Euro Cup 2008

So, what could be better than beautiful weather, a day with nothing on the schedule, and a Prague beer garden? Not much. Unless, of course, you have all of those things and the Czech national team playing Switzerland in the Euro Cup 2008! The Euro Cup is similar in feel and importance to the NCAA basketball tournament, except everyone talks smack to each other in different languages. Also, they say things like, "This is for Austerlitz!" OK, they don't make reference to historic battles, but the rivalries and national pride are intense. If you don't believe me, check out the video of the Czech crowd singing its national anthem before they played Portugal below. It was amazing.

We watched the first game with a couple of our Fulbright friends at our favorite beer garden, Riegrovy Sady. The crowd was lively, the beer was tasty, and the Czechs won, 1-0. There was much rejoicing when the Czechs scored (check out pic #2), and we had a blast with Dave, Elan, and Zach, despite a post-game rainstorm.

Going into the tournament, the Czechs were favored to get through the first round, and maybe challenge for the championship, but they fell flat in their second game, losing to Portugal, and choking away a 2-0 lead against Turkey. Prague was devastated, but the city's suffering was alleviated by massive quantities of beer and sausage. The great thing about this was that we watched in Old Town square, and everyone was drinking and singing, chanting and cheering. It was a super positive atmosphere, even with a small knot of dedicated Portugal fans. Everyone had a blast, and how often do you get to drink beers, eat a klobasa sausage, and watch soccer in from of a church built in the thirteenth century? We love this town!

The big highlight, though, was the singing of the Czech national anthem, "Kde domov muj?" ("Where is my Home?"). We have definitely felt all year, and especially during the Euro Cup, that it was right here. Pojdeme Cesi! (Let's go Czechs!) Warning: the video is a minute long, and pretty loud. Adjust your volume control accordingly (especially if you're watching at work, and don't want to explain a Czech song to your boss).

Rafting the Vltava in Southern Bohemia

For our last weekend away from Prague, we went rafting down the Vltava River in southern Bohemia with a bunch of the Fulbrights. Our friend, Christina, expertly organized the trip for thirteen of us and did an incredible job making this wonderful weekend happen. It ended up being a perfect way to spend our last weekend trip with friends who have been part of our lives for the past year.

We took a train down to České Budějovice, a small city about 3 hours south of Prague. We joined Christina and our friends, the Rockwells, and took a tour of the Budvar Brewery. Interestingly, Budvar is the only state owned brewery left in the Czech Republic. Since the Czechs take beer very seriously, it was quite impressive to learn about the making of the beer and see the large scale production. And of course, we ended the tour by sampling the Budvar lager. Delicious.

The rest of our friends arrived in České Budějovice in the late afternoon, and we spent the evening at a fantastic Czech restaurant. Now, I've spent some time complaining about the lack of variety in Czech food, but this place really was excellent because it took roasted meat to the next level. In addition, the Euro Cup football games were on TV at the bar. We ended up sitting at a table with a view of both the games and the restaurant's "firepit" grill. Front row seats for football and roasting meats including pork knee, pork ribs, chicken, beef, and pork chops? A brewery tour, soccer, and a meat-stravaganza in one day? I love the CZ!

On Saturday morning we traveled to a campsite in the town of Větřní. Thirteen of us started floating down the Vltava River with three rafts, thirteen paddles, one dog (Speky, Christina's adorable companion) snacks, and beers. We planned to stay the night in Zlatá Koruna, and end our tour on Sunday in Boršov nad Vltavou. The total distance we had to cover was about 25-30km over both days. Now, this was no white water rafting trip. The Vltava River is quite calm, very shallow, and required a fair amount of paddling to keep us moving. One major bonus was how clean the water was - impressive when I think about the James River near Charlottesville that isn't nearly as clear or clean. In any case, the landscape was also beautiful with dense pine forests all around. You really felt worlds away from Prague in this part of the Czech Republic.

Our major issue during the weekend was weather. When we originally planned the weekend, we thought we'd be rafting in 80 degree, sunny weather. Oh, how wrong we were. It was COLD. Didn't anyone tell the CZ that highs of 60 degrees in June is just wrong? We had moments of sun, but really, it was cloudy and chilly for most of the day. Luckily, we all had brought appropriate clothes, but man, it was not warm.

We had a nice long stop in České Krumlov, a quaint medieval town we visited in February with our dear friends Mike and Rebecca. The highlight of the České Krumlov stop was definitely Moat Bears. What, might you ask, are Moat Bears? Well, in a few of the castles outside of Prague, brown bears live in what used to be the moat. Seriously. In our previous visits to České Krumlov and Konopiště, Phil was crushed that there were no bears. I'm only exaggerating slightly when I say that we've discussed this regularly for months. So finally at long last, Phil got to see the three bears, Vok, Maria Terezie, and Kateřina. Our time in the Czech Republic is now complete, according to Phil...

The river was packed with people, as this is a pretty popular weekend activity. We were probably the only foreigners on the river, as we were the only people we encountered not speaking Czech. One thing that struck me as was the ratio of men:women on the river was skewed heavily to men. I can't tell you how many canoes and rafts we saw full of large groups of rowdy men. Phil and I have done our fair share of camping/hiking/rafting in the US, and we have never noticed such a skewed demographic. Where were all the women? I've still not figured this one out. Regardless, the river provided excellent people watching including my favorite rafts of the day: guys dressed up in matching sailor suits and white hats. They resembled the Village People. So funny!

I could not have imagined a better way to "get out of the city" for the last time. I have concluded that a bunch of friends, southern Bohemia, the Vltava River, a couple of rafts, views of castle ruins, crazy Czech rafters, lots of Czech food, and Czech beer = Good Times.

Děkujeme - A Night to Say Thank You

Děkujeme means "We thank you" in Czech. It is a great word because its connotation is wider reaching than just "thank you". On Friday night, we wanted to say děkujeme to our dear friends at Faith Community Church. They are our incredible group of people who have opened their hearts and homes to us since we've been in Prague; it would be an understatement to say that they have done a lot for us this past year.

Another couple at, Kurt and Sara, arrived at about the same time as Phil and I did and have had a very similar experience at FCC. The four of us wanted to figure out a way to express our gratitude to these wonderful people in our lives. So, Kurt, Sara, Phil and I decided to throw a surprise party for the Davises, the Stewarts, the Syvertsens, and Dot, the team of impressive individuals who lead the church. Sara and Kurt hosted the party on the garden terrace of their apartment complex. It was the perfect spot with a beautiful view of the city. Sara is a FABULOUS cook and managed to make enough pulled pork barbeque for 40 people. Impressive and absolutely delicious. We actually managed to surprise our guests of honor with a few small white lies along the way to throw them off course. (David and Mary, strong work!) We also surprised them with a self-pubished book that recalled our year in Prague through pictures, quotations, and our own words. (NOTE: D did all the work on the books, and they were the big hit of the evening; she used blurb.com, which was great, and they looked amazing.) The evening was a huge success as we ate and drank, talked and laughed, and enjoyed every minute of our time together.

Prague: A "Cosmopolitan" City?

The movie, Sex ve Městě a.k.a Sex and the City, actually made it to Prague at about the same time it was released in the States! Shanna and Laura decided to organize a girls night out for this momentous occasion;) It was really just an excuse to get together and spend some time with each other, bez (without) husbands and kids. The only rule was you had to get dressed up for our night on the town! We met at Kogo, a swanky restaurant/bar for dinner and drinks, saw the movie, then went out for one last drink after the movie. It was a blast! We did have one funny reminder that we were in Prague, not NYC. A few of us wanted to order Cosmopolitans, the signature drink of the show. The waiter looked at us like we had three heads. He said, "I don't know what that is." Our friend Lucie, who is Czech, then tried to explain how to make it in Czech. The waiter still replied, "No, I don't think we do that." Oh, ok. We still had a great time bez cosmos. It was a wonderful night out with the girls!

Dining Well

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
- Virginia Woolf

Some people eat to live, while others live to eat. I would put myself firmly in the latter camp. This will come as no shock to anyone who knows me, but food is very important in my life. So part of the joy of living in Europe this past year has been our opportunity to travel and eat good local food wherever we go! In Prague, one of the ways I've gotten to know the food/restaurant scene has been by reading a few food blogs. I never thought I'd appreciate food blogs the way I do now. (Rachel, I know you're laughing at me. Oh, the irony...) In particular, my favorite Prague food blogger is enjoyable to read because his food writing is funny and informative. I don't always agree with all his food opinions, but that's part of the fun. Because of our recent trip to Italy, I thought I'd try my hand at a blog entry dedicated to my favorite meal in Italy. There were so many good ones, I couldn't possibly cover them all. But this one was is one that stands out for me, so I thought I'd share...


Steve, Phil, and I had just finished a morning of hiking from Monterosso to Corniglia. We'd been out for a few hours and we were ready for lunch. We happened upon a small shop at the edge of Corniglia called Terre Rossa. This store sold a variety of wine, cheese, and pesto and had a garden terrace with no more than five tables. The garden faced the coast and you could sit and look out on the water. The terrace seemed to be calling our names, and so we sat down to rest. A sweet man came out to ask us what we wanted to drink and we explained that we'd like some white wine. He said "I bring you some white" and returned with three glasses. He explained that he wanted us to try three different local wines from Monterosso, upper Riomaggiore, and lower Riomaggiore. It was a great way for us to sample a variety of wines and see what each town had to offer. Most of the wine made from the grapes of Cinque Terre is only sold locally. They don't grow enough to export it, so we were really going local;) All three of us liked the upper Riomaggiore the best. It was crisp without being acidic and light bodied with a smooth finish. Mmmmm. Perfect for drinking after a hike;)

Our wine came with two little bowls with olives, caperberries, and salty, circular crackers. Phil, a notorious olive hater, tried the olives and concluded he still doesn't like them. More for Steve and me! The menu had just a few things, a good sign that they were making everything they served at the store. We ordered two plates of bruschetta and a cheese plate to share. This was my idea of a perfect lunch: delicious homemade bread, a variety of cheeses paired with a fig jam and honey, and bruschetta topped with everything from homemade pesto (Steve's favorite) to sun dried tomatoes, tapenade (my favorite), to roasted red peppers. This meal was TDF (as Charlie and John would say), To Die For.
It wasn't just the food and wine that made this my favorite meal of Cinque Terre, though that was a big part of it. I guess I've just always been taught that food can and should be something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It isn't just the food, but the experience of the food. It's the time and place and company you share it with that makes it more than what's on the plate. So in addition to the delicious variety of local food, the meal was our morning hike, our tired legs, the views of the sea, the sun on the water, the shaky wooden table and chairs...and the people. Always the people you share it with.

Ciao, Bello! Relaxing in Cinque Terre, Italy

"Ciao, Bello!" seemed to be a pretty standard greeting everywhere we went during our recent vacation in Italy. The enthusiasm and emotion expressed by the Italian language seems to be a stark contrast to the harsher sounds of multiple consonants that are common in Czech. We obviously love our adopted home in the Czech Republic, but our trip to Italy was a welcome vacay as our time in Europe comes to a close in just a few weeks.

Our brother-in-law, Steve, came to see us for a Prague-Italy vacation and a little R and R. Since we live about 3 miles away from each other in Charlottesville, it was extremely special to have him in Prague to see our life. It also seemed fitting to host him as the last visitor of our year abroad. The weather in Prague was uncooperative and rainy, but just being together was the most important part. We love you, brother, and we're so happy you were here.

After a few days in Prague, we flew to Milan, rented a car, and drove to Cinque Terre. Phil was an excellent driver and negotiated the roads expertly and avoided the occasionally insane truck drivers gracefully. Cinque Terre is located about an hour east of Genova on the coast (the upper western coast of the "boot"). It is a national park on the Ligurian Sea that encompasses five towns. There are no cars allowed inside the park, but the towns are connected by hiking trails along the mountainous coast. The landscape and scenery were nothing short of spectacular. It reminded me a little bit of Maui, Hawaii because of the green slopes descending to the deep blue water. The coast is very rocky, so the few beaches that are accessible are gorgeous, but rocky instead of sandy.

We stayed in the largest and westernmost town, Monterosso. It was a great "home base" for the three of us because although it was more "touristy" than the other towns, it also had the widest range of restaurants and beach access. One of the highlights of our Monterosso experience were the proprietors of our hotel. Though the accommodations were good, the sweet family that ran the hotel was spectacular. I don't think the grandmotherly hostess/owner ever left the premises for the five days we were there. One night, we came back after dinner and she grabbed Steve's arm and said "Pour a drink for my friend. Limoncino for them!" Now that's service;) Thanks, "Mrs. Bucci"!

The five towns date as far back as the 14th century, and are built into the rocky coast. The towns are fairly "vertical" with candy-colored houses built into the land. Each town had its own personality, so it was fun to visit each one. To get to each town, you can hike or take a train or ferry. Since we were there during the last week of May, Cinque Terre was crowded, but still not unbearably touristy. You could tell that we were hitting the beginning of high season. But as you can see from the photos, Cinque Terre is too beautiful to be missed! I completely understand why everyone I know who has visited this part of Italy raves about it!

Monterosso: the largest town with the most beach access

Vernazza: the "coolest" town with a fantastic central harbor, great restaurants on Piazza Marconi and killer people watching!


Corniglia: the only town perched above the water instead of on the water, simply stunning
Manarola: the quietest and least touristy of the towns

Riomaggiore: the easternmost town where we heard the most Italian being spoken

We hiked three of the five days we were in Cinque Terre. Two of the hikes (Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia) were pretty serious: lots of elevation change, rocky footing, narrow trails. The last two were more like walks (Corniglia to Manarola and Manarola to Riomaggiore). But the views from all four were spectacular. Ironically, I found myself enjoying every minute of even the strenuous hikes. Why you might ask? Well, there was never a lack of amusement from the German tourists and their hiking poles, the silly college students hiking in flip-flops and tube tops (what were they thinking?), and from the funny guy who saw the first steep incline and hollered at the top of his lungs "Oh, *$%^!" Good stuff. Phil, Steve, and I make each other laugh a lot (or maybe I just think Steve and Phil are really funny!) Whatever the reason, I truly loved the hikes, not just for the scenery, but for the company.


Other highlights of the trip include:

Relaxing on the rocks in Vernazza - calming and beautiful to listen to the water on the coast and also enjoy the people watching in the harbor
The rocky coast - you just don't see blue water and rocky coastlines like this everyday

The Lemon Festival - Monterosso is famous for its lemons and we happened to be staying in town the weekend of the annual festival. It was no North Carolina State Fair, but we did sample the Limoncino (lemon-flavored liqueur), and I enjoyed the local specialty, anchovies... (Note: under no circumstances should you try another local drink, Cinqe Terre Grappa. Steve and I tried it, and he declared it the second worst drink he had ever consumed (after a cheap Chinese liquor whose name he blessedly forgot). Stick with white wine or Limoncino, for your own sake)



Il Gigante - The public beach we enjoyed had a large statue of "Il Gigante" built into the rocks. Apparently, it is Neptune, the God of the sea. I loved it, and appreciated spending beach time near the Giant!
This trip will have a special place in our memory for a long time to come. Molto Bene!

Take Me Home Country Roads...to Moravia

Moravia, the southern region of the Czech Republic, was our most recent trip in our adopted country. We were extremely lucky to have the chance to see it with friends who have been living there for the past year, the Rockwells. Heidi is a fellow Fulbrighter, on a teacher exchange program. She is a high school English teacher in Chicago and swaped places with a Czech teacher for the year. Her husband, Mark, is a PhD student in philosophy, and their two children, Mariana (15) and Elise (7) have been in a small town in southern Czech Republic living a true cultural immersion experience. We are lucky to have gotten to know the Rockwells through our many Fulbright events and had an incredible few days visit with them exploring Moravia.

This region of the Czech Republic reminded us a little of our home in central Virginia: rolling hills, vast fields, gorgeous countryside. What was extremely different was the way the villages are spread out throughout the countryside. There isn't any American "sprawl", just separate villages that may have a few hundred people or a few thousand, but not much more. Right now, the countryside is in bloom with shockingly yellow fields of canola flowers (yes, for canola oil). So as we drove along from village to village, there views are yellow and green as far as the eye can see. Pretty impressive. This picture is from Mark and Heidi's balcony (they live on the 8th floor of a panalacky) in Moravske Budejovice, a town of about 8,000.

In addition to visiting the Rockwells, our goal for this trip was to see a set of paintings by Alfons Mucha. Mucha is a late 19th/early 20th century Czech painter, most famous for his colorful stylized paintings and posters of women. Late in his life, he took sixteen years to create 20 paintings encompassing the history of the Slavic people. These weren't just any paintings, but were gigantic canvases, a few of which measure 6 X 8 meters! If you look at the photos below, you can see Mark standing in front of one on the paintings. The photos shows how massive the paintings are. Phil was particularly excited about seeing these national treasures because his guy, Jan Hus, and the story of the Hussites are included in a few of the paintings. Mucha uses these paintings to tell the story of the Slavic people, extending from Russia to the Balkans and spanning time from the 9th century until the end of World War I. Below are a few of the paintings

The baffling part about seeing these paintings was their location: they are kept in Moravske Krumlov, a tiny town with not much else happening. Furthermore, the "castle" where the paintings are displayed is completely falling apart. So these national treasures are hidden away in a small town in a dilapidated building. I have no idea why these paintings aren't in the Mucha museum in Prague. At the very least, they should be housed somewhere where they might be better appreciated and visited. It just seemed strange to me.
One last perplexing note about this museum: we had to put on "booties" over our shoes when we walked in. Seriously? The building was in disrepair, yet we were supposed to wear slippers over our shoes...slightly incongruous if you ask me...





We also went to Znojmo (pronounced Znoy-Moe), a picturesque town situated on a river near the Austrian border. There are castle walls and a tower that date as far back as the 11th century. We had a gorgeous day for exploring, so we walked through town, stopped at a park so Elise (and Phil;) could play for awhile, walked up to the church (there is always a church to see) and took in the views.










Our next stop were some beautiful castle ruins along a river. You just don't find castle ruins along the side of the road in Virginia...We ended our day with a fantastic dinner at a restaurant that looked out over the ruins. What a day!


Our trip to Moravia was wonderful, from our hosts to the countryside. We felt like we got to see the more rural side of the Czech Republic, which is very different than urban life in Prague. We love those country roads...