More Oneontans Abroad

Many friends threatened to visit us during our time in Prague, but none showed more clarity of intention to follow through on that threat than my friend Adrienne. Adrienne addressed passport issues (updating hers and hubby's, applying for the kiddos') before we even had the official word that Karl would be granted the year off for sabbatical, heck before we even dealt with our passport issues! (Maybe we should have delegated the visa application to A?)

So like a late Christmas present -- one we were all eager to receive -- Adrienne, Scott and kiddos arrived on December 29th.

Can two families of four survive a week of togetherness in a city apartment with one toilet? The answer is yes! Well, actually, the answer is I don't know. We had a mid-week break during which both families ran in opposite directions overnight for a breather. Nevertheless, we were delighted to host friends for the New Year's holiday.

We hit a lot of Prague's usual suspects vis-à-vis Must See Sights.

Cory, Maddy, Garrett, and Ben huddle up in front of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle.

We had kids and it was cold, so we availed ourselves of an indoor exhibit appropriate for the 8-and-under set: the Toy Museum, housed (incongruously) at the castle. It boasts a huge Barbie collection. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Pregnancy Barbie. How did I miss this when I was looking for props to teach childbirth ed classes?

For my UT pals, the Vols are represented, along with the rest of the orange and white college squads, in cheerleader Barbies.

Interesting to note that the Three Stooges were exhibited between American presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. Moe is caught here trying to give Bill bunny ears for the shot.

Tippi Hedren Barbie keeps her cool as Hitchcock's Birds descend.

Christmas markets were still in swing for New Year's, so we went to Old Town Square on the afternoon of the 31st to soak up the atmosphere. And a little warm medovina (mead). Yum.

Maddy, Garrett and Ben in front of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn.

The grown ups enjoyed a late afternoon performance of The Messiah, leaving all four kids with our babysitter, Ester, bless her. We cornered the children and promised all kinds of bodily harm and loss of privileges if they dare not listen to Ester (who's command of English is tenuous).

The Messiah was enjoyable, although we found it strangely anti-climactic to not stand for the Hallelujah chorus. (Apparently it's not done in non-English speaking countries.) We walked back through Old Town Square in the evening on our way to the metro. It was lovely and picturesque. I'm sure the scene was a bit more raucous four or five hours later.

We did not venture out for the fireworks -- in fact, only a couple of us were awake at midnight -- but that didn't mean we didn't get a show. Czechs love firing off their own explosives. Here are some that were set off in Pushkin Square, just the other side of our block.

On New Year's day we went to the Prague Zoo, a favorite haunt of ours, and learned that the flamingos truly drew a short stick when it came to zoo locales.

Down time for kiddos at the apartment mostly consisted of fantasy scenarios, playing on the computer, and watching DVDs, but we did have one crafty activity up our sleeves in candle-decorating. Garrett and Maddy showed the most interest and created some cool candles.

Finally, a picture of the grown ups. Scott, Adrienne, Karl and I again threw Ester to the wolves and went out to a pub on the last night of the visit. We had to keep the evening rather tame, what with a taxi scheduled to pick upat 5am.

It was so good to have you guys with us! Thank you, thank you for following through and making that trip across the pond. We loved showing you Prague. Maybe we can do it again in another seven years?

... and I definitely think we should look into communal living. Much easier to have more parents and more playmates in house, full time.