the time has come...first retrospective....

In my head I'd written loads of blogs over the last few months...but actually hadn't got down to putting them on the screen so to speak....only now I'm running out of time and this is going to be start of the end....and my last observations of the cross cultural kind.

In one month's time we will be once again packing up the car and heading off for the Eurotunnel, this time with worldly-wise kids, sad/happy/nervous/excited parents, the guinea pigs and a dog (clutching his own passport)

Am I ready to go back? No.  Will we ever be ready....not sure.  But I do know that I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life, so it's time to go back before secondary school starts.

It was very sad on the kid's last day of school, they assimilated brilliantly, really became active members of their classes, made lots of good friends and did well in all subjects.

When I rang the buzzer for the final time at the school and asked for my children in semi-decent Czech.  I felt proud of myself that at least I've learnt one thing over the last year - how to find my children.  The lady at the reception desk nodded in approval at my Czech as if to say, 'you've come a long way girl', and when I went to say my thank yous and goodbyes she replied, 'it was very difficult for you at first wasn't it?'  Yes it bloody was, those first months were hell, but we smiled and she gave me a hug.

Why is it that only when I'm leaving a) I suddenly feel like I can speak a bit of Czech  b) we've made lots of friends  c) we know tons of neighbours and really feel a sense of community here?  It took such a long time for me, Czechs are sooooo slow at building new relationships.

Now we're slowly packing and meeting up with people for the last time.  I spent this morning back where I started in the financial offices sorting out my social security, self employment licence and trying to undo the mountain of bureaucratic paper trail that follows me around here.

And lordy we came with a lot of junk that we now have to ship back to Blighty...long gone are the simple days of a backpack and passport.

Vorsprung Durch Technik

A few weeks ago we went to the city of Dresden in Germany, it's really close from Prague and only takes an hour and a half by car.

This seemingly innocuous 100km stretch of land has actually seen a tremendous amount of drama, originally it was a part of Czechoslovakia but was inhabited by German speakers and part of the Sudetenland.  It was this piece of land that the British prime minster Neville Chamberlain agreed to give to Hitler to pacify him...and when the Czech's eventually got it back after WWII they unceremoniously killed or kicked out the Germans.

Nowadays you can see the evidence that it once belonged to Germans (lots of textile factories etc) but left to the Czechs it's become a bit run down.  At first I didn't actually realise when we'd crossed the officially crossed the border and arrived in Germany as there was no 'Willkommen' sign.  But we soon started to notice that the roads were smoother, there was no rubbish strewn across the motorway, even the plants and forests seemed somehow neater.

After zooming along efficiently on the autobahn we stopped off at 'The Transparent Factory' before visiting friends.  Essentially this is a Volkswagen car plant in the centre of Dresden, what is really is though is a great bit of PR and showcase of the finest German technology.

So called transparency because its designer  walls are all made completely from glass, and transparency because the company wants to be appear to be open. Bespoke vehicles are handcrafted in a pristine environment, there ain't a single drop of engine oil, a spare tyre, or a screw out of place.  500 visitors glide through daily to gape in awe at the futuristic production line.

It was all very vorspring durch technik which I found out means advancement in technology  (although I know I've borrowed this catchphrase from another well known car company).

I wasn't allowed to take photos on the car plant 'floor' which to be honest didn't look very different from the trendy cafe where we sipped lattes waiting for our tour.  Instead of cool people hanging out canadian maple tables, there were brand spanking shiny cars stationed at uber perfect workstations on a beautiful canadian maple wooden floor.

We were however, of course, allowed to get hands dirty in the car showroom where the kids went crazy...

     

Ich möchte ein Auto......I want one of these mum....

Ski school

Last week the kids were attending a different kind of school, one that required warm clothing, snow boots and skis instead of pens and paper.

Ski School started at 9am with a 2.5 hour lesson on the slopes before returning for a long lunch break. After a couple of hours it back to the slopes for more.

We decided to bunk off regular school for a week and put the kids in an advanced ski in Slovakia run by friends of ours.  We didn’t know what to expect but we thought why not, it’s not always that you get to do these things is it?  Luckily my work let me work remotely and off we went….

Of course we had to keep up with ‘real’ school work, so we quickly did as much homework as we could on the long train journey to Slovakia so it wouldn’t get in the way!

All the kids were roughly separated into age/ ability groups.  And my kids were adamant that they didn’t want me anywhere near them, ‘Mum it’ll be so embarrassing, you’re too slow, what if you fall over?’

They were right off course – I skied with the 5 and 6 year olds and I’m not exaggerating when I say I had a tough job keeping up with them hurtling down the icy black slopes.   All the kids were incredible, lessons mainly took place on the black slopes or even off piste negotiating moguls (tricky bumps of snow).  I’m still blown away.

The whole operation was ran like a ski boot camp, every night at 7pm we had a de-brief on the days skiing, told how to improve, the kids were given sweets and certificates as incentives  -  they loved it.

 ‘Why can’t school always be like this?’ asks my youngest, who would quite happily drop going to regular school forever.

It’s a difficult balance isn’t it?  You want kids to learn in a structured environment but it’s equally important to us as a family that they also have fun, or do something practical or physical for a change.

I had a good week too – a little bit of skiing, a bit of work, a few mulled wines and a lot of lattes.

Wine tasting - in the snow

I went on an unusual date with my husband last week....(no, we didn't take the dog this time!)

But we found ourselves deep in the snow walking through the vineyards of Northern Prague at 8pm at night in nail biting  -7 degree temperatures.

We thought we were heading for the lit building in the background, a Vinoteca (wine bar), to sample their wines, warmth and roaring fire.

For Christmas my husband bought me a "wine tasting tour" of the Sv Klara, or St. Clara, vineyard at the Botanical Gardens in Prague.  When he initially bought the voucher he had visions of us sipping their produce from a cosy armchair seated around the above mentioned fire. He didn't realise that this meant trudging through the frozen vines to reach the cold cellars....

Even though it wasn't exactly warm, it was really interesting and surprisingly hi-tech.  This little winery produces 8,000 bottles a year which are only sold on site in the Vinoteca, mostly white wines, a few reds.

What was even more surprising was that the wine was pretty good.  I don't normally drink white wine but I was quite taken with it.  (It could have possibly been amount of alcohol I consumed quickly to keep warm mind you, but I'm sure it was good)

We sampled a cross section of wines, including appropriately named Ledove Vino (ice wine) which is a type of desert wine produced from grapes which freeze while still on the vine.  The waters freezes inside the grape leaving a smaller but more concentrated form of sugar/grape, which is therefore sweeter.

Czechs aren't exactly known for their world famous wines  - and it's fair to say I've drunk a few bottles that could quite easily of passed for vinegar, but times are a changing.  There's a boom in independent wine production and Vintoteca's are springing up like daises as the younger generation get a taste for the grape.

But have no fear, beer swilling traditionalists, the grain will always reign supreme...

Ice wine on Wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_wine

Lucky dog

On Saturday night my husband and I had a date!  We suddenly found ourselves childless - daughter off to a weekend scouts camp, and our son had a last minute sleepover so we decided to go the cinema...

Only we didn’t quite go alone - our third ‘child’ Max came with us.

We were told if he barks he would have to leave, but otherwise it was perfectly fine to bring him to the movie - so we crossed our fingers that the singing in Les Miserables wouldn’t set him off…

All in all he seemed to enjoy the film, at one point he got up on the seat and was riveted by the horses galloping through the streets of Paris, but then he got bored half way in and promptly feel asleep.

You have to take my word for it that we didn't bring him along for the cultural experience, it was because we'd been out for the most part of the day and felt guilty leaving him alone again.

But it’s going to be a bit of a shock when we come back to the UK – cos we've got used to pretty much taking him with us anywhere in the Czech Republic: on the bus, the metro, into pubs, restaurants, and now the cinema….of course dogs have to be well behaved (and we usually manage to keep up the illusion that he is by having a pocketful of treats).

I remember once going to quite a ‘posh’ restaurant and was kind of embarrassed that we’d brought the dog in and quickly hid him under the table but the first thing the waitress did before bringing over our drinks was to serve the dog first with a fresh bowl of water!

In fact I'm always amazed that if you're in a restaurant and there's more than one dog, each dog gets his or her own water brought to them at the table.  For us the dog bowl has become the new ‘high chair’.

Don't worry, it's not all gone to the dogs, of course there are some places where ‘dogs are not allowed’-

but unless there is a sign on the door specifically stating it’s a given that they are top dog.

There's no fun like snow fun

We just got back from a weekend, 'cross country skiing' it sounds a bit scary and sort of sporty doesn't it?  

Don't worry, it involves putting on some longer type skies, sliding forward and along instead of down and stopping off every 30 minutes or sooner (when the kids starting whining) to get a steaming hot chocolate or obligatory mulled wine at one of the various pubs along the way.

Ok, I admit we did have to put a bit of effort in, there was a bit of puffing up a few hills, but the dog came in handy when the kids got tired...

 (notice the very sporty person on the right doing it properly)

The dog had a blast, I think he loves the snow possibly even more than the kids...

We got lucky with the weather, especially on Sunday when we had sunshine and snow which is always a great combo.

Parts of the track were fairytale-like, secret pathways, tree's laden with heavy powder, and icicles hanging from wooden cottages.

I'd say the only downer was the lycra loving skiers that took themselves way too seriously and got snooty when they found an English woman in a tangle in her skies on the wrong side of the path, and a labrador running out of control tripping them up!

Oops...

Happy Crimbo!

It's a bit last minute panic, last minute food shop and last minute blog!

The kids have come home with some amazing decorations they made at school...

this one made from an Ikea catalogue!!

There is carp for sale everywhere in buckets...

and our neighbours just delivered these homemade gingerbreads (I'm not going to even try to claim these as my own) they are just incredible.

So we're nearly there....and all that's left to say is a A BIG HAPPY CHRISTMAS or VESELE VANOCE from us!