Our second week in Staňkov was much quieter, since it was just us, my parents, Martina and Urs and their kids, and Jarda, Hank, cousin Hanka and her kids. Everyone else, including Dominik, left.When the weather was nice, we'd go to the pool at Čeperka or we'd make local outings. Our biggest trip was a hike along Bílé Labe (White Elbe) on of the two streams that form the Elbe river.
We drove out to Špindlerův Mlýn and took a crowded bus up to Špindlerova bouda. While Magda and Jfer took advantage of the WC, I strolled with Magda a hundred yards across the border into Poland. Her passport may not show it, but she's now been to a country that Jfer hasn't yet visited!
From Špindlerův Mlýn we followed some beautiful mountain trails to the confluence of Bílé Labe and Čertova strouha (Devil's Ditch). Along the way the kids quickly started carping about being hungry and we had a nice al fresco lunch next to our path.When we reached the river, most of our party explored along the rugged river bed, jumping from rock to rock and scrambling along the shore. I really wanted to join them, but that hike would have been too difficult with Magda and Simone (Martin didn't have any problems) so instead my little family took the road which accompanies the river. We'd occasionally descend to the river bed and wait for the rest of the party to pass us.
Eventually we joined together, rested a bit on a cool wooded playground and followed the road back to Špindlerův Mlýn. Along the way, we stopped at an adventure park where Rafael did a bungee swing and Moritz visited a trampoline. When we finally reached our destination, we treated ourselves to some yummy ice-cream - the bilberry one was awesome.
Our ancestors are supposed to have been hunters and gatherers. As far as the gathering part is concerned, it lives on in the hearts of the Czech people.One of our favorite activities in Staňkov is hitting the forest and gathering what it has to offer. In the summer when we're there, this usually mean blueberries (or bilberries, to be exact), raspberries, wild strawberries and mushrooms. It was a bit early for lingonberries but we also found some wild cherries.
Beside the forest we also got to pick red and black currants, goose berries, sour cherries, apricots and apples from the back yard, as well as sweet cherries from trees out in the fields.
This year there seemed to be a bumper crop of apricots and everyone and their dog seemed to be selling them. We scored some really good apricot dumplings which I should give it a try - if I find small apricots. Of course, aunt Hanka's blueberry dumplings were divine - way better than any I've ever attempted.
The mushrooms weren't quite as plentiful, but for me actually finding them is not the most important part about mushroom hunting. I just love being out in the forest, whether all by myself early in the morning, or with my parents or while hiking with Jennifer. Despite being a newbie, Jennifer found a beautiful, large birch bolete during our hike back from the swimming pool in Pecka. My parents were suitably impressed.We had the mushrooms in soup, scrambled and breaded and fried a la schnitzel. We usually use the large boletes for schnitzel, since they are so dense and meaty, but I think that a nice portabello might work too.
When we made it back to Staňkov on Saturday afternoon, Magda was overjoyed to have us back. The house was teeming with even more family (including cousin Helenka and uncle Honza and their retinue).The next day, on Sunday, we had a celebration down at Čeperka. This was partly to celebrate my 40th, that fact that all my parents descendants were together in one place, to have a family gathering, and, at least in my mind, to celebrate my dad's health. My parents had bought a lamb from one of their neighbors and it was spit-roasted for the feast. Spit-roasted lamb tastes incredible and I highly recommend it!
As is the usually the case on these occasions, the family was expected to come up with some entertainment. For that, my sister and Urs rehearsed some crazy multi-part song with Dominik, Hanka and me which we then sang. Jfer and I taught the locals some line dances (electric slide and the tush push or some such) to much success. But the biggest hist was the Michael Jackson performance by my brother with Aline and Kačenka. The girls had choreographed and practiced a pretty sophisticated routine and Dominik did a very good - and entertaining - interpretation of MJ.
When we go to Prague, we dropped Hanka at her place and then, with the help of my dad's GPS, found our way to their duplex. There we waited and then hooked up with Martina and Urs and had a nice dinner at a local pizza place. Dominik arrived with an overnight bus from Switzerland and joined us in the morning.On Thrusday we had a cousin brunch at Hanka's and then followed that up with some sightseeing and shopping in the city. Urs and Martina took the opportunity to hit some geo caches. I bought a bunch of Czech children's books and DVDs for the kids. In the evening, Dominik, Martina, Urs, Hanka, Jfer, Simone and I had a late dinner at an old fashioned Czech restaurant (I had rabbit stew over dumplings - yum!)
The next day I did some touristy stuff in Prague with Jennifer, including taking the cable car up to Petřín and had lunch under the tower. We then walked over to the Prague Castle and then back down and over Charles Bridge to the old town square. There I connected with Martina and Hanka, while Dominik and Urs went off to drink some overpriced beer and hit some more geo caches, and Jfer took off with Simone to do some shopping and find the way home (via subway and bus) on their own.Martina, Hanka and I attended a reunion with people we used to spend the summers with as kids, canoeing down rivers in the CR. It was weird how some of them resembled their parents from 30 years ago. It was fun but made us feel a little old.
After the reunion, we had to race to the subway to make it back home before they stopped running after midnight.
Part of the idea behind the grandma week is that parents get some time off while the kids are staying with their grand parents and cousins out in the country. Since Magda has never really dealt all that well with separation (esp. this winter) we were looking forward to that part with some dreadful anticipation. Her away-time with G and Buelito in Ft. Worth this spring went well, but she can communicate with them and adores them both.
Magda tends to be drowned out in larger crowds. Dropping in on a bunch of boisterous cousins that know each other and speak a language she can't really communicate in was quite a tall order. And doing this while being sick is didn't help, either. But things turned out quite well.
Magda had been looking forward to seeing her Swiss cousin Aline, who, in her mind, is just the coolest thing in the world, though she really only knew her through pictures. As it turned out, Aline wasn't there wen we arrived at Staňkov because she was delayed by a bug of her own, but she did show up a day later - just as Magda was starting to get sick.
So the first couple of days, Magda spent around the house or on the porch, often napping, while the kids were doing their thing. During Monday's treasure hunt, we had to carry her a good portion of the way because she fatigued so quickly. By the time she got better, I was afraid that she had passed her chance to properly integrate.
But during the hike to Valdštejn she perked up and after lunch really wanted to walk hand in hand with Aline, but just didn't know how to approach her about it. I suggested to simply ask her - helping her with how to say it, but she just couldn't. Eventually she asked me whether "she could just take her hand without saying anything", and I assured her that would be cool, too.
And so she did. She got her courage up, took Aline by hand, got a big smile in response and they spent the rest of the hike walking together. The expression of happiness and delight on Magda's face was priceless. Aline was really good about being there for Magda from the beginning, despite the fact that they couldn't really communicate, except through the cousins from Dallas. And so Magda got to sit on her lap during our stops, walk with her and otherwise enjoy being a younger sister.
After that, Magda would join the kids on her own down at the pool at Čeperka, the village volunteer fire department hall/pub/community center, or to watch the girls playing basketball at the hoop on Čeperka's wall.
When it was time for us to leave on Wednesday, it seemed a bigger deal for Jfer and me than for her. She gave us hugs and kisses and walked with grandma down to Čeperka to wave us off. No big scene, tantrum or tears.
When we called that night to say goodnight, she was fine. Although later we got a tearful (and not unexpected call) when it was her bed time, wanting us back, etc. But she was good about hanging up and slept with her cousins Kačenka (speaking English) and Aline (bestest big cousin ever). Next day when we called, she told us she "didn't want us to come back to pick her up, ever"! She still had tears at bedtime, and waiting for us on the last day was hard, but overall, her three days and nights without us went way better than anticipated.
Magda tends to be drowned out in larger crowds. Dropping in on a bunch of boisterous cousins that know each other and speak a language she can't really communicate in was quite a tall order. And doing this while being sick is didn't help, either. But things turned out quite well.
Magda had been looking forward to seeing her Swiss cousin Aline, who, in her mind, is just the coolest thing in the world, though she really only knew her through pictures. As it turned out, Aline wasn't there wen we arrived at Staňkov because she was delayed by a bug of her own, but she did show up a day later - just as Magda was starting to get sick.So the first couple of days, Magda spent around the house or on the porch, often napping, while the kids were doing their thing. During Monday's treasure hunt, we had to carry her a good portion of the way because she fatigued so quickly. By the time she got better, I was afraid that she had passed her chance to properly integrate.
But during the hike to Valdštejn she perked up and after lunch really wanted to walk hand in hand with Aline, but just didn't know how to approach her about it. I suggested to simply ask her - helping her with how to say it, but she just couldn't. Eventually she asked me whether "she could just take her hand without saying anything", and I assured her that would be cool, too.
And so she did. She got her courage up, took Aline by hand, got a big smile in response and they spent the rest of the hike walking together. The expression of happiness and delight on Magda's face was priceless. Aline was really good about being there for Magda from the beginning, despite the fact that they couldn't really communicate, except through the cousins from Dallas. And so Magda got to sit on her lap during our stops, walk with her and otherwise enjoy being a younger sister.After that, Magda would join the kids on her own down at the pool at Čeperka, the village volunteer fire department hall/pub/community center, or to watch the girls playing basketball at the hoop on Čeperka's wall.
When it was time for us to leave on Wednesday, it seemed a bigger deal for Jfer and me than for her. She gave us hugs and kisses and walked with grandma down to Čeperka to wave us off. No big scene, tantrum or tears.
When we called that night to say goodnight, she was fine. Although later we got a tearful (and not unexpected call) when it was her bed time, wanting us back, etc. But she was good about hanging up and slept with her cousins Kačenka (speaking English) and Aline (bestest big cousin ever). Next day when we called, she told us she "didn't want us to come back to pick her up, ever"! She still had tears at bedtime, and waiting for us on the last day was hard, but overall, her three days and nights without us went way better than anticipated.
The first week of our vacation was the "grandma week" in Staňkov, which had started out as my mom and her sisters spending a week with their grand kids, but now includes grandpas and, for part of the week, some of the parents.On Tuesday the grandmas had planned a trip to the Valdštejn castle (I always get a kick how the German names, e.g. Waldstein, have mutated to Czech orthography). We drove to Nová Paka and then took a train to Turnov, with a train change in Stará Paka. After visiting the WC at the Turnov station (prices are 5/4/1 KČ for using a stall/pissoir/sink, respectively, collected by the classical grumpy old toilet lady) we descended on a baker and then proceeded on our hike.
It started off with a 3K walk through the town (we could have taken another train to a better station) past a historical Jewish cemetery (now cowering under a new highway bridge). We then followed the "green" trail and ascended up the ridge overlooking Turnov. Because of Magda's pace, we were usually at the end of the group. She's a slow walker in general and tends to get distracted and there were many new distracting things to see (She: "Ooh, what's that?"; Me: "that's called a pine cone") and she was still a bit week from her stomach bug.
Along the way we saw some weird carved statues and Jfer got to see someone using a scythe for the first time. We eventually arrived at Valdštejn where we were going to have lunch in a restaurant. It turned out that there was no restaurant (the grandmas had confused Valdštejn with some other castle) so we made do with some fast food (hot dogs, kielbasa, microwaved pizza) but no one really cared.After lunch Magda picked up the pace and was often up front trying to get past Martin. We enjoyed the cool sandstone formations (is there a place in the CR where there aren't sandstone formations?) and arrived at the Hrubá Skála castle for some ice cream and beverage.
And that was followed by a hike down to Sedminhorky where we got on the return train and, after two changes, arrived back at where we started.During the day, the weather was mostly beautiful and everyone, including Magda, had a great time. My back was a bit sore from lugging Simone in the backpack (Jennifer carried her the second half of the trip).
For Magda, the vacation didn't start to auspiciously. On Saturday, the second day in Staňkov she complained about not wanting to eat (which she does pretty much all the time unless blueberry dumplings are on the menu) and laid down (we were all tired from the time change).
During her rest she barfed on the sofa and, after we cleaned the cushions and gave her a bowl, just-in-case, later proceeded to barf on the other sofa! She couldn't keep anything down for the next couple of days and became very intimate (and accurate!) with the pretty bowl we found her.
We initially didn't worry too much about it - she occasionally catches something and after a couple of days it's over, but when Martin went to a doctor on Monday for a persistent cough, and Magda was still chucking up, we tagged along. I was curious how what a Czech pediatrician's office there looks like these days.
It was an interesting experience. One of the neighbors in Staňkov recommended Dr. Roučka in Nová Paka, the nearest town (of almost 10,000 people). The directions to his office were a little iffy, but we eventually found it: a two-room office in the admin building of some manufacturing plant, with street-side parking on a busy road. We made it to his waiting room, which was a bit sparser, but not all too different, from a waiting room in the US.
In the CR, you don't make an appointment at a Dr's, but show up and get processed on a first-come basis. The Dr. had some kid in his office, but no one else was in the waiting room (and thus didn't see Magda do her very last throwup). By the time we left, a couple of patients had arrived, some tiny baby (wellness check?) and a kid with white ointment dots all over his face (chicken pox is going around).
Martin went in first and turned out to be OK (and Hanka prepared the Dr. for us). Then I went in with Magda. The Dr has a single room for office/examinations he shares with his nurse. Both of them were very nice, friendly and helpful. The Dr. had Magda lay down on his examination bed, palpated her abdomen, checked her throat, and said not to worry, that this was one of those things kids get (pretty much what we were expecting). She wasn't too dehydrated yet, so he said to encourage fluids in small doses, but to not press eating until she feels like it herself. As far as payment was concerned, he waived me off, saying not to worry about it. Sweet! So, compared to our Dr's office in Austin, the Czech office was very spartan. It had the basic ped. equipment I remember from my childhood, but lacked the fancy gadgetry you see here in the US. I do like having a real appointment system here better, but I don't think that Magda's care was any worse than it would have been here. And the price was right!
Along the way we learned that you're not supposed to give Coke to calm an upset stomach when vomiting (the caffeine is a diuretic) and that the standard Czech remedy of "warm sweet tea" isn't the best either, unless you use Glucose as a sweetener and don't use black tea. We made Magda some glucose-sweetened fruit tea which she was good about drinking and keeping down. On Tuesday morning we had to slow her down during breakfast because her hunger had returned and things were staying in her stomach (even the kielbasa at lunch - I now, bad parents!)
During her rest she barfed on the sofa and, after we cleaned the cushions and gave her a bowl, just-in-case, later proceeded to barf on the other sofa! She couldn't keep anything down for the next couple of days and became very intimate (and accurate!) with the pretty bowl we found her.We initially didn't worry too much about it - she occasionally catches something and after a couple of days it's over, but when Martin went to a doctor on Monday for a persistent cough, and Magda was still chucking up, we tagged along. I was curious how what a Czech pediatrician's office there looks like these days.
It was an interesting experience. One of the neighbors in Staňkov recommended Dr. Roučka in Nová Paka, the nearest town (of almost 10,000 people). The directions to his office were a little iffy, but we eventually found it: a two-room office in the admin building of some manufacturing plant, with street-side parking on a busy road. We made it to his waiting room, which was a bit sparser, but not all too different, from a waiting room in the US.
In the CR, you don't make an appointment at a Dr's, but show up and get processed on a first-come basis. The Dr. had some kid in his office, but no one else was in the waiting room (and thus didn't see Magda do her very last throwup). By the time we left, a couple of patients had arrived, some tiny baby (wellness check?) and a kid with white ointment dots all over his face (chicken pox is going around).
Martin went in first and turned out to be OK (and Hanka prepared the Dr. for us). Then I went in with Magda. The Dr has a single room for office/examinations he shares with his nurse. Both of them were very nice, friendly and helpful. The Dr. had Magda lay down on his examination bed, palpated her abdomen, checked her throat, and said not to worry, that this was one of those things kids get (pretty much what we were expecting). She wasn't too dehydrated yet, so he said to encourage fluids in small doses, but to not press eating until she feels like it herself. As far as payment was concerned, he waived me off, saying not to worry about it. Sweet! So, compared to our Dr's office in Austin, the Czech office was very spartan. It had the basic ped. equipment I remember from my childhood, but lacked the fancy gadgetry you see here in the US. I do like having a real appointment system here better, but I don't think that Magda's care was any worse than it would have been here. And the price was right!
Along the way we learned that you're not supposed to give Coke to calm an upset stomach when vomiting (the caffeine is a diuretic) and that the standard Czech remedy of "warm sweet tea" isn't the best either, unless you use Glucose as a sweetener and don't use black tea. We made Magda some glucose-sweetened fruit tea which she was good about drinking and keeping down. On Tuesday morning we had to slow her down during breakfast because her hunger had returned and things were staying in her stomach (even the kielbasa at lunch - I now, bad parents!)
We've finally made it. After last year's plans were postponed due to Simone's pending arrival, we've done the big trip to the CR again. I had been anxiously looking forward to this since my dad's cancer scare this spring and it turned out to be a wonderful vacation, indeed.
This year we flew Houston to Prague, with a layover in Frankfurt. We didn't fly out of Austin to avoid having to get up way early and having an extra layover and to save a few bucks. I'm not sure if it was worth it, though it was nice having the morning available to kennel the dog and finish getting ready.
And it allowed us to fly Lufthansa which was very nice - they set us in a bulkhead row and provided us with a very sturdy cot for Simone, as well as toys for the kids, in general. Plus their food is actually good. :-)
We left Houston in the early afternoon and arrived in Prague the next day, also early PM. The weather there was wet and cold which the locals groused about, but we absolutely loved. Dad picked us up and we met up with uncle Tonda and aunt Zuzka in Prague before continuing to the country.
The drive out to Staňkov was harsh and I had to fight my fatigue in the rain and traffic. But we made it safe and sound and met up with mom, Hanka & Jarda Ř., Mariša and Jarda K., cousin Hanka and her kids, my nephews Rafael and Moritz D., and three more cousins (once removed) from the Krajl branch. Not bad for a not-too-big house out in the country!
This year we flew Houston to Prague, with a layover in Frankfurt. We didn't fly out of Austin to avoid having to get up way early and having an extra layover and to save a few bucks. I'm not sure if it was worth it, though it was nice having the morning available to kennel the dog and finish getting ready.
And it allowed us to fly Lufthansa which was very nice - they set us in a bulkhead row and provided us with a very sturdy cot for Simone, as well as toys for the kids, in general. Plus their food is actually good. :-)
We left Houston in the early afternoon and arrived in Prague the next day, also early PM. The weather there was wet and cold which the locals groused about, but we absolutely loved. Dad picked us up and we met up with uncle Tonda and aunt Zuzka in Prague before continuing to the country.
The drive out to Staňkov was harsh and I had to fight my fatigue in the rain and traffic. But we made it safe and sound and met up with mom, Hanka & Jarda Ř., Mariša and Jarda K., cousin Hanka and her kids, my nephews Rafael and Moritz D., and three more cousins (once removed) from the Krajl branch. Not bad for a not-too-big house out in the country!
