Thanksgiving in Prague

Ali's family and Dave came for a visit this past week to experience all the goodness of Budapest and Praha. It snowed for the first time the night the Winters arrived from 80 degree southern California on Saturday. It was cold and slushy, but we warmed the foreigners with welcome shots of silva palinka. Dave arrived on Sunday afternoon and we all went to a trendy dinner at Menza in Lizst Ferenc tér, complete with grog and chicken-stuffed doughnuts, which were actually not delicious. 

Monday and Tuesday were filled with city-seeing and lots of touristy Budapest activities--the thermal baths, walking across the Chain Bridge, Parliament at night, traditional meals, tram riding, the Christmas market, Hero's Square, unicum, Castle Hill, hot chocolate and eszpresszo in cafes. The afternoon we went to the baths it was dark and snowing, and thick steam clouds hovered over the hot outdoor baths as snow flakes fell into the water. Such an odd sensation and "neat" sight, but the usual potbellied, speedo-wearing Hungarian men brought me back to normality. 

After a full two days in Budapest, we all ('cept lovely Lydia) hopped a train to Prague, Czech Republic. We slammed snacks, played some Boggle, ate dinner in the dining car, and suddenly we were maneuvering the tram system to find our way to our apartment in Praha. 

Czech out these guys (lots of that joke goin on):

The River Vltava:

With the help of Rick Steves, we did a self-guided walk around the Jewish quarter, which included the Old New Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery. Only given a small square of land to to bury their loved ones, the Jewish cemetery holds piles of graves with tombstones stacked and falling over one another. The Jewish community was forced to bury their people in layers, overlapping the graves that now look like rubble piled behind the metal fence.

Loitering in a cobblestone courtyard trying to choose a restaurant for lunch:

St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square:

Wenceslas Square:

That night we heard a lovely viola concerto at Prague's Municipal House before going home to a fine Thanksgiving meal. The dudes picked up greasy Chinese takeout while Nancy made cornbread stuffing that she imported from California. Complete with edes Hungarian champagne and Ukrainian white wine, our American Thanksgiving in the Czech Republic was something of a cultural compilation with all wonderful people.

The next day we walked up to the castle district, saw a magnificent cathedral, wandered the beautiful streets, ate traditional Czech food at a mini, local bar, and visited the Lennon wall.

The Lennon Wall has been around since the 1980's. It's layered with graffiti, mostly Beatles lyrics, and was whitewashed many times during Soviet rule, but now stands a symbol of hippie peace and continues to accumulate layers of paint.

"Dave visits Hungs 08"

We drank lots of beer.

St. Vitus Cathedral blew us all away.

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Walking across the Charles Bridge:

Friday night we went to dinner at Clear Head, a trendy veggie restaurant with lots of art, lighted table, stenciled walls, and sculptured on the ceilings. The food was amazing and the hot spiced apple juice was like the cider I've been missing from MI. After our couscous patties, spinach quesadillas, and veggie kabobs, we walked around the Old Town Square, sipped some thick, dark hot chocolate, and admired the giant wire angels and flashy tree.

We walked back to the apartment along the river and saw Prague's castle, which is actually the largest ancient castle in the world, glowing at night. It felt like a fairy tale.

Early Saturday morning, we went to the Prague Christmas market in Old Town Square before catching our train back to Budapest. Since it was the first day it was open, the market was still mainly food booths and some souvenir stands so we snacked on crepes and sausages, but didn't buy many cool Czech gifts.

After we arrived back in Budapest, we decided to spend another hour at the Christmas market before it closed for the evening. Dave and I ate stuffed cabbage rolls and walked around the booths looking for pottery and mittens. 

We dropped our stuff at the dorms and went to Szimpla where the Winters and Dave got to experience the outrageous, open-courtyard bar filled with plants, crazy furniture, trendy tweens, all kinds of lamps, film-screens, and tons of random stuff on the walls. We had hot wine and beers and cheesy baguette pizza. It's one of our favorite late night places. 

It was wonderful to share some of our life here with friends and family from home and explore a new city together, too. Stan and Nancy were so very good to us. It felt like a little taste of home, and I am excited to be with my people for Christmas, yet I am beginning to feel sad and a little panicked as the end approaches. Two weeks left.