Blossoms in Petrin

The trees in Petrin were fully blossomed and I wanted to make sure I got some nice photos in front of the trees.  I hadn't taken any real pregnancy photos, so I thought it would be nice to do so in front of the blossoming trees. A lot of people were in Petrin also taking photos of the beauty.  After Petrin, we went to a chocolate cafe to get some nice hot chocolate.  It had been a while since we went to the cafe and it was great to walk in and immediately get a seat. Unfortunately, they had sold out of the cake I wanted, so I just got hot chocolate. The next day I had my hospital check in and on the way to the hospital I saw a giant rainbow.  Then in front of the hospital doors, there were lots of deer.  When we left the hospital I saw a bunch of mouflon. It made me feel that the hospital we chose was a good choice with all the beautiful signs from nature. 

almost 2 weeks before going to hospital

thick hot chocolate

                                                        on the way to the hospital for check in

                                                  mouflon just chilling in front of the hospital

Leos's Final Four Hockey Tourney

Leos's hockey team, Raiders, made it to the final four in their league.  The semi-finals and finals were going to be played on the same day.  Leos's first game was at 8am in Benesov, so he had to leave the apartment at 6:30am.  There was no way I was going to go with him at that time.  If his team made it to the finals, then I would catch the train to Benesov.  That's exactly what I ended up doing.  It was a smooth and easy train ride. Leos picked me up at the train station and we went to the hockey stadium.  Luckily, this stadium had a café in which you could enjoy a drink and watch the game.  It was so much warmer than sitting in the bleachers. Unfortunately, their opponent (Bohemians) was quite good (they only lost one game the whole season).  The game was tight in the beginning, but then it seemed like the offense for the Raiders couldn't make any shots.  Raiders ended up getting the silver medal for their league.  It was a nice afternoon watching Leos play hockey. 

                                                                    empty train

                                                                    Zamboni 

                                                                        Leos stretching

                                                                        practice 

                                                                game time

                                                                Bohemians ended up winning

Raiders

                                                                        silver

Spring is Finally Here

The weather is starting to get a bit better and the flowers are starting to blossom.  I went on a nice walk from Strahov to the castle and finished the walk with some nice empanadas.  There were flowers in the castle garden that were quite nice.  Then I went to a park where peacocks roam free.  Just before getting to the lunch spot, I recognized a statue made by David Cerny for the Paris Olympics last year.  I thought it was on private property behind a wall, but luckily it wasn't so I was able to see it close up.  It was quite nice to see.  It was a great day for a walk. 

                                 no one was inside this church thats very close to the castle

                                     this statue was at the Czech House during the Olympics

        

Vltava Day

The last time I was able to enjoy a proper Vltava Day by going on a free boat ride was 2019.  Back then it was not necessary to make a reservation to enjoy a boat ride.  In 2023, I tried to go again and even organized a group to go but found out while in line for the boats that reservations were required.  Last year, I emailed the address given the night before but didn't receive a message back.  This year I emailed the day before in the afternoon and in Czech and finally got a response.  It was not possible to make any more reservations, but I was given a list of locations where it would be possible to just wait in line and go on the boat for free.  Leos and I made our way to the docks at Holesovice.  I had no idea boats went from there.  We waited in line and sure enough we were able to get on the boat.  Luckily, we got that last seating area with a table.  The weather was beautiful with blue skies and I was able to just be in  a t-shirt for part of the boat ride.  It was great to see another side of Praha.  For lunch we decided to try out a greasy USA sandwich place and it hit the spot.  Then we walked to Letna park and walked down to Malostranska.  I looked across the river and saw the same image that I saw on the Vltava Day poster the night before that confused me.  I didn't understand why there was a USA flag and tanks in the poster, but when I looked across the river I saw the exact image.  It was so strange, we had to go check it out.  I couldn't believe all the tanks and military vehicles that were there.  It was really interesting to see.  My favorite confusing photos that I took that day are of the tanks with the Charles Bridge in the background.  It was such a nice random day. 

                                               poster that confused me the night before

                                                they had signs to show where to go

  potato pancakes with poppy seeds (with this amount I would probably be tested positive for opium!)

                                                                our boat for the free cruise

                                                            nice interior, but we wanted to sit outside

                                                           drunk tourist sitting on the road

                                                        biggest USA flag I have seen in CZ

                                  tanks, "soldiers" and the Charles Bridge in the background