Vesele Velikonoce Katie!

We were lucky to have Katie visiting for Easter from London. We had a relaxing weekend of sightseeing and Easter traditions and, believe it or not, it is starting to warm up a bit!

A night walk along the river when she arrived:

On Saturday, we took a short trip to Konopiste, the castle of the fair Franz Ferdinand. Alex arrived first by bicycle (of course):

When Katie, Joe and Tina arrived (after only 2 stops on the train!), we took a short hike through the woods:

After seeing the castle we had a relaxing lunch. Looking cool in the bike outfit (if you haven't registered for the 2006 DoubleDay you can register online at www.alsa-ec.org. We'll be there!):


The rose garden probably looks nicer in the summer but we thought it was time for a group photo:

You may have seen this view before but we've changed the cast of characters (It's my favorite view of Prague - from Vysehrad):

Easter Sunday in Prague is, we think, an Italian national holiday. We heard more Italian all weekend than any other language. On Easter Sunday we found a nearby church that advertised an English service. However, we became nervous that they would switch the service to Italian after it became apparent that 90% of the worshippers were from Italy.

Happy Easter! The Czech Easter Monday tradition is for the males to whip the females with a pomalazku (stick made of willow branches). It is supposed to bring health and fertility. Fresh willow branches are used to connect this event with the beginning of spring. It's nice to see that SOME pagan traditions have still survived. After the whipping and a poem the ladies are supposed to give them a treat in return. Here A gives our guest a friendly beating:We found a great spot in Petriny Park to sit and read and watch frogs cross the path.

On a roof terrace at Old Town Square:

The view from the roof:

Warning: We are jumping on the Timmy-C travel bandwagon! A different country every week! Coming Soon: Krakow, Poland