Prague: The Best Place On Earth

Shea had a lot of time off during Christmas.  He started to get kind of annoying around the flat. So, to save my sanity, we booked a last minute holiday to Prague. Prague is my new favourite destination.  From the moment we found our hotel, I was in love with this place.  It is a very easy city to navigate, the people are wonderful, and the beer was a-plenty!

The Christmas Market was still packed with people and booths. The tree was beautiful among the old buildings. 

Shea with his one liter of beer, making my wine look tiny. 

The Astronomical Clock in Old Town.  We never did see it's glockenspiel-style show of marching apostles and dancing creatures.  

While in Prague, it snowed and it was cold.  Like really cold!  I think Shea and I have lost a bit of our "Canadian-ness" because -7 Degrees Celsius was basically unbearable for us.  We also don't own winter clothes in London so we had to make a few purchases in Prague.

Shea in his new toque. He had not seen snow since early 2013.

Equipped with some winter wool, we were now ready to really explore Prague!

The Charles Bridge was an especially beautiful sight!

One of the towers of the Charles Bridge.

Our next stop was to the Jewish Museum (which should be named the Jewish Museums as it is comprised of six different buildings).  Here we learnt about the horrific history of the Jewish people of Prague from being confined to this small area of the city in the 13th century to the loss 88,000 Jewish residents during WWII.  Interestingly, Hitler had planned to use this centre as a "museum to a vanished race."

This is the Old Jewish Cemetery which dates back to the 15 century when Jews couldn't bury their dead outside the ghetto.  There are 20,000 - 80,000 deceased people in this one block cemetery (I know, that's a pretty poor estimate).  In some places, the dead are stacked 12 bodies deep.  

Another part of the Museum (the Pinkas Synagogue) displays the painted names of 77,297 Czech Jews who died under the Nazi regime.  There is also a display of artwork by Jewish children who were interned at Terezin Nazi camp. Pictures are not permitted in these areas so I "borrowed" some.

From: https://www.wmf.org/project/pinkas-synagogue
Every wall is covered with names.

From: https://aoxford.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/tour-de-jewish-quarter/

From: http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g274707-d4096675-i145633854-Pinkas_Synagogue-Prague_Bohemia.html

The next attraction on the list was Prague Castle. It's more of tiny city that overlooks Prague then the castle of Prague.  Inside the walls are churches, palaces, buildings, shops and alleys.

St. Vitus Cathedral inside Prague Castle on a cold, snowy day.

One of the many stained glass windows of the Cathedral.  Building began in 1344 and was not completed until the 20th century.  As a result, some windows look very modern in comparison to others. 

Prague is down there somewhere...

Another church on Castle grounds.  This is St. George's Basilica and it was about as cold inside the church as it was outside. 

After seeing the big sights, we spent some time wondering the small alleyways and various parks.  Also, we drank beer.

Our hotel had told us about a Lennon Wall. It became a must-see no matter what the temperature and how far it took to get there!

We assume this sign says that bicyclists love to hit pedestrians...

This is why I love Prague! The buildings are so unique and the river banks are wonderful to stroll along. Even in the cold.

Shea posing with Charles Bridge. 

Beer time! Also, my hair was in a toque all day and was still straight. Prague is an amazing city!

We are already planning to visit Prague again in the summer. For anyone planning to visit this amazing city, I recommend staying at Hotel Residence Agnes.  No hotel that we have ever stayed at has come close to the level of service we received while being their guests.  We cannot wait to be back!

Christmas in London

We finally found the time to stay in London for Christmas.  It's actually a long story that ends happily with us having UK driver's licenses but to do that we had to turn in all our government ID...  Hence, us not travelling through the holiday.  

This decision to stay was a wonderful experience!  We got to decorate our flat a bit with outdoor lights and a Festivus pole.  We also got to see our kitties through the holidays and Shea had some time to relax at home (he had a lot of time off).  Most importantly, we got to spend the holidays with some friends and we cooked our first turkey ever (well, actually, one of our guests did most of the work but I ordered it!).  It was a great time to relax a bit in the morning and relive our own family traditions that we were used to in Canada (mainly, a lazy morning) and I got to try to make some traditional Ukrainian dishes for Christmas Eve.  

December started with Shea and I celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. Because I am a clever wife (and have brilliant friends), Shea got a Scotch Advent Calendar.   

Shea and his count-down to Christmas.

 Not really in line with the Christmas spirit (or in line with how one should spend their wedding anniversary), I went to see Madonna in concert.  It was an amazing show and I totally recommend it if you get the chance.  She is not as spry as she used to be but Madonna still puts on a fantastic show.

The stage. None of my pics during the concert turned out.

Next activity to get into the Christmas spirit was to see Elf The Musical. It was the complete opposite of the movie: loved the second half; the first half was quite dull.  

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. 

 Up next, Christmas baking!

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This was my first attempt at Grandma's whipped shortbread.  I had to make two more batches to get it right.  Shea did not mind!

I also made perogies!  They turned out very well. 

Up next was to figure out how to decorate the flat without cramping our style. We talked about getting a real tree but it seemed too traditional for our modern-looking flat. So we decided to go Seinfield style with a Festivus Pole. 

The Festivus Pole.

We did pick a British theme...

 At one point we also attended Handel's Messiah, performed by the London Orchestra.  It was in the Royal Albert Hall and no pictures turned out.  The Hall is beautiful though. I recommend seeing something there.

A very European thing to do is to attend a Christmas Market.  London have a few options with our favourite being Winter Wonderland.  It's even better when your friends join in the festivities!

Krystal and I after being accessorised by a drunk neighbour.  

We all got decorated!

Then there was this creepy talking puppet thing. I cannot explain other than it was huge and creepy!

After that, it was Christmas Eve.  My family has always done a very traditional dinner on this night with no meat (although bacon wrapped something seems to sneak through every once in awhile).  So I slaved all day, trying to recreate part of this meal.  It turned out okay, considering it was my first attempt.

First dish of the night: Kutya. I have no farmers here to get the wheat from but the stuff from Waitrose was okay.  

Second dish: Mushroom soup. I went to the Polish grocery store and they had mushrooms (all in Polish).  We guessed what we should do and it actually turned out perfectly. Note the bacon-wrapped sausages in the back to break with no-meat tradition. 

Shea enjoying the soup.

Samson being cute.

The rest of the meal.  The cabbage rolls became "lazy" because the cabbage was not thin enough here.  But look at those perogies!

Our Christmas Eve picture in our ugly Christmas jumpers.

Then it was Christmas Day!!!  Time for a sleep-in and presents!

The Brits don't really do stockings. They do sacks which is way better!  You can fit all the gifts into it and they are super cute!

Evea was in the Christmas spirit. 

I got a special gift from home. It was the biggest gift for me and the card attached said "Thank you for being my friend!"

Our Festivus pole fully decorated with Christmas cards. 

The traditional Christmas beer tasting. 

Our Christmas turkey! It looks small but we were eating this for days.

After Christmas, we had enough time to catch our breathe and get ready for New Years Eve.  We joined some friends in West London and brought in the 2016 singing and dancing to the greatest ballads.

Happy New Year!

Shannon and I enjoying the night.

Ben and Rea starting a new band. 

And that was Christmas.  It was one of the best holiday seasons we have ever had; so relaxed, stress-free, and full of the people we love spending time with in London.

Africa Part 3

Our final stretch of our Africa adventure was the Northern Serengeti.  We once again hopped on a tiny plane and took the milk run to the northern-most point of Tanzania.  We once again landed in a field where a safari truck picked us up and drove us to our new camp.

The unfortunate part of this journey was the fact that we picked up a bit of food poisoning which made being in the Serengeti a bit less enjoyable.  Shea was far worse off than I was so he missed seeing some of the sights. I was able to push through though and went on safari twice a day every day!

We had been disappointed with the lack of giraffes so far on our journey.  Shea's grandma is a big giraffe fan so our goal was to get some fantastic shots of the animal.  Thankfully, the Serengeti delivered. We saw giraffes everywhere!

One of the many giraffes roaming the plain.

The Serengeti giraffe has not been affected by the skin disease yet. This would explain the large herds we got to witness.

A shallow part of the River Mara where the great migration takes place.

The River Mara is also home to plenty of hippos, and...

HUGE crocodiles! 

They have some awesome lizards too! We called this one Super Lizard because he is blue and red. He also showed off his super strength by doing a few push-ups for us.

This zebra had been killed a few hours before we saw it.  It was right near our camp so I checked on it every day to see the progress of it being eaten.  It NEVER did!  Some animal just killed it and decided it wasn't hungry. Then all the other carnivorous animals didn't eat it either. What a waste!

There were a lot of dead things all over the Serengeti. I guess that is why no one was eating my zebra. 

"I bless brought the rains down in Africa!" Yep, it rained while we were there. A few times.

Some giraffes walking along the horizon. 

We found this pride with their fresh dinner.

Even the little ones were chowing down...

And playing with their food.

The last of the big cats to see: the majestic cheetah.

Surveying her territory.

Look at those skinny legs!

More giraffe!

We also got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets on the Serengeti. 

Mamma with her newborn. This little one is only a few hours old and still had baby goo on her back. 

A giraffe drinking. 

Most people go to the Serengeti to watch the great migration: herd animals flocking from one side of the river to the other in search of grass.  I really did not want to see anything die while in Africa and had been good up to this point.  I had heard stories from others who saw over 200 wildebeests die while crossing in one sighting.  That does not sound like a fun thing to watch.  Reluctantly, I did see a migration take place which was spectacular because not one animal died!

The wildebeests gathering together getting ready to go down a valley into the River Mara.

The beginning of the crossing. They all just jump into the water and start swimming. We did see some crocodile around but they must have been full because everyone made it across safely and no one broke any legs jumping into the river. 

Arriving safe on the other side.

 I was ecstatic that no animals were injured or died while watching this natural phenomenon!

Warthog with babies.  They are so ugly that they are kind of cute especially when they run with their tails up in the air.

It's tough being king.

Another beautiful sunset. Our camp set up a bar by the river so we could have a drink while watching the sun set while listening to the hilarious noises of the majestic hippo.  

 We got a second chance to see rhinos in the Serengeti. This time, the encounter was much closer and a two month old baby was involved!  These are black rhinos because the baby follows mom. The baby will walk in front of mom in the white rhino species.

Look at that horn.  Too bad these animals are expected to be extinct in five years because of it. 

They were a wonderful sight to watch as they strolled by. 

More lions!

Evea makes that same face when she sleeps!

This young lad found a pretty good spot for a nap in the shade while still being able to watch the herds pass by.

Seriously, more giraffe! 

Selfie on the one day Shea actually felt better from the food poisoning.  

I am Africa!

We heard a great story about hippos from our guide.  If you don't know, when a hippo poops, he uses his tail to fling the poop everywhere (and I mean everywhere).  When God created the hippo, He was suspicious that they were eating all the fish from the rivers.  God did not like that and got angry at the hippo. The hippo told God that he wasn't eating any fish and to prove it, every time he yawned, he would have to open his mouth wide to the heavens to show God that there were no fish in his belly. This was not enough to satisfy God so the hippo told God that every time he pooped, he would break up the poop to show God that there were no fish bones. Finally, God agreed and to this day, all hippos yawn to the heavens and flick their poop to show that they do not eat fish, only grass.

And one last shot of a hippo because they are so funny.  

Our safari finally came to an end.  Shea was very sick by the time we arrived back in London.  His food poisoning morphed into a burnt esophagus which allowed him to lose over 15 pounds in just a few days (we called it Tanzinitis).  He is not Africa. In fact, Africa kicked is butt.

Overall, we did have a wonderful time seeing all the animals, ecosystems and people Tanzania has to offer.  It was a trip of a lifetime in that I don't see us going back unless it's to see the gorilla and the meerkat. We saw the Big Five, the little five, the five others and the five more. And most importantly, no animals died!