Merry Christmas, Veselé Vánoce!
Well what an exciting month Prague residents have had. The big freeze bought with it masses of snow and traffic chaos. Walking the streets became rather difficult, especially if you had to push a pram, often a sled was the sensible alternative. Christmas concerts, kindergarten carols, ice skating and sledding have kept us all rather busy, sadly we’ve also been rather sick but are over the worst!
December began with our Mikulas Christmas Cruise on the Vltava, we were lucky that the whole river did not freeze and I half expected icebergs to go sailing by, all-in-all it was a fantastic start to Christmas. Many kids had their first encounter with Mikulas, Angel and Devil which left quite an impression - my daughter Lucie has become a master at drawing these three characters since. And I have to say Darina, looking at the photo below on the deck of our boat, it’s no wonder you have been so ill!!
The walk or drive to school has been challenging. First, as a pedestrian you have to negotiate the huge snow drifts that build up on the street, secondly snow gives way to slippery ice and thirdly, the 6 story high buildings start releasing deadly icicles or huge dumps of snow. Around the corner from us there was a car with a bonnet that looked like it had been hit by a meteor! As a motorist your car feels like it is on skates, if it’s not then another car will be and head dangerously towards you - as Darina found out - thankfully she was able to dodge the wayward vehicle! Finding your car is also a challenge, especially if you can’t quite remember where you parked it, cleaning off the car also takes time and impossible without ski gloves on.
The Christmas Markets have been great entertainment for families this year, our local (Namesti Jiriho z Podebrad) has expanded to include the regular food markets. It’s a nice treat to go out into the cold and buy Svarak (Mulled Wine) whilst the kids play around under the Christmas tree! We’ve also ventured into Starometske Namesti (Old Town Square) to check out the tree, markets and decorations at night - this is highly recommended, although busy - it’s magical for kids.
Karen has been treating her boys (and herself) to regular iceskating throughout December, her eldest is particularly keen on this sport. It’s a fantastic way to tire out active boys!!
Our playground visits are no longer possible as everything is under snow - instead we join other families sledding down the various hills in Riegrovy Sady - Lucie, Mango (our dog) and I slid from Sokol all the way to Italska Street in the dark (although it was only 5pm), another dad told me he pulled his son on a sled from Vinohrady right down to Mustek!
Anyway, with Christmas fast approaching Darina, Karen and I would like to wish you all a very happy and fun holiday season - wherever you happen to be!
After Christmas I will be heading to Australia for a while, as will Karen, Darina will be holding the fort - thank you D! Despite our southern location we will continue to publish once a week throughout the holiday - there are lots of interesting stories and activities that we must share with you so please keep an eye out for these.
Again, all the best and good health to you and your families and thank you for your support reading our blog!
