Sushi, Wine night, and Crazy Czech Carnivals

" Big roasting, cheap beer, country songs in Czech, and home made liquor... this is endin up to be a pretty amazing afternoon."

So, when I left college I was a bit concerned with the idea that I would never again hear country music, drink cheap beer, enjoy the BBQ-ing of animals (deer, pigs, etc), and was really worried about the lack of proper moonshine! Well, then I moved to the Czech Republic and realized everything that I was worried about was in fact a farse.. Europe, especially the small towns of the Czech Republic, are scarely similar to the small towns of the south... which means... they ARE AWESOME!

This week was the end of the Masopust festival (a.k.a. the end of carnival and the end of meat eating for Fridays... but not Saturday)! I found this little gem searching websites and told Dave to pack his best smile and best czech skills as we were going about 20 minutes outside of Prague for a small adventure. Really, I just told him there would be a pig and he was pretty much a done-deal. The town itself is pretty small and it was definitely a sight to see. Drunk old people everywhere! I was a little nervous that if any of these older folks fell over (from the amount of moonshine they were drinking) that it would be the end for them... you know, hip injuries can be fatal!

Roasted pig! We had the klobasa and two beers for the equivalent of like 50cents. It was amazing!

Ok... so here is the picture of my lovely self drinking the moonshine and Slivo (plum liquor... it sounds good but tastes like vinegar... terrible!) We literally would walk about 100-200meters, stop, have a drink of this weird alcohol (for free i might add), and then walk another 100-200 meters and do the same thing again. I have never been to a parade where everyone was giving out free alcohol! It would be the same as being at a Bama game and having everyone walk by and give you a shot of Jim Beam... CRAZY Czech people!

Slivo and Bozkov(i think).

So, when we aren't classing it up in the outskirts of Prague we are going to wine bars. And what wine bar would be better than a one named Sideways; yes, like the movie! It was date night for Dave and I and I thought I would take him to a winebar that I went to with my friend Iveta for her birthday. They actually have some amazing Czech wine (the Czech's aren't really known for their wine) at a reasonable price! We had our own little corner table in the back so we spent the entire night laughing and having a really great time!

Date night is fun!

About 3 weeks ago my dearest friend Iveta decided she was going to try and make sushi. Now, I am a girl that LOVES raw fish, so when she told me about this little offering of course I wasn't going to turn it down! Iveta, her boyfriend Petr, and their adorable puppy Ebbie, live in a town named Brandys nad Labem, about 20 minutes outside of Prague. The day that I went it was wretched cold... like -12C... I HATE cold! I assisted with stirring sticky rice and helping Ebbie with lots of puppy kisses! It was a lot of fun and definitely a great experience. I was very impressed with Iveta's sushi skills... she has no formal training but is a WHIZZ in the kitchen! Literally, the women can make anything and everything, regardless of whether or not she has ever seen it before... she's like a kitchen god.

Ebbie girl waiting for her sushi turn!




Our amazing spread made by the amazing Iveta Horackova!

Snow days are here to stay

Don't let anyone fool you; snow, when having to go to work in it, is not fun!

So, about a week ago the Czech Republic, well Prague actually, received about 2 1/2 feet of snow in one weekend. This is more than Prague has received in more than 20 years!!! Needless to say getting to work on Monday was nothing short of a National Disaster! Public transportation was running late, or in my case, not at all. Roads were shut, snow was falling off roofs and onto people. This, I must admit is really funny as long as it doesn't happen to you or anywhere near you. The poor Czech woman that this happened to was covered in snow and had to dump the entire contents of her purse out just to get the snow out. I snickered but i was a good 10 feet away so i think i got away with it.

Below are some pictures from that weekend when the snow refused to stop. The first picture is a person enjoying a little cross country ski action, since you know, we live in the middle of the city and the snow was so deep this was the old mode of transportation that was actually working. Typical.

WEEEEEE... Skiing is fun!

The next two pictures is just to prove how much freaking snow was actually on the balcony. We built, Dave and I, a snow man, but we had to prop him up against the door because he was too powdery to mold into anything snow man like.

Stylish and Cold. Snow!

Kisses for the snow man!

We still have about a foot on the ground. Luckily, Prague has finally got the snow situation under control and has put more salt on the roads than is probably necessary, but it's keeping it from sticking for periods longer than evening. But on some positive news; I was told today that we have had sunshine for 20 consecutive days, which is also more than Prague has had in over 5 years... so... that's at least an improvement over the snow! Sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!