First Snow Day 27th October

We saw the forecast earlier this week ... snow showers Saturday. Well the forecast didn't let us down, we had our first snow day today. We thought is would only be a light shower but there was enough to cover the ground, trees and cars. Instead of bunking down at home we wrapped up in our winter woolies and headed out on a bus trip. Corban and Leo constantly ate snow and licked poles (totally disgusting!), Taylor made snow balls. Allan even braved it out in the afternoon and went for an extra walk to find the DVD store and go to the Billa. He came home without a DVD and cold hands.

Liberec

Spent the day in Liberec about 120kms from Prague. Quite an experience catching the trains, we missed the fast train so caught the next one, which required two changes in what seemed like nowhere. On the way home, we broke all the train rules letting the kids hung out the windows because the train was so hot, the Czech's really love their heat!

Zizkov Television Tower

We visited the Zizkov Tower, saw a Jewish temple and took a walk through Praha 5. Decided not to go up the tower as it was a foggy day however would like to return when the snow is in and the day is clear. The Žižkov Television Tower is a unique transmitter tower built in Prague between 1985 and 1992. Designed by the architect Václav Aulický and the structural engineer Jiří Kozák,[1] it stands high above the city's traditional skyline from its position on top of a hill in the district of Žižkov, from which it takes its name.

Karlstejn Castle

We visited Karlštejn Castle about 40km West of Prague. A neat little village with the castle sitting at the top of the surrounding hillside. Corban wasn't very keen on a tour however I told her that we might see a Princess, in about the 3rd room there was a woman in costume singing and playing the flute, she sounded amazing ... thankfully my cohersion of the Princess paid off! Karlštejn Castle is a large Gothic castle founded 1348 AD by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well as the Bohemian/Czech crown jewels, holy relics, and other royal treasures. Located about 30 km southwest of Prague above the village of the same name, it is one of the most famous and most frequently visited castles in the Czech Republic. When we visited there were only replicas of the crown jewels because the real ones are on tour. In the centre of the main crown is a thron from the Crown of Throns placed on Jesus' head. No photos of the inside, they actually arrest you if you take pictures!

Petrin Tower

The Petrin Tower is an observation tower located on a hill top, so you can get a great view of Prague. It only takes a few minutes to climb the steps, it was really great to get an overview of all the places we have been. We took a bush walk type track to the top of the hill and saw squirels. However coming down we found this cable car/tram thing that took us to the bottom. Will be good to go back in the spring/summer as there are lots of gardens, a little bear at this time of the year.

Mirror Maze

This weekend on our way to the Petrin Tower we came across a mirror maze. It was pretty funny, we all had a good laugh. There was a broken piece in one part ... we know why! Not long after arriving Leo ran straight into a wall. After this Corban was right beside me and went to cuddle Allans leg ... except it wasn't Allan, she also walked into a wall. Another hilourious part was when Taylor was videoing me, she wanted me to turn and look at her, which I was doing ... however she was actually videoing a mirror and didn't realise I was directly behind her! The video makes it look like I'm confused but it is actullay her, we laughed and laughed, a great place if you don't mind your kids getting knocked out!!

(I'll get the video off Tay, when she figures out how to get it from her iPod to the computer without her cord).

Local Farmers Market

There is a local farmers market every Saturday morning near our house. We are becoming more adventurous with our purchases. This week Corban munched on fresh raspberries while we looked for something for dinner, we purchased our first lot of fresh pasta. I wasn't out there enough to buy the fish, so we got that at the local supermarket. We made our first Salmon Tagiatelle for dinner. Will definitely purchase more fresh pasta!

Cirkus Cirkus Classic

This weekend while Taylor was out camping we took the little kids to Cirkus Cirkus Classic http://cirkusclassic.cz/program. What a laugh, we didn't understand a word the Ring Master was saying, it didn't seem to matter, we could still tell when he was introducing an act. Over all it was lighthearted and fun with some good performances. We did come away thinking that lots of things in NZ have become very PC! For example a clown came out smoking, blowing smoke rings!! He then proceeded to hose the audience down with water ... it wasn't a little sprinkle but actually a hose. Later in the show when he was dressed in a traditional woman's dress, it was ripped off revealing his woman's underwear. It was all in good taste, but I could imagine complaints of all sorts back home, here in the Czech Republic everyone just laughed and gave standing ovations. We were just as entertained by the audience as the performances (acrobats, juggling, elephant, fancy horse riding, seals, balancing ...) A great night out.

Very impressed with Taylor, another great adventure achieved. This weekend she hiked 34km carrying all of her clothing, food, tent, sleeping bag etc. Saturday was a 20km hike to the camping ground, followed by setting up camp, cooking food and playing some games. Day two saw them hiking home in constant rain, but everyone who went managed to complete the trip. She described some beautiful country areas, forest/cliffs that she said looked like something out of Narnia. They saw squirrels and even a snake that someone almost stepped on.

Lego Characters

Allan and Leo discovered a Lego show at a shopping mall. There were heaps of characters dotted throughout the mall, even some pretty cool heads of famous people. We all went the next day for a look. Leo especially like the crocodile, he told me all about it when I got home from work.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

We had our first parent teacher conference with Corban's teacher this week. Corban is doing really well. It was so nice to hear that she is talking, sharing with her class and joining in lots of games and activities. We have also noticed that she talks to more people now and is overcoming her shyness. In fact she has become quite the boss since starting her new school! Corban can copy her name now, count to 12 and loves arts and craft. This week Corban also had a trip to the Bykos Pumpkin farm, Allan and Leo went too. They took a double decker bus and spent the morning looking at pumpkins and got to put pumpkins on a catapult and fire them into the air. There was also a play area, bunnies and a maze. Pumpkins seem like a big thing in Prague?? People are bringing them to school to celebrate Autumn ... there is also a Harvest festival coming up, probably involving pumpkins! This afternoon Corban was playing with her little house and characters, as she chatted I heard her say "Dobry den" ... followed by something else in Czech, the other little character responded in English. Blow me down with feather, we'll have to get Taylor to interpret soon!