Praha!

It took us less than an hour to reach the border that divides Deutschland from the Czech Republic. I didn't realize it was that close. In order to drive in Czech, a vignette is required, and you can purchase them at the border for about 16 Euro. Basically it's a sticker that you stick on your windshield (in place of a toll) that prevents you from getting a fine. Considering we traveled to Prague and back on less than one tank of gas, it's a pretty cheap trip.

We left the house at 8:45 on a Thursday, stopped at the bakery in Hohenfels for sustenance, and arrived in Prague before noon. That included a stop for gas in Schwandorf, and of course the stop to purchase the vignette at the border. The autobahn took us through miles of countryside without much traffic. It was actually kind of a boring ride, with the exception of the sunflower fields that we passed every so often. Oh how I enjoy sunflower fields. I was regretful that I could not get one single photo, but stopping was an impossibility.

Driving in the city Prague is for insane people, so just call me crazy. I have no idea how we ended up finding our hotel, since even our GPS was confused in the labyrinth of crowded city streets. When I finally found a spot to park, we walked around the square where our hotel was located for almost an hour before we finally figured out which building it was and how to get inside. And then I had to move my car to park in the "blue zone" which involved parallel parking in a spot that looked way smaller than the length  of my car on a very narrow street filled with people. I don't know how I did it, but all this traveling in Europe has forced me to be  super brave and do things wayyy out of my comfort zone. Seriously, if I can drive through the center of Prague and parallel park on one of those streets, I can probably do anything.

The name of our hotel was Malostranska Residence, and it was located in Malostranska Square, which is located in the Little Quarter of Prague, near St. Nicholas Church just over the Charles Bridge. When we first stepped through the door to our apartment or "executive suite" as they called it, I was rendered speechless by the magnificence of it all. The view was astounding, we could see the church and the Prague Castle and all the beauty the city has to offer. It would have been nice to just stay in our room and enjoy the view, the humungous television, and the jacuzzi tub with multicolored flashing lights. But of course, the city beckoned us.

Prague is so architecturally awesome that there are no words for me to describe how it felt walking over the bridges and the streets packed with pedestrians from all over the world. I did take notice that there were not a lot of Muslims, which was odd after being in Salzburg. (**Future post on Salzburg forthcoming.) Our first stop was a Thai Massage parlor where the girls paid 30 Euro each to sit on a couch and put their feet in a tank full of "doctor fish" that ate the dead skin off their toes. It was really gross. For about 25 minutes, they were one of Prague's biggest tourist attractions. There is no telling how many people from all over the planet took their photo during that time period, which is ironic considering that Hannah won't even let ME take her photo.

We walked all around the city and took in the sites: the Little Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, the Old Quarter; the Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, the old Jewish cemetery, and so on and so forth. It wowed us to the point where I was totally over-wowed. By the next day all I wanted to do was find a quiet place to sit and rest and drink wine, particularly at a French open air market we stumbled upon. But my mother insisted we find our way to the church where the "Holy Infant of Prague" was located. So on we went.

Apparently the "Holy Infant of Prague" is one of Czech's national treasures, and according to Nana, we could not possibly go there without seeing it. But our map was complicated and we got turned around several times, so it took us a lot of walking and frustration and several wrong churches before we finally happened upon the correct one: the Church of the Lady Victorious. We made our way up the steps, through a crowd of (rude and pushy) tourists, and finally into the church. And there we were, all of us standing there, looking up at this small porcelain baby doll encased in glass, wearing an ornately jeweled crown upon its head, and a garish red velvet robe. "Is that the Holy Infant?" Hannah whispered to me, incredulously. "That doll is the Holy Infant?" And in the midst of that crowded church, I began to laugh. And in spite of all the dirty looks from the praying people around me, I couldn't stop. All the hype about the Holy Infant and all that talk about it being a national treasure, yet at that moment, all I could think of was Talladega Nights, and Ricky Bobby praying: "Dear Lord Baby Jesus..."

Needless to say, Baby Jesus was the crowning moment of our Praha adventure. After that, I knew we couldn't do or see anything else that would compare. We had planned to stay a lot longer, but I had my fill of gloriousness by 2pm on Friday. Plus it had started to rain and all I wanted to do was get back home and kick back on my couch with my Kindle and a comfy blanket. There's only so much wonder my brain can handle at once.

Prague, thank you for the unforgettable images and memories. You are probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen. The pictures could never do you justice.

First things first: ATM for Czech money (koruna). I was so excited to get 1000 kc (not with the faintest clue of its value) until we walked across the street to Starbucks and I spent half of it on coffee.

Oh my! What a view! From our hotel room/apartment.

 I don't know why this picture is turned sideways. I give up trying to fix it. I was standing outside the window on the sidewalk taking this picture of the girls through the glass. I was surrounded by a bunch of curious onlookers who were intrigued by the "doctor fish" foot treatment. Ickky!

 On the Charles Bridge! A bit windy!

 One of the many beautiful buildings of Prague with its ornate gold embellishments. 

This is why they call it The Golden City of Europe.

 Night time view from our hotel window. This is the Prague Castle and Palace.

 Another night view from our hotel room. This is St. Nicholas Church.

 Heading to the Charles Bridge at night. Simply magical!

 John Lennon graffiti wall. This was once covered with all the lyrics to his songs, started after his death when college students were mourning him and rebelling against communism. Now it's just a bunch of punks who like to deface the church wall with their graffiti art.

 Locks of love!

View of Charles Bridge from Kampa. As I took this photo I was in a cloud of marijuana smoke from the teenage kids sitting along the park wall. (Don't worry, I didn't inhale.)

Golden City, here we come....

Tomorrow we head to Prague. The past week I have barely been able to catch my breath, I have blisters on my feet, and a horsefly bite on my leg that has caused some kind of necrotizing dermatitis (not sure if that is a real term, but it sure looks ugly.)

Our trip to Europe's Golden City is for the ladies: My mom, me, and the two girls. I am driving. According to Mapquest it should only take us two hours and fifty seven minutes to get there, but I must confess that I am absolutely TERRIFIED to drive in Prague. Not to mention all the stories I have heard from my friends about cars being stolen and purses getting snatched. And the Salzburg mugging is still fresh in my mind.

Honestly I've never dreamed of traveling to Czech Republic. It seems so foreign to me. It's not very far away from here, and yet they have a different language, currency, and power voltage. So I hope they will have a hair dryer in the room since mine won't work there. The last time I ran into this predicament I had to dry my hair by walking in half-circles back and forth in front of an oscillating fan. My hair eventually dried, but I looked like Chaka Kahn for the rest of the weekend.

The hotel has offered us a Segway tour, so I tried to envision the four of us riding Segways through the Golden City. In my vision, I rode my Segway off the Charles Bridge. Needless to say I think we will avoid Segways; I don't need one more thing to worry about.

Stay tuned...I will be back in two days to tell you all about it! Oh, and if you feel like saying a few prayers for our safety and well being, I'd really appreciate it!

Fourth of July

Today in Bavaria we are celebrating the United States of America. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, it's about 80 degrees, my mom is here visiting, and MM has the day off. I am happy.

When people ask me what my favorite holiday is, I always say "Fourth of July!" Mostly because I associate it with my favorite season: summer. And today it actually feels like summer. I love being outside, cooking on the grill, eating fresh strawberries and blueberries, hanging out with my family, and staying up late to watch fireworks. Those are a few of my favorite things.

And speaking of a few of my favorite things, we are heading to Salzburg tomorrow and hoping to do the Sound of Music tour. The last time I went to Salzburg was in the early 90's, pre-Hannah. I remember MM running down the sidewalk singing about the hills being alive with the sound of music. I don't remember much else, except that it was a beautiful city with breathtaking scenery and like many of the places we have seen here in Europe, it looked like a postcard.

I wish everyone a happy Independence Day and hope that you are all enjoying a few of your favorite things, no matter where you are today. God Bless America!

And speaking of my favorite things...it's my favorite doggie's 4th birthday today!

Georgia Kate

Flashback to June 15, 2000:

I was 40 weeks pregnant. We lived in Ft. Benning, Georgia. The temperatures were in the upper 90's with 100% humidity. My mother and grandmother were there to help and to see Georgia Katherine be born. It was an exciting time. Every morning I would take my four year old Hannah to swimming lessons. Then I would walk....down to the Columbus riverwalk, up the hills of Ft. Benning, around the soccer fields. I would walk and walk and walk and walk. But no matter how much I walked, labor would not start.

It's funny how those days dragged on and on. My mother and grandmother eventually had to leave, and Georgia still had not arrived. Even though we begged and pleaded with the doctors at Martin Army Hospital to induce me, they would not. I cried. I thought I would be pregnant forever. But finally, on July 2nd, my 43rd week of pregnancy, I went into Martin Army Hospital to be induced. When I got there, I found out that I was 2cm dilated and labor was beginning. Georgia Katherine was born later that day at 4:59pm.

That was twelve years ago. It's really hard to believe how fast the time has passed by us and how much has changed. She was only a year old when the planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City and our lives became tainted by terrorism, war, and deployments. MM missed several years of her early life. Georgia was three years old when he came home from Iraq one morning after being gone on and off for two years. We tiptoed into her bedroom and I whispered to her, "Daddy's home!" She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at him quizzically, then asked me, "Benjamin's Daddy?" I have always felt bad that MM had to miss so much.


Since then we have moved from Ft. Benning to Rhode Island to Hawaii to Florida to Germany. Everywhere we have lived, Georgia has been a shining star in school, in sports, and making friends. She is a true Army Brat and I could not be more proud of the young lady she is becoming. It is always bittersweet to watch your children grow up. July 2, 2000 seems like it was just yesterday.


Happy Birthday, Georgia Kate!

Never A Dull Moment...

The past two days have flown by because yesterday morning, after a year of not seeing her, my mama arrived in Munich! After months and months of waiting, of me telling MM: "My mom would love this," and "My mom would love that," I finally get to show her in person!

Last night even though she was exhausted from the long trip, we took her to the Summer Fest at Thurn und Taxis castle in Regensburg. We took the train and walked to the fest and enjoyed the 70's Disco music (I love Donna Summer!) ate some pretty good food, then hitched the last train of the day back to Parsberg. Only problem is when we arrived at the Parsberg station, we couldn't get off the train. We pushed the green button that was supposed to open the door but the door would not open, and the train continued down the track. Ruh-roh. We were stuck on the train!! Since they wouldn't go back for us, we got off at the next stop, Seubersdorf, 14 km away. It was raining, thundering, and lightning and it was past midnight; the next train to Parsberg wasn't expected until 0500. We couldn't get a cab. Luckily we had a friend in Seubersdorf who was nice enough to get out of bed to rescue us. Wow do I feel like an idiot....but at least we learned a valuable lesson: Never let Casey off the train first. All I kept thinking about for the rest of the night was, what if he had gotten off the train and the rest of us did not? From here on out we will move on and off trains in the "Sandwich Formation": The parents/adults being the bread. The kids being the peanut butter and jelly. That way the peanut butter is never left alone on the train track.

Never a dull moment. But wait, it gets better....

Today we went to Kallmunz. I knew there was a traveling circus with camels because I saw the camels on our bike ride to Kallmunz the other day. I told Casey we were going to see camels and he told me, "Don't be silly. There are no camels in Germany. Camels only live in Texas." (Not sure where he's getting his information, but whatevs...)

Anyway, so we end up in Kallmunz, and honestly all I wanted to do was LOOK at the camels and maybe get a photo of Casey near one. But as it played out, the circus show was about to start when we arrived and my mom thought it would be fun for all. So we bought tickets. I was wowed by the man who could balance six chairs on his forehead and the bird lady who taught her doves how to teeter-totter. And even though I couldn't understand a word they were saying, they somehow picked ME out of the crowd and pulled me up into the ring. And then told me to stand in front of this big wooden board. And then...the Ringmaster threw big, steely knives at me. I would have run away but I was too afraid to move, and then I kept thinking to myself, "These are professional circus people. Surely they will not kill me."

The good news is that I survived to tell the tale. I'm not sure too many people can say that they let someone throw knives at them. But I did. Because I'm cool like that.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Casey goes to the circus...

Yeeks!

Enjoying my favorite trattoria in Kallmunz by the river.

Such a pretty town.

Rooftops of Kallmunz.

 Proud of my mom for climbing up to the castle ruins. The view is always worth the hike.

 Love the colorful homes of Kallmunz.

It's not every day you see a guy walking his llamas down the street.