Summer Holiday ~ USA

by Kate

This is the second half of What We Did on Our Summer Vacation. Part one can be found here.

Boston

The Seeleys have landed.

On July 14th we crossed our final border at Logan International Airport and arrived in the States. We spent the next two nights with Grandma and Grandpa Seeley at Karl's childhood home in Newton, Massachusetts, which allowed for a brief visit with Karl's parents, his sisters Mara and Lauren, and Lauren's family. Then we headed off to Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire for a family reunion with my mother's clan. My whole family (parents, my two brothers and their families) were in attendance. Which means within 48 hours of landing in the US, we had a chance to spend time with both sets of grandparents and almost all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. (And by early August, we finally got to see Karl's brother, Joe, and his family.)

Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire

The weekend included lots of eating and family time punctuated with swimming and boating. Here are Ben and Garrett with their cousin Nora demonstrating their slipknot skills while tying my cousin to a dock chair.

A knotty situation for David

Karl and Tom, another cousin and David's brother, return from a paddle along the shoreline.

Finally, on the 19th, we headed for Oneonta. Home.

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

Marti

Marti Stayton

June 10, 1950 - June 11, 2011

Rest in peace, Marti. We love you, and we will miss you deeply.

xoxo
Kate, Karl, Ben & Garrett

Parc Astérix

Part four in a series of posts on our trip to Paris. Took even more pics than usual as we were visiting friends. And, we were in Paris. And we were having fun. Previous posts: part one, part two, part three. This one's far less esoteric.

In considering all of Paris's sites and activities for our visit, there was one place Karl and I really didn't want to go: EuroDisney. I'm sure it's fun. And we knew the kids probably would have loved it. But Karl and I couldn't swallow the idea of spending that kind of money and 20 percent of our time in Paris at Disney. And we assumed it wouldn't be an issue – we wouldn't bring it up, so the boys would be none the wiser.

Then we borrowed a friend's copy of Toy Story 3.

“Mom! Dad! Guess what?! There's a Disneyland in Paris!!!”

This DVD (released in Europe) was happy to enlighten Ben and Garrett on the hectares and hectares of fun that awaited them at Mickey's Euro-theme park.

Karl and I were resolute in our desire not to go to Disney, but it was disheartening to think that we were going to spend a long weekend in Paris and the boys would come home disappointed. So we compromised.

Montmartre, et plus

Part three in a series of posts on our trip to Paris. Took even more pics than usual as we were visiting friends. And, we were in Paris. Previous posts: part one, part two.

After our late night at the Eiffel Tower, we had a leisurely start to our Saturday morning before heading downtown again to explore the Montmartre neighborhood.

Weekend breakfast ~ croissants and pain au chocolat

On the subway we were serenaded by some strolling accordionists. 

I thought it was charming. But not everyone was a fan.

City of Lines, er ... Lights

Part two in a series of posts on our trip to Paris. Took even more pics than usual as we were visiting friends. Part one here.

We left the Louvre on the metro. By the time we came back to street level, rain was softly falling and we began to question whether now was the time to go up the Parisian icon. Then we got to the Eiffel Tower to learn that the third (and highest) level was closed due to "congestion." Honestly, this was the lowest moment of our trip: we'd already put off the Louvre by a day because of the long, snake-y queue in the courtyard. We'd abandoned our effort to go up the Notre Dame belltower because of the wait and some drizzle. And the patience of our instant-gratification six- and eight-year-olds was thin and cracking.

Here's where our different experiences of Prague and Paris really hit home. Prague has roughly 4.5 million visitors per year, while Paris (a bigger city, to be sure) draws more than 30 million visitors annually. We realized that we just don't have to wait for much in Prague. With kids in tow, that's a bonus. Obviously we've had the luxury of seeing sights during the off-season, but still. We had to face the facts: we now were in the City of Lines.

Eiffel Tower queue

After a little pep talk resulting in a new if-you-can't-beat-the-line-join-it attitude, we queue'd up, loaded the boys with snacks, chatted with other tourists around us, and outlasted the rain. Forty-five minutes later we boarded our elevator to the second level of the tower, with sun rays streaming down around broken clouds.

Southeast-ish view: Parc du Champs-de-Mars, which extends all the way to the 18th-century École Militaire (Military Academy), Napoleon's alma mater.

Ben exhibited signs that he might actually have inherited some of my genetic material (in comparison to the overwhelming evidence that he's Karl's son) when he kept getting a queasy, vertiginous feeling looking straight up the tower.

He said it looked as if the tower were swaying and bending toward him.

Aaaaaaa!

Karl was very sympathetic.

Mom and boys keeping on the Seine-y side.

Smile boys. Ice cream is riding on it.

Heading down on the elevator

Garrett kicking back

Cones for €3.5 (US$4.95) -- ouch!

 I hope they were good.

Back to the apartment for dinner and fun ...

Garrett, Solange and Ben having fun on the back deck.

... before heading back downtown to experience the lights, not the lines, of Paris.

Ayanna hitches a ride on Mom's back.

Waiting for the RER.

La Tour Eiffel, illuminated at dusk.

So classy. So romantic. So sublime. So ...

Right. Never mind.

Hamming it up in high gear.

It was a shame the kids didn't hit it off.

Karl and Chad pondered life cycle analyses of competing energy sources.

Over chocolate crêpes.

What photogenic kids, huh? Three out of four ain't bad.

Garrett and Solange in crêpe rapture.

After dark, the tower sparkles for five minutes at the top of every hour.

Enjoying the show! Next up, Montmartre ...

Karlovy Vary & Loket

Though our major Spring Break trip was planned for the second week of the boys' vacation, we thought it would be fun to have a quick overnight somewhere in the country prior to that. Karl had teaching obligations through Thursday, so we took off for western Bohemia on Friday morning, heading toward the spa town of Karlovy Vary.

We rented a car for the first time this year to give us a little flexibility to visit multiple sites without too much trouble. The boys were so excited that we'd have our own car, especially Ben, although it's not clear why. An hour or so out of Prague we were treated to the usual refrains of the "Ballad of the Road Trip" ("I'm bored," "When will we get there?" and that old chestnut, "He's on my side!").

By legend, the thermal springs of Karlovy Vary, also known as Karlsbad in German (or Carlsbad in English), were discovered by a hunting party led by Charles IV in the 14th century. The story goes that one of the hunting dogs fell into a hot spring while chasing a deer. Upon further investigation, Charles himself declared the waters to have restorative properties and ordered that the area be settled with bathhouses built around the springs.

Ben & Garrett's Excellent Spring Break

We're deep into Week TWO of the boys' spring break (two weeks?? sheesh!), and I think we've done a pretty good job of keeping them entertained. Actually, Prague has done a lot of the heavy lifting in the Keeping Us Entertained department. Here's what we've been up to ...

Paddleboating on the Vltava ~

Karl and Garrett paddle while Ben mans the helm.

Garrett chills out with a Prague Castle backdrop.

Novotny's Footbridge

Family pic!

Bonus -- the camera didn't fall into the river while we waited for the self-timer.

An Evening with Derek, Junot, & Albert

The Prague Writers' Festival is underway and last night the American Center hosted an event with the two headlining authors, Derek Walcott and Junot Diaz. A poet, playwright and author, Walcott is the 1992 recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature. Diaz, who writes novels and short stories, has won numerous literary awards including the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Both authors were born in the Caribbean, Walcott in Santa Lucia and Diaz in the Dominican Republic. Diaz moved to New Jersey when he was six.

The facilitated discussion touched on what impact they each felt as a result of being separated from their countries of birth and how they felt when they or their work was defined by predictable modifiers relating to ethnicity or citizenship status. (Diaz answered this second question even more eloquently than he did in this 2008 Newsweek interview, but that's an interesting read also.)

And yes, I sat this close to them.

Derek Walcott, moderator Jay Tolson, and Junot Diaz

A Class Act

Way back in September -- back when the boys were going to a Czech school, back when we hardly had any friends, never mind English-speaking friends -- we learned of a Prague-based group called Class Acts that was doing fun and educational programs for children in English. We jumped right on that tip.

Two weeks later we were off on a "Forest Day" outing through Stromovka Park, which -- though it is right in our 'hood -- we traveled to by train via Masarykovo nádraží (Masaryk train station) in downtown Prague. Much more fun to start the adventure in a group, to arrive by train with a motley cast of characters, including bilingual guides in pith helmets and wardrobes worthy of Where's Waldo? and a parrot-sporting pirate to punch our tickets.

Pirate Lukáš "validated" our Forest Day tickets using the hook on his hand
(which, unfortunately is not in this pic).

Pirate Lukáš led us in singing the Pirate Song (to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"), which we belted out numerous times on our excursion.

All for one and one for all
Yo ho ho ho HO!
Let's sing the pirate song
Yo ho ho ho ho!

PLAY!

Mánes Exhibition Hall, which straddles the Vltava river between its east bank and Žofin Island, hosted the interactive experience PLAY from November through February.

It was organized by Czech artist Petr Nikl, who worked with more than 40 other artists in creating this eclectic romp for all ages. The boys and I visited PLAY twice with some school friends. Karl joined us the second time after we raved about our experience.

"Ground-level periscope, Petr Nikl"

Visitors were welcome to build, draw, spin, explore, make music, ...

The wall displays -- where kids drew pictures, wrote their names, and strung up objects -- evolved considerably during the five weeks between our two visits.

It was fantastic. Two floors of interactive stations that engaged imagination, fantasy, and four of the five senses. (And, lest the taste buds feel neglected, there was a palačinky (crêpes) bar available as well.) A few exhibit stations had clearly required technical know-how to assemble, but so much of it was simply groups of found items made available for children (and grownups) to do with what they would.

Plastic ties and cardboard rolls

Pegboards and dowels

Pipes and mallets

Percussion and noise were a big part of the experience. Kids reveled in being able to do whatever they wanted with what they found.

Our friend Elliot loved running in the plastic bottle maze.

In January, Šestka, the monthly periodical of Prague 6 (our neighborhood) published an interview with Nikl that Karl translated for me.

The exhibit at Mánes invites visitors in to play and in part only comes into being under their hands. Can it be enjoyed at all by a person who doesn't have fantasy?

I start from the conviction that there doesn't exist a person without imagination. Just like I don't know a person who doesn't have dreams. In my opinion, it's just that there's a difference between the ability to be aware of it and utilizing one's own fantasy.(Nikl)

(Toys and play objects) should be the inspiration of imagination and self-discovery. (Nikl)

For me, playfulness isn't relaxation but a source of discovery. A development of creativity. It broadens my horizon. (Nikl)

Turn the crank and watch the movie!

"How does this work?"

(This what he saw.)

To play with the existence of infinite possibilities. To be open to everything without preconceptions. (Nikl)

Garrett and I spent a good 45 minutes designing and building his fortress.

The first floor, where I took most of my pictures, was a big open space. Downstairs featured a series of rooms with different levels of lighting, lots of shadow play, kaleidoscope-type objects spinning on walls, even vibration stations.

Garrett mesmerized by the water dome.

Random objects float, spin and cast shadows in a display that included illuminated domes and a water canal with a current in a dimly lit room.

It had a dreamy, ethereal effect.

Upstairs -- along with all the collections of building/music-making/playing materials -- there was a ball tube roulette table (that's the best description I can conjure), the roving eyeball with remote control, and a cannon that shot smoke rings.

Ben takes the helm of PLAY's roving eyeball to get an aerial view of the hall.

The eyeball was cool. And a little creepy.

Ben and Owen play with the smoke cannon.

Owen, Garrett and Ben check out the ball tube roulette table.

These pictures and videos only skim the surface of our experience at PLAY. The four of us spent a full three hours there on a Friday at the end of a busy week (and, of course, the boys still thought we were being unreasonable to leave at 7pm).

All of us were enthralled in our way. The simplicity of it all was the most impressive aspect to me, that these everyday objects in sufficient numbers could unlock such creativity and fantasy play. I often am dismayed at the early push to consumerism that is so influential in the boys' world. It was a delight to see them engaged and inspired by styrofoam shapes, suction cups, and shadows.

And I've started hoarding recycling materials to play with over spring break.