This blog has taken me quite a long time to write. The past semester was so busy- soccer, football, swimming, dance class, music class, chess club, comic book club, Russian class, Russian cultural and history class, Daisy's, and then all of the regular homework and life activities. And a teething baby. We cannot forget a teething baby. Over the fall break we flew to Berlin, Germany, and then we drove on to Prague, in the Czech Republic. It was a great trip. A bit cold, but nothing that a fun hour at H&M in Berlin buying some new winter clothes could not fix.
The first day in Berlin we arrived at 7:30 in the morning. So, we had quite a lot of sightseeing to accomplish before we could check into the hotel. Thank goodness Berlin has a small LegoLand, and we were able to bribe the kids with a morning of walking and then playing with Legos in the afternoon.
On our second day in Berlin we visited Tiergarten, a lovely park that would remind you of Central Park in New York City. We did quite a lot of walking that day and promised the kids that if they were good, we would take them to Dunkin Donuts and to the aquarium. I'm not sure what made them happier, the donuts or the fish. This aquarium was attached to our hotel, and in the lobby there was a very large tank with the elevator in the middle. It was nice and easy to get the kids out of the hotel rooms in the morning- let's go look at the fish!
Prague is a four hours from Berlin, so in order to break up the trip, we decided to try an indoor German waterpark. A colleauge of Jesy's mentioned this waterpark when he heard we were making this trip, and we thought we'd give it a whirl. I am going to stereotype here because I have German blood coursing through my veins, so I think I'm allowed. Waterpark? Are you kidding me? This was the indoor waterpark of all waterparks. Germans are efficient, and they are also cold during the winter. Look at this place:
There are two pools, a little kid area, slides, waterfalls, a lazy river, a bird sanctuary, restaurants, nightly shows, and a locker system that I have never seen the likes of and probably never will again. And you don't have to go home at the end of the day- the place never closes. There are bungalows to rent, a hotel, and even an indoor campground for the adventurous. I lived in the Midwest for four years, and I know my waterparks (midwesterners love swimming in the winter) but I never saw anything like this. The Germans really pulled this one off.
After the waterpark it was time to finish our journey to Prague. It was my first time on the autobahn and Jesy was more than happy to give the kids and I an exciting ride. John only threw up once, but in Jesy's defense I think it was due more to the S-shaped roads once we go in to the Czech Republic than Jesy's driving.
We stayed in an apartment in Prague right off Wenceslas Square, which was perfect because we wanted to be right in the middle of all of the action. I do not know if I can explain in words the beauty of Prague. Jesy and I had our kids marching all over that city, and the tired feet and legs at the end of the day were worth it. I am just going to post a bunch of pictures and you can see for yourself how magnificent the city of Prague is. And these photos are also to entice my parents, who will be visiting Prague this summer. And also to encourage them to bring good sneakers.
The pictures on the water are actually us crossing the St.Charles Bridge. It leads to the Prague Castle. The musicians were actually playing Louisiana music, so we had to stop and have a listen. They were quite good! These photos are from the castle complex.
And finally, as a practicing Catholic and the mother of 4 children who rarely sit down and have very interesting personalities, I had to publish these photos. I just told the kids to say a little prayer. I didn't know they would be so cute doing it.
Just look how pious Kathleen is- and that is nothing short of a miracle!
I have learned a lot by being married to Jesy for all of these years, and one such learning is to appreciate the National Georaphic Channel. Which we get here in Moscow. About two weeks before we went to Prague, Jesy watched a show about the bone church in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic. Bone church and Halloween (remember this trip was at the end of October) really seemed to mix, so we packed the kids in the car and took the hour drive to Kutna Hora. It was so worth the trip. The church was amazing and a bit creepy. Again, perfect for Halloween. The town itself was beautiful, and we had the best food of the whole trip at a beerhall. The food in Prague was AMAZING, so I'm really saying something here.
I decided to write about this part of the trip last, even though we visited the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin on our first day there. Now, I could go on and on about how much distaste I have for people who deny the Holocaust (Really? Really? You do not believe it happened? What is wrong with you?). But instead I will focus on our experience there. John was asleep, and while he was sleeping I sat down with Colin and gave him a very simplified version of those horrible events which really did not happen that long ago. As I was talking to Colin, Jesy was attempting to control the girls, which was hard to do. This memorial is quite interesting for little visitors (it's neat to run around it). At first I was quite mortified that the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves so much at a place that is meant to be solemn. But then I had to correct myself. To me, the point of this memorial is to honor the people who were murdered, explain to your children (the older ones) what happened, and how we as human beings have to work to make sure these things do not happen again. (And keep on working on it, because we know that atrocities like this continue to happen in the world.) And then I had to stop, and look at my beautiful children, and realize that even though the world can be a brutal place at times, there are these little people that I have the honor of raising, that give me hope. So I let my girls run and smile and be joyful, because that was the best way I knew how to honor the people of the memorial.
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