I feel like we have been traveling non-stop for the past month, so this weekend we have done nothing but lounge around ... and eat. It's been great.
Last weekend we headed to Munich to sightsee for the day and then drop Vic's friend at the airport the next morning. My streak of booking nice hotels is officially over - since I put us up in the Red Light District ... nestled right between two strip clubs. The hotel itself wasn't too bad, but our room was a 1-star - at best. We made it work, and thank goodness we just needed it for the night!
Car ride to Munich ... he was great ...
Main square in Munich.
Running around in front of the Rathskeller ...
He loved the big lions ...
In the palace gardens ...
We were a week short of Oktoberfest, but we still stopped by the, ever popular, Hofbrauhaus. It was packed, but we got an awesome table. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the men in their lederhosen, but I was too focused on my gigantic beer.
This is a liter ... and it was delicious!
Elliott was bouncing off the walls in this place, but loved listening to the traditional Bavarian music.
Peek-a-boo with beer coasters.
He was crawling under the table, and would take quick breaks to watch his show. Doesn't Vic look like he's having so much fun???
This picture cracks me up. I didn't realize he had his finger in his nose until after I took the picture. Hilarious.
His first ice cream cone ...
It was a great little trip. We have a few little things planned, but mostly we are going to lay low until our big cruise at the end of November. I am researching my brains out so we can have the smoothest trip possible.
Elliott's vocabulary has tripled in the last couple of weeks ... I am amazed at how quickly he can pick things up. He loves to read, and it's so funny to watch him read to himself some of the books we have read a million times together.
If you're thinking of Christmas/birthday gifts - books are always welcome (especially over drum sets) ... if I have to read Corduroy or The Very Hungry Caterpillar one more time - my brain might explode!
I thought this video was funny - he gets so excited when he gets to show off his belly!!
That's all that is going on here ... now it's back to school work for me!!
We have spent the last two weekends in the Czech Republic. We visited Pilsen last weekend, and went back to Prague this weekend. We visited Prague last winter, but it was freezing, and we barely explored anything.
Pilsen was awesome! We originally decided to go there because it was a quick get-away, and they were having a big beer festival. A few days before we left I started to research where my Great-grandma's family was from. I knew it was in the Bohemia area, so I figured it was probably close to Pilsen. As a matter of fact - they are from a little village just a couple of miles outside of Pilsen! Upon further research I found out that my great-great-great grandpa owned the bar/inn in the town - which is not still standing today. I also discovered that the residents of this particular town put on a festival for my great-great uncle every year. I found a couple potential distant relatives on Facebook, so I sent them a creepy note ... but they have yet to respond. We tried to find the town, but we got lost ... and that's not something you want to do in the Czech Republic. We may try again one of these days!
Anyway, the beer festival was great ... we stumbled upon a little carnival beforehand and Elliott had a blast riding his first ferris wheel. We got to the beer fest nice and early, so we were able to relax while E ran around. About two hours later the place got so packed that we couldn't even moved, so we called it a night and headed into town for dinner.
Our hotel was really awesome ... I'm on a streak of picking nice places! We had a great view, and the only room with a balcony.
See us waving from the balcony??
Elliott loves carnival rides!!
Church in the middle of the square. There was some kind of anti-communism rally going on ... so we tried to avoid this area.
Beers at lunch ...
Pilsner ... which is brewed in the town ...
Pork knuckle ... take one guess who ordered this ...
Beer festival!
Everyone enjoys a beer festival!
Our favorite Czech pastry (see further below for a more detailed description of this deliciousness ... )
Entrance to the festival/city ...
This was about all I needed to see before we decided to leave ... seriously, open-stall urinals!! Ewwwww ... no no no ... but I had to get a picture!
For dinner we decided on a doner kebab ... so good.
The next morning we headed out to the zoo ... which ended up being one of the coolest I have ever been to. The place was empty - we were, literally. the first car in the parking lot. The enclosures were really open, so we had the opportunity to get really close to the animal - a little too close to some of them. Elliott absolutely loved it.
This hippo was just strolling around in some bushes - only separated by a knee-high fence ... it moved back when we got closer, but I seriously could have rode this thing.
Giraffes ... who were fighting, or performing some kind of mating ritual by hitting each other in the butts with their heads ... hilarious to watch. I'll upload a video one day when I'm not so lazy.
This fence was all that separated us from this tiger ...
I despise shoulder rides.
Sherman tank used by Patton's army to liberate the city of Pilsen during WWII ...
So close to this eagle ... he was terrified!
Vic has a friend in town for the week, and we thought Prague would be a fun for us all to see together. The night before our trip we headed out to dinner with some friends. We got to talking about Prague and they decided to join in the fun. They even ended up being able to book a room right next to ours. Also, I picked another awesome hotel - complete with an underground car elevator!
View from the Prague Castle ...
Prague Cathedral ...
Inside the Cathedral ...
Taking a walk with daddy. He was great on both the trips ... I am amazed at how easy he travels (minus the occasional car sickness) ...
Gardens of the castle ...
Entrance to the castle ... the were huge ...
Entertaining himself while I rested my legs ...
View from Charles Bridge on our second day ...
The girls on Charles Bridge ...
Elliott has a huge crush on Kaizlee ... they were so cute together ...
The boys. The wives stayed back in the hotel and let them have a night out on the town. They have been talking about having a 'boys night out' in Prague for months and months, so they definitely lived it up!
View from Prague Castle ...
Enjoying beers at the market ...
So much good food!!
Potatoes on a stick! I could live in this town forever ... just because of the food!
Fish pedicure anyone?? Seriously, you stick your feet in here and the fish eat off all of your dead skin! Gross!
Here are the doughy things that we originally found in Pilsen. The are called 'trdelnik' ... basically it is dough wrapped around a wooden rod and then coated with glaze, cinnamon, sugar and some kind of nuts ... so, so good.
We really had a great time on both trips! This weekend we are headed on a boat tour down the Danube River and then a couple days in Munich before we drop Vic's friend off at the airport.
Vic is starting to get all packed up for this upcoming deployment. We haven't really had much time to think about it, and we're just happy that we'll get to go on the cruise before he has to go!
This picture cracks me up ... sticking out his tongue is his 'new' thing ...
Cooking with mommy. We were making chicken dip, and he was the official stirrer ...
He worked very hard on his picture for Nana Jen ...
His personality is really starting to come out and he is so funny. This is his clown nose that he so desperately wanted to wear to daycare one day last week - and that just wasn't going to happen. Anyway, he was walking around the house just cracking himself up in the mirror.
He finally is starting to tell us 'no' ... which has been pretty funny, but I'm sure that will wear off soon!!
We also started to work on letters ... so far we have E and O down!! He also knows circle and the color green ...
Last Friday I convinced Vic (on his day off) to volunteer on my school's Volksmarch (a German event where you walk a predetermined route and stop along the way for snacks and drinks ... it's a nature thing). Well, it rained the entire 5K, and was actually pretty miserable, but he was a good sport and his help was much needed and appreciated. That's him in the picture - carrying the boy's bookbag who was too tired by the last leg!
That's all I have!! I'll update next weekend with more pictures from our adventures!
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