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.
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 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?
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?
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
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.
Brain Pain
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
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!
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"
Friday, October 14, 2005
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...
Monday, October 10, 2005
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...
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...
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.
Day Two
Our 2nd day was quite a long day. Brandon left the hotel for work at 5:30 am! He didn't return until 10:00 at night. While he was out visiting DeWalt service centers in Portugal, Lydia and I were exploring the nearby beach and ocean. I found myself spending much of the morning chasing after Lydia since she has no fear of water or the rolling waves. Even after falling and getting water up to her chin, she bounced right back up and was off and running for more. The Portuguese people love children, so Lydia received plenty of attention from the middle-aged women sharing the beach with us.
We stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the seaside walkway. They didn't speak English so even though I thought I ordered french fries for Lydia, we ended up with a bag of Ruffles potato chips. Thankfully I had an orange in my backpack for Lydia to enjoy with her Ruffles!
After her nap, we took a short train ride to another nearby resort town, Cascais. There was a small mall there for Lydia to run around in. They also had an abundance of coin-operated rides. At 1 Euro per ride (approx. $1.20), it's a good thing that Lydia has no idea that Mommy is supposed to put money in to make the car DO something. She was perfectly content just sitting in a stationary ride and pushing the buttons and lights for 10 minutes... how much longer can I expect that to last?!?
We stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the seaside walkway. They didn't speak English so even though I thought I ordered french fries for Lydia, we ended up with a bag of Ruffles potato chips. Thankfully I had an orange in my backpack for Lydia to enjoy with her Ruffles!
After her nap, we took a short train ride to another nearby resort town, Cascais. There was a small mall there for Lydia to run around in. They also had an abundance of coin-operated rides. At 1 Euro per ride (approx. $1.20), it's a good thing that Lydia has no idea that Mommy is supposed to put money in to make the car DO something. She was perfectly content just sitting in a stationary ride and pushing the buttons and lights for 10 minutes... how much longer can I expect that to last?!?
Day Three
On Friday Brandon left for work once again at 6:00 am. Lydia and I determined that it would be a good day to visit the Oceanario (aquarium) in Lisbon. Had I known the travel time and effort required, we may have opted for another day at the beach! We had a 30 minute train ride to Lisbon, followed by another 30 minute metro ride complete with one transfer and a broken elevator or two and lastly a 15-20 minute walk to the aquarium. By the time we finally arrived, it was lunch time and nap time was rapidly approaching!
On the metro, I was so fortunate to meet an American woman (Jamie) with her two young kids also on the way to the aquarium. She lives in Portugal so Lydia and I were able to tag along with her. It was such a blessing because she knew the way to the aquarium and helped me fumble my way to the entrance. I am convinced I would STILL be wandering around Lisbon in search of the aquarium if she had not helped us out. It was also nice to spend a couple of hours with another English-speaking Mommy and her kids.
Once we entered the aquarium, the travel hassles all paid off. Lydia was in heaven. I have NEVER seen or heard her get so excited before! She was babbling non-stop, and quite loudly as well. It was good to see the other people smiling at her, because she was definately disturbing the peace! I told Jamie that I think it's a little preview of what is to come once Lydia finally does start talking... it appears that it will be without ceasing and we're going to need to work on practicing our "quiet voices".
We picked up some McDonalds to go before the 2 hour public transport trip back to the hotel. Another day with another late start to her nap, but the fun we had made it all worthwhile.
On the metro, I was so fortunate to meet an American woman (Jamie) with her two young kids also on the way to the aquarium. She lives in Portugal so Lydia and I were able to tag along with her. It was such a blessing because she knew the way to the aquarium and helped me fumble my way to the entrance. I am convinced I would STILL be wandering around Lisbon in search of the aquarium if she had not helped us out. It was also nice to spend a couple of hours with another English-speaking Mommy and her kids.
Once we entered the aquarium, the travel hassles all paid off. Lydia was in heaven. I have NEVER seen or heard her get so excited before! She was babbling non-stop, and quite loudly as well. It was good to see the other people smiling at her, because she was definately disturbing the peace! I told Jamie that I think it's a little preview of what is to come once Lydia finally does start talking... it appears that it will be without ceasing and we're going to need to work on practicing our "quiet voices".
We picked up some McDonalds to go before the 2 hour public transport trip back to the hotel. Another day with another late start to her nap, but the fun we had made it all worthwhile.
St. Nicholas' Cathedral (#1)
This morning we went to visit St. Nicholas' Cathedral in Prague. Apparently there are TWO St. Nicholas' Cathedrals in Prague. The guidebook says that the one we visited is the more ornate one of the two. They weren't kidding! There was no shortage of marble and gold to feast the eyes upon. Lydia was awestruck and quickly noticed the echo of her voice in the cathedral which didn't exactly lend itself to the quiet reverence normally observed in cathedrals. Good thing she's SO darn cute! (ok, maybe I'm a little biased...). As we were leaving the cathedral, Brandon did a double take and stopped dead in his tracks. Hhuuuuuhhhh? "Did I just see A TOWER TO CLIMB?!?!?", he exclaimed. Only 212 steps and $2 per person? Count the Verbrugge Family in! It was a beautiful day, which meant a beautiful view of the city... well worth the effort, plus theoretically I can say I exercised today... :-)
