House Guests

I’ve been keeping busy the last four days with my house guests – the Elko family. Their belongings are all packed, so they stayed with me for a few days before checking into a hotel. I really appreciated the company as it’s getting to be a long time without Matt here. As can be expected with three kids, there was never a dull or quiet moment but lots of fun was had by all. The apartment seems very empty now without them.

Sans Matt

Matt left on his trip to the US yesterday morning. He’ll be there for three weeks. His trip home will be a mix of work – a conference and a few days in the Minneapolis office – and fun – his annual hiking trip, visiting with family and friends, a Saints baseball game, a brief trip to the island in Wisconsin and DeMori’s pizza. I wish I could be home with him but I still have a few weeks left at work before summer holiday. It’s already pretty quiet around the apartment sans Matt but I’m keeping busy with cleaning and doing homework for an on-line class. Millie has noticed his absence, too, and has been less energetic than usual.

La Liberté

Last Sunday we cruised around Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) on La Liberté, often times referred to as ‘the pirate ship’ by us. Four families got together to partake in this farewell activity for the Elko family (sniff, sniff). The kids enjoyed exploring the ship, and the adults enjoyed the scenery and the beverages. We lucked out with the weather. There seemed to be a big rain cloud following us around the lake but it never caught us.

A great time was had by all; however, I discovered afterwards that not everyone’s expectations had been met with the pirate ship experieince. The other day Jen and I were walking on the lake path, and we pointed out the ship to her son, Ben. Under his breath he mumbled, ‘There no pirates on it.’ He was expecting pirates on board! The little guy was probably waiting the entire ride for pirates to show up. Darn, I should have made Matt dress up as one.

Girls’ and Boys’ Weekends

Last weekend I went with a group of girlfriends to Locarno, which is in the Italian part of Switzerland. All six of us piled into Suzie’s car and made the five hour drive. Locarno is said to be the sunniest of all Swiss towns. It felt like we were in another country with the mild climate and the palm and olive trees. We stayed at a beautiful B&B which overlooked Lake Maggiore. Suzie and I had a huge chandelier in our room that sparkled so much that it hurt our eyes. The weekend was full of good conversation and many laughs were shared. Our weekend consisted of:

• Eating - The risotto was fantastic and we found mint chocolate chip gelato!
• Drinking - Two of the girls were trying to empty out their liquor cabinets at home before they move. We had quite the assortment of booze as we made drinks out on the terrace one night.
• Shopping - The highlight was finding the equivalency to the Dollar Store – the ‘Everything 2 Franc’ store.
• Meandering (or what Matt likes to call ‘lolly-gagging’) – Our B&B was above Locarno, so we took a funicular down to the town and strolled around the Piazza Grande and along the lake. Highlights were the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso, which dates back to 1596, and a boat ride across the lake.

This weekend it was Matt’s turn to go on a guys’ trip. He and four other guys took the train to Zurich. I’ve learned bits and pieces about their whereabouts and activities through his text messages but I’m curious to get the whole story. I know beer drinking was at the top of their to-do list. I think Hooters was a possibility for today. I think the excuse for that one was, “They have a good brunch.” I might be getting a Hooters t-shirt as Matt texted me this morning asking what size shirt I wear. All I can say is he better not come home with those orange spandex shorts for me.

Praha

Matt and I spent four days in Praha (what the locals call Prague) over the Pentecost holiday. We loved it there…the sights, the beautiful architecture, the history, the food and especially the beer. Matt found us a gem of a hotel (www.unitas.cz), just a few minutes walking distance from the Old Town. We spent the days exploring the city with frequent stops in beer halls to rehydrate. We managed to visit all four sections of town: Old Town, New Town, Little Quarter and Castle Quarter.

Matt was beside himself with all the beer options, and they were all so cheap! One of our favorite beer halls was U-Flecko, which dates back to 1499. A table of 20 men entertained us while we ate lunch. I think they’d been there a while as they were singing and toasting everyone in the hall, especially the three young ladies seated near us. Another highlight was the 3rd Annual Czech Beer Festival (www.ceskypivnifestival.cz) which just happened to be going on the same weekend we were there. Hmm…I wonder if this really was a coincidence like Matt said. Altogether, the three beer tents seated 10,000 people. We had fun people-watching as we sampled the beer and food (each tent had different kinds). We were there relatively early in the afternoon, so no one was totally out of control yet, but we still found plenty to entertain us. I enjoyed watching the cute, old accordion players while Matt enjoyed watching the cute, young bar maids who spoke no English. We were also entertained by a group of guys dressed as lifeguards, who were there for a bachelor party. The groom-to-be was dressed as a woman lifeguard. He looked like an overweight Pamela Anderson from Baywatch with his blonde wig and big chest.

We really enjoyed the food in Prague. Matt ordered goulash with knedliky (dumplings) several times and I had polévka (soup) four or five times. I tried some unusual foods, too – beer cheese and beer ice cream. Cheese and ice cream are two of my favorite foods, so I was disappointed when I didn’t like either. Matt enjoyed the beer cheese. I kept trying to eat the ice cream but finally gave up. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished ice cream that’s been put in front of me!

I hope we can return to Prague again someday, and I would love to see other parts of the Czech Republic.