August 25th-30th

Rod spent part of this week in Brno attending and presenting at the Czech Teachers of Physics Association Summer Meeting. He had an immersion experience as nearly everyone was Czech, speaking Czech, and eating Czech food. His spoken Czech has improved somewhat as a result. The countryside between Prague and Brno (two hours SE of Prague) is quite pretty, hilly with lots of woods.

The weather has been on the warm and muggy side for Minnesotans like us and we were glad to see some cooler temperatures by the end of the week. While Rod was away, Charyssa and the kids got in another trip to the amazing Gutovka Park where they met up with several other American expat families. It was fun to trade information and experiences. They also spent a rainy day at Beckliland Indoor Park. While it was a long trek out into the Prague suburbs by tram, metro, and finally bus, it was well worth the effort. There was a huge climbing wall, go-karts that go pretty fast, amazing bouncy trampolines, an indoor soccer field, scooters, and a train among the many fun amusements. The kids and Charyssa notice the absence of waivers to sign, helmets, seat belts, and the like. No one is worried about a liability lawsuit. The kids had a wonderful time.




They also spent another day at the Prague Zoo. Since we usually only get to the Minnesota Zoo a couple of times a year, it's fun to be able to go more often.










This weekend's highlights included a day trip into the countryside to visit the 900 year old Krivoklat Castle. Set in a deep forested river gorge, it is a beautiful location. The train took us through many picturesque small towns. It was nice to see more of the countryside. There were many Czech hikers and backpackers on the train.









On Sunday we spent the afternoon cruising around in a paddleboat on the Vltava River. School is beginning in the next week for both kids and then for Charyssa, so it will be time to move out of vacation mode and back to reality.