In the morning we walked to school together, then went for coffee at a favorite shop and enjoyed interesting conversations in the cozy back room of the cafe, before visiting the toy store to check out the local selection of games and other toys. I resisted the urge to buy a new game, but barely. There are weight limits on my future flights, and I need to be mindful of them! Suzanne went to work, and the kids came home from school. We played boardgames after they finished their homework. We went as a group to drop the kids off at karate then Greg and I went shopping. I ventured out on my own and got a bit lost, but caught up with them again just before they returned home. We had an interesting and delicious dinner of steak, pumpkin pancakes, and roti before the children went to bed and the adults enjoyed more Scrubs.
Thursday morning we walked to school again, and I said goodbye to the kids, then to Greg before I rode the metro to the train station with Suzanne. It was a COLD morning - I've forgotten how cold autumn can be in Germany! We stopped by Starbucks for hot beverages before Suzanne went to work and I caught my train to Heidelberg to visit my cousin Kyle and his fiance Angela. She was starting a new job, so for most of the day it was just Kyle and I. He made me a cup of tea when I arrived, and we chatted for a bit before we went to lunch. I told him all about my visit to Europe so far and then we watched an interesting show on Netflix. When Angela arrived we went for sushi to celebrate her first day and she told us all about it. Then we had some very interesting discussions about dialects and why I say things differently than much of my family (I say caramel as THREE syllables)! Then we said good night, and how happy I was to visit with them.
I woke up at 5:15 am Friday morning and left as quietly as possible to make my 5:47 am train to the airport. I was half asleep and boarded the wrong tram, only realizing it when I was across from the train station, perpendicular to where I wanted to be. I got off the tram and found a place where I could 'parkour' down to the street that led to the far entrance, embedding some vegetation into my pants in the process. But I stuck the landing and made it to the train station in time to catch my train. I arrived the Frankfurt airport, bought myself a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, then went through security, boarded my flight, and landed in the Czech Republic. Benjamin's flight from Geneva (where his work conference was held) landed 30 minutes before mine, so he was waiting for me in the baggage claim. We worked together to figure out the public transit system and arrived in downtown Prague, where we met his friend Papi and Papi's friend Gilly, who was hosting us for the night. We had lunch at a lovely Korean restaurant, where I discovered plum tea, and then went back to Gilly's flat where everyone else telecommuted while I took a nap.
I woke up in time for us to explore the city. I found a gingerbread museum and Ben bought me a gluten free gingerbread cookie. We saw the castle and churches, lots of swans and shops, saw the astronomical clock chime the hour, then paused for a drink at an Irish pub to wait out the rain. We met up with Gilly and her friend Hector from Spain, as well as Benben, Papi and Benjamin's friend from Paris who had just arrived, at a Mexican restaurant that served excellent mango margaritas and mole enchiladas. After dinner we all went out to an underground bar. It was a rad little place with live music and cheap drinks; so popular in fact that we waited outside for nearly an hour to get in. But we didn't mind because we were in good company and the club turned out to be worth the wait. It shut down around 3am, but we kept the party rolling at a different bar near Gilly's flat, where we chatted and discussed until 5:30am when we all finally went to bed. We slept for a while, then Gilly made us eggs and served them with fresh fruits and vegetables. So good! Afterwards Papi, Benben, Benjamin and I boarded a bus for Brno - where Papi lives. It was a short ride and we arrived in time to drop our stuff at the flat and then go out for some traditional Czech food. It was delicious!! After dinner, we meet Papi's friend Anna who gave us a tour of her favorite places in the city. We had a few late night drinks before calling it a night.
We slept late Sunday morning and then went to rendezvous with Benben's friend Dana. We had lunch at a local restaurant where I ordered mushroom soup and salad. It's mushroom season here, and there are lots of fungal dishes to choose from! Dana works at a bookstore, and had to collect some comics from an art event, so we joined her. It was very intersting - all kinds of different styles of art from live painting to music, workshops on drawing and interactive art, as well as presentations by local artists. We walked around the city and saw some very beautiful architecture. As the next day was Benben's birthday, we decided to start celebrating with a mini pub crawl. Dana took us to a little villiage with lots of art and charm. They were finishing their harvest festival and we joined in. Then we went to a few other pubs around the city taking in the scenery. We had dinner at another traditional Czech restaurant, then discussed what exactly 'traditional' food is. We ended the evening with some absynth at a bar near papi's flat. As Benjamin had to work in the morning, he called it a night at midnight. I was tired, so went back to the flat with him, while the others continued to celebrate.
Monday morning, while Benjamin stayed behind to work; I went with Papi and Benben to meet Dana for breakfast. We decided to visit a few of Dana's favorite locations outside the city, including a swimming hole. She went in, but we stayed bundled up on the shore. We saw lots of different kinds of mushrooms all over - so many and such variety! We drove to an arboretum and soaked in the beautiful surrounding as we walked through nature, admiring the scenery and enjoying it with all our senses. We visited an enourmous cathedral on the way back to Brno, and enjoyed the daily lunch specials at a local resturant close to the bus station. We said goodbye to BenBen as he returned to Paris, then Papi and I went to collect Benjamin for a dinner of Pho and an evening of live Jazz music.
Tuesday has been a quiet afternoon of catching up on my french lessons and this blog, while both Benjamin and Papi telecommute. Papi attempted Tom Ghai soup, and I quite enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to an evening of board games at a little tea shop around the corner, and perhaps visiting the conservatory accross the street. I will keep posting!!!
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