Reading, writing, and ...

Riding!

It's all in the tongue.

This has been a big year for Garrett!

He has been this close to riding a bike on his own for almost two years, but he'd get anxious about falling, or frustrated with his teachers (can't wait to teach that kid to drive), and just abandon his bicycle for his scooter when we were home.

But now ... look at this action. And this.

Garrett did his first solo ride on Wednesday afternoon in Puškinovo náměstí, just a block from our apartment. Tonight we brought a picnic dinner down to Stromovka and let the boys ride. 

It's good to have a goal. Next week is Activities Week at school, and from what I can tell it's nothing but fun and games and water fights and field trips all week long. On Thursday Garrett's class is coming to Stromovka to ride bikes.

A little more practice on taking off and stopping, and Garrett will be good to go.

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.

Springtime in Stromovka

About eight minutes from our apartment is Prague's largest park, Stromovka. Its proximity was a big draw when we were weighing the pros and cons of various flats.

Like everything in Prague, Stromovka is loaded with its own history. It was first noted in 1268 as the Royal Hunting Grounds for Czech king Přemysl Otakar II who had a hunting chateau built overlooking the park. The lodge has been reconstructed several times over the years, the last time in 1836 in a neo-Gothic style. Since then it has been called the Governor's Summer House.

Karl recalls reading a sign at the park that states the building retains some of the original structure from the early 1500s.

In the late 1500s, under Emperor Rudolf II, Stromovka flourished. Exotic animals roamed the game reserve. Existing ponds expanded and became fish farms after a tunnel was dug under Letna plain to divert water from the Vltava River. 

We love Stromovka, which means "place of trees." We found our first and best zip line in Prague on about our fourth day. The whole family went on a Forest Day walk with Class Acts in the fall. The boys enjoy various playgrounds throughout. In the winter I'd head to the park to get in some vigorous walks, and now that the weather is so nice, I run here several times a week.

And spring has come to Stromovka!

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!

Stromovka Zip-Line

How often do you happen upon a zip-line? In Prague, you can do it pretty often. Off for a stroll one evening, we were delighted to stumble upon one in Stromovka, the city's largest park. We all tried it out.



Even Mom.