Veselé Velikonoce

A four day weekend!

 A beloved cousin in town!
Easter! 
Does it get any better than this?
Nope.
And that is probably why I have taken so long in getting this posted - I am still recovering from playing tourist in my own city.  We walked, we talked and we ate (oh, did we eat).  We shopped, we snacked and we snapped a few pictures.  We hit up the easter markets, we decorated trees and we hunted eggs.  To sum it up  - we just enjoyed spending time together.
And I am still tired.
But it is the good kind of tired.  The kind of tired that means we had a great time, together.

A quick recap of our long weekend...

B's cousin A arrived in the late afternoon Wednesday.  It was a school night for the girls, and followed directly on the heels of a very late night (post to come about the Snow Queen ballet) so we didn't want to do too much.  But we also didn't want to just stay in, so we all trammed it down to Old Town.  We took a stroll through the gorgeous Easter Markets...

Kraslice - handpainted/decorated eggs.  The eggs are a czech tradition.  The woman blow them out and then dye the eggs and decorate them in a variety of ways.  The eggs are then given to the boys on Easter Monday.  The boys chase the girls around and whip them with braided pussy willow branches tied with colorful ribbons (pomlázka - 3 pictures down, on the left) and the girls are to give them eggs to ensure their health and happiness in the next year.

and then headed to dinner at one of our local favorites.

Thursday was a regular school day for the girls, so B and A were on their own until dinner time.  I guess they toured a bit but I think they spent more time eating and drinking than actually seeing the city.  The girls and I met them at another of our favorite spots for dinner - this one with amazing food and views...

The view from my dinner table!

Finally, it was Friday and we were on vacation for the next 4 days.  We had a lot of ground to cover (literally) but first we had one quick thing we had to do...decorate an easter tree.  Eggs are thought to be a sign of fertility, new life, and rebirth and are given divine powers during this time of year.  Trees and branches are decorated with hand painted and decorated eggs at almost all homes (and restaurants, public spaces, hotels etc.  Let's just say if it has branches, it probably has eggs this time of the year).  And the girls had been begging me to let them decorate one at our house but I didn't want to use my good eggs out in the crazy weather.  But last week I finally found plastic eggs with the hangers attached and on Friday I let them have a go at their own easter tree...

We only hung he eggs this year, but maybe next year I will get it together and get the ribbons too...

Tree finished it was time to head out.

First up - the Strahov Monastery library. Thought to be one of the most spectacular in the world.  Completed in 1679, the Theological hall, which houses the library, contains over 200,000 volumes, including 3000 manuscripts and 1500 first editions.

There are over 18,000 different theological books in this room.

We, or rather I, reluctantly left my happy place and kept on our journey.

We did the must-see sights at the castle complex...

and then had a must taste treat courtesy of Stinkerbell's persistence...

We tried to have lunch at the must taste restaurant, but they were booked so we moseyed to the park...

and climbed the ropes.

We made it to lunch - and had fabulous tapas...and then a much-needed siesta...

before heading to see the crazy crawling babies of Kampa...

and adding our John Hancock's to the Lennon Wall...

again.

And we called it a day.  The girls were exhausted (so was I) and they didn't want to eat out again, so we left that to the boys.  The girls went home and fell into bed, knowing that we would do it all again tomorrow.

And we did.  First stop - the Žižkov TV tower.  Built during the Soviet occupation, the tower stands 216 m tall, making it the tallest building in Prague.  The citizens of Prague did not like what this building added to its skyline when it was built and they protested it.  But then you  add to it the strange crawling baby sculptures, named one of the most unintentionally terrifying statues in the WORLD, and it just becomes a must see for any tourist...

Yep, the same babies from Kampa park are now climbing the TV tower...

We did a bit more touring that day (lunch in Vinohrady, souvenir shopping in Old Town, more Easter markets) but I didn't snap any pictures so you will just have to take my word for the fact that once again we fell into bed exhausted.

Well, the girls did.  I had to wait for the Easter bunny to visit.  Which, we found out bright and early the next morning, he surely did.  We found our baskets, and then conducted our egg hunt...

And then had to say goodbye to A :(  But not before saying Happy Easter.  Even the dog got in on the act...

Spike's Visit

We had been looking forward to Uncle Spike visiting us for months, and he was finally here.  We got to the airport a bit early so the girls practiced what they would do when they saw him.  They each pretended to be Spike, and the other would run up and wrap their arms around him, squeezing tight.  They did this over and over again, only to take a break to look at the arrival doors to see if Spike was actually coming out.  And then, he did!  It took everything they had in them to not just run past the red line (a no-no) and hug him the second they saw him.  

We loaded his luggage in the car and drove over to the other terminal, where Nana and Grampa would be arriving in less than an hour.  We went inside, checked their arrival time and saw that they were running about an hour late.  Which would give us time to take Spike and the girls home, and for me to get back and pick them up.  But, when we got home and checked the flight boards again, it said that their plane had actually landed early.  Which meant that we left Nana and Grampa stranded at the airport!  We tried calling and texting them but couldn't get any answer.  Finally, Grampa called us and we told him what had happened.  It would have taken me half an hour to get back to the airport to get them, and a taxi would have them at the house in half of that time, so they hired a cab and were at the house in 20 minutes.  Not an auspicious start to their vacation, but thankfully that was the last major hiccup.

We got everyone settled in and a place to sleep.  The next morning we were off and running right after dropping the girls off at school.  We decided to walk and see the highlights of Prague - the castle complex, Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge, Old Towne Square, Kampa Park etc...  I won't bore you with pictures of it all, as I have posted them all before.

Saturday - we headed to Plzen (the post is here)...

And Sunday/Monday  we hit up Oktoberfest in Munich (that post is here)...

Before saying see you later to Spike, Nana and Grampa on Monday, we hit up the showing of the Rahaus-Glockenspiel in Marienplatz.  Consisting of 43 bells and 32 life sized figures, it re-enacts two stories from the 16th century at 11 am each morning (and at 5 pm in the summer).  The top half tells the story of the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V (coincidentally the founder of the world famous Hofbrauhaus).  In honor of the happy couple, there is a joust.  One house dressed in the colors of Bavaria, blue and white, and the other in the red and white of Lothringren.  Not surprisingly, the Bavarian knight wins each time.  This is then followed by the bottom half and second story.  In this scene, we are taken back to 1517, the year the plague hit Munich.  In order to keep spirits up, the coopers took to the streets and danced the Schäfflertanz (now known as the coopers dance).  Because of their loyalty to the Duke, their dance came to represent perseverance and loyalty.  By tradition, it is now danced in Munich every 7 years, with the next being in 2019.  In all it takes about 12-15 minutes and the end it signaled by a golden rooster at the very top chirping 3 times.  Pretty cool spectacle.

We parted ways soon after the Glockenspiel adventure.  Spike, Nana and Grampa were off to Venice and Salzburg for a few days and we were headed home.  The girls have school and all, but don't think I wasn't tempted to follow them to Venice.  They all arrived back in Prague late on Thursday night.  In time for Spike to pack up for his morning flight the next day.  We were all a bit sad to see him go, but were so glad he came!  And it's only a few months until we see him again at Christmas!

Oktoberfest

We awoke before the sun last Sunday morning.  We loaded our sleepy, still pj'ed girls in the car and typed in our destination.  With Grampa, Nana and Uncle Spike following right behind, we set off on our 3 1/2 hour drive.  And I couldn't wait to get there.  Not much can get me up and moving before noon on a Sunday, but this was a happy exception; we were heading to Oktoberfest.  THE Oktoberfest.  IN Munich.  It has been on my bucket list ever since I found out what a bucket list was and we were finally here.

Almost everyone has heard of Oktoberfest.  And most have been to a celebration of some sort, somewhere in the world.  But nothing compares to being able to experience it where it all began back in 1810.  Initially started as a week of festivities leading up to the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese, it has grown in size and myth each year.  Now, over 6 million people attend the 16 day festival and over 7.7 million liters of beer are consumed in that same period.  If you do the math, that is an average of 375,000 people drinking 481,250 liters a day.  Each and every day of the festival.  And that average includes the underage/nondrinkers...

We arrived at the Theresienwiese (the official grounds) a bit after 11 am.  And we were hungry, and thirsty.  I had read enough information before hand to know that getting a table inside one of the "tents" would be difficult, if not nearly impossible, since we did not have reservations.  We decided to just pop on into one of the first we saw and hope that because it was still early on a Sunday morning, and it was the second weekend of the festival (the opening and closing weekends are crazy!) that we would luck out.  And we did.  We managed to find an entire table free.  We sat ourselves down, ordered a beer each (soda for the girls) and some food - sausages, chicken, sauerkraut, fries and proceeded to feast.

The outside of the "tent".  Which is a funny word for a building that can hold thousands. 

Giant doesn't even begin to describe that pretzel.

Both equally happy with our drinks!

 After about an hour, we decided that we should see a bit more of the festival.  We reluctantly gave up our prime real estate, and headed for the exit.  Lo and behold, we somehow ran into a parade on our way out, so we stopped to listen to the band play for a bit.

We had eaten some lunch but we hadn't gotten our dessert, so as soon as we saw these we had to stop.  Yes, they were as good as they look.  As evidenced by the fact that MadHatter is wearing hers...

Too bad we hadn't left any room in our tummies for these...I kid.  Fish on an empty belly does not interest me; fish, skewered on a stick, and sold to me head, tail and all will never interest me.

The girls had been really good while we sat and drank our beers, so we headed over to the midway and let them pick out a few rides to enjoy.  Because, though it is known for it's beer, Oktoberfest is not only about the beer.  It is also about the fair.  It reminded me of the State Fairs that we have back in the U.S.  There are rides everywhere, with souvenir booths, midway games and food stands all around.    So for anyone wondering if Oktoberfest is a place for children the answer is a resounding yes.  They are everywhere. And since there is no beer allowed outside of the tents, it keeps those that are serious about the drinks, away from those that are serious about their rides.  Like my girls.

After a few rides, the park was really starting to fill up (see picture, upper left).  We figured if we were going to be able to get a seat at another tent, we had better do it quickly.  

Tip -  the entrance to the grounds or any of the tents is free.  And if there is a table open in the non-reserved sections of a tent, you are free to sit down.  But that relies on luck.  And lots of it, especially on weekends.  The smart thing to do is to get a reservation to a tent.  Starting in January or February, you can apply for a table.  You go to the website of the tent you would like to reserve and enter your information.  They will then get back to you in late August with your confirmation, if you got a seat.  You then pay in advance for your consumption (usually a minimum of 2 beers and one meal per person for a minimum of 8/10 people) and are issued tickets to turn into your waiter the day of your reservation.  It doesn't save you any money - you still pay full price for the beer (between 10 and 11 euro per liter) and food but it does give you peace of mind that you will have a place to sit.  Your reservation is either for the morning (10-3) or the afternoon (4-9) and allows you to enjoy yourself in a less crowded part of the tent. Easy peasy.

We did not do this - though we did get reservation confirmations to two tents - because we were only 7, with two of those being non-drinking minors and 1 Nana that doesn't drink much.  It just seemed the more practical idea to take our chances on getting a spot, and not paying for 20 beers/10 meals that we would have to try to consume between 4 drinkers.  I don't know if you really know how big a liter of beer is but let's just say that 5 of those would put anyone on their tush...

Ochsenbraterie tent - true to it's name, it serves many Oxen dishes.  Oh, and Spaten beer.

They looked very inviting so we went in, but they had no space for us...So we continued.

I guess she wins.  Though at two beers she is carrying light.  These girls (and guys) can carry up to 5 in each hand.  With each mug (full) weighing 5 lbs each, that is pretty impressive.  And a great weight training program.

There were approximately 1400 beer mugs when they started in the morning.  By my calculations - there are about 650 mugs in use and that is by noon, on Sunday, and just in the outside beer garden.  The inside beer hall has its own supply.

This is one of the largest tents.  They can seat 6900 inside and another 2400 outside.  Alas, it didn't have a single space for us. But it sure was pretty to look at.

The Hofbrau tent.  Packed, once again.  We were giving up hope at this point and were just about to call it an afternoon and head to the actual Hofbrau house for a beer.  But B told us to wait, we hadn't been to that many really.  We needed to try one or two more.  And he did have a point - there are only 14 tents total, we should be able to check them out pretty quickly and see if there was free space in one of them.  But we didn't have to look far.  We lucked out at the very next one.

With its circus colors and merry go round band stage, the girls were enthralled the minute we waled in.  We got seats pretty close to the band so thankfully they have a noise cap of 85 db inside the tents, and not electric instruments, until after 6 pm.  We ordered our beers, and settled in for awhile.  We were not giving this table up until we were ready to leave the grounds.

Another interesting tidbit - there are only 6 breweries that can produce official Oktoberfest beer and the beer must be produced within the Munich city limits to be trademarked.  Each tent only sells it's breweries brand of beer so, in the two tents we were able to get beer in, we tasted the Paulaner at our first tent and the specially brewed Märzen beer called Oktoberfestbier by Löwenbräu at the Marstall tent. 

Our waiter showing us how it is done.

Grampa asked for a tip on how to get the 5 mugs into one hand (there is a trick to it)

And he even lifted them!  Granted, a few of them were empty, but it was still really hard.  I tried and couldn't get them up even a bit.

We each finished our first, and then ordered a second, because someone fell asleep.  I won't name names but if you know this family, you will know who it is...

The kids all got on stage with the band to dance and sing - in German.  My girls just watched and danced from their seats, soaking it all in.

Prost!

This one finally woke up after sleeping about an hour - through the band, the dancing and the cheering crowds! - and tried her hand at a kid sized mug of water.

We all stopped for a souvenier.  What else - an official Oktoberfest beer stein.  

We said Auf Wiedersehen and headed to dinner someplace a bit less crowded and noisy.

He probably should have stopped about a liter before he did!