The first order of business was for Charyssa and the kids to be officially registered with the Foreign Police. It sounds ominous, but it's just immigration. Lida was so kind and took time off to accompany her. It took two trips there and some additional forms from our landlord, but the second time, the official looked over the forms, there was a flurry of stamping and initialing and we were legal! Other than that, we've been having a nice week settling in. The weather has been great and the kids have enjoyed exploring Prague's many parks and playgrounds. We've also gotten in some sightseeing. It seems that all of Europe is on vacation right now. There are plenty of tourists in Prague from out of town, and many of our neighbors seem to be gone this weekend.
Here is some interesting playground equipment:
In a country obsessed by hockey (along with soccer), rollerblading is very popular. We rode the tram to Ladronka park where they have a very nice skating trail along a high ridge. The kids enjoyed it as did we. People of all ages were skating, more than we've ever seen. Several parents were rollerblading and pushing baby strollers.
It's also common here in parks to have a snack bar next to the playground, where they serve ice cream, sausage, and beer. The playgrounds tend to have a high (say, six foot) fence around them and a gate. This serves two purposes: the kids can only escape from one outlet and the ubiquitous dogs can't get in.
We are rather in vacation mode currently. School for the kids doesn't start until September, so we're taking advantage and sightseeing. We took a boat ride on the Vltava river which was fun.
We saw the summer palace of the Hapsburg emperors.
We checked out the church of St. Nicholas, a High Baroque church from the late 17th/early 18th centuries.
Finally, we climbed Prague's mini Eiffel tower, called the Petrin tower, for great views of the city.
We finished up with wonderful beer brewed by monks at the Strahov monastery.
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