June 2009

“It is better to be a young June bug than an old bird of paradise” -Mark Twain

Hello again to all of our devoted fans out there. We hope you are all enjoying summer - especially those friends and family in Arizona and Texas who are experiencing triple digit heat, ugh. Summer in Prague is here but you'd never know it. We've had rain nearly every day since the beginning of May - great if you're a tree, bush, or flower - not so great if you live here or, god forbid, come here as a tourist.

Melinda took a weekend off and went up to Berlin to spend some time with Ben & Vanessa, who were there on vacation. We had visitors as well: Thomas & "Beyonce" visited from Regensburg, and spoiled Lolo with candy and toys. And Carl & Rachel finally made it out to Europe and stopped by for a few days as well. Good times.

Three things happened this month that made me feel like an old bird of paradise:

1) We enrolled Lolo in preschool. We totally lucked out and found a perfect school in a perfect part of the city. It's a true Czech "skolka" that was renovated last year and has incredible facilities and great teachers. It's also state funded so we only pay around 35 bucks per month! Lolo starts September 1st.

2) I received an invitation to my nephew's high school graduation. For those of you who don't know, Taylor is my sister Heidi's second child. Heidi and her husband, Glenn, just moved to Austin, Texas last month from Seattle, but Taylor (and Tyson) are staying put in Washington. Congrats, Taylor!!

3) On the same day I received Taylor's invitation, I also received an invitation to my 20-year high school reunion!! Oh, the humanity!! I'm not attending.

Keep in touch,

-Britt

Thanks to uncle Jerry for the word bowling game. It works!

While mommy is away, Lolo will play. We went up to the "big slide" park above the castle while Melinda was in Berlin with Ben & Vanessa. What can I say? The girl has a thing for slides.

Like, super cool.

Bunnies anyone?

Can we go now? I'm bored.

The bridge to tomorrow.

How NOT to be a patient father while at the park.

One fine Saturday morning, we took the train east for an hour to the town of Kutna Hora, made famous centuries ago for its silver (mines), mint, cathedral, and of course, the infamous bone church.

Just a hop, skip and a jump from the Kutna Hora train station is the infamous Kostnice Ossuary. This from wikipedia: "In 1278, Henry, the abbot of Sedlec was sent to the Holy Land. On returning, he brought soil from Golgotha and sprinkled it on the ground here. As a consequence, the burial ground was considered holy and became extremely popular. In 1511 a chapel was constructed to house the bones from [abandoned] graves. The chapel is open to the public, and contains the bones of about 40000 people".

The cemetary surrounding the ossuary had that Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil feel.

Just down the road from the ossuary is the the former church of the Virgin Mary. The site has had a few churches on it over the centuries. This one was rebuilt by Giovanni Santini in Baroque Gothic style around 1700. The interior architecture is amazing.

Another dead saint. So mid-13th century.

Hello? Echo? Anybody there?

Totally goth!! Construction on the beautiful St. Barbara cathedral started in 1388, and was interrupted several times, but was finally completed after more than 500 years of building, in 1905.

A little ice cream before calling it a day and sprinting for the last bus back to the train station.

"Lolo under glass" mugging for the camera while traveling home on the train from Kutna Hora.

My long-lost buddy from SLC, Carl, and his trusty side-kick, Rachel, stopped by for a few days during their 3-week tour of Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic. It was great fun having them in town and showing them why we love Prague so much. Friends like them make me miss Utah a little bit.

Last call at PopoCafePetl.

Melinda, Britt, and Rachel in Old Town Square during tourist rush hour.

Thanks for hanging around on our blog, stop by and see us sometime.