Today we had to say goodbye to Prague. We enjoyed a walk through the city and pastries for breakfast before being picked up at 10:30 for our 1pm flight.
Our Germanwings flight gave us a 2 hour layover in Colonge/Bonn, Germany. Perfect for Brady and me; we both want to add as many countries to our "been there' list as possible. And yes, airports DO count. :)
We arrived in Venice right after sunset....and after a day of rain, their skies were clear. We took a vaparetto to our stop and immediately got lost....in a good way. It didn't take long for us to figure out our way to our apartment and WOW, it was even better than we could have ever hoped. It's on the corner of 2 canals; we could hear the water and small boats passing.. Seriously, we have 6 windows bordering 2 canals! It's an amazing place, in a great area... I would highly recommend renting it if you ever visit Venice.
We decided to stumble over to the restaurant in our "backyard" (the other side of the canal from our bedroom), Restaurant Diana. We were seated for dinner at about 10:40pm. We were way too stupid and discombobulated to figure out what we wanted (beside the pasta courses) so our server helped us out. *****SIDE NOTE: YES, I have taken amazing pictures of every bit of food that has entered my mouth. And yes, I will post them just as soon as I can. Computer access is a lot iffy-er here than I expected.
Our server started us out with the house red wine (crappy but still delish...heck, we're in ITALY, for pete's sake!) and helped us choose a fish plater for our starter. It was HUGE and amazing. We had tuna and swordfish carpaccio, shrimp octopus, sardines and bakala. I had a "uhoh, gonna puke" moment with the bakala but besides that, everything was absolutely delicious.
After that, we were seved our pastas....AMAZING. We had gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts and spaghetti pomodoro...simple and delicious.
Our final course was the fish. OH MY. They brought out a platter the size of my suitcase and on it was a whole seabass and a whole flounder both of which he boned tableside. They were so good. I even ate the flounder skin....mmmm....crispy, like a fish potato chip. YUM! We were also served a monkfish in an olive and tomato sauce. It was our favorite...so good....words really can't describe it.
We were given a glass of limencello at the end of the meal. We didn't finish eating until 12:4o. It was expensive and delicious and one of my favorite meals of my life. My kids were so well behaved AND they tried EVERYTHING. I was so proud of them. Thinking about that meal, just the THOUGHT of it, will make me smile for the rest of my life. :)
What a way to start our short stay in Venice!!! Tomorrow we'll explore the city.....
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Day 4 7/28
After my night of sleeplessness, I was able to fall back asleep for 2 hours. WOO HOO!!! We all left the apartment to head to the train station, stopping for pastries along the way. YUM!
In keeping with our current vacation tradition, we missd our train by a minute or less. So, we waited for the next train (an hour and 15 minutes) and hopped on.
WOW, what a cool experience!!! I've never ridden trains. It was so fun. I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie. During our hour long train ride, I SLEPT (WOOHOO!) and the boy played cards. Once we got to Kutna Hora, we visited the Bone Church. It was amazing; words can't begin to describe it.. Google it and you can see pics (until I can upload my own). From the bone church we walked to the grocery store where we spent $10 to get baguettes, cheese, salami, juice, fruit and yogurt (and some for me, the sauce snob) to make ourselves a lunch. It was delicious. We spent about 3 hours exploring. We did NOT want to miss the 6:01 train back to Prague so we all ran and it worked! We arrived with minutes to spare. The ride back was similar: I slept while the boys played cards.
After getting back home, we changed and went to dinner at a cute little Italian place. We shared a Margarita pizza for a starter and Troy got spaghetti carbonara and the rest of us got 4 cheese gnocchi. It was all pretty good. We stopped for gelato on our way "home". Brady stopped to buy himself a Czech Jagr hockey jersey. We're flying to Venice tomorrow (via Bonn, Germany) so we tried to get to bed early after packing up all our stuff.
In keeping with our current vacation tradition, we missd our train by a minute or less. So, we waited for the next train (an hour and 15 minutes) and hopped on.
WOW, what a cool experience!!! I've never ridden trains. It was so fun. I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie. During our hour long train ride, I SLEPT (WOOHOO!) and the boy played cards. Once we got to Kutna Hora, we visited the Bone Church. It was amazing; words can't begin to describe it.. Google it and you can see pics (until I can upload my own). From the bone church we walked to the grocery store where we spent $10 to get baguettes, cheese, salami, juice, fruit and yogurt (and some for me, the sauce snob) to make ourselves a lunch. It was delicious. We spent about 3 hours exploring. We did NOT want to miss the 6:01 train back to Prague so we all ran and it worked! We arrived with minutes to spare. The ride back was similar: I slept while the boys played cards.
After getting back home, we changed and went to dinner at a cute little Italian place. We shared a Margarita pizza for a starter and Troy got spaghetti carbonara and the rest of us got 4 cheese gnocchi. It was all pretty good. We stopped for gelato on our way "home". Brady stopped to buy himself a Czech Jagr hockey jersey. We're flying to Venice tomorrow (via Bonn, Germany) so we tried to get to bed early after packing up all our stuff.
I've reall enjoyed visiting Prague. The archicteture is amazing! The women here are definitely the most beautiful women in the world. They have eyes like Huskies, golden skin and beautiful bone structure. Nearly everyone we met was very kind and worked hard to try to understand us. Unlike some of the other European languages, Czech isn't derived from Latin so it's difficult to try to use deductive reasoning to figure it out.
During the time that my luggage was lost, I didn't have access to a razor. I thought "No problem, I'll go European for a few days!" Boy, was I wrong. THAT is no longer the case here....women definitely shave their legs--except ME for about 48 hours....ewwwww. :)
One more interesting note about Prague: there are really expensive cars everywhere: Maseratis, Aston Martins, Porches, Mercedes, Alfa Romeos, Bugatis....they're EVERYWHERE. I don't get it...WHO can afford all those cars.
VENICE tomorrow!!!
:)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 3...7/27
We woke up early and headed to Bohemia Bagel for breakfast 'n' blog. Afterward, we went to Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter of town. It was absolutely beautiful with it's old synagogues and buildings.
Our luggage was supposed to arrive at 11 (which it DID NOT) so after an hour of waiting at our apartment, we decided to head out to lunch. We had pivos, sprites and some odd Czech fare: sausages (salty and gamey), some delicious rye bread, garlic toast, fried cheddar jalapenos (their version of the jalapeno popper?) and the "fragrant" cheese platter. The cheese was so weird....Roquefort (yum) and some sort of soft white cheese that tasted exactly like manure smells (REALLY.) and the worst....a gelatinous golden colored blob of "cheese" that looked like Shrek's snot and tasted like manure would TASTE (if I had to try it). Weird but fun....I WILL try any food once....AND everyone in my family tried everything. GO US! :)
After lunch we went on the subway to Vysehrad, a large citadel. We had to hustle back to the apartment to get there in time to meet the people bringing our luggage (fyi...hating Delta right about now). Our luggage arrived-FINALLY- and we bolted to go see Prague Castle. It was very beautiful. I had the honor of being shoved aside (HARD) by a guard whose way I got in. COOL!
After visiting the castle, we wandered back to the other side of town, stopping along the way for a pivo break. We decided to try a meal of traditional Czech fare.....and we were all lured into the restaurant by the sight of big, beautiful pretzels hanging on a stand in the center of each table. We seated ourselves and immediately started eating the pretzels. Troy looked around and noticed that NOBODY else was eating the pretzels. Our server walked up then (at which point ALL 5 of us hid our pretzels like a bunch of naughty kids) and Troy asked him about them...turns out that they were 75 cents each! Proof that the Andersons can be dorks on any continent.
Dinner was interesting and delicious. Troy and all the boys ordered Czech ribs...a lot like the American version minus the BBQ sauce but served with garlic mayo and a Czech BBQ type sauce. I went even ore traditional and ordered the "knee of pork", It was the whole knee of a pig served on a tiny little spit with 4 sauces: coarse dijon, smooth dijon, horseradish and the weird Czech BBQ sauce. It was very good.
I also ordered a bowl of goulash, a traditional Czech soup. NO...stop right there!!!! It's not the same goulash you're thinking of with the elbow macaroni that we'd occasionally eat in th e70's. This was a rich, garlicky tomato based brothe with big chunks of potatoes and tender bits of beef. Easily the best thing I've had here. Of course, nobody in my family loved it the way I did...taste is so subjective. :)
After dinner, we wandered for hours. At the Kafka museum we saw statues of 2 naked men peeing (which my kids LOVED...OK, I did too), in a park we saw giant bronze statues of naked babies crawling (which again, my kids LOVED) and we saw a huge free concert on a bridge. It was weird Slavic music so we moved on. We walked past the site of the Velvet Revolution (the quiet protest that ended Communism in the Czech Republic in 1989). We moved on to the famous beer hall, U Flecku. It's a huge tourist trap but it's the oldest beer hall in town---it's been running since 1499. They make their own beer, which we sampled and the kids had a Fanta before heading "home" (which really, our apartment is like home now and it's probably bigger!).
After going to bed, I slept for 2.5 hours before insomnia struck. I guess I spoke too soon about beating insomnia, huh? :) Our plan for Wednesday is to head out by train an hour east to visit Kutna Hora and the famous "bone church" there. Maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll be able to sleep on the train rides!
:)
Our luggage was supposed to arrive at 11 (which it DID NOT) so after an hour of waiting at our apartment, we decided to head out to lunch. We had pivos, sprites and some odd Czech fare: sausages (salty and gamey), some delicious rye bread, garlic toast, fried cheddar jalapenos (their version of the jalapeno popper?) and the "fragrant" cheese platter. The cheese was so weird....Roquefort (yum) and some sort of soft white cheese that tasted exactly like manure smells (REALLY.) and the worst....a gelatinous golden colored blob of "cheese" that looked like Shrek's snot and tasted like manure would TASTE (if I had to try it). Weird but fun....I WILL try any food once....AND everyone in my family tried everything. GO US! :)
After lunch we went on the subway to Vysehrad, a large citadel. We had to hustle back to the apartment to get there in time to meet the people bringing our luggage (fyi...hating Delta right about now). Our luggage arrived-FINALLY- and we bolted to go see Prague Castle. It was very beautiful. I had the honor of being shoved aside (HARD) by a guard whose way I got in. COOL!
After visiting the castle, we wandered back to the other side of town, stopping along the way for a pivo break. We decided to try a meal of traditional Czech fare.....and we were all lured into the restaurant by the sight of big, beautiful pretzels hanging on a stand in the center of each table. We seated ourselves and immediately started eating the pretzels. Troy looked around and noticed that NOBODY else was eating the pretzels. Our server walked up then (at which point ALL 5 of us hid our pretzels like a bunch of naughty kids) and Troy asked him about them...turns out that they were 75 cents each! Proof that the Andersons can be dorks on any continent.
Dinner was interesting and delicious. Troy and all the boys ordered Czech ribs...a lot like the American version minus the BBQ sauce but served with garlic mayo and a Czech BBQ type sauce. I went even ore traditional and ordered the "knee of pork", It was the whole knee of a pig served on a tiny little spit with 4 sauces: coarse dijon, smooth dijon, horseradish and the weird Czech BBQ sauce. It was very good.
I also ordered a bowl of goulash, a traditional Czech soup. NO...stop right there!!!! It's not the same goulash you're thinking of with the elbow macaroni that we'd occasionally eat in th e70's. This was a rich, garlicky tomato based brothe with big chunks of potatoes and tender bits of beef. Easily the best thing I've had here. Of course, nobody in my family loved it the way I did...taste is so subjective. :)
After dinner, we wandered for hours. At the Kafka museum we saw statues of 2 naked men peeing (which my kids LOVED...OK, I did too), in a park we saw giant bronze statues of naked babies crawling (which again, my kids LOVED) and we saw a huge free concert on a bridge. It was weird Slavic music so we moved on. We walked past the site of the Velvet Revolution (the quiet protest that ended Communism in the Czech Republic in 1989). We moved on to the famous beer hall, U Flecku. It's a huge tourist trap but it's the oldest beer hall in town---it's been running since 1499. They make their own beer, which we sampled and the kids had a Fanta before heading "home" (which really, our apartment is like home now and it's probably bigger!).
After going to bed, I slept for 2.5 hours before insomnia struck. I guess I spoke too soon about beating insomnia, huh? :) Our plan for Wednesday is to head out by train an hour east to visit Kutna Hora and the famous "bone church" there. Maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll be able to sleep on the train rides!
:)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 2...7/26
After arriving in Prague we began to EXPLORE!
Our apartment is AMAZING! It's huge, with 3 bedrooms and tons of extra space. We dropped off our stuff and I took a quick shower. ***side note....our 2 checked bags didn't make it yet so I'm living off of my emergency clothes. Which didn't bother me at all. Am I growing up finally??? We left our apartment and walked about 30 steps to Old Town Square where we stopped for a couple of pivos (beers) and some cokes for the kids. After that we just walked and walked and walked. The city is beautiful...it's easy to get happily lost on all the cobbled streets.
We stopped and got chicken gyros (I love my gyros) and later, some really expensive, delicious ice cream. We were back to the apartment by 8:30 and I was fast asleep by 9. I woke up for about an hour and a half at 3am but was able to fall back asleep until 6. I BEAT JET LAG!!!! We all did. :) Woo hoo!!!
Until tomorrow....
:)
Our apartment is AMAZING! It's huge, with 3 bedrooms and tons of extra space. We dropped off our stuff and I took a quick shower. ***side note....our 2 checked bags didn't make it yet so I'm living off of my emergency clothes. Which didn't bother me at all. Am I growing up finally??? We left our apartment and walked about 30 steps to Old Town Square where we stopped for a couple of pivos (beers) and some cokes for the kids. After that we just walked and walked and walked. The city is beautiful...it's easy to get happily lost on all the cobbled streets.
We stopped and got chicken gyros (I love my gyros) and later, some really expensive, delicious ice cream. We were back to the apartment by 8:30 and I was fast asleep by 9. I woke up for about an hour and a half at 3am but was able to fall back asleep until 6. I BEAT JET LAG!!!! We all did. :) Woo hoo!!!
Until tomorrow....
:)
7/25...Day 1
Wow, what a ride. What started as 2 simple flights from Minneapolis to Atlanta to Prague very rapidly turned into a complicated series of flights. Brady, Ike and I arrived in Prague at 3:00 pm on 7/26 and Troy and Tommy arrived about 5 hours prior.
So....what have we seen so far?
Even with all the flight changes, we had amazing customer service from Delta (from a chick that Brady thought looked like Lady Gaga and another with the coolest hair I've ever seen). I'm pretty sure that Ike and Brady were perusing the nudie magazines at the airport during one of my frequent bathroom visits....no more water for me in airports.
After all the changes, the first leg of our trip was the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. We were seated next to a very nice man with an adorable baby who was screaming his head off. The flight attendant (now my favorite person in the world) decided to move them to be closer to mom. AND, she replaced them with a good looking guy who was also incredibly kind, especially considering that Ike slept with his head on the dude's shoulder for hours.
The second leg of our trip started off with a sweaty bang. We had a short connection in Amsterdam. We had to run to get there and ended up being declined for boarding...we were just a couple of minutes too late. We made the best of our three hour wait by going to a restaurant (SHOCKING....ME? FOOD???) and sampling some food. We tried paninis, an amazing Greek salad, some fruit and the BEST chicken soup ever. It was definitely fun. The people watching was STELLAR. The women in Europe are beautiful and the men are so handsome. It seems like everyone is skinny, dressed super cook and wayyyyy classier than I could ever dream of being.
We eventually made it on to our flight to Prague and were able to nap a bit. We FINALLY made it into Prague at 3:00, about 6 hours late. It's a beautiful city...I can't wait to explore it!!! :)
Let the adventures begin!!!
ps....If I can put a description of the last 24 hours into a nutshell it would go something like this:
LOOKS like: beautiful European people
SMELLS like: SWASS (with the underlying hope that the smell isn't coming from me)
TASTES like: amazing food from, of all things, an airport cafe
SOUNDS like: oodles of unidentifiable languages.
FEELS like: an exhausted satisfaction of FINALLY ARRIVING.
:)
So....what have we seen so far?
Even with all the flight changes, we had amazing customer service from Delta (from a chick that Brady thought looked like Lady Gaga and another with the coolest hair I've ever seen). I'm pretty sure that Ike and Brady were perusing the nudie magazines at the airport during one of my frequent bathroom visits....no more water for me in airports.
After all the changes, the first leg of our trip was the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. We were seated next to a very nice man with an adorable baby who was screaming his head off. The flight attendant (now my favorite person in the world) decided to move them to be closer to mom. AND, she replaced them with a good looking guy who was also incredibly kind, especially considering that Ike slept with his head on the dude's shoulder for hours.
The second leg of our trip started off with a sweaty bang. We had a short connection in Amsterdam. We had to run to get there and ended up being declined for boarding...we were just a couple of minutes too late. We made the best of our three hour wait by going to a restaurant (SHOCKING....ME? FOOD???) and sampling some food. We tried paninis, an amazing Greek salad, some fruit and the BEST chicken soup ever. It was definitely fun. The people watching was STELLAR. The women in Europe are beautiful and the men are so handsome. It seems like everyone is skinny, dressed super cook and wayyyyy classier than I could ever dream of being.
We eventually made it on to our flight to Prague and were able to nap a bit. We FINALLY made it into Prague at 3:00, about 6 hours late. It's a beautiful city...I can't wait to explore it!!! :)
Let the adventures begin!!!
ps....If I can put a description of the last 24 hours into a nutshell it would go something like this:
LOOKS like: beautiful European people
SMELLS like: SWASS (with the underlying hope that the smell isn't coming from me)
TASTES like: amazing food from, of all things, an airport cafe
SOUNDS like: oodles of unidentifiable languages.
FEELS like: an exhausted satisfaction of FINALLY ARRIVING.
:)
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