Mělník- A place where two become one

" I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."- Robert Frost


Melink is a really small little city on where the Labe and Vltava rivers merge as one river to continue down to Prague. I have always wanted to go to this small little town, and I finally decided to go last Saturday. It was overcast for a good chunk of the day, and I had brought my umbrella and dressed as warm as possible. Of course, as my luck would have it, the sun came out around 2:30pm and it was scorching hot.. i didn't need the umbrella I need shorts! 

Walking into the cute little town

Bell tower that I walked up. The also have an ossuary where the keep the bones of the dead from the Plague. It's like Kutna Hora but on a much smaller scale.

2 roads diverge into a wood.

Two rivers (Labe and Vltava) with the vineyards below. I had the white wine that they grow on the property called Ludmilla.

Old Bell... walking up the steep steps to the tower

On top of the tower looking out over the city of Melnik and the rivers

Namesti Miru (peace square)... the town of Melnik. It's a small little guy

Sun finally out for a while. I took a tour of the Lobkowicz Castle, which was self-guided. It was a bit lame but I liked the fact that I could spend as much time as I wanted in each room and nothing was off limits!

Random art on one of the buildings in Namesti Miru.

Old building walking back to the bus station to head back to Prague

The trip was a lot of fun and I am glad that I finally got to go. It was a short trip, maybe 4 hours max (from Prague and back again), but it was worth it. It was so beautiful getting there. There were so many little country stands with people selling produce from their gardens. But my personal favorite was being able to look into people's back gardens where I saw the biggest damn pumpkin that I have seen in quite a long time... maybe 20-30 lbs!!!

Wine Tasting and Spanish Tapas

"Wine is better when shared with good company."

Thursday Dave and I went to a bar called Victoria's Wine Bar in Prague 3 for a wine tasting and tapas fest. The menu was 7 different wines. 3 white, 2 rose, and 2 reds. We left buying a bottle of white wine of course. It's a small little wine bar and shop, maybe having the capacity to fit 8-12 people max. The wines were all very good, though some were much better than others.

Bottles

Reading the tasting notes

Red... yes please

American Football- Czech Republic versus Slovakia

"We are inclined to think that if we watch a football game or a baseball game, we have taken part in it."

John F. Kennedy

Never would I have thought that I would agree with this statement more than I did after watching the Czech Republic versus Slovakia game. I LOVE football. Perhaps it has a lot to do with college (ALABAMA.. Roll Tide!)??

I am a fervent supporter of all things Czech Republic (unless we are playing the US; I know where my allegiance lies) so was it really a surprise that I was rooting for this team? No, I didn't think so either. Dave went ahead and picked Slovakia, he was sorry in the end. The game was a normal regulation game concerning time, equipment, yardage, etc. There were some really terrible calls though, but that's in any football game.

I am now ready for Alabama football to start... not too many days left!!! I suppose this was like a teaser. I was very well behaved until the end of the 3rd... and then, well, the curse words came out in rapid fire (drop pass here, fumble there... it was Alabama in 2000... shameful!) But, in the end, Czech Republic won... and I was happy!

My Team

Slovakia is in blue. The stadium was empty but for 3 sections opened....

Last play of the game!

24-14... not bad Czech Republic, not bad at all!

Vysehrad- a lovely little fortress on a hill

"I love old Catholic Churches... something about fire and brimstone mixed with beautiful art gets me creative"

Dave and I have both lived in Prague for 2 years and neither one of us have ever been to Vysehrad (built in the 10th Century). On Sunday, since it was kind of sunny, we decided after a day of straight rain perhaps we should do something a bit outdoorsy. 

I have heard many people talk about this place and how beautiful it is, both in views and the church itself, but I was awestruck at how beautiful it really is! **Tourist suggestion: definitely go to this beautiful little place... great views, great Gothic architecture, and wonderful Neo-Gothic paintings.

One of the views on top of the old fortress in Prague. It's amazing and you can see from all directions

View of Prague Castle

Once we had finished snapping pictures (read: me) we moved toward the old church on top of the fortress grounds built in the 10th Century. The church is built in the Gothic Style, which, I must admit is not one of my favorites, but a lover of art I do respect the delicate and enormous work that went into the details left in these churches.. and that is something that anyone can be impressed with. Walking up to the church you are really taken aback by it's size. It's isn't near as big as what I was expecting, a good size in church standards, though easily manageable. My favorite part was the picture below. The detail in the reliefs are really quite spectacular... and i loved the colored mosaic... God.. it was beautiful.. but then again, I suppose he was the Muse behind the design.

My dream door. Beautiful... once again the picture doesn't do it justice!

Trying to blend in with the door. To be one with the door

I gladly paid the 20czk for Dave and I to enter the church as students. (I'm on a budget and I pass.... so why not?) The church is well, it's pretty amazing! The first that you notice is the neo-gothic paintings on the walls, the ceiling... it's everywhere. Think Mr. Mucha. To say that I was in my happy place would have been silly... i was speechless inside the church.

Stained Glass and oil on canvas from the 17th Century.

18th Century alter piece.. if I remember correctly it was from Germany

My favorite. It was eerie... Madonna looking over a sarcophagus from the 11th or 12th Century. There was an old priest buried there.

The interior... it completely blew me away

After we left the church I made Dave and I walk through the Cemetery which is home to such famous people as : Dvorak, Smetana (both composers) and Franz Mucha. There are more, but I think these are the most well-known to non-Czech society. To say that there was money in this cemetery would be an understatement... there were full life size people made of marble... incredible!

Where the famous people are

You know, just a families personal mosaic of Jesus Christ for their personal tombs,no biggie

The front of my lovely Sunday afternoon

Fortress walls that lead to the gardens of other people's houses, or to a comfortable resting place

Home cooking- Tartars and Romanians

"I love home-made food, and I thought I was quite good, until I met my roommates family."

My roommate's name is Sibel, and she is from a lovely little town called Constanta, on the Black Sea, in Romania. Sibel is a blend of both Romanian, by birth and Tartars by family origin. They are a Turkish-like sub sect of the population (approx 23,000 people in Romania) and have their own language (a mixture of Russian and Arabic words). Sibel had always talked about the cuisine that was so common place in her family, and was so abnormal for almost the rest of Romanian cuisine and people. Her hometown sounds a lot like any hometown you would hear about in Italy or France... rustic, beautiful, old world charm, good people with great food. 

Sibel's mother, aunt, and sister-in-law decided to visit Prague for about 2 weeks (they are still here) and have been staying in our flat with us. When Sibel first said they would stay she also mentioned the possibility of cooking traditional tartars food as well. Now, anyone that knows me will also know how much I love food... really, any food, I don't discriminate.

Saturday was a terrible day here in Prague. There were flash floods in Northern Bohemia, which killed 5 people. There were small lakes on the street on the way to the grocery store; which is always fun to wade in, and the rain, well, it was just relentless! Today was the day that Sibel's family decided to prepare their traditional food! GOOD GOD! It was the best food I have ever had! Each recipe (a soup and then the main dish) took 4-5 hours of hard work in the kitchen. These are some dedicated ladies... and there were 3 of them... can you imagine how long it would take without the other ones help?

(from left to right): Aunt, Sister-in-law, and Mom- making dumpling-like rolls for the soup and main dish. Made by rolling dough to an almost non-existent width and then adding chicken meat, followed by a quick little crescent moon fold.

This step alone took the good chunk of there time... maybe a good 3 hours! They made the dough themselves, the chicken breast was mined by hand, and everything was fresh and made from scratch. Fantastic is not even a word suitable to describe this meal!

The little crescent shaped dumplings for the soup and main course. There were 5 of these chopping boards full of these little guys

I am beyond grateful for the meals that her family has made for us. I feel so fortunate to have tried the cuisine of a population of only 5.5 million people, 23,000 of which my roommate belongs to in Romania. Living in Europe has taught me that the best food is made with lots of love, care, and that even if you don't speak the same language a full stomach goes a long way to building  rapport with other people.

More info on the Tartars people here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatar_people

Bye Bye Dear Friend...DC has no idea what it is in for

" I am terrible at good-byes."

As I get older I have learned there are things that I am good at: teaching basic grammar, holding in depth discussions about anything that was in Newsweek, finding a sale. And then there are things I am not so great with: complicated math, talking to morons, and of course... saying good-bye to people who have been so good to me while living in Prague. It wasn't too long ago that Dear Elena left for Greece to pursue a life of luxury and kite boarding; Iveta recently told me that she is taking off to greener pastures, a.k.a. Frankfurt, Germany in September, and then it was Christina's turn to fly the coop and take off. Good friends are hard to find. (another older learned lesson). They are hard to find whether you come from the same country or not... and you're lucky to find a few in your lifetime. 

I knew Christina was planning on leaving for the U.S. for a long time, but that still didn't stop me from almost crying at her going away party. It took everything I had not to burst into tears... yes I teared up... I always do, but no tears fell. I have been so fortunate to meet so many amazing people living here... Christina save me a bed... I will definitely crash at your house in DC.

All smiles as she heads for the US the next morning- Christina and I

The group now minus one. Me, Bhav, Sasha, Christina and Jen

With out Sasha, skinny minny was getting McDonald's food

smažený sýr is good!

"Nothing is better than a fried Hermelin cheese with Tartar sauce!"

Because dearest Christina was leaving to go back to the United States I had asked her, "Christina, what is the one thing you want to do before you leave here?" Her answer, "Fried cheese."

When I first moved to Prague I fell in love with this creative and yummy little snack. It's literally a whole wheel of brie-looking cheese that they deep fry and then it comes with a side of tartar sauce and either potatoes (i opted for them, of course) or french fries. The other mandatory side dish is a salad which is really just cabbage, and LOTS of it!  Christina's husband, Ariel, accompanied us as did Dave. They both decided that fried cheese was not on the diet and settled for chicken.  And the fun ensues!

My Fried Cheese sandwich! It's great with a nice cold beer, or after a night of drinking.

Christina's fried cheese... the last one before going back to the U.S. for who knows how long. Her picture was much more appealing than mine.

Ariel, the husband, with his chicken. All of the yummy peperoni and cheese fell off of it. It was quite a sad face after the picture was taken... such disappointment!

Christina and I after our cheese. BTW, I am standing on my tip-toes for this photo!

The group- also standing on my tip-toes and then are more or less trying to be short for me.

The photographer and I. Such a cute picture!

We Finally made it- The Munich Diary

"Modern Munich"

I have been looking forward to coming to Munich ever since I was in college and heard all about Oktoberfest. I can finally say though, that I may never need to go to Oktoberfest after the drinking that was done while we were in Munich.. I easily gained at least 5 pounds (3 kilos). After a 5 hour bus ride, Dave and I were both very happy to be off the bus, checked into the hotel and off to the beer garden with Dad and Silke. The first thing that we all did was order the biggest beers possible; a lovely 1 liter mug of beer. Talk about quenching thirst! I had two of these behemoths and can say that I was quite tipsy once we finally left the beer garden. After our lovely drinks we took off of the city center for some sight-seeing. We came across another beautiful garden that was honestly, filled with alcoholics and homeless people. But hey, the flowers were really beautiful. We wandered into the pedestrian zone and saw all sorts of strange art.. i took a picture of my favorite and posted it below. Around 7pm we took a taxi to the English Gardens which are famous in Munich for their beauty, the surf area, and of course the beer gardens. It was a really great night!

My first authentic German Beer, so Very very happy

Two beers are better than one.

 O is for O'Brien. Even the German's love us crazy Irish

Dave and I loved the German art... does it look like anything to anyone else? Or just Dave and I?

Beautifully manicured gardens. I took this picture to show Katie all of the different color flowers she could use for her wedding

English Garden at Dusk

My new friends

Our night cap. Enjoying another tasty beverage created by the great people of Germany

Munich to Cinderella's Castle

" It's like Switzerland... but another country."

Part of the "Munich escape" was a great little trip that Silke had put together which involved going to Cinderella's castle! It took us quite a long time to find the Hertz rental car place, which was cleverly hidden with in the main train station. After 20 minutes walking around aimlessly we finally found the place. We were supposed to get a little VW, but since they didn't have that, they bumped us up to a BMW... not complaining!

Dad by his Germany car. It was stick and I was quite impressed with my father's driving skills

We left Munich mid-day and went by motor way for most of the trip. Once we veered off the main road though the country side was absolutely splendid! I just kept singing "The hills are alive... with the sound of music," I think most of the people in the car were annoyed with my soprano voice, but I think it's because they are just jealous!

My favorite picture of the Bavarian countryside... Alps, Cows, rolling hills of green, cute little archaic fences, clouds... wow.. it was amazing!

After a hearty salad, which was the best I have had in Europe to date, we started our small hike to the first castle. We went past this crystal blue lake, which was really breath taking. I have never seen a lake like this in the US, and while I know they must exist somewhere the only lakes that I personally know about are the brown ones.

I wish I would have brought my swimsuit

Picture with daddy before we went into the first castle. I wish I would have been able to capture it better, but alas, I was not.