Where in the world are... the Verbrugges?

In reponse to some reader's requests, here is our mailing address:

Brandon & Ann-marie Verbrugge
Nad Helmrovkou 258
16000 Lysolaje, Prague 6
Czech Republic

Merry Christmas to all!

A Whole Mess O' Stress

Well, here we are in Iowa for the Christmas holidays.

Our trip here was less than pleasant. Lydia was the least of our worries and was a complete angel (answered prayers!). The airplane side of things wasn't so smooth. The "fun" began while still in Prague. We were flying to Munich and the plane we would be flying on was late arriving from Munich due to weather. We finally boarded the plane and were delayed another 20 minutes because on the weather returning to Munich. With only a 1 hour connection time we knew we were in bad shape. We arrived in Munich and missed our plane to the States by about 15 minutes! Talk about filling heartsick!!! Since the next plane to the States wouldn't be for another 24 hours, we decided to fly that night to Frankfurt so we could fly out first thing in the morning of the 23rd. We spent the night in a hotel near the airport, and awoke the next morning with only the clothes on our back. Of course, our baggage didn't make it to Frankfurt and we had to leave for the States without it. On the flight to America, Lydia was so well behaved the flight attendants were amazed at her. We got to Chicago and to make a long story short, Lydia and I had to leave on the flight to Sioux Falls without Brandon because there weren't enought seats on the plane. Even a plea from the United Airlines supervisor for a volunteer to give their seat to Brandon in exchange for a free round trip came and went with no takers. By this time Lydia's patience was wearing thin and Mommy was a bit emotionally unstable. Brandon arrived a few hours later, with time to shower and 5 minutes to spare before the party began.

We went to our first Christmas party with our same clothing. I was able to borrow a shirt from my generous sisters. Lydia didn't even make it to the party. I put her down for a late nap after we arrived at 4:00 pm. Since she had been awake for approximately 18 hours at this point she was in no emotional state for partying. She slept until 8:00 the next morning with a 1 hour wake up at 2:30 am for some talking, some milk and a diaper change.

The best news is our baggage just arrived. So now we have our Christmas gifts and we can change our clothing. Yippee!!! Not sure boarding another plane on Monday sounds so great, but the promise of 85 degree temps in Mexico will make it easier! :-)

This year's "Relative Best Utilizing the Postal System in a Timely Manner" Award goes to (drum roll please)... Natalie Van Meeteren for the first Christmas card we have received in the Czech Republic! Congratulations, Natalie! For those entrants who are disappointed that you are not the recipient... Don't worry! Gifts will be considered for the "Relative of the Holidays" award. And... of course, we will be accepting entries again next year. So get those Christmas letters postmarked early! :-)

Gag Order Lifted!

Ok... so it was a self-inflicted gag order. And not because I chose to be silent. We've been a little sick around here. And pre-Christmas preparations have kept us running non-stop! Although there continues to be much to write about concerning life in Prague, it has been difficult to make the time to tell about it. Hopefully we will see most of our friends and family over the holidays and we can spread the joyous stories of life abroad in person!

In less than 24 hours we will board a plane in Prague and begin our journey West. We'll fly from Prague to Munich to Chicago to Sioux Falls, SD. After approximately 14 hours in transit we will deplane in the plains of the Midwest. We are all looking forward to seeing family again. However, one of us (namely the female figurehead) is not so excited about the flight with a very busy toddler. In desperate circumstances is it ok for a 22-month old to watch DVDs for 14 hours straight???

"What has my mommy given me to eat?!? This strange substance is solid, yet jiggly. I eat it with my fingers, and it is suspiciously sweet. Mommy NEVER gives me sweet stuff just because! More, peeeease!"

Look! It's a picture of my lemon car. You know what's really eery??? It's actually shaped like my car! If that isn't an omen, nothin' is!

Return of the Lemon

So. Uh-huh, that's right. SO. The car repair man speaketh. After taking the car apart and putting it back together again, the car is apparently mysteriously fixed. They don't know what they did to fix it, but they claim the problem is gone. I haven't seen it for myself since it won't be home until next week sometime. However, Brandon believes this is the opportune time to sell it. We'll have to talk about that some more. (My good ol' Iowa ethics leave me feeling guilty about putting this puppy in someone else's hands.) Guess I wouldn't make a good Frenchman.

Oh, Christmas Tree

So, I decided that this past weekend was THE weekend. It was time to get our Christmas tree. After much debate, we decided we would go the "real" route once again. So, we all got in the car and headed to Ikea, one of the places to find a tree. From there, the Christmas spirit went downhill. They had their trees sorted according to height. The only problem was that the trees were wrapped up in netting so you couldn't really see what they look like. We just had to pick according to height. Once we made our selection, they cut the netting loose for us to see the tree. HORRORS! Seems that all of the trees being sold at Ikea and 3 other lots we peeked at had beautiful full bottom halves, but scrawny branchless top halves. I wasn't thrilled; Brandon reminded me that we are in the Czech Republic and this is the way it is. He then presented me with two options: "You wanna look somewhere else?" and "You wanna fake tree?" Feeling flustered and unwilling to haul Lydia all over on a tree hunting expedition I said, "It's fine. Just get it. I'll deal with it." We paid $30 for our scraggly tree and bought some loose evergreen boughs as well. We then went grocery shopping in grumpy silence. "I'm going to get the bread". "I'm getting the milk" (grumble grumble). This wasn't the way I had envisioned this evening! We got our tree home and, determined to make the best of things, I set about grafting the loose boughs onto the branchless upper half. (I call myself the "Tree Whisperer".) All in all, the end result is not too shabby. Add a couple hundred lights and some ornaments, and botta boom, botta bing... you've got a "perfect" Christmas tree. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the top half of our tree doesn't die before the bottom!!!

Before

After

Oh! Glorious Day!

Krispy Kreme for me?!?! Some suppliers visited Brandon at work today. They flew in yesterday with Krispy Kreme morsels of goodness, made fresh yesterday. Guess what we had for dessert after dinner tonight? Pure heaven in every tasty bite.

Not-So-Peachy Renault

Mid-November we returned the Renault to the car service guy. With the ever-present transmission issue we informed him that he had not "fixed" the problem and he should try again. So... three weeks have passed. He thought he had figured out that the problem is a faulty computer module. So, he ordered the new part, replaced it and (imagine this!) it DIDN'T fix the problem!!! Now he has another Renault at his station (presumably with a different problem) that he is going to swap parts with until he finds the part that is faulty. When Brandon told me I was supposed to have the car back last week, I knew how likely that was and thought I would believe it when I see it. Now they have given up on providing an estimated time of the car's return. I believe that at this point the car has officially spent more time at the service station then it has with me. I tell people that I have a car but it actually lives at the service station and only comes here to visit me once in awhile. Oh well... look on the bright side -- Lydia has learned the words "bus" and "taxi" and thinks of them as exciting excursions. Oy!

Her Future's So Bright

Lydia latched onto Lucy's sunglasses at Thanksgiving Dinner. Hey, sometimes a girl's gotta certain image to protect! (Thanks to Sunny for catching this pic!)

Ernie Comes to Prague

We had a special surprise this morning! At 8:30 am the postal service delivered a box from Sanborn, Iowa. Inside was a box of Yogurt Burst Cheerios, a copy of the Northwest Review newspaper, and TWO tapes of Sesame Street (16 hours of viewing pleasure!!!). Lydia is absolutely captivated by Ernie, Bert, Big Bird and pals but she's not so crazy about the real life segments with talking kids. Here you see her self-selected seating arrangment. (What else would you do with an pool fish in the wintertime?!?!). THANK YOU Grandma Verbrugge!

The Police Strike Again.

Since Brandon refuses to do the honor, I will take it upon myself to inform everyone of his most recent "cop incident". Yes, that's right... stopped for speeding once again. Despite his wife's recent admonitions and warnings to slow down and drive more carefully, he was pulled over on the motorway for driving 156 km/h -- almost 100mph. (The speed limit is 130 km/h). Brandon decided to play his "stupid foreigner card". The officer informed Brandon he was pulled over for speeding and that the fine would be 1000 Kc. ($40). Brandon "innocently" asked for clarification: "You want me to pay you??? I don't understand." Mr. Policeman, unable to understand English, promptly responded, "You don't have 1000 Kc? Do you have 200?" ($8). Brandon replied, "I'm not sure. I'll have to check." He quickly returned to his car, hid the bulk of his money, and for special effect returned to pay the policeman using a few bills and a bunch of coins. The policeman chuckled at Brandon having to use up all of his coins to pay the fine. (Little did he know Brandon was having the last laugh).

In case you didn't catch that... Yes, you are right. Brandon payed the same fine for driving 100mph as I paid for mistakenly turning left where I wasn't supposed to. What's up with that? Guess he's had a bit more practice and is getting to be quite the master of Czech police negotiation.

Happy Euro-Thanksgiving!

So most people in the Czech Republic were oblivious to the fact that today is a holiday. We, however, managed to celebrate in grand style thanks to our great friends, Phil & Shanna (Lucy and Clark's mommy and daddy). They hosted a party for 35+ guests and 7 kids. Quite a brave undertaking, if you ask me. It was a crazy, fun, yummy time!

Brandon even took the day off. He figured that as an American, this was his right. He and 10 others played football this morning. I went grocery shopping with Lydia and cleared the grocery store out of all 6 of their sweet potatoes (so sorry, oh ye other poor American shoppers in search of Thanksgiving dinner...)

There was plenty of turkey, mashed potatoes and pie to go around. Brandon and I were having a tough time remembering when we last enjoyed a true Thanksgiving Dinner. Living so far away from home, we generally took a long weekend trip somewhere and enjoyed our Thanksgiving Dinner beneath the Golden Arches (i.e. McD's) or somewhere equally memorable. One thing we'll need to get used to is having the big football game start at 7:00 pm, but hey... "normal" is all in one's perspective! We had so much fun, although I admit I missed a good ol' rousing round of the Funnel Game. We just may have to make it a worldwide phenomenon and introduce Eastern Europe to the wonders of the Funnel Game (Grandpa, do you give me permission?).

Brandon didn't know it, but when I "signed" up to cook a turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner, I was really signing HIM up for the duty... since I don't deal well with meat that isn't boneless and skinless OR that still has some random feathers and needs it's neck cut off. Brandon, you are my hero!

This bird wasn't made for a European oven! Tight squeeze but we made it work.

Fairy Princess Lydia enjoys a little quiet time in Lucy's garden.

"Why are boys so WEIRD?!?!?"

Lydia's first experience with snow on Sunday morning before church. Let's just say she was outside for less time than it took to get her dressed to go out. She wasn't so keen on walking on the snow. Not to worry... I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to get acclimated!

One of the most amazing sites during our trip was a salt mine near Krakow that has many sculptures and cathedrals inside made entirely out of salt and created by the miners who worked here. Absolutely amazing!

In the main square of Krakow. Gotta love modern art.

A relief on the cathedral wall carved out of salt and depicting the Last Supper.

The largest cathedral in the salt mine. The walls, floors and steps are all made out of salt. Even the crystals on the chandeliers are salt. Can you imagine that you can even have your wedding here?!?

pierogi - a semicircular dumpling with any of various fillings, such as finely chopped meat, vegetables, that is often sauteed after being boiled. See picture above.

Auschwitz

It is impossible for me to describe the impact of visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Walking the same pathways that millions of innocent people walked to their deaths is a humbling experience. We arrived at the museum just in time for a private tour which turned out to be a blessing since Lydia was a little wound up. Our tour lasted 3 hours and in that time we heard stories and saw things that can only change one's thought process forever. How could something so horrible be allowed to go on for so long? How could those in command sleep at night? How could they face their families at the end of the day? How could they be so convinced that their actions were right? Would I have survived? How strong is my faith? Am I also guilty of judging others to be less valuable than me? By the end of our tour it was pitch-black outside and very cold and all I could think about was the people who were imprisoned here and lived in the same cold, dark place without adequate clothing, being humiliated, beaten, worked to exhaustion and literally starving to death.

The sleeping/living quarters at Auschwitz II - Birkenau. Several hundred prisoners slept in each of the barracks.

Trains arriving with prisoners would unload at this point in the tracks. The people were separated into men in one line, women and children in the other. Those who were deemed "unfit for work" (pregnant women, children under 15, elderly, handicapped, sick) were immediately led to the gas chambers.

The women's quarters of Auschwitz II-Berkinau.

The High Tatras Mountains in Slovakia. Snow is nowhere to be found... even on the tops of the mountains! What's up with that?!? It was SO much the "off season" that we were the only people staying in our brand new hotel. The hotel manager even set up a play area and tent just for Lydia to play in during breakfast!!!

WARNING! Parental Control Device activated!

The following pictures contain images not suitable for audiences containing grandmothers. Please proceed at your own discretion.

Before departing the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia, we decided to board the TatraBob for some Xtreme adventure! It was basically a single person roller coaster. We knew it was a hit with Lydia when we took her out of the "bobsled" at the end of the ride and she immediately tried to climb back in! Ok... we'll do it ONE more time!!!

Lydia and Mommy prepare to TatraBob in the mountains of Slovakia.

Budapest at night, full moon and all.

Lydia has had enough. Mommy and Daddy learned a valuable lesson ... we are now in a period of our life where tours of parliament buildings are probably not such a good idea. We lasted approximately 15 minutes before we had to ask the security guard to escort us (and our little angel) out of the Budapest parliament building -- screaming and kicking all the way.

Our final stop on the way home: the Communist Statue Graveyard. Following the fall of Communism, the city council of Budapest decided to move 41 of their Communist statues to one location. The park was quite... well... Communist. But intriguing nevertheless.

See what happens when Mommy is away for the morning and Daddy is in "control"?!?! This morning I went to a lovely women's brunch Emily Stone organized for the ladies in our church fellowship. I came home to the "horror" of Lydia's first tattoo! Shame on Daddy! Although I do have to admit... it IS quite fitting for Lydie's pipes o' steel! :-)

It appears as if the Christmas Letter-Writing Elf is hard at work in his workshop! Also, take note of the white background. Seems that our first snowfall this morning was the inspiration for the elf's Christmas spirit.

Lydia is a natural at metro-riding in Budapest!

Mid-way Layover

We are currently in the Tatras Mountains in Slovakia where we quickly discovered what it means to visit during the "off-season". Yes... lodging is cheaper, but tourist attractions are not open either. Yesterday we drove an hour to see the largest castle in Slovakia only to discover it closed for the season on October 31. Same for the many caves in the area. So, we have enjoyed a little down time and even stumbled upon a great pizzeria last night where Brandon claims he consumed the "best pizza he has had in all of Europe"! Quite a distinction, huh?

Lydia was Grumpy (yes, with a capital "G") yesterday. Maybe she's tired of the car time, or switching beds every 2 days, or she's just 21 months. Who knows, but I think it was a blessing that we were forced to take it easy for a day before heading off to Budapest today.

Sorry... dont have the ability to post pictures so we'll have to save that for our return at the end of the week. Please keep Lydia's emotional state and her mommy and daddy's patience level in your prayers!

Back in the Saddle

With Brandon's remaining 5 vacation days this year and a Czech holiday next week the equation seemed perfect for a road trip of Eastern Europe. Although I am feeling a bit apprehensive about a week in the car and inconsistent sleep locales for Lydia (she didn't bounce back so quickly post-Berlin!), I AM looking forward to seeing some very beautiful places. We will drive to Krakow, Poland tonight and hopefully arrive by 10 or 11 pm. We'll spend 3 days there, visit Auschwitz concentration camp and then head for Budapest, Hungary stopping mid-way for two days in the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia. We'll be driving 5-7 hours every 2-3 days so with a toddler that doesn't enjoy the car you see where my apprehension comes from. In a positive light... After this, the flight home for Christmas will be a piece of cake!!!

The Future is Not So Bright...

Think I'll pack away my sunglasses until next June. Or maybe I will just trade them in for some night vision goggles.

I was just beginning to accept the fact that most fall days in Prague are gray and cloudy when my psyche was dealt another blow this week. It was an event you may also be familiar with: Daylight Savings Time. Yes, they also change the clocks here in Eastern Europe. Why was this so different than the 29 previous DSTs I have experienced? Well, let's just say we better stock up on lightbulbs around here. Some internet research revealed that by the time mid-December rolls around sunrise will be at 8:00am with sunset at 4:00pm. A quick calculation by this stay-at-home mommy revealed that we will have approximately 1 hour of post-nap daylight. Not exactly enough time to trek to the park (our standard afternoon activity). With this grim realization I am now quite worried that Lydia will be reciting her VeggieTales movies from memory by Christmas! Guess we're going to have to become creative with our afternoon activities. I sure am glad I have that I invested in that 101 Fun Activies for Toddlers book! At a rate of one per day we may just survive our first Prague winter.

Our 1st Harvest Party and Brush with the Law

Our friends, Phil and Shanna Davis and their two wonderful kiddies Lucy and Clark, invited Lydia and I to a Harvest party today in the late afternoon. After a pep talk lasting the duration of our 30 minute car drive to their home Lydia complied and wore her carrot costume for a record-breaking 3 minutes! There were lots of fun activities... coloring, decorating cupcakes and bobbing for apples (However, the bobbing for apples water proved to be too big of a temptation for Lydia and contributed to our early party departure...). There were lots of crazy costumed kids having a great time. Being a little sleep deprived from our weekend away, Lydia wasn't exactly in the mood for Harvest Partying but we still had a great time.

The ride home was less enjoyable. I followed a car in front of me and made a left turn onto a street where apparently left turns are not allowed. I learned this lesson quite quickly when I and the car in front of me were pulled over. Hence, my first encounter with the Czech police.

I was a little nervous trying to determine how I was going to explain the fact that I did not have my passport or international driver's license with me. The police man approached my car and began explaining my offense in Czech. I quickly informed him "Mluvim Anglicky" (I speak English) and handed him my Maryland driver's license. He never even asked to see my passport! I think he took pity on me with my toddler in the back seat because after a short conference with his partner he returned to my car and managed to communicate that I was not allowed to make a left turn back there and that it would be a "problem... miminko in auto...crash" (i.e. it would be a problem if I had a crash with my child in the car). He then fined me approximately $8. The Czech police system has a reputation of being slightly corrupt and operating on a negotiation system. I found an $8 fine quite reasonable considering I didn't have any appropriate documentation with me! As I pulled into our garage tonight I realized all of this could only mean one thing: God is taking care of us.

After decorating her cupcake, Lydia taste tests her handiwork. A sleep-deprived toddler with a sugar buzz = not good.

TRICK OR TREAT! Lydia's affection for VeggieTales and eating veggies made her carrot costume a "natural choice" (ha ha). Besides, I couldn't make a kitty costume in one night with a fleece blanket a paper table cloth!!!

While we were away for the weekend, Nellie stayed with the dog sitter. They have a 3-year-old boy. Needless to say, Nellie was glad to be home. This is how she spent her first night back...

On the road again....

Friday was a holiday in Czech Republic (Czech Independance Day) so we decided to take a road trip to Berlin. Approximately 4 hours away by car, it is easily visited in a long weekend. We left Thursday after work and stayed until Sunday morning. Obviously, it is a city with quite a story to tell and since it basically had to be rebuilt after the war the architecture is interesting and varied... as one can imagine. The trip was extremely educational regarding WWII and Holocaust. How amazing it is to have such a monumental city within a half-day drive!

The bombed out shell of a church in Berlin. Only 1/3 of the church remains and it was not (and never will be) repaired, serving as a constant reminder to the German people of the tragedy of war.

The controversial "Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe". Dedicated in May of this year, it is quite significant. Covering the area of half a city block, it is filled with over 2,700 concrete pillars of various heights and angles. Personally, I felt the memorial lacked an appropriate sense of respect but this was made up for in the underground museum. Brandon and I both left touched and aware of our ignorance in regards to the profound horror and extent of the Nazi plan which led to the deaths of 6.5-7 million Jews.

When we are on "holiday", Lydia gets a little jipped out on sleep... short naps and late nights make a girl tired. On our last night in Berlin Lydia politely reminded us of this fact during dinner. "Ummm, parents? It's bedtime for little kids. And I'm a little kid". She does this by quietly putting her blanket over her head while sitting in her high chair. Ok, ok... we get the hint!

Capitalism shows up in the strangest places.....

Part of my pre-trip planning revealed the presence of a Wal-mart in Berlin. Of course, I had to put this stop on our itinerary! After all, Lydia's super-fancy Pamper's supply was running critically low! Brandon was skeptical of the need for such a stop, but in the end gave into my request. After Lydia's nap on Saturday we headed out in search of this symbol of the "I WANT MORE STUFF" mentality. If any of you have seen the Madame Blueberry VeggieTales movie you'll know what I mean when I heard the "Stuff-mart" theme song in my head as we walked through the doors and felt convicted of my own desire for more, more, MORE.

We found it slightly humorous that Wal-mart resides in formerly East Berlin and to make it even more ironic... the street name??? Karl-Marx Strasse! Wonder how Karl Marx would feel about good ol' Sam Walton?

Brandenburg Gate. And now they have added pretty lights...

Lydia LOVES the fall because she LOVES leaves...

Lydia... are you ready to go home???

My apologies for the Lydia-saturated posts this time around... We haven't done much sightseeing this week! Brandon tries to take a bike ride each weekend with Lydia. This one was extra special because the leaves are changing and Daddy found a handful of leaves in every color for her to hold on the ride.

Sorry Andrea! Without your consistent influence Lydia is quickly losing her vegetarian tendancies... She makes Daddy proud though. Soon enough she'll be ready for the "famous" Prague Quad-Brat!!!

A new book from Grandma Verbrugge. (Sorry Grandma! We didn't realize it was a SPECIAL book before we let her tear into it!!!) We quickly put the book out of sight in a safe place because Lydia grew very attached to it in the two minutes she had it!!!

Lydia just loves books. And she has a favorite "reading" spot too... the rug in front of the door to the terrace. Perhaps the natural light makes the pictures more vibrant! On this day Lydia was was feeling particularly European and chose to enjoy the sunshine and read topless...

Brain Pain

Czech lessons re-commenced today. After two weeks off, it appears that I have lost some considerable ground. I found myself struggling to remember basic verbs that I thought I had committed to memory weeks ago. Thankfully my new teacher is very patient... even willing to remind me of some words multiple times throughout the course of my one hour lesson.

Here's yet another "little twist" on the very complex Czech language: coffee is "kava" in Czech. If I wanted to say "This is good coffee" I would be speaking in what the Czech language refers to as the NOMINATIVE CASE. Therefore, I would say "Ta je dobra kava". (Kava is feminine, so the word for "this" is "ta"; However, wine or "vino" is neutral, so the word for "this" would change to "to"; And, house or "dum" is masculine, so the word for "this" changes to "ten". Ugh. Ugh. and Ugh.)

Now, if I wanted to say "I have good coffee" I would be speaking in the ACCUSATIVE CASE. Therefore, it changes to "Mam dobrou kavu"... get that? The endings of both the words for "good" and "coffee" change when coffee is the direct object of the sentence. This is only scratching the surface. Keep in mind that I barely floundered my way through my high school junior year of grammar with Mr. Hoekema! My only consolation is that this can no longer affect my GPA and my teacher will NEVER ask me to diagram sentences on the blackboard. How do I know this? We meet at KFC and they don't have a blackboard!!! :-) Whew.

I think my patient teacher and I will be spending a couple more weeks on Lesson 2.... I guess she doesn't mind. She gets paid even if we spend the next 3 months plodding through Lesson 2!

Bittersweet Return of "Freedom"

My car finally came back from the repair shop. After being gone almost a month, it was a highly anticipated moment. However, (surprise, surprise) not all is well. Seems that the repairman couldn't find the root problem. He thinks it is a computer problem but has no way to know for sure. We've already had the transmission rebuilt and replaced a computer sensor, so this is quite frustrating. Brandon drove it home from work and felt that the problem may even be worse than before. Thankfully it really is only a "nuisance" problem... not one that I have to worry will leave me stranded somewhere. However, it really is a BIG nuisance. I am so thankful to have my wheels back that I'm going to try really hard to bit my tongue and keep from complaining. After all, (in Brandon's famous last words) "It's all just part of the game..........."

Mommy ordered some winter goodies from the States that arrived today. Lydia couldn't have been happier. She absolutely loved her new hat and wore it from dinnertime to bedtime, taking it off only for bathtime. Mommy and Daddy REALLY like the boots -- finally we have found something that will slow Miss Lydia down! She can't RUN in boots!!! :-)

To Portugal we will go...

Lydia and I were "invited" to join Brandon on another work-related trip. This time to Lisbon, Portugal. After a quick trip to www.weather.com to discover a weather forecast of 75-80 and sunny, I made up my mind pretty quickly. We left on Tuesday afternoon and took a direct flight to Lisbon. It was a 3.5 hour flight, so the equivalent of Baltimore to Denver. Lydia did well on the plane thanks to the blessing of a portable dvd player... keep the movies rollin'! We arrived just in time for bedtime for Lydia, but we were all quite exhausted and went to sleep early to prepare for a big day of sightseeing ahead...

Day One

Our first day in Lisbon, Wednesday, was a holiday in Portugal. This meant that Brandon had the day off and we could spend the day together doing some intense sightseeing. I had done my research before we left Prague and had printed out some walking tour itineraries. Our hotel was in the ocean resort town of Estoril. So, with maps in hand we boarded the train for a 30 minute ride to Lisbon.

A lot of the reading I had done had warned about the poverty of Portugal and that although it is quickly improving to meet EU standards, it is still one of the poorer countries in the EU. Having read all of this, we were both pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the city. The city has such a history and so many beautiful city squares and buildings. I think the plentiful sun and warm temperatures may have tainted my view of the city as well!!!

We spent the morning in the main center of town with the shopping district and city squares. After a ride up on a 100 year old elevator for a panaramic view of the city and some AMAZING fruit salad for a snack (Brandon claims it is the best fruit salad he has ever had...) we began our walk to the area of the city known as Alfama. This area was once aristocratic, but has since fallen into a bit of decay. It was interesting to walk through the narrow streets with houses only a few feet away from one another. The facades of many of the houses are covered in very colorful tile, a trademark look of the city.

We managed to make it to the top of the city to walk through the ruins of St. George's Castle. By that time we were all getting pretty tired (especially mommy) and we called it a day by stopping for some pizza and ice cream. Since Lydia doesn't sleep "on the run", she was well past her naptime but still holding out pretty good. We didn't get back to our hotel until 4:00 and we all crashed for a short but welcome 45 minute nap. We'll be ready for more tomorrow...

An example of the tile facades that can be seen on many of the houses in Lisbon.

250 years ago on Nov. 1 a large earthquake shook Lisbon. That alone caused much damage, but what was particularly devastating was the fires that followed. Since it was All Saints Day, may people were in church with candles lit. The earthquake caused the candles to topple and fires to rage. This cathedral shows the burned out roof that was never repaired... an eery reminder of the devastation.

Brandon with our "best ever fruit salad" and fresh squeezed orange juice. Yummy!!!!!

The center of the square is this pillar and statue of Pedro IV. Brandon managed to capture it with the sun as a halo.

The walkways and many streets are tiled in black and white patterns... some are geometric, some have fish or flowers. Lots of fun for a little girl's eyes!!!

One of two fountains in the main city square. Lydia was absolutely fascinated... Mommy was a bit apprehensive due to the green water and the pigeon poo.