Mikulàš, Anděl a Čert

In many European countries, the arrival of St. Nicholas on December 6th heralds the start of the holiday season.  It always did in my family, probably because it was the one thing from the holiday's that we celebrated at home.  Because we didn't ever spend the holidays at the house we lived in.  So, when St. Nick arrived on the morning of December 6th, I have very fond memories of waking up and running to see what St. Nick had left for us in the night.

If you don't know about St. Nicholas - who he is (not Santa), why he is celebrated, and how the tradition started - you can read it here on my old blog.  If you already know, you can skip the history lesson and perhaps learn a bit about how St. Nick is celebrated here in the Czech Repbulic.  Because though the man is the same, the celebrations are a bit different.

Known as Mikuláš (pronounced Meek-uh-lahsh) here in the Czech Republic he is still the bishop, St. Nicholas.  But, there is an added twist.  In a few countries here in Central Europe, he does not work alone.  Rather, he is accompanied by an angel (Anděl) and the devil (Čert).  The three of them visit the children in their homes (usually a few family members dressed as the characters - though these days you can hire college students to do it for a small fee).  Mikuláš asks the children if they have been good this year.  If the answer is yes, the angel rewards them with a small treat (fruit, or candy).  But if the answer is no, the child gets a sack of raw potatoes or coal instead of a treat.  If their behavior was truly horrible they will be threatened with being put in the devils sack and taken back to hell with him.  I guess that is one way to scare them straight!

Here in Prague, the afternoon before their big night, you will find the trio wandering the streets of Old Town Square, stopping the children they meet to ask if they have been behaving this year.  Most stare at the mythical figures come to life in wonder.  Many will tell them a small poem they have learned and earn a small treat.  Some run screaming from the devil, so he doesn't have time to catch them and put them in his sack.  Guess it is easy to tell which have the guilty conscience.

We didn't have a chance to make it down to the Square this year because of prior commitments but we did have a chance to celebrate St. Nicholas in our traditional way.  Early this morning, I was awoken by feet running down the stairs and then squeals of delight when the girls found that the stockings were full.  They came straight back to my room to beg me to get up and come downstairs so they could open their presents.   I told the girls that they had to wait until I could at least get a cup of coffee into my hands.

And that is almost exactly what I got (I need to remember they are very literal beings). No sooner had the mug been put down on the table, and the paper was flying.  The pets got in on the action too, with a little help from their humans...

I snapped some pics.  Of course.  Enjoy!  And happy St. Nicholas.

 **And yes, I realize I have more pet pictures than people pictures.  Let's just say they cooperate better.  And even Fidget got in on the action - albeit unintentionally.

Moving the Dog

Almost as soon as we found out we were moving, we started making plans for Dulce.  For many expat families, that means finding a new home for their pets.  As Dulce is a part of our family, there was no way that we could ever have left her behind.  And so the search for the best way to get her to the Czech Republic had begun.  Looking back, I was naive in thinking it would be as easy as getting her a vet visit and boarding her on the plane.  Looking back, I wish we had started planning this the day she was born...

I started with the internet.  I wanted to know what the requirements were for getting her out of Chile and what the Czech Republic required for her entry.  Turns out, that was the easiest part of the whole thing because as we found out, we were moving to one of the most dog friendly countries in the world.  All Dulce would need was to have her shots updated, be micro-chipped and have a clean bill of health.  Simple.

And then it got a bit more complicated.  

We talked to our vet, who also does pet relocations and asked her to give us a quote on getting Dulce home with us. The fist thing she asked was if Dulce was flying with us, or by herself.  We actually hadn't thought about it yet because we didn't even have a leave date yet.  Looks like we had to sit down and plan out all of the dates - packers, moving out of the house, leaving the country, entering Prague etc...  After making a calendar of dates it turned out that Dulce would have to fly by herself, after the family had already left.  Not the ideal situation but since we couldn't get into our house in Prague until the 1st of March, but had to leave our house in Chile the 1st of February, we really didn't have much choice.  We had a month of hotels in between  houses and a trip to Paris.  There was no way Dulce could come with us on the same flights.  Our first priority was now to find her a place to stay for those 30 days that the rest of the family would be in hotels.

Thank goodness for our friends M and A! Even though they already have two dogs and a cat, they still took on another.  We were so relieved and grateful for their offer and the great care they took of our dog.  They treated her like family and sent her back to us happy, healthy and even a few pounds lighter (if you know Dulce, you know that she could use to lose a few).  We couldn't have done it without them, this is a fact.

We called the vet back and explained our timeline and our needs. She came back with a quote of what it would cost.  And my jaw hit the floor.  I could have purchased 4 economy tickets from Chile to Prague for the amount of her quote.  Sure, the quote included her vaccinations, her ticket for the flight and her paperwork but it was still well over $5000.  We needed to keep working on this...

We did have the vet come and chip her, so at least that part was complete.  She was also going to come back at a date closer to her departure so that we could vaccinate her (it had to be done within 30 days of her leaving) and we sent out messages to everyone we knew with pets that had been brought into the country.  We needed to find something a bit less expensive. The thing is, you can't just purchase a ticket for a pet on any old airline.  If you are not travelling with your pet, you have to contract with a freight company and they must take care of the paperwork.  And the freight company has to work with the airline of your choice.  It makes it a bit complicated.  But one of our newest friends came through.  They had just moved from Peru, and brought their dog.  We contacted the company they used and loved them immediately.  

They quoted us a move for Dulce that included pick up at our home (well, the home of M and A), transportation to the airport, all paperwork needed, an EU passport (yep, my dog has a passport), her flight cost and someone to receive her on the other end, for about half of the original quote.  The only sticking point was that they could only get her to Germany.  About 4 hours away from us her in Prague.  But the cost of gas was a lot less than the cost of a flight, so we went ahead and had them book it all.  

We scheduled a date, dropped Dulce off with a million hugs and kisses and promised her we would see her soon.

The look on the girls faces when Dulce walked in the door this Friday was priceless.  They knew she was coming but I don't think they believed it until they saw her walk through the door.  

As for Dulce, she hasn't been able to stop licking or snuggling anyone within reach.  And we are only happy to oblige.  A little piece of home arrived today, and it was welcomed with open arms.  Literally.

They couldn't stop moving - so all of the pictures are blurry.  My fault - I really wasn't prepared.