Princess Hannah turns 4

Friday, May 23, 2014

   Hannah turns 4 today! She is so proud to be a big, four year old girl. We have not done anything special as we already had a birthday party for both kids. But we congratulated her on her birthday.

   We took the bus to Kaufland to pick up a photo book for Petr and Jarka. We made a small book from our visit as a thank you for taking care of us while we visited. We also stopped at the bank to exchange money for Euros and ate at McDonald’s (mostly so that the kids could play on their playground).

   We walked back to babi’s and shortly after we got home, it started to rain. The rain cooled the temperatures down which was really nice.

   Mrs. Drahosova, Renata, Pepa and Zaneta came to visit in the evening. We enjoyed some snacks and good company.

Visiting Blanka

Thursday, May 22, 2014

   We made plans to visit with Blanka in the afternoon. However, Blanka got a call at 1:30 PM that her finger surgery was scheduled for next week (she has been waiting for months) and that she had to go to the doctor’s office immediately to pick up paperwork to start her pre-op appointments. We went to the playground by ourselves and stayed there until Blanka got there around 3:30 PM.

   When Blanka got there, we went back to her apartment and she had some chicken ready for us. The kids were hungry and much happier once they ate. We stayed until about 7 PM and then took a bus back to babi’s. It is really neat to see how the kids are happy to come back to babi’s apartment – it is their temporary home.

   While at Blanka’s we watched the world championship hockey quarterfinals game between the USA and the Czech Republic. It seemed like a clear win for the Czech Republic until the few minutes prior to the end when the US scored 2 goals in less than 2 minutes. Steve jokes that he is possibly the only American who is watching the championship (not to mention watching the game live) but practically the whole Czech Republic  is watching the Czech team.

 

   Before we left, we got to see Denisa and her husband Pavel for a few minutes. Even Steve got to see that Pavel is not an imaginary person (due to his work schedule, we have not had a chance to see him at all).

Big travel plans

Wednesday, May 21

   We decided to go to a little playground in the woods behind babi’s building. It was truly small and the kids played for about 5 minutes. After that we went for a walk down the trail.

   Before we left to go to the playground, I was wondering if there were ferries going directly to Ireland (our original plan was to go from Caen to Portsmouth in England). I found ferries going from Cherbourg which is about an hour and a half by train from Caen. We discussed changing our plan to go straight to Ireland while the kids played and decided to make a few changes. 

Here is our final itinerary:

Monday, May 26

–        train from Prague to Munich, Germany – the train leaves at 1:15 PM and arrives in Munich at 9:15 PM

–        train from Munich, Germany to Paris, France – leaves at 10:50 PM and arrives in Paris at 9:25 AM the next morning

Tuesday, May 27

–        transfer from Paris East train station by subway to Paris Saint Lazare train station

–        train from Paris to Cherbourg – train leaves at 12:08 PM and arrives in Cherbourg at 15:20 PM

–        we reserved a hotel for 1 night in Cherbourg directly across from the train station and about 1/3 mile from the ferry port

Wednesday, May 28

-          rent a car from the ferry port and make our own private D-day tour of the beaches and the memorial

-          leave by ferry at 6 PM to go to Rosslare, Ireland – the ferry arrives in Rosslare at 11:30 AM the next day

Thursday, May 29

-          arrive in Rosslare, Ireland at 11:30 AM and take a taxi to bed and breakfast we have booked for 1 night

After that we plan to spend several days touring southern Ireland and then take a ferry to Wales (the ferries leave from the same port in Rosslare).

The countdown begins

Monday, May 19, 2014

   Since our trip is coming to the end, we had to start preparing for our westward journey. I have spent quite a bit of time online planning our trip to France and Ireland. It turns out that one cannot purchase a train ticket all the way to Normandy. We would have to buy the ticket from Prague to Munich from the Czech Railways, Munich to Paris from the German Railways and Paris to Caen (which was initially our destination in Normandy) from French Railways. In the end I decided that we would buy our ticket from Munich to Paris at the railway station in Kladno as I was unable to get 4 beds (the kids travel free and therefore the online system was not assigning them a bed). We also decided to wait to purchase the rest of the tickets until we bought the night train tickets. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

   We stopped at the railway station to purchase the tickets from Munich to Paris. The lady at the counter did not have access to any better information than what I found online but at least she could print the ticket before paying and see if it is what we needed. Online, I would not be able to see the ticket and assigned beds until after it was paid for and after that the ticket was non-refundable, non-exchangeable.  After much looking, it turned out that the easiest way to get tickets for all 4 of us in a single cabin was to pay for 4 adult tickets. 

   Once we had our ticket, we went to the pool for the last swim before we leave the Czech Republic.

When we got back to babi’s apartment, I went back online to finish the rest of our train reservations. By the end of the day we had tickets all the way to Caen in north of France and a hotel for 2 nights in Caen.

Dan and Veronika

Sunday, May 18, 2014

  

   Our original plan was to visit Dan and his wife Veronika in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was raining all day making a bus trip difficult. It takes about 5-10 minutes to walk from the bus stop to their place (longer with kids) and it is just not that much fun in the rain. We returned Vlada’s car yesterday and therefore we asked if Dan and Veronika would not mind rescheduling or coming over to visit us by car. 

   They were happy to come over and we spent the afternoon together at babi’s apartment. Both Dan and Veronika speak English and it was great that I did not have to interpret at all (except to keep babi in the loop). It was the longest English conversation Steve has had since we arrived here.

The rain slowed down enough that we decided to go eat dinner at a restaurant about 10 minutes away. The kids rode their scooters and we walked. Dinner was very nice and even though it was raining lightly on the way home, the rain was not too bad.

It's birthday party time

Saturday, May 17, 2014

   I spent most of the morning preparing snacks for the birthday/nameday party in the afternoon. Just before noon, I put the pork chops and potatoes in the oven and left to pick up the cakes. After picking up the cakes, I went over to pick up Vlada and Blanka and we went back to babi’s together. 

    I was hoping the gluten and dairy free cake would look nice. It did! We also ordered a small sugar-free cake for babi. 

   The kids were so excited to have a cake and it was killing them to wait through lunch. After lunch we put candles on the cake and sang happy birthday to them. Then they got presents from babi, Vlada and Blanka. We also gave Vlada his nameday present. Stevie was excited to get the Pig Rock Raceway he has been wanting for weeks (if not months). Hannah enjoyed most playing with sticky foam. It is like play doh but is made out of tiny balls that stick together. Hannah cooked food with it in her new tea set and also made animals with Blanka. 

   At the end of the day, everyone was tired from all the partying. 

Back to babi's house

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

   Steve and I woke up early – at 5 AM. As usual, it was light outside and we got to packing and cleaning up. Jarka and Petr came over at 8:30 AM  and by then we were ready to go (we have even finished breakfast). We said our goodbyes with Jarka and Petr drove her to work. He came back a few minutes later to visit some more. We again invited him to visit us in Tennessee and he said that he was increasing the odds of them traveling to the US from 15% to 30%.  

   We left shortly after 10 AM. The weather was better than during our drive to Moravia and we arrived in Kladno in 5 hours. 

   Mom had a nice dinner ready for us.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

   To recover from the long drive, we went to the pool. This time we stayed longer in the pool and the boys did not make it out of the lockers on time. Hannah and I made it about a minute before our time expired (we buy tickets for 90 minutes) but the boys were about 2 minutes too late. When they inserted their chips in to unlock the turnstile, they were detained until they paid for additional time. 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

   Babi paid for the kids to play in the play area in Oaza. They had a good time but were not quite as excited as the first time as they already knew the toys. We ate Chinese in the food court for lunch, had coffee, ice cream and got grocery shopping done. 

Friday, May 16, 2014

   I went grocery shopping in the morning to get the things we needed for the party on Saturday. We planned a little early party for Stevie’s and Hannah’s birthdays and also for Vlada’s nameday. In the afternoon we went to Doksy to visit the Drahos family. We visited for a little while while Hannah and Stevie played. We also made arrangements with Pepa to drive us to the train station in Prague when we leave. We stopped at Tesco on the way back and bought another deck of prsi cards and a few other items.

 

The wooden village - Roznov pod Radhostem

Monday, May 12, 2014

   We drove to Roznov pod Radhostem that has a large outdoors museum about the local history. We visited the Wooden Village (Town) which was assembled from local log cabins from mid to late 18^th century. The houses were brought there and re-assembled. Some were newer reconstructions, however, it was impossible to tell which was which without reading the posted information.

We were enjoying our walk through the museum until the “creepies” started following us. People work in the museum and they monitor visitors. However, one lady just kind of appeared behind us and continued to follow us in somewhat creepy manner. After that, we wrapped up our visit and drove back home. 

 

Beehives

   We made arrangements to visit with Regina and her family after 6 PM to say goodbye but since we got to Nosovice at 5 PM, we went to the playground. I sent a text message to Regina to let us know when she gets home. Regina left her phone at home but Pavla got the message and came to the playground. A little while later, Regina’s husband Petr came to the playground as well. We went to eat supper at a restaurant nearby. Stevie and Pavla rode the scooters. 

   We planned to visit with Petr and Jarka as well but we did not make it back to the chateau until 9 PM. Petr just finished working on the property and we briefly talked to him. He said that they would come visit in the morning before Jarka went to work.

Poland

Sunday, May 11, 2014

   We decided to drive to Poland since we were just about 10 km from the border. We drove to Cesky Tesin – a town that sits on the border. The Polish side of town is called Cieszyn. It was pretty much a straight shot down the road from our chateau. We crossed the Olse River into Poland and found a nice playground on the Polish side. The kids rode the scooters from the parking lot to the playground and thn across a bridge connecting the Czech Republic with Poland. 

   We wanted to have lunch in Poland but when we finally found a square with a lot of restaurants, there was only paid parking (all full anyway). We did not have any Euro coins to use in the parking ticket machine so we kept driving. When we finally found a restaurant and a parking spot in the same vicinity we were back in the Czech Republic. We had a nice lunch and then stopped by a grocery store for some good snacks. 

   From there we drove to Regina’s house. I made plans to visit with her while Steve and Petr and a few other guys went hunting. Steve was expected at Petr’s house at 5 PM so Stevie and Hannah stayed with Regina while I drove him there.

The second hunting trip

Sunday, May 11, 2014 



The Second Hunting Trip, written by Steve.  Kat had told me that I was going on a "gentlemen’s ride" with her Uncle Petr and some of his friends.  I was a bit concerned as drinking Plum Brandy and beer is a daily occurrence in Moravia.  Back where I come from, drinking, driving and guns are not usually a good combination.  Uncle Petr had told some of his Czech friends that I was a good American guy and that I had only one "tragedy “and that was that I didn't drink.  I tried to explain to him that the medicine that I take for arthritis causes a bad reaction for me when I consume alcohol but he did not seem to understand and offered me more Brandy (to make the medicine go away). 

 

I am sure that it is 5 O'clock somewhere, but at Uncle Petr's Chateau in Moravia it is 9:30 in the morning.  I am getting ready to mow the yard in preparation for the family reunion that Uncle Petr and Aunt Jarak are putting together.  Uncle Peter insisted that we have a beer before we get to work.  Mine is non alcoholic.  The Gentlemen’s Ride is two days away.   

      So the night before the hunt, I am trying to visualize what this gentlemen’s ride/hunting trip will be like.  I can see me in the back of a Skoda car flying down the road at 120 kilometers per hour, full of drunken hunters with rifles hanging out the windows taking pot shots at road signs.  Under normal circumstances I would hop out of this car at the next available opportunity, walk home or call and get a ride.  Here, I have no cell phone, no one, including the police speak any English and I have no way of finding my way back to the Chateau if this did happen.  It just doesn't get any better than this.

      The Gentlemen’s Ride begins:  Kat drops me off at Uncle Petr’s house and she tells me that I will probably be out with the guys until the early hours of the morning.  As I kiss Kat goodbye, I am somewhat regretful that I did not upgrade my life insurance policy before we left America.  Uncle Petr has arranged for one of his friends who speaks English to be with us for the hog hunt/gentlemen’s ride.  Kat had told me that this friend would be there in about 10 minutes. 

       So me and Uncle Petr, who speaks less English than I do Czech (I know three words) sat in a small room for 45 minutes and stared at each other while waiting for Michel to show up.   We attempted to communicate using hand signals and the three words I knew, but I could not thing of anything exciting to say about (zub, ahoj, dekuji), tooth, hello and thank you.  Fortunately, after what seemed like infinity, Michel showed up with a friend of his named Lukas.

In the center of the photo is the bait corn for the hogs. Michal and I are ready in the shoot house, now all we need is some hogs.

       Michal was born in the Czech Republic, his father later moved the family to Canada for a few years and then back to the Czech Republic.  He and his brother own a car dealership nearby.  Both Michal and Lukas were very nice and by all appearances good hunters.  Michal showed me his Remington 30-06 caliber rifle with a night vision scope and a new $15,000 thermal imaging scope that he had purchased for another rifle.  In parts of Europe hunters are allowed to hunt at night time, unlike in America where usually you can only hunt alligators, raccoons and hogs at night.  

      Uncle Petr finds it totally absurd and unbelievable that in Tennessee I pay $60 for an annual hunting and fishing license and can go whenever I wish to.  In Europe, people wishing to hunt have to complete several educational courses in a year's period, pass all kinds of tests related to animals, plants and firearms before they can even apply for a hunting license.  The same goes for applying for a fishing license.  Once you get the license there is another procedure to go through each time you go hunting, depending upon whether you are hunting on private or public land. 

       Upon completing all of the above mentioned red tape, applying for the license, application being accepted, getting the license, applying to hunt in a specific area, paying a game warden for the hunt on that day, and suddenly,  just like that, 1 1/2 years later,  you are ready to go hunting.  If by chance you get a legal size deer or hog, then another government regulated procedure begins to claim the animal for your use.  As Petr and Michal are explaining this unnecessary and over regulated procedure to me, I can hear echoes of the song "God Bless America, land that I love..." playing in my mind.   

You can see the corn off in the distance.  Michal and Uncle Petr suggested that I shoot the hog in the head if we see one.  Michal’s 30-06 caliber rifle with the night vision scope will have no trouble reaching this distance.   

      Fortunately for me, Uncle Petr is a certified Game Warden and he and Aunt Jarak are the largest land owners in the hunt club, therefore I am able to circumvent the above procedure.  It is a good thing too, because the training manual that they are required to know is as big as an Orlando phone book.  I just could not quite understand how knowing the breeding habits of the "crooked tooth flying squirrel" was going to help me in hog hunting, but what do I know, I am just an uneducated American.  LOL.  

      It is really sad to see, not how many liberties and rights we take for granted, but, rather how much freedom Europeans have taken away from themselves in their pursuit of a socialistic society.  The amount of regulation on the simple act of going hunting or fishing is just a small example of the multitude of hurdles that the citizens over here have to jump over every day just to go to work, play, own things, or even just to exist.  Kat's mother had to go see a psychiatrist and other doctors last year in order to get an electric wheelchair.  

       The politicians over here are kind of like the Democratic politicians in America, just multiply their liberalism times 10 and add in some steroids.  They don't have much to do because they have already achieved their socialist utopia.  They spend most of their time reminding citizens how great they have it here, doing massive amounts of damage control to cover up the damage they create with their laws and in their spare time create new regulations and taxes to control any personal freedoms that they may have missed in the past.

      Sorry about the diversion from the gentlemen’s ride/hog hunt.  It’s just that I felt compelled to explain the absolute disbelief that Uncle Petr had when I told him that I paid only $60 a year to go hunting and fishing in America.  He could not believe that the average citizen in America could hunt or fish without taking a lot of courses and paying a government authorized official to go hunting with them.   Michael relayed this information to Uncle Petr who is one of the certified Game Wardens in the Morava.

      Much to my surprise, Michael and Lukas were the only ones going on the hunt.  Uncle Petr stayed home while the three of us went hunting.  Prior to leaving I asked Uncle Petr and his friends many questions about hunting and they asked many as well.  Through Michal’s interpreting we were able to share our thoughts and experiences about hunting and other topics.  Apparently the politicians over here are just as corrupt as some of the ones we have back home.  Some things never change.  

     There is not enough room on the blog to relay everything we chatted about but here are a few observations that I made.  The Czech people who hunt are very passionate about hunting, anyone willing to go through the aforementioned procedure would have to be.  I admire Uncle Petr, Michal and Lukas for over coming these obstacles and carrying on the tradition of hunting in a country where such things are not easily accessible.  I will think of them often when go hunting or fishing in America.  

       The hunting methods are very similar to what we do in America, save the night time hunting.  I am not sure what the reasoning was that led Europeans being able to hunt at night.  In America, most animals can only be hunted during the day time, presumably, it is sportsmanlike to give the animal fair chance of survival and allow them time eat and rest without the 24 hour stress of being pursued. 


        My host were surprised when I told them that America has too many wild hogs and that many were considered feral and were often killed to protect property and other wildlife from over consumption of the available food in the land.  Europe is over developed and does not have enough available forest to support much of its wildlife.  Many hunters, land owners and Game Wardens here have to raise their own "wild life" and release it later for hunting.  Uncle Petr raises deer and pheasants on his property.  Again, it is very admirable how Uncle Petr and his friends overcome these obstacles to claim their right to hunt/fish and makes me appreciate the vast and fertile forest of America and the freedoms that we have.  

This is a deer I saw the night I went with Uncle Petr.  The night I went with Michal, I did not bring the camera.  Off course, a trophy buck showed up on the night I did not have the camera

      So, after much discussion I hop in Uncle Petr's SUV with Michal and we head out to the same shoot house that I was in a few days earlier.  Michal, like Uncle Petr took much care making his way undetected to the stand and in general not contaminating the hunting area.  Lukas had driven to another stand and was testing out Michal's new thermal imaging scope.  Upon getting close to the stand, Michal realized he needed something from the truck and returned to get it.  I continued to the stand and spotted two deer eating the bait corn.  I stood quietly and watched them until Michal returned.  After a while, the deer left and we climbed up into the shoot house.   

       Michal had offered to allow me to use his rifle (equipped with a night vision scope) to shoot any good sized hogs that we may see.  I initially declined his generous offer, telling him that he had paid much money and gave much effort in order to be here for this hunt.  He told me that he had already shot some hogs earlier in the season and insisted that I should take the opportunity.  I agreed and was grateful for the opportunity to hunt in the Czech Republic.  

       I positioned myself the best I could for a shot towards the bait area and tested out how to use the night vision scope.  The shoot house windows were not the right height for me and it was straining my neck and back to look out them, but a hunt is a hunt and I tried to adjust.  After about one hour, it was starting to turn to dusk and I spotted a trophy deer walking down the trail.  Michal texted Uncle Petr about the deer.  Deer season was only 5 days away and I had to stand by and watch this trophy buck eat off of the bait pile for 10 minutes.  After a while the deer moved on and that was the last animal we saw for the rest of the night.  


      About 10:30 p.m. we left the stand and drove back to Uncle Petr's house.  Uncle Petr had waited up for us and we hung out in his hunting room for a couple of hours.  He had snacks and drinks for everyone.  The other guys shared some beers and brandy while I drank my non alcoholic beer.  We talked about hunting and a mix of other important topics.  All in all, it was a successful hunt as far as I was concerned.  I got to go hunting and hang out with some great people, I didn't get killed in a Skoda car crash or otherwise maimed for life, didn't get arrested in a foreign country and gained a new appreciation for hunting in the Czech Republic and America.  Thank you Uncle Petr for the experience and thanks to Michal and Lukas for your hospitality.  I hope to return the favor someday when you come visit in Tennessee.