  A bit of background (*this is the history lesson portion of the blog so skip down to the next "*" if you tend to get bored by my ramblings):

Several milleniums ago, a dude named Bladud, son of the Celtic king, got leprosy and was banished to the countryside, where he herded pigs, which were similarly afflicted.  Bladdy noticed that when the pigs rolled around in the wet mud, their skin healed!  So, he smartly found the source of the water, took a swim (or a "bath", if you will), and behold, he was healed too.  He was, of course, taken back in by his dad, and later became king himself, not to mention the father of King Lear, but that is another story.  Needless to say, this became the founding and the naming of the city.  A thousand years or so later, the springs were re-discovered by the conquering Romans, who channeled the waters into an elaborate bathing compound and called their community "Aquae Sulis".  They also built a temple to Sulis Minerva (combination of the Celtic goddess of Spring and the Roman goddess of wisdom.)  As all good things must come to an end, the Romans fell, and although the baths went into decline, the area waters continued to attract visitors who believed in their healing powers. Throughout the centuries they've been visited by Bishops, Royals, physicians & lepers alike.  Excavation of the temple began in the 1700's, and the Roman Baths eventually became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There!

*We had fun at the Roman Baths.  We then walked to the very nearby Bath Abbey, which was getting ready to close due to a BBC Radio live recording, so we unfortunately could not do the tour of the Abbey Tower, which allegedly has great views of the area.  But now we at least can be assured that the Bath Abbey must have awesome acoustics.  After an uphill, un-scenic walk back to the hotel, we rested, freshened up, and went out for a nice, although much less posh dinner back in town (after which we took a cab uphill back to the hotel.)

Sunday morning had us packing up and checking out early, then after leaving our suitcase at the hotel we headed to the Thermae Bath Spa.  You are not able to book ahead unless you are having a spa treatment (ie: massage) and we had tried to get in on Saturday afternoon but the line was much too long. We were both glad we opted for the second try on Sunday morning - it was another highlight.  For £25 each, we got 2 hours of soaking in warm, mineral-rich (?) waters, first in an open-air rooftop pool, then an aroma-infused steam room, then the largest (but most boring) "Minerva Bath" - basically an indoor pool.  But oh, so nice!  A great start to our final day.  With our hair mostly dry, we left the spa and headed to a landmark of Bath, the Royal Crescent, built in the 1700's and now supposedly one of the most distinctive examples of Georgian architecture in the world.  We also walked through the Royal Victoria Park and Botanical Gardens that held their own charm despite the grey weather.  After a nice lunch and a bit more walking and looking, we cabbed it back to the hotel for our bags then headed for the train station.  Bath is an absolutely picturesque city with an amazing history, and I hope to have the time to go back in some nicer weather.

Exactly one year ago today, Chris & I were in London, anticipating a big job offer and deciding whether or not to take it.  The weather was almost identical - cold, grey, and gloomy.  But we said yes anyway, and boy, are we glad we did.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/WeekendInBath?feat=directlink

The Twelve Days of Wronskys

(To the tune of "the Twelve Days of Christmas")
"On the first day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, an airplane arriving on time!"

"On the second day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, two... uh... two tired boys... (no, there were three tired boys...). Two... umm... two happy parents (but that's totally stating the obvious...) Uh...two... two...extra litres of milk...?" OK.  Let me save all of us this aggravation and attempt this cute song no further.   Brain cells kind of fatigued after 12 days of fun.  So... I'll just give you a synopsis of what we did when the guys (and gals) were here.

Day 1
Boys arrive - Hallelujah!  Full English breakfast and naps, followed by quick tour of Hampstead and the Holly Bush Pub.  They are duly impressed.  Even more impressed by English lamb for dinner.

Day 2
Kyle shows his bros around Camden Town.  We all go to the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful performance of Carols by Candlelight by the Mozart Festival Orchestra & Chorus.

Day 3
Off to Bruges early on the Eurostar!  Arrive mid-day, just in time for lunch and a tour of De Halve Maan Brewery.  Very cold.  Stroll around the lovely town; Belgian dinner then back to the pub where we had lunch - great beer menu!

 

Day 4
Breakfast at hotel then more strolling in the cold.  A bit of shopping then lunch on the square, followed by one last stop at the pub where everybody already knows our name.  Back on train and home to Hampstead in time for Christmas Eve Bolognese a la Chris.  Delish.

Day 5
Merry Christmas!  We all sleep in, then spend a typical Christmas Day lounging around and trying to cooperate for a family photo for Mom.  Something of a beef & wine debacle (much too long to go into here) but Plan B (pork roast) turns out wonderfully.

Day 6
Boxing Day, and Lauren arrives via BA on time and rested - she doesn't even need a nap!  Tube is on strike, so we take a cab to enjoy one of the kids' Christmas surprises from Mum & Dad - Rugby match at Wembley Stadium (Saracens vs. Wasps).  Home team Saracens win.  Lots of fun, despite initial confusion on what the heck was going on.  Grubber?  Scrum?  And these guys don't wear any padding!  Dinner back at the flat.  Lauren makes it until 9:30 pm!

Day 7
Decide to check out the area of Brick Lane and the Spitalfields Market.  Unfortunately, it's a Bank Holiday so most places are closed - including a couple of Indian restaurants that we'd hoped to try.  Stop for a pint at the Ten Bells Pub, made famous for providing a hang-out for two of Jack the Ripper's victims.  Back to Hampstead for dinner at a local Indian restaurant.  Good food - definitely spicy enough for the guys (a bit too much so for me!)

Day 8
Sarah arrives also on time and without any problems.  She does nap, then we shop for dinner and prepare for a visit from Andrew who is back from Oz for the holidays.  Really good dinner at home, then a Hampstead pub crawl.  Hilarity ensues.

Day 9
Nickel (make that 5P) Tour of London: tube to St. James Park, then walk to Buckingham Palace, up the Mall and down Whitehall past the Horses Guard & Downing St., and on to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  Then across the Westminster Bridge to the London Eye!  Lots of fun & good views despite the mist, fog, and rain.  Nice dinner at French Restaurant before meeting back up with Andrew and some of his mates.  Hilarity really ensues.

Day 10
Tower of London in the cold rain.  Still great visit!  Crowds seemed as big as when we were there in 2005 in the height of summer - on a sunny day!  Today's pub:  The Hung, Drawn, and Quartered - of course near the Tower.  Great dinner at home again courtesy of Chris - cockles & shrimp with linguine.  Mmmmm.  Kids will not be able to complain that they did not eat well.

Day 11
New Year's Eve.  Kids head out to Kyle's old restaurant for breakfast, then to Notting Hill & the Portobello Road Market.  Chris & I finish up shopping for our dinner:  Roasted Duck with Red Cabbage (although we had to substitute green Savoy), Applesauce and Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat.  (Shots of Lipitor for dessert.)  Count down the New Year with Jools Holland on the BBC; kids introduce us to Sporcle, an online trivia game.  Chris, Mike, and Eric sample the (until recently dethroned) "Hottest Chile in the World" - the Jolokia.  Much milk drinking follows.  Fun night.

Day 12
Happy 2011!  Looks for about 15 seconds like the sun might come out, but it is not to be.  Big New Year's breakfast, then a late walk to Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House in the rain.  Still fun!  Final pub stop is the Spaniard's Inn before home to our last meal together of Braised Lamb Shanks.  More mmmmmmmm.  More Sporcle before bed.

Today
Kids out the door at 8:30 am to take the tube to Heathrow.  Sun threatens to emerge.  Sue goes back to bed.

So there you have the Wronsky Family London Christmas in a nutshell.  We really didn't see the sun at all but no one minded a bit.   The best Christmas present, needless to say, arrived on December 21 on the first flight to land at Heathrow from the US in days.  We loved having the girls as well - the male:female ratio was nearly evened up for a change - and they are absolutely wonderful.  We are lucky indeed.

My next task will be to find a warm & sunny holiday break for late January or early February.  Now that Christmas (and the kids' visit) is behind us, the dark afternoons are going to get old real quick.  Happy New Year!!

Check out the rest of the pix (may need to cut & paste link):
http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Christmas2010?feat=directlink

Three Turkeys go to Prague

The cold weather hit Europe just as we landed in Prague last week, and it's had the UK in its icy grip as well.  The poor folks up in Scotland and Northern England have been slammed with snow for days, and although we haven't had more than a few inches here in North London, the southeast suburbs are getting it as well.  The reaction is reminiscent of our early days living outside of Washington, DC - the snow removal equipment is inadequate and public transportation is a nightmare.  And just for us normal people, walking to the local grocery store (where they ran out of milk yesterday) is a bit hazardous due to the icy sidewalks.  I'm hoping for a thaw soon as the weather has also forced my beloved fitness walks to be cancelled until further notice!

But back to Prague.  We arrived in the dark (4:30 pm) so the breathtaking sites of the city had to wait for the next morning.  But the first night was still beautiful with Christmas lights all around, and we went to a really lovely restaurant for my birthday dinner.  We caught up with my nephew Matt back at our hotel, and he & Kyle left to hang out in his dorm with young'ns their own age.  Matt goes to Union College in New York State and is spending the fall semester of his junior year in Prague.

Sun greeted us the next morning, but it was cold!  We met back up with the boys in the stunning Old Town Square which was very busy with preparations for the Christmas markets that were to begin on the weekend.  Matt led us across the river Vltava and up the New Castle Steps to Prague Castle.  Once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, most of what is there today was built in the 16th century, and it now houses government offices, including that of the President of the Czech Republic.  It's more of a complex of buildings, including the amazing St. Vitus Cathedral and the Royal Palace, as opposed to one big castle building, and you can walk around the grounds at no charge; if you want to see the interiors you need to buy a ticket, as we did.  We hoped getting inside would get us out of the cold, but the unheated Cathedral felt more cold than being outdoors.  Interestingly, although work on the cathedral was started around 1344, the "Hussite Uprising" in the 1400's interrupted the construction, and believe it or not, work was not finally completed until 1929.  There's a beautiful chapel inside devoted to Prince Wenceslas, or Saint Wenceslas, or as he is more familiar to the rest of us, "Good King" Wenceslas.  I know that he went out on the Feast of Stephan; after that, his story gets fuzzy.

After finding a charming little restaurant for a traditional Czech lunch, we walked back over the beautiful landmark Charles Bridge, and the boys left us to go back to Matt's dorm for another traditional meal - an American Thanksgiving dinner.  Chris & I decided to completely do a 180 from tradition and opted for an Argentinian steakhouse that was quite good.  Kyle & Matt met back up with us later and we visited the Prague Beer Museum pub to sample their wares.  The next morning, Kyle was back with us and we hit some shops as we meandered through the lovely streets of Prague.  We also took a walk to the Jewish Quarter, where we toured the Jewish Museum & Old Jewish Cemetery.  The museum is an impressive tribute to the important history of Jews in the Czech Republic, both before and after the Holocaust (during which nearly 80,000 Jews from the Czech Republic were killed.)  Later in the afternoon, we met Matt and two of his friends at their dorm, then we all walked to one of their favorite spots, Budvarka, for pork ribs.  Then it was off to the Pivovarsky Klub, where they have over 200 beers from all over the world.

Our last day was Saturday, which was also the first day of Prague's Christmas Markets.  It was the coldest day so far, so we bundled up as we headed first to Wenceslas Square then back to Old Town Square to check out the outdoor market stalls.  I was a bit disappointed with what was on offer from the vendors - a lot of the same tourist-y items that were on sale in the souvenir shops, repeated over and over again.  But when it got dark, the Old Town Square tree was lit and choirs were singing and "hot wine" was being sold and we had a good time anyway.  Our restaurant for dinner warmed us up nicely as we were seated at a lovely table right next to a fireplace; it was a nice way to top off the day and mark the end of our trip.  We made a final stop into the Prague Beer Museum pub before saying our final goodbye to Matt and calling it a night.

Although a beautiful city, our visit had a few downsides: first, smokers!  Indoors!  It was real turn-off at first, and although you do get used to it to an extent, it's still pretty yucky.  Second, the people for the most part would not win any "warm & fuzzy citizen of the year" awards.  Although there were certainly exceptions, many of the workers in the shops and restaurants had a tendency to make us feel like we were inconveniencing them when we were say...ordering food, or perahaps... buying things.  As Matt told us, he & his friends have determined that the Czech marketing motto is, "the customer is always wrong."  That didn't feel too far from the truth in some situations, but it absolutely did not stop us from having a wonderful time.  Despite the affinity for dumplings (bread dumplings, pork dumplings, potato dumplings, liver dumplings) and absence of fresh vegetables, the food was pretty good.   The crystal and glass pieces were gorgeous.  And Chris enjoyed the beer more than here in the UK!  The history of this country is a complicated one including war, genocide, communism and a rough economy.  We spent real quality time with our nephew, brought home some exquisite souvenirs, and had another opportunity to visit a great city of Europe.  We can handle a little Eastern European smoke & "attitude."  They're entitled.

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