Christmas in Prague, a view after an Advent concert at the National Theatre with Rostya & Simon.
Click for an even larger image.
Lunch at "U Prince" with a view ...
.
.. over the Old Town Square at the Town Hall.
Ready for Christmas in Prague ... thank you Rostya & Simon ! Click for an even larger image.
We are off to do last minute Christmas shopping in the old ski jacket ...
... and grandma found Jenny a new coat!
Last minute shopping in Prague. Click for an even larger image.
Christmas in Prague. Click for an even larger image.
... keeping the airlines busy: Jenny from Austin, grandma from Cologne, David from Baltimore, and I (later also Lorraine) from Guatemala.
Click for an even larger image.
... ready to open presents. Click for a larger image.
After-Christmas shopping in Prague's Palladium complex.
Click for a larger image
Prague Castle. Full of tourists even in December.
Click for a larger image.
Prague Castle ...
... click for any photo to see a larger image.
Prague Castle
Christmas at our home away from home.
Click for any photo to see a larger image.
After months of fearing super-cold Prague weather, we found it mild and sunny for most of the trip.
Click for an even larger image.
Prague is not so bad, not even so cold. Click for an even larger image.
Lunch with the other Cernikovskys at Nebozizek, with a splendid view of Prague Castle and the town from another angle.
Click for an even larger image.
Nebozizek part 2, Bertik makes a speech in English ...
... Nebozizek part 3, Bertik delivers flowers, speaks Spanish.
View of Prague from Nebozizek. Click for an even larger image.
Fabulous lunch ...click for an even larger image.
After lunch, back at the Castle with David ...
... while Lorraine and Jenny waited for us in a warm cafe.
Famous literary and political Cafe Slavia, behind us the National Theatre ...click for an even larger image.
After Cafe Slavia, we went across the street to see the Nutcracker at the National Theatre (behind us). Click for an even larger image.
We saw the "Nutcracker", "Speeping Beauty" and "Carmen", in sold-out performances.
Tomas saw his primary school (ages 6-10) ...
... middle school (ages 11-15), close to our apartment ...
... and high school (ages 16-18), also near Rostya & Simon's apartment. See below a photo with a dozen old classmates!
For New Year's Eve, we went to Martinov and had lunch in a country restaurant: venison. Click to see a larger image.
After lunch, a long walk in a snow-covered forest all around a frozen lake. Here we are on the ice on the lake. Brrrrr ...
... frozen lake, near Marienbad, near the German border.
Our winter coats served us well, including Jenny's new coat.
... Simon makes sure we don't get lost.
Lorraine out in the cold. Thank god for a new scarf, thank you Estuardo!
Out in the cold countryside ... far, far away from warm Guatemala!
January 1, some 300 kilometers to the East, in Hradec Kralove, for the New Year's fireworks. This buidling, in the main square, had a tavern owned by a Mr. Cernikovsky in the 17th century. Now a Mexican restaurant.!
Famous literary and political Cafe Slavia, behind us the National Theatre ...click for an even larger image.
Josef and Jirina got us country-appropriate flags for dinner ...
... that they booked in a private salon. Thank you!!!
Jenny had a great time ...
... thank you!!!
We all went to Chrudim the next day ...
... it was the coldest day of the trip, about -1C
I was born in this house, #372 Hnilickova Ulice ...
... but, I suppose I did not like Chrudim, because I moved to Prague when I was I was about 6 months old.
We went to Chrudim cemetery. Here is my father, along with the family of my mother. We laid new flowers. ..click for an even larger image.
Chrudim, January 2, 2014 ...
... also laid flowers at the grave of my father's parents, my grandparents that I did not know.
With Jirina & Josef, we then went to a glass factory on Vysocina, in the low mountains south of Chrudim, had lunch ...
... and everyone bought some glass items.
Hotel "U Kalovny Elisky", fabulous ...
... and Mr Cernikovsky's 17th century tavern.
Thank you, see you in Holland September 15. We are leaving with 20 pounds of dumpling mix for Guatemala. Click for an even larger image.
One more visit to the Old Town Square ...
... and one more theatre to enjoy.
On the last day in Prague, I had lunch planned with classmates from high school (see photo of the school above) with Kveta & Tomas, but they changed it to a reunion of a dozen former classmates.
Bye, bye Prague! A wonderful Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014 vacation. We then went to Madrid, but this page is so long, that there is a new page for that. Click here to see Madrid January 2014.
