Prague

Prague, Czech Republic. I remember way back in my middle school social studies class learning about Czechoslovakia. The only thing I really remember about it was how to spell it and that it sounded so completely foreign and exotic. This is one of the reasons Landon and I made the trip a top priority when we first moved to Germany.

I believe we made the highly-anticipated adventure in January. The year was 2007 and Jonathan was just a year old. We went with a company called Enjoy Tours. We toured Paris with them and had an absolutely fabulous time.

We started our trip at a park and ride in the evening with plans to travel through the night sleeping peacefully on the large tour bus. As we began our journey, the tour guide bragged that Prague was the "Paris of the East" and that it was perhaps the most beautiful city in Europe. I was a bit skeptical since I thought Paris was so extraordinary, but I figured it must be fabulous. As the bus rolled on, the evening turned to dusk and people began to settle down to try to get some rest.

Unfortunately, Jonathan had other plans. Sleep? Yeah, right! He was just as excited to start his own little adventure on a great big bus. He did not sleep through the night, and in an attempt to keep the other passengers from hating us, we tried our best to keep him quiet all night long. We walked the aisle of the bus many times that night in a vain attempt to help him fall asleep. With no success, we had very little sleep by the time we arrived in Prague.

When we arrived it was raining, and it was cold. Needless to say, the trip wasn't the fabulously exotic trip I imagined it to be. I left thinking that Prague was not that great. Now when I look back at the pictures, I think that the city didn't get a fair chance to show its glory. Maybe someday we will go back again. But I can assure you it'll be in the summer and without small children!

The best part about the trip was shopping for crystal. We bought some beautiful glasses that have a very typical design for that area. I do love my crystal glasses, so the trip was definitely worth it!

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. The church is 600 years old an example of Gothic architecture.

This astronomical clock is in the Old Town Square. Parts of it date all the way back to the 1400s. Every hour figures emerge from the clock.

I liked the music that this man was playing on this unique-looking instrument.

Interior of St. Vitus Cathedral.

The four pictures below: Outside of Prague Castle.

A view of the city with St. Nicholas church on the left.

I believe this is Vitus Cathedral.

Unfortunately we did not get to see the Old Jewish Cemetery because it was Saturday which is the Jewish Sabbath. Looking back I wish I could have a "do-over" with Prague. The city has so much to offer.



(As a side note, Jonathan asked me why I was taking pictures of the glasses. I ended up telling him about our trip to Prague and how he didn't want to sleep etc. He scrunched up his face and replied, "I no way happy about that!" )

Tuesday's with Dorie: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Yet another recipe that is perfect for this season. These easy-to-make cookies will fill your house with a wonderful spicy smell that will make your mouth water for one cookie after another. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, these cookies are wonderful by themselves or equally delightful dunked in a glass of cold milk.

Thanks to Pam of Cookies with the Boys for choosing this recipe. Check out her blog to see other great TWD recipes, and be sure to stop by next week when she posts the recipe for this cookie!

Twenty Years Ago Today

This week, America has seen a lot of tragedy. Thirteen servicemen and women were killed and more than 30 other wounded at Fort Hood Army Post. Worst of all, it was a member of the military who was responsible for the shootings. Was this a soldier suffering from the PSD? No. He was a Muslim, and unfortunately he aligned himself with the extremists. He had even attempted to contact Al-Qaeda. The war, it seems, has been brought back onto American soil.

The very next day, someone who had been let go by his company for poor performance in Orlando, Florida, shot people in his office building killing one person and injuring others. In light of what happened to my brother-in-law just two short months ago, news like this is almost unbearable. The world seems like such a dark and scary place sometimes.

But today have reason to celebrate. Today marks 20 years to the day when the Berlin wall came down. I remember watching it on television. Streams of people were crossing the once forbidden border--the barrier between East and West, between liberty and tyranny--ecstatic at their new taste of freedom. A journey that once cost people their lives was now being taken peacefully by thousands. As I watched that historic event, I knew that someday I too would visit that wall and cross that border.

Freedom and liberty are a gift--one that should not be taken for granted. I hope as we commemorate this day where freedom prevailed, that we will ponder our own freedom and the responsibility we have to preserve it. I am grateful those who have sacrificed their time or who have given their lives in defending the cause of freedom.

I am proud that it was an American President who called upon Mr. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

Air Show at Randolph AFB

Ask anyone in the Air Force and they will tell you that this is the sound of "freedom and air superiority."

You'll have to cover your ears though, or that sound of freedom might take away your hearing.

We couldn't have had better weather. It was warm with a cool breeze--perfect for investigating all the different types of aircraft.

Left to right: Jonathan, Tylee, Jeanelle, Tommy, Ty

The pilots were performing all kinds of fantastic tricks for the air show. It was difficult to capture most of it due to the position of the sun and the speed of the planes, but here is one little clip:

,,Ich bin ein Berliner"

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to Berlin. We lived in Germany for almost three years before returning to the city where I served my mission. I had forgotten how huge the city is until we tried seeing the whole thing in one weekend. We just hit the highlights.

Our first stop? The zoo. There were all sorts of cool animals and a petting zoo for kids.

Did you know the hippo is one of the most, if not the most dangerous animal in Africa? If you've never heard one roar, it would probably startle you. It shook the very ground I was standing on.















Later that evening, we headed to the Brandenburg Gate. The Germans were celebrating 20 years of unity and 60 years of democracy. There was a huge party at the Brandenburg Gate. There were bands, bratwurst, crepes, beverages, and other items for sale in little booths lining the famous Unter den Lindenstrasse which means "Under the Lime-Trees Avenue."









On the way there, we saw the Holocaust Memorial. This was not there when I was on my mission. At first we thought it was some sort of modern park. A lot of people were sitting on the cement blocks. Jonathan and Erik had a good time hopping from one to another, and running in between it like it was a giant maze.






There were some German tanks at the party and Jonathan got to sit in one of them.








The next day we passed by the Gedaechtniskirche or Memorial Church. During the 1930s, this church was nicknamed the "Nazi Church." If you look closely, you can see that the building on the right is the old church that was bombed during WWII. The building on the left is the modern church building. It's very different inside.









And, of course, the wall...

These bricks mark where the wall used to stand.

A memorial to those who were killed trying to cross the border.

...the Brandenburg Gate the day after the party...












...Checkpoint Charlie...

I got my passport stamped with seven different historical stamps.

...the Pergamon Museum...



The pictures to do not do the collection justice. We saw many great artifacts and architecture from Pergamon (an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey) and other middle-eastern locations.

See that piece of "paper?" It's significant because it is the first time artists started to sign their work.

The Great Alter of Pergamon

...the place where they burned books across from Humboldt University...

Around 25,000 books that were considered "un-German," i.e. those that did not correspond with the Nazi ideology, were burned by members of the German Student Association.

Humboldt University

Can you see the empty shelves? They represent the space that the burned books would occupy had they not been burned.

...the Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral...

One piece of art looking questioningly at...

another piece of art.

The boys had a good time at this fountain across from the Berliner Dom. At one point, Jonathan started to strip down in his preparation to take a dip in the cool water. We put a stop to that even though another kid was doing it. Iknow--we're such purdish Americans.

...a view of the city including the "Rotes Rautenhaus" or red city hall and the T.V. tower...








...the Reichstag or Parlementary Building









...Charlottenburg Palace...



Ironically enough, we did not have time to go inside the palace even though our hotel was very close to this landmark.




And of course, no trip to Berlin would be complete without seeing a Trabant. It's a classic!








By the end our two little munchies were tuckered out. Here they are, asleep, in the same stroller. Our beloved $9 umbrella stroller that we bought at the NEX in Iceland was on its last leg and finally gave way on this trip. I was running across the street with Jonathan inside when suddenly it became extremely difficult to push. The stroller, which had accompanied us on our many adventures across Europe, had to be left behind in Berlin.



What good little troopers. 5/29