Another busy week- so busy that I am posting early!  Chris had a childhood friend arrive on Monday and we spent a couple days touring Paris.  On Tuesday Emilia had her birthday party at school.  The special trip into Paris to find the angel food Duncan Hines mix, pink frosting and skittles was well worth it as she came home beaming that her cupcakes were a huge success.

On Wednesday we took off for vacation. We had breakfast in France, lunch in Germany and dinner in Czech Republic.  It was a long journey and the kids behaved quite well. At one point Emilia was crying and my mom mentioned medicine and she stopped.  A few hours later- Luciana was crying and I  heard my mom say- "who wants medicine?" again and all the kids screamed "me!!!"  This time I turned around to see that my mom was giving the kids skittles whenever they cried and called it medicine. Only a grandmother would do this!  Poor Alex, he is still having stomach issues- so we had to stop frequently throughout the drive and eventually during the whole week.  I seriously think we spent about $10 in bathroom usage fees for the week we were gone.  The drive was about 11 hours but as the 9 of us were crowded in an over sized van crossing the Czech Republic border,  I could not help thinking of one of the lines in a favorite movie of mine- Stripes, "Come on, it's Czechoslovakia. We zip in, we pick them up, and we zip right out again. We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia, it's like going into Wisconsin."


Prague is beautiful.   The castle, narrow cobble streets, dark passageways, bridges and buildings are truly spectacular sights.  The people here are also very kind and friendly.  It seemed as if everyone spoke English.   The streets are clean and the food fantastic.  We started our day by crossing the Charles Bridge which was built in 1357.  The bridge connects Old Prague to the castle.  As you cross you are guided by statues along the way.  We then toured Prague castle and climbed the 250+ steps up one of its towers.  Luciana made it up too- counting to 20 over and over again until she reached the top- breathless.  The view on top was well worth the climb up the narrow staircase.

Alex on our apartment balcony

One of the many marionette shops

Entrance to the Charles bridge

Castle guard- kids like the changing of the guards

Cathedral at the castle

Luciana climbing the tower

view from the top of the tower

The men drinking something very strong

The Lennies

The kids stopped along our way back and got themselves "European hotdogs".  Its great that they are now willing to go to a foreign county and buy things all on their own.  We stopped in Old Town square for lunch having typical Czech food- sausages and potatoes with sauerkraut.   The kids also stopped to get themselves a sweet dessert called Trdelnik.  It is rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and almonds.  Very delicious!  We then saw the Astronomical Clock.  It is the third oldest medieval clock dating back to 1410 and it is the only one still working.  Every hour a window on top opens and 4 dolls rotate around- Luciana said it was very creepy- I agree!  We ended our walk with a tour of the Havelske Trziste, an outdoor market.  We ended our evening with pizza and the kids were exhausted- so we went back home to call it a night.  Except for the men- they thought it would be fun to go to the torture devices museum. Glad I have no photos of that!

Olivia and Alex ordering their european hotdog

The trdelnik treat

Astronomical clock

Our first encounter in Prague seeing a homeless person was quite a moment.  You don't see them very often as you would in any other large city.  The poor that are begging for money kneel to the ground, bend over, and beg while bowed down on their knees and there faces in the ground. They hold a cup or cap in front of them with both hands and are silent.  It is the most humble position.  You feel they have a loss of pride.   Emilia dropped a coin in one man's cup and he immediately raised his head and looked at her and said words I can only assume were thank you.  It was so genuine and so different than what I see in the states.  I took a photo below.

The next day we went to New Prague.  It really isn't new- but it is home to Wenceslas Square.  It is a boulevard of shops and businesses.  At the top of the street is the national museum and the statue of Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia.

Our first Starbucks in over 3 months

pumping water for the city

Wenceslas square

We then headed to Petrin tower.  It is a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower.  It sits on top of a hill and is surrounded by gardens, playgrounds, churches and even a mirror maze which the kids really enjoyed. We stopped at large playground on the way down and I think people were entertained watching Chris and his friend on the equipment as well.

Petrin tower

View from Petrin tower

Mirror maze

Gardens

On the way home we stopped at a Thai Massage place and Alex and Olivia had their feet "massaged and exfoliated" by fish in a tank.  As the kids had their feet nibbled on for 25 minutes, they had their photos taken by several tourists!

Olivia and Alex on display 

Nibble fish

"It feels like a vibration"

We had a nice last evening in Prague.  We decided we were going to celebrate Emilia's upcoming 7th birthday in each country.  They gave her a cake with what seemed like a firecracker on top.  We ended the night in Old Town square.  Tomorrow we are headed to Vienna......

Emilia and her cake