Ahoj!

by Kate

Right. Almost three months later.

We're back home and finally feeling settled into our life in upstate New York. It took awhile -- re-entry was no picnic. I can speak only for myself: I was weighed down with sadness that our year had come to an end. And I anticipated that reverse culture shock would be harder to navigate than our initial adjustment abroad. Under the best of circumstances, returning home after a long absence is usually bumpy. That it was coupled with the recent death of Marti, our friend and neighbor, made it even more difficult.

I have numerous posts I want to write to wrap up our Prague experience. I have to get us back home (to Prague) from Croatia with thoughts on our time in Slovenia and Salzburg. I have pictures and notes from various city sites -- such as Vyšehrad, the National Monument, the National Theatre, the National Museum (now closed for a five-year renovation!), Charles Bridge, the Loreta -- and day trip destinations (Konopiště, Terezín, Český ráj).

But before that, a brief report on What We Did on Our Summer Holiday (or at least since we last checked in).

Last Days in Prague

In the midst of posting, packing, and purging our things, we tried to breathe the city in, to imprint it for the long haul. We retraced familiar routes to favorite Prague destinations.

One last trip to the Castle ~

The Singing Fountain at Letohrádek královny Anny (Queen Anne's Summer Palace,
or the Belvedere) in the Royal Garden

Míčovna (Ball Game House) in the Royal Garden

Kate, Garrett, and Ben on the castle steps leading down to Malá Strana (Little Quarter).

One last trip to Charles Bridge ~

St. Jan Nepomuk memorialized on Charles Bridge, where in 1393 he was tossed into the Vltava and drowned. He now is the patron saint of bridges. More on him another time.

One last outing with friends ~

Monthly coffee dates with Nan and Gilly (and little Lucy)
were an essential component of my mental health regimen.

One last visit to Wenceslas Square ~

Palác Koruna (Crown Palace)

Last day at Riverside School ~

There are many more end of year pictures and events from Riverside, but here are a couple from the final assembly.

Ben with buddies Ieuan and Vendel

Mr. Haig leads the singing at the final assembly.

One last trip to Prague Zoo ~

Ben and Garrett with our friends Vivi and Vendel.

And in our final hours in Prague, one last tower climb, this time up the Powder Tower ~

The Powder Tower

Sirs Ben and Karl suited up.

From the top of the Powder Tower ~ the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn
in Old Town Square. Prague Castle is on the hill in the distance.

Finally, one last trip on the metro, heading back to Dejvická.

It was an emotional and surreal trip downtown, knowing we were leaving our adopted home. It's still bittersweet to look at the pictures.

Two hours later we were at Ruzyně Airport, bound for London. (And just to keep things interesting, I left my purse -- complete with wallet, cell phone, and daytimer -- in our apartment as we locked the door, deposited the keys, and left town. I guess I didn't think I was stressed out enough. Fortunately Karl had possession of all of our passports.)

We encountered an enormous line at Heathrow's passport control, which we waited on for 50 minutes before playing the We Have Small Children card. It would have taken at least another two hours. The express line took about 12 minutes and moved smoothly, stopping only once while Alexis Carrington (AKA Joan Collins) and her companion budged to the front of the queue.

Through it all the boys were troupers. Karl and I cannot say enough how proud we are of Garrett and Ben and the ways which they've matured this year. There are intangible ways we sense this, but one concrete example is the patience they've developed for travel challenges.

London, 11pm local time (midnight in Prague).  Seasoned travelers await the hotel shuttle.

England

We had 11 days in England, and the first week was spent visiting dear friends in Cornwall in the gorgeous coastal town of Falmouth.

Pendennis Castle

Falmouth Harbor

Main Street

Dan, Kelly, Daisy and Lola plus our gang on the quay in Falmouth.

The train brought us back to London for a too-short visit of the city. The budget allows for only so much fun.

Two Bens

In front of St. Paul's Cathedral

Touring The Globe Theatre

Garrett on the London Eye

The London Eye and Union Jacks

Dinner with Morna at the Rutland Arms in Hammersmish. Errr ... Hammersmith.

We showed Morna around Prague last fall, and she returned the favor when we visited her fair city. We hope to return for a longer visit, Morna!

Heading home 

July 14 ~ We shlepped our bags to Heathrow for the final journey home. Or at least to Grandma and Grandpa's house. By the way, we had the friendliest time in Heathrow, where everyone's trying to get their ducks in a row for next year's Olympics. On the way to check-in, a woman wearing a purple shirt stopped me to see if Garrett (perched on my cart) would like an activity book and colored pencils for his trip.

Sure! We gladly accepted her offerings and directed her to find Karl and Ben who were about 50 feet behind us. Then a guy appeared to ask if we needed help finding our counter. Once our bags were checked and we were ticketed, another man approached us to see if we required directions to security. This was all terribly civilized and helpful, but when yet another purple-shirted guy wended his way toward me with an outstretched tray of treats, I had to ask what was up.

"Bruschetta?"

Dayle (with four varieties of bruschetta) said they were trying something new at the airport: customer service. It worked for us.

Garrett and Ben delve into their gifts from Heathrow's hospitality crew.

We flew to Boston on IcelandAir, which meant a two-hour layover -- and a really expensive lunch -- in the land of fire and ice.

We were only momentarily stymied by the fact that our airplane was named for the volcano that spewed its fury and wreaked havoc over all air travel in 2010.

Take us home, Eyjafjallajökull. Take us home.

I'm stopping here for now. Check back later for a brief overview of Summer Holiday ~ USA.