New Years Eve

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We were back in Prague for New Years Eve.  There wasn't as much snow in Prague as there was in Poland, just enough for a snowy/muddy slide on the hill down to Leo's school.  We met the Britton's there and the kids had a great time sledding and having a snow ball fight.  Liam absolutely loved sledding and Allan managed to swallow some yellow snow, that he gaged up ;-)  Before it got dark the kids also managed to make a snowman in the back garden.     

We took Lisa to a Czech restaurant called Restaurace Uveverky just up the road, it serves the freshest beer in Prague.  It's quiet a challenge to drink such a huge glass of beer!

After putting the kids to bed we headed into the city to see in the New Year.  We took a stroll through Old Town and ended up in Mustek where we had cake and coffee before the fireworks started.  Lisa was in complete shock at the armed police and crazy fireworks.  Prague on New Years is certainly not something you can imagine! 

Krakow

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Krakow, Poland was absolutely FREEZING!  We decided to go to Auschwitz concentration camp first and save the more uplifting destinations for the following days.  Everyone rugged up as warm as possible for our tour of the camp because it was -12.  There are not many photos of our visit for two reasons, it was to cold to take our gloves off and we just felt that it was about taking in what had happened there and respecting those who perished there.

Like always, when I learn about horrific historic events I am left with many questions about humanity and how in the 21st century we still have cultures and religions seeking to destroy others.  Auschwitz was a place of fear and terror, a place that was designed for killing!  The thing that struck me most is how we would usually associate Auschwitz with Nazis, however it took engineers, architects, builders, doctors, lawyers, bankers ... to make the place run like a well oiled machine.  Well educated people with free choice choose to design and create a death camp.  Every detail of how the camp functioned was well thought out and planned for, down to using human hair as a resource.  I had mentally prepared for our tour of Auschwitz, but didn't find it to bad.  I think this was because it didn't have as many photos like in Terezin (Czech concentration camp).

Our trip to Krakow was not all doom and gloom, the following day we visited the Salt Mines. Because we were 135m below the ground with a constant temperature of 15 degrees we all felt warmed up and enjoyed being underground.  Everyone had a lick of the walls especially Corban who loves salt and we all enjoyed the tour of the different chambers and chapels.  The tour only touched on a small percentage of the mine and it felt massive, with over 300km of galleries it would be great to just explore!

Visiting Krakow Old Town was our agenda for our final day.  The kids had been itching to play in the snow for a couple of days so everyone fell for the temptation before we began having a look around.  There were plenty of squeals and screams as we pelted each other with snowball and the kids enjoyed making snow angels.  We walked though the city centre where they were setting up for New Years Eve, found some markets were Leo let off some steam (video with the photos), peeked into the cathedral and walked up to the palace.  Silly me didn't take my snow boots and after a few hours my toes were so sore we headed back to the car to defrost and head home.  

A short but great stay in Krakow!      

Dresden

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After having a few days at home over Christmas we were off on our next adventure, this time to Krakow Poland via Dresden.  It was the long way, but we figured getting in another country was worth the drive. 

Unfortunately we arrived in Dresden one day late for the Christmas markets.  We were hoping to see the German markets because they sell different food, wooden toys and other interesting bits and pieces however they were packing up the morning we arrived. 

Instead we walked through old market square, saw the Procession of Princes, the Frauenkirche Cathedral and walked along the river.  We planned to go to the Green Vault but we were all absolutely freezing and the day was getting on so decided to skip the Green Vault and make our way to Krakow before it got to late. 

Boxing Day

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Prague isn't like New Zealand full of sales and shopping on Boxing Day.  The shops are closed and the streets are relatively quiet.  Corban was keen to ride her bike and Leo was happy making his new lego.  

We headed out after lunch to have a look at the John Lennon wall.  A couple of weeks ago the John Lennon wall was vandalised (if that's the correct word), it was painted out completely white with only the words 'Wall is Over'.  Many people in Prague were upset by this and flocked into Old Town to begin repainting the wall with new messages.  It still has quite a lot of white at the top and the John Lennon shine is gone. 

Along our walk we also stopped by the narrowest street, the Kafka Museum and some locks of love. Liam liked the peeing men statues, he thought they were pretty funny.  Lisa was keen to find some paintings by a certain Czech painter (I can't remember the name), but we didn't manage to find the museum so she settle for a painting from the markets.

After an afternoon out we went home and got dressed up for the Nutcracker.  Leo was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to dance on stage with the ballerinas, but it was a good experience going to the National Theatre and watching the dancers.         

Our 3rd Christmas in Prague

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This year we were in Prague for Christmas. Riley and Liam got to see the Carp being sold in the streets.  Liam thought it was awesome how they hit the Crap over the head with a mallet, Riley on the other hand was a little grossed out!

Thankfully the kids didn't get up to early and we had a nice time opening gifts in the morning.  As lunch rolled around our friends Dan, Eliza, Junia and Rosie, plus Filips Mum and sister came for Christmas lunch.  We forgot to take photos but we enjoyed a hot meal with ham, salmon and vegetables.    

Visiting Vienna

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There's nothing like packing in a couple of cities before Christmas and since Budapest is close to Vienna we stopped there for two days and a night on our way home.  

We arrived in Vienna for an early lunch at the park before visiting the city centre.  Today our mission was to look around St Stephens Cathedral and find the Mozart statue.  We found the cathedral easily and after a couple of wrong turns also found the Mozart statue.  From here we found more Christmas markets in Vienna Old Town and the Parliament buildings.  After negotiating with a horse carriage driver, we also took an early evening ride through Old Town as a memorable moment for the little kids.  

Day two in Vienna was another packed day.  Taylor took Leo, Liam and Riley to the Military Museum (under 18's free) while we did a spot of Christmas shopping in the city.  Liam liked the suits of armour, tanks and guns.  

We picked the kids up from the Museum and headed to the Schonbrunn Palace.  It was pretty windy and cold so it was nice to do an inside tour of the Palace and learn about some of Vienna's royal history.  It was surprising how much they loved and adored Princess Sissi (Elizabeth), Riley liked the palace and learning about Sissi.  It was also good to learn that her daughter was Marie Antoinette, we had previously learned about her from our visit to Versailles last year.

As the sun began to disappear we managed to have walk around the gardens.  Unfortunately the Neptune fountain was turned off for winter but we did get to see a lovely sunset at Gloriette.  With a four hour drive to get home and darkness already set in, it was time to leave Vienna and get ready for Christmas.   

Christmas Visit to Budapest

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It is our second trip to Budapest and it was great to see things at a different time of the year, Budapest is a lovely city at nights with the bridges and castle on the hill!

Our first day was exploring Castle Hill, we enjoyed looking at the statues around the castle grounds and visited the Museum.  The museum was relatively simple, we enjoyed the underground part the best.  After the museum we made our way to Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion.  Fisherman's Bastion is such a fantastic place, it really feels like something out of a fairytale.  We spent the afternoon at a Spa Resort, we were aiming for something a little more authentic to Hungry but this place was great for the kids, although Liam was a bit short for some of the rides he wanted to go on.  

Day two we did a walking tour, we learnt about Hungarian history and the city of Budapest.  We finished the tour at the Chain Bridge before making our way to a large inside market "Great Market Hall".  After this Lisa found a place for a Thai massage because of her sore shoulder, while she did this we watched some street performers and visited the Christmas markets.

On a slightly different note we visited a not so common attraction 'Memento Park' the next day. Rather than destroying statues left from the Russian communist regime like many countries the Hungarians moved the statues to a park on the outskirts of Budapest.  The statues are generally very large and imposing, they are mostly of strong powerful looking men or communist leaders such as Lenin, Marx and Engels.  After the park we drove up the the Liberty Statue, she is also from the communist era however the people of Budapest thought she was so beautiful that they wanted her to remain.  They covered the Liberty Statue with cloth and had a cleansing ceremony and now she is a significant statue about the freedom and liberty of Budapest.

You can't visit Budapest without a stop at City Park which is home the the Vajdahunyad Castle.  The grounds are quiet different in the winter compared with the summer, but it was still a nice walk through the park, playing at the play park and taking photo's with statues.  The afternoon was a quick whip around St Stephen's Basilica to see his 'hand'.   

Once again we stayed in Budapest by home exchanging.  We had trouble finding our home but made it in the end.  This time our home wasn't fancy but we all fitted in with a place to sleep and there was wifi for Taylor and plenty of toys to keep the kids entertained.  Our first home exchange that we forgot to take a photo! 

Bratislava

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There wasn't long to settle in before we were off on holiday.  We did some shopping, loaded the car and were heading to Budapest, Hungry via Bratislava.

Arriving at lunch time we exchanged keys with our home exchange at McDonalds before strolling around the city centre looking at the shops and markets.  Lisa thought the city looked like something from a movie theatre.

We found some of the iconic statues like 'Cumil' a guy resting in the street and also a statue of Hans Christian Anderson.  The kids enjoyed a ride on a medieval fair ground ride before walking up to the castle. Today we didn't go into the castle as it was already getting dark and we still had a couple of hours drive before hitting Budapest.

Cousins Hanging Out in Prague

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Day two saw us head into New Town to look at the Christmas markets.  Lisa and the kids liked watching the steel roses getting made.

After checking out the markets we walked towards the Hybernia Theatre and Palladium shopping mall.  Here the kids found souvenir coins that they made by hitting with a hammer.

Next we made you way into Old Town, stopping to watch the Indian singers.  We looked at more Christmas markets in Old Town and ate some Czech market food.  Riley quiet likes the Czech Trdelnik.

Before going home we watched the Astronomical Clock.  With Christmas coming and the shortest day, the sun is setting about 4pm and it's dark by 4.30pm.  Once again we headed home for another early night.      

Lisa, Riley and Liam Arrive!

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We picked Lisa, Riley and Liam up from the airport mid morning, surprisingly they were all in pretty good shape after the flight.  We headed home for a bite to eat before going out to keep them all awake.  

It was pretty cool walking up to the castle and watching Riley and Liam taking in a new city, with new sights, checking to cross the road the wrong way and generally just exploring.  We wondered around the castle grounds, visited the toy museum and down into Old Town.

By about 5pm they were absolutely shattered, the kids were asleep before 7pm and Lisa not long after at 7.15pm.  A successful first day and great having them with us.     

Riverside Singing in Old Town Square

The build up to Christmas is a busy time at Riverside.  The kids are involved in many activities from the Christmas shows, orchestra performances, choir performances and markets.  These three videos are from the Choir singing in Old Town Square.  Old Town is wonderful at Christmas, beautiful lights, great markets, busy with all kinds of performances and the smell of Christmas!

EY's and Primary Christmas Shows

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Leo was especially happy to be the 'talking camel' in the school nativity show!  He got to wear a special costume with a big camel head and two humps on his back, cutest camel I've ever seen.  The night before he was up coughing and wheezing with constrictive laryngitis and almost lost his voice, but there was no way he was having the day off school.  Allan had to take him to the doctor after the show and he had the next two days off school. But he loved every minute of it!  

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Corban sang the 'Christmas Cracker' song in the school show.  Unfortunately Allan wasn't in the best spot for taking photo's of her, she was hidden behind an outside heater.  The show was fun and the kids only just fitted on the stage as the Primary has grown considerably over the past two years.

Corban's 6th Birthday

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Corban enjoyed her Birthday two days early this year as the Primary School Christmas show was on her actual birthday.  She was very spoilt and had quiet a stack of presents to open!

We enjoyed lunch with friends at a Czech Restaurant called Parliament which has a great playground, and came home for cake.   

American Thanksgiving, Birthday & the Beginning of Christmas!!

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There is nothing like kicking off December with a busy weekend.  This weekend we celebrated American Thanksgiving at John and Kelsie Mullen's.  Turkey, Pumpkin Pie and Green Bean Casserole have become part of our annual diet at Thanksgiving!

Everyone managed to squeeze in a birthday and sing me Happy Birthday with a cake and gift which was a complete surprise!  I even sang along with Happy Birthday wondering who it was for, very sneaky!  Not like Allan to keep a secret, and a cool little piece of Polish pottery from Carolyn.

I enjoyed a nice cuddle with baby Aaron who snuggled in and fell asleep.  He's such a cute little guy.

We had to dash away from Thanksgiving to get into Old Town by 5pm for the turning on of the Christmas lights.  It's our third Christmas in Prague, but it is still just as amazing and beautiful as the first time.  Old Town was packed, the markets were busy, the lights came on ... let Christmas begin!

Harvest Celebration at Stromovka Park

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There's always something interesting going on somewhere!  Leo was off at a party, Taylor was out with friends so we got to spend some quality 1:1 time with Corban.  

We decided to head to Stromovka park for a walk and a play and stumbled across some kind of Harvest Celebration.  Corban cooked a sausage on the fire with other kids, we sat at the picnic tables and had lunch while listening to an accordion player before a play on the swings in the sun.  

A great way to spend an Autumn day before the weather gets cold!  

Goodbye Gramps

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11384936

Not everyday is perfect!  Today began with a 1.30am phone call and text from Mum to let us know that Chic had passed away.  He was a big part of life for many years, always happy and fun!  Such a great person, he'll be missed.