Kutná Hora

Located about 60 miles outside of Prague, is the historically important town of Kutná Hora.   Famously know for its Bone Church and its silver mines, it does have a bit more to offer than Gothic and Gore (though that Bone Church really does make you want to visit)...It also houses two UNESCO World Heritage sites, a quaint village and a slew of traditional restaurants.  We knew it was just a matter of time before we took a day trip.  And that time was a few Saturday's back.

Saturdays are usually our sightseeing day but they are also our sleep in and eat lazy breakfast day.  Not wanting to compromise, and since we knew that the town is within an hours drive, we made a plan to relax until about 11 and then head out for the day.  And it was the perfect plan...

Our first stop was lunch.  We broke with our usual rules and ate at the place most recommended by our guide book.  And, in this case, were glad we did.  It was charming, and authentic, and the food was traditional.  We shared our table with a young couple (who may have regretted saying yes just minutes after we sat down - we are loud Latin/Americans) and we ordered a very Czech meal -- garlic soup and goulash.  Oh, and beer, but do I even need to mention that part?

Bellies full, we headed off to the Bone Church.  Which is actually not it's name.  It's official name is the Church of All Saints.  Built in the High Gothic Style, the church was orginally constructed in the late 14th century but was devastated in the Hussite wars.  At the end of the 15th century, it is reputed that a blind monk arranged the bones and skulls of the over 40,000 buried dead into pyramids.  And, as legend has it, after he finished this work, his eyesight was restored.

In 1783, the ossuary was again abolished.  But through the reconstructive works of František Rint in 1870, the original patterns were recreated (with bleached and disinfected bones).  You can even find his signature, made from bone, at the bottom of the staircase.

I guess they are just letting you know what you are in for...This is at the entrance to the Bone Church.

The famous bone chandelier.

From here we hopped back into the car because it was a bit nippy out, and I don't like to listen to whiny children (me) telling me how cold it is every two seconds...

This time we headed to the Cathedral of the Assumption of our Lady and St. John the Baptist (quite the mouthful).  This is a UNESCO world heritage site and along with the Ossuary (bone church) it is the oldest part of Kutná Hora.  The monestary was built between 1290 and 1320 and gained in prominence as the silver mines took over the town.  Most of the ore deposits were found within their land mass making them very profitable indeed.

The church itself is built in the shape of the Latin Cross and was the first cathedral church built in all of Bohemia.  Alas, the Hussite war burned most of it to the ground and it had to be rebuilt in 1800's.
While rebuilding the church, they built in a niche that houses the remains of the monks murdered by the Hussites.  Bones - again.

As we wandered through, we found the central staircase that took us up to the second story.  The staircase is a feat of engineering in its own right - it has no central  pillar.  And, once you reach the top you are greeted with views of the original walls and roof frames, which was restored without the use of any metal nails!

More bones...

This stairway took us up to the top - and into the original walls of the church.

On both sides of this small walkway are the original walls of the church.

Our final stop of the day, the UNESCO listed Cathedral of St. Barbara (Chrám  svaté Barbory).  It is possibly the most famous Gothic church in all of Central Europe and deservedly so.  The original design called for a church of about twice the size of the completed one that stands today, but because it took over 500 years to finally complete, I can understand their downsizing.

The building of the church depended wholly on the prosperity of the silver mines in the town.  When construction started in 1388, the towns silver mines were booming.  By the time of the Hussite wars, the mines were already starting to be less profitable and construction was halted.  In 1588, a full two hundred years after breaking ground, the church was enclosed and additions were non existent until 1884.  Finally, when the roof was finished in 1904 they called it a day and it still stands today as it did then.

No matter.  It is impressive, even if it isn't quite the massive, 8 peaked church that its original architects had in mind.

It was getting dark. The girls needed to burn some energy and we needed to get home for dinner.

We headed towards home knowing that we had seen some fabulous, once in a lifetime places!

Gobble 'til you Wobble

Thanksgiving.  This year we were lucky enough to have found friends that were generous enough to open their home, and kitchen, to us.  B was travelling in some Eastern European country, so it was just the girls and I.  And even they had school that day.  So, it was a bit weird to find myself doing the same thing I do every day - drop the kids at school, have coffee and read the news, walk the dog, go for a run.  It didn't seem like a holiday at all.

But then I got ready and headed over to L's house and the mood all changed.  L had spent hours (days?) baking and cooking and preparing food.  Her table was set an would have made Martha Stewart proud.  She, like me, already had some of the Christmas decorations up.  Suddenly, it totally felt like Thanksgiving.  I picked the girls up from school, and another family (Stinkerbell's friend from class among them) joined us.  It was relaxed.  It was a lot of laughs and it was a little piece of home, so far away from home.

Thanks to L and R (and the boys) for opening your house, and hearts, to us.  It was one more thing to be thankful for in a life already brimming to the top with blessings.

Really, you're gonna take my picture...

The kids all said what they were thankful for and then said the blessing.

The adults played some Mad Libs, while the kids amused themselves after dinner.

And this one just kept asking for more.

Baking with KR

Each year, the Kindergarten classes at Stinkerbell's school conduct a three month study on Bread and Baking.  They visit different bakeries, pizza shops and restaurants to learn what it takes to make all of the delicious and different types of dough.  And they learn what it takes to run a business.  It all culminates with a big bake sale at the end of February.  The kids will set up, open and run their own bakery, for the entire school, for a full week.  All of the baking will be done by the kids.  All of the pricing and marketing will be handled by the kids.  All of the sales will be done by, you guessed it, the kids.  And at the end of the week they donate all of their hard earned money to charity, usually one that helps feed those less fortunate.  And the pride on their faces when they make that donation is priceless.  

To help them make enough goodies to sell in February, each parent is asked to come in and bake with the children at least once during this unit of study.  We are asked to bring in a family recipe for bread, perhaps one that is indicative of the country our family is from.  Or maybe a pie, or muffin recipe from Grandma.  It doesn't really matter, the only requirement is that the children have to be able to do it themselves (with a bit of guiding help from the adults) and that we do it from scratch.

If you know me, you know I was stumped.  I don't really have any family bread recipes and I my baking usually tends more toward the sweet side of things.  I was wracking my brain for something to share with Stinkerbell's class when one of the other mothers asked if I would like to do the project together.  I couldn't say yes fast enough.  We talked about what days would work for us to spend a full morning with the class and it turned out that we could both do the week before Thanksgiving.  Suddenly, it all just fell into place.  Pumpkin Pies sounded perfect.  

It seemed like this was going to be easy as pie (pun intended).  Until we both realized that all of the ingredients for this oh so traditional Thanksgiving dish are oh so hard to come by in Prague.  Luckily, we have canned pumpkin imported by one of the stores here.  It may be expensive, but you do what is necessary.  We weren't so lucky on finding pumpkin pie spice or Evaporated milk.  But that is what Google is for...We made our own spice mix and evaporated milk.  I guess we took the "from scratch" part to heart.  When in Prague...

The kids were very excited about making the pies.  They loved measuring and stirring, and cracking eggs.  They used rolling pins - many for the first time - and they crimped pie crust.  They poured filling and they scraped the bowls so none of it got left behind.  And they couldn't wait to taste their final product.  Unfortunately, R and I forgot one important detail, pumpkin pie is an acquired taste and not usually one that kids love.  And for most of the children, it is not something they would ever be served at home because pumpkin pie really is traditionally American, and they kids are not.  Most took a bite or two (I was told - we weren't there to watch them try their pie) and said it was ok but didn't eat much of it.  One student loved it and wanted more and more, but the majority of them just enjoyed the fact that they made it themselves.

I don't know who had more fun - the kids or the adults.  I will definitely do it again, but maybe this time with a more kids friendly end product...Cinnamon Rolls???

Making the crust - from scratch.

Cutting in the butter.  (This is S.  Her mom is the one that did this project with me - thank you R!- and she is Stinkerbell's best friend)

Adding in the filling ingredients.

R - explaining which spices we had to use, and in what quantity.  

And then we stirred and stirred and stirred.

Ready for the oven.

Can't you almost smell it through the screen...