Pankrác, Servác, Bonifác

I am now of the opinion that until you experience seasons in a country where there are four distinct seasons, you haven't experienced them at all. I didn't think this would be quite true when people said it to me when I arrived in Prague but I can now see what all the fuss is about. 

Autumn

  

Winter

Spring

We arrived in Prague in Summer, with everything (greenery wise) looking much the same as Australia; lush green parks, shady trees etc etc but them Autumn came. The term 'fall' now makes sense to me! Every tree was like a bronzed statue flecked with an assortment of golds, oranges yellows and reds. The parks looked as though they were on fire and slowly the ground became the playground for dancing leaves and their partners, children's feet. It was beautiful.

Then along came winter, as we knew she would. She had been playing with us for the months of September, October and November but she was now here to stay. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience a 'typical' Czech winter as the weather was surprising 'warm' (yeah right) for the winter season. So as the months of winter wore on our only respite from the grey skies and drizzly weather was the few skiing trips we went on where we throughly enjoyed all that the winter season has to offer. Finally, after months of waiting, we got our snow in Prague! Only a few days worth mind, but oh so worth the wait. It was the first time we had seen snow actually falling and making itself known in the city streets. A smattering here and there at first, but then a nice fluffy, powdery layer or the gorgeous white stuff covered Prague. Ok, so the gorgeous white stuff only lasted half of one day, then in the city is was grey slush complete with yellow spots (ten points if you can guess what thats from) and frozen doggie poops. The trams and busses were a mess and the carpet at the School I work for was a disaster zone from all the teacher coming and going all day long. We couldn't keep the smiles off our faces though and we made the most of the snow by playing in the park all afternoon. 
Towards the end of winter we were beginning to feel a little disheartened by the seemingly never-ending cold weather. The days were short with the sun coming up at 8am and setting again at 4pm so, if you were working during the day all you really got to see was night time. It was a strange experience for us but it was this experience which makes us appreciate the return of spring all the more. 
Spring came a little unnoticed at first as winter was really wanting to keep it's hold on Prague. We had days of 25 degrees then the following day 10 degrees. We had sun shine, then rain, hot then cold and then a mixture of all of them in one day. The tulips were out and blooming and the cherry blossoms had created riot on Petřín Hill but not all of the trees and flowers were this trusting, preferring to stay in their little buds until Spring had definitely arrived. 

Wild Tulips popping up everywhere

Cherry Blossoms

So it happened that in the space of one day, barely enough time to tie your shoelaces and look out the window, Prague was bursting with fresh green leaves - the greenest we have ever seen. It looked as though God pulled out his pallet of green paints, every shade imaginable, and painted Prague with them. Green spaces in the city had their water fountains filled up again and their flower beds filled with a rainbow of beautiful pansies. The bikinis are back out and people are once again sun-baking in the parks, drinking beer in the beer gardens and riding their bikes everywhere. 
Just when we thought we were in for the long run of heat and sun,  Pankrác, Servác and Bonifác reared their ugly heads. Every year, on the 12-14 May, there is a cold spell; the last stand of winter people say, and these days are named  Pankrác, Servác and Bonifác. We find it amusing that they can predict these three days in the middle of May to be cold, and Czech's find it funny that we can't (or don't). They were predicted and they came, being with them cold, wet weather and frost, ruining all the newly budding fruit on trees. It just so happened that on this weekend the Prague International Marathon was being held in the city. Thousand of people participate either in groups or individually, and who ever wasn't competing was there to watch and cheer their friends on. Our room mate Ian was running in a relay team with a group of people from School. We went down and cheered him on and were lucky enough to actually see him and him see us as he ran past! It was so inspiring to see so many people get out and run, especially all of the older people running the marathon. Some people looked as if they had just rolled out of bed that morning and said "I think I'll run a marathon today" and got up and did it. People from all walks of life, older, younger, fatter, slimer, two legs, one leg (thats right) male and female. It was amazing to watch and cheer these remarkable people on. 


The warm weather did come back, it came back yesterday and we are making the most of it. The sun is rising at 5am and isn't going to bed until after 9pm! It's wonderful and I can now fully understand why the summer months here are to be treasured like a rare gift - because they literally are! So, after that, it's off to the park for me to enjoy the sunshine and catch the all to important afternoon sun.

Prague International Marathon by Vyšehrad 

Swan Lake

Back in Australia, it was almost a little tradition of mine and Mum's to go and see the Ballet. We love it; the dancing, the music, the theatre and the atmosphere. I had been wanting to see the Ballet in Prague for a while as I had heard it is very good. So I decided to go this weekend as the tickets are cheap cheap, like $6 cheap! I went with a few friends to see Swan Lake at the State Opera. The Theatre alone was amazing, but the ballet was just incredible! We had the highest seats in the theatre so we could see right down into the orchestra pit and watch the musicians as well.
The lead ballerina was like a human rubber band; super flexible and ridiculously strong! She actually reminded me a little of spaghetti. All of the dancers were outstanding and we spent the entire ballet 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing'.
I didn't actually take these photos but I wanted to show how beautiful the inside of the State Opera is and as you aren't allowed to take pictures in there, I just sampled these off Google.

Inside the State Opera

Family Visits

There is something special about being able to show the people you love what you have been doing and where you have been living while you're abroad. A few weeks ago Jon's parents came and visited us in Prague for a little over a week. It was a week full of laughs, sightseeing, eating out and just enjoying being with each other. We saw so many things that we hadn't seen previously as well as some of the old favourites like St Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge. We played the 'tour guides' (if you can call us that) and took Jon's parents to our favourite places to eat, drink coffee and, of course, shop!

Jon's parents

On the first night they were here we decided to take a walk through the city to show off where we have been living. The weather, although not cold by Prague standards, was freezing for Jon's parents! We managed to find a restaurant to retreat in and they had their first Czech meal. Goulash for Jon's Dad, who said it bought back memories of his Mothers cooking - all good memories we were assured.

One of Jon's parents favourite things to do is go out for coffee and cake and I made it my personal mission before they came to sample as many places as I could. We visited one of the most important Art Noveau building in Prague, the Municipal House, for fancy coffee and cake. Waiters pushing trolleys full of delicious cakes wander the tables wearing full 'butler' attire ready to serve you up a huge slice of apricot cheesecake, sponge, apple strudel or anything else you want!
Among the token Starbucks and Costa Coffee visits we also went to a few of my favourite coffee shops including Friends Coffee House with its super relaxed atmosphere, Mama Coffee with its hippie vibe and Cafe Louvre which is the poshest cafe in Prague (previously visited by the likes of Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein).

We ate out every night which was such a treat for Jon and I! We ate mostly Czech meals which suited Jon's parents fine as they both enjoy European cuisine. We also managed to find a few places in Prague which serve Gluten free food which was great for Jon's Mum. One place in particular, Na Zlaté Křižovatce is an entirely gluten free restaurant, even the beer was gluten free! The food was some of the best we've had in Prague and it was affordable too in a beautiful restaurant. We all gave it 10/10!

We didn't eat and drink coffee the whole time Jon's parents were here either, we managed to squeeze in some sightseeing too. It was Easter Monday when they arrived and as such, all of the Easter Markets were still set up with all the Spring decorations out too. Jon's Mum in particular loved the markets and brought lots of little trinkets to take home as gifts for people.
Old Town Square was a favourite, with the gothic Tyn Church, St Nicholas Church and the Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock, we made many return visits here.
We decided to do a tour of Prague Castle too which was pretty interesting. I'm not sure it was any better than just walking through the castle complex, but it was definitely nice to be able to go all the way into the St Vitus Cathedral and also into the old part of the Castle as well as Golden Lane. Golden Lane is a part of the Castle complex which originally served as quarters for the guards as well as a number of other small craftsmen and women. The lane was full of small colourful houses set into the northern wall of the castle. Each little house had been set up as a replica of various craftsmen and women, such as a blacksmith, a herbalist and seamstress. It was so quaint and I fell in love with it, I asked Jon if we could see how much the rent would be for one of the houses :)
It was my birthday on the weekend that they were in Prague and therefore I was in charge of choosing the outing for the day! I decided we should go to a Tropical Butterfly exhibition which was being held at the Botanical Gardens of Prague. It was absolutely beautiful being in a greenhouse full of butterflies and the weather was perfect for wandering through the gardens in the afternoon. We stopped and had a drink at a little Vinoteka (a little winebar) which was in the middle of the vineyard overlooking the Vltava River and Troja Chateau, a baroque palace in the north-west part of Prague. The Chateau has beautiful manicured gardens and an amazing baroque staircase out the front.

The tropical rainforest for the butterflies

A butterfly newly out of it's cocoon

In the Botanical Gardens

St Karel Church; overlooks the St Karel Vineyard

Troja Chateau

We also visited the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) which was formally the Jewish ghetto and we learned a lot about Jewish persecution in the Czech Republic. It was an open tour card, so once you paid for your ticket, you could visit the six different places at your leisure. This included mostly synagogues, the Jewish Town Hall, the Jewish Ceremonial Hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was an interesting tour and there was lots of information available to read as well which made it a worth while trip.

After all of the food, sightseeing and coffee drinking, the nicest part was just having Jon's parents here with us in Prague. It was very sad to say goodbye and extremely hard to go back to work but alas, we are now back in routine and all of this feels like it happened months ago, not weeks.
So now we are eagerly awaiting out next visitors to Prague! My Mum and Dad as well as Jon's sister, her fiance and his brother all in July! We might need to rest before then :)

Jon's Mum and I under the blossoms at Strahov Monastery