June 18 - July 20

Late June meant that things were coming to a close. Max and Katrina’s schools, and Rod and Charyssa’s jobs, all ended on June 30. We said goodbye to many of our friends and had end-of year picnics. The next day, July 1, we set off on our last European trip.
We first rode the train to Vienna, where we saw the Schonbrunn palace.
Next, we took the train to Slovenia (in the former Yugoslavia), rented a car, and drove to a farm in the Julian Alps to spend three nights. The kids loved jumping on hay bales and we had tasty Slovenian farm cuisine including fantastic homemade sausage.
We also drove around in the Alps a bit. Gorgeous scenery, and some history from the First World War. Hemingway was an ambulance driver in this area, which was known as the Soca (or Isonzo) Front, and where the Italians fought against the Austro-Hungarians.
After driving in the Alps (and swimming, too – there were cattle grazing by the stream where we swam) we took a car train through mountain tunnels back to the farm where we stayed.
We then took a train down to Rijeka in Croatia, where we boarded the Marko Polo, a big car ferry that goes up and down the Croatian coast twice a week. We had a tiny cabin with four bunks as it was a 20 hour journey. The coastline and islands are beautiful and the kids made some friends on the boat.
We arrived in Dubrovnik and caught a small ferry over to the island of Lopud where we stayed for a week. It was small and paradisiacal. There were no cars but several restaurants. We stayed in what the Croatians call “Sobe”, which were rooms let by private owners. The kids had a great time on the beach. We watched two World Cup games by the seaside with passionate European fans and had some great seafood.
We finished up with two days in Dubrovnik, which deserves its nickname of “The Pearl of the Adriatic”. Finally, we went to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a day trip. We had a tour to the city of Mostar which is not too far from Dubrovnik. It was very interesting; such a mix of cultures. Here is the famous old bridge of Mostar.

You could see damaged buildings from the war in the early 1990s, although it is safe now.
We flew back on July 16, then packed furiously and had farewell meals with good friends. On July 20 we boarded the first of three planes which took us back to Minnesota. Here we are back on our deck at our house, having grilled hamburgers for the first time in a year.

May 26th - June 17th

With the end of the school year drawing to a close for all of us, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Final exams and projects along with parties and celebrations have kept us all very busy. We have a new nine year old in the family. Max's birthday happened to fall on the date of his school's summer fun fair. There were games, food, crafts, and a bungee trampoline. (Liability isn't much of an issue here!)
Also, with 11 of his classmates celebrating birthdays in June, the parents organized a joint birthday party at an indoor playground. The entire 3rd grade attended and a good time was had by all.
We enjoyed having long-time friends Tim and Karin visit. Here we are in a Prague beer garden on a hot afternoon after sightseeing.

We also spent a weekend doing some sightseeing outside of Prague in South Bohemia. We visited the beautiful medieval town of Cesky Krumlov.
It's a popular place to raft on the Vltava river. We enjoyed the natural scenery and wandering through the town.
Our Czech friends urged us to visit Hluboka Castle which looks like something straight from a fairy tale.
We had some great Czech goulash and knedliky (dumplings) there.
Having a car gave us the opportunity to drive through many small villages and enjoy the countryside full of wheat fields.
Finally, we stopped at Karlstejn Castle, the most famous of all the Czech castles. It housed the jewels of the Holy Roman empire and after seeing the pinnacle of rock that it's built on, we could see why they kept them there. Finally, after all those castles, it was time for a little ice cream. After school lets out at the end of June, we'll spend some time in Slovenia and Croatia. Then it will be time for us to pack our bags and head back home to Minnesota.

May 19th - May 25

We spent a long weekend in Berlin, Germany over Max's half term break. We really loved Berlin, it's an exciting place to be. To make the most of our time, we took a half day walking tour around the city. It was great and we learned so much from our guide.
Here we are at the Brandenberg Gate. Also, since we live in a country that was part of the Eastern block, we were again amazed at how little is left of that dividing line.
Here is a little piece of the Berlin Wall. (This little piece isn't easy to find and has to be protected).
After all that sightseeing, Katrina certainly had worked up an appetite! Berlin is also home to some great ancient history museums with Greek, Roman, and Babylonian art and architecture on display. We also got to experience the international side of Berlin at the Fair of Cultures which happened to be taking place the weekend we were there.
The kids were real troopers, and so a trip to Legoland was in order. We got to see all the main sites again, scaled down to Lego size. Here they are at the Reichstag parliament building!
We were also joined by Uncle Tim who met us in Berlin. We all traveled back to Prague together where he will spend a week with us.

May 10th-17th

The Physics Education Department has a yearly retreat over a long weekend for faculty, graduate students, and their families, and this year it was in the Krkonose Mountains in the northern part
of the country on the border with Poland. In English the name means "The Giant Mountains" and they are the tallest in the Czech Republic at about 5,000 ft elevation. We stayed in a lodge owned by the university and really enjoyed the natural beauty, the fellowship, and the food. While the weather wasn't exactly cooperative (it rained a fair amount), we didn't let that stop us from hiking. Here you can see the pretty scenery when the sun broke through.



One aspect we really enjoyed was hiking to various lodges serving hot chocolate, palacinky (thin pancakes filled with jam and topped with whipped cream) and apple strudel. The food at our lodge was also delicious. We haven't talked much about traditional Czech food but this was very typical. For breakfast we had hearty bread and rolls, ham, cheese, yogurt, and granola. Lunch and dinner always began with a soup. Our meals included mushroom and pork stroganoff, pork loin with mashed potatoes, breaded pork cutlet with boiled potatoes, and the classic Czech dish known as svickova which consists of pork roast with mustard cream sauce and fluffy boiled dumplings called knedliky. We definitely needed to hike after all that! In addition to outdoor activities the kids learned to play some Czech card games and do beading work with their new friends.
The bus ride also gave us a chance to enjoy the Czech countryside.

Now is crunch time for Charyssa and her students. Cambridge exams, TOEIC certificates, and end of term competency exams all loom in the near future for her students, so she is busy creating reviews for them. Rod finishes his teaching duties at the end of the month and continues to edit manuscripts and collaborate with his colleagues on remaining projects. We are looking forward to seeing Uncle Tim and friends Tim and Karin in the coming weeks.

April 26th-May 9th

What do witches have to do with springtime? Everything if you are in the Czech Republic. The night of April 30th is known as Witches Night. Traced back to the Celtic tribes who once lived in Bohemia, it is the inverse of Halloween and marks the end of winter.

Czechs celebrate with a bonfire topped by a figure of a witch who represents the winter. (It's also a good way to burn up all the brush that has accumulated in your garden over the winter!) Our neighorhood had a huge party in the park with every kind of witch making activity imaginable for kids, a costume contest, food, music, and a big bonfire. It was great fun.

We have been having some nice spring weather with occasional rainy days. Here are the kids having fun at a park near Charles Bridge.


Rod was out of town with members of his department at a teacher training workshop on Saturday and took these images of the picturesque Czech countryside.

April 12th - April 25th

Prague is famous for its spring (both natural and political) and we've been treated to some beautiful mild weather recently. Our activities are moving out of doors again. Max is back to soccer...er...football, on Saturdays and also signed up to play on a touch rugby team after school.

Spring time also means that the many castles in the Czech countryside are once again open to visitors. Here is a picture of Konopiste Castle about 20 miles south of Prague where the Archduke Franz Ferdinand lived. His assassination set off the events leading to World War I. The setting is so pretty and we enjoyed touring the castle and the grounds.

The nice weather has also given us the chance to take advantage of some parks and playgrounds in Prague. Petrin Hill is full of blossoming fruit trees, and Sarka Park with its deep gorges and rock formations was a great place for a Sunday afternoon picnic and hike.
As always in the Czech Republic, one is never too far away from a handy snack stand selling ice cream, hot dogs, and, of course, beer, and we have to admit that we couldn't pass it by.

We also had to say goodbye to Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Ernie this week. Luckily, they just missed the volcanic ash airport shutdowns and were able to travel back to the US as scheduled. We will miss them! Here they are on their last day in Prague at a cafe.

March 29th-April 11th

We spent the past week in Italy during Max's Easter vacation from school. For a break from big city life, we decided to stay in the hill town region between Tuscany and Umbria. We loved staying in the countryside near the little town of Tuoro. Here is a picture showing Lake Trasimeno and the fields of olive trees for which this area is famous.

Looking north at the morning fog in the valleys.

Many Italian families were traveling during this time, as well, so our three generation group fit right in. Here we are in the piazza of Tuoro, having cappucino and hot chocolate.

We spent the evening of Good Friday in the medieval town of Assisi watching the torch light procession of church guilds and hooded penitentes carrying crosses through the town. It was a very moving experience.

Assisi around sunset.

We also spent time sightseeing in the hill towns of Siena, Panicale, Montepulciano, and Cortona. Built high on the hilltops over 1000 years ago as a way to protect their citizens, we were amazed at how beautifully preserved they are.

Food was also a big highlight of the trip. We had a real Italian Easter dinner in Cortona.

Max and Katrina got their first taste of gelato and Italian pizza. Charyssa and Phyllis also spent a day being initiated into the secrets of Italian pasta and ravioli making at a local cooking class. Now the pressure is on for them to make a meal of their own!


Finally, we had to spend a day at the beach near Follonica. While the Mediterranean was still too cold to swim in, we all had a fun day in the sun.

Beyond Max is the island of Elba (able was I...)

Now it is back to school and work for us, while Grandma and Grandpa do some traveling on their own in Germany and Austria.