Parents' 2nd visit

My parents came to visit again in September for 3 weeks.  I took my mom to the opera and she really enjoyed it. It was her first time going to the opera in the Czech Republic.  We also climbed to the top of a tower at the Praha Castle.  We had to go up 286 steps to get to the top of the tower to enjoy a really great view.  Since my mom wasn't able to go to Japan this year, we went for sushi and a cafe to get Japanese baked goods.  We had to wait almost 1 hour 45 minutes, but the sweets were really nice.  The photos are out of order.

                                                                        at the opera

                                                                    guard change at the castle

                                                                            inside the church

                                                                        inside the tower

                                                                        so many steps!

                                                                             great views!

                                                                        delicious sweets!
                                         
                                                             waiting in the horrendous line!

                                                                                Vysehrad

                                                                            meat sushi

                                                                            

                                         if you look closely you can see the guy ringing the bell

Americka Festival (Praha, CZ)

This was the third time I attended the festival on Amerika street in Praha.  Last year was the 10th anniversary of the event, but due to covid it was canceled.  This year they celebrated the "10th" anniversary.  There were so many stands and lots of people.  Most of the time I just stayed in the Mexican section because there was great music and the environment was so fun there.  I hung out with my friend and her Russian comedy crew until Leos showed up with his friends that were visiting from Germany.  They were shocked with how relaxed the restrictions were in Prague and how many people were at the event.  They said they felt like covid didn't exist and it was so nice to be at the festival to just forget about it for a while.   It was a great afternoon!

                                                                entering the Mexican section

                                                            people were dancing in the street

                                                 the ambassador was waving the Mexican flag

                                                                                Russia                                             

                                                                                Russia  10,170

                                                                                Russia

                                                                                Armenia

                                                                                Ukraine

                                                                                Russia

                                                                            Slovakia  10,175

                                                                                Spain

                                                               most crowded area of the street

                                                                                lots of people

                                                                            nice decorations

Zoe Robbins (Prague, CZ)

Leos and I decided to walk around the city to see what the day would bring.  First we went to a sandwich place we had never seen before that had picturesque sandwiches.  Then we checked out a church that is normally closed in the center.  It was nice to see the interior.  Next we walked along naplavka.  I got some free samples from Kaufland from their veggie options.  Then we enjoyed our first burcak of the season.  However, it was a bit too sour for my taste.  Since it was a warm day I wanted to eat some bingsu (Korean shaved ice).  Then we went to a Japanese event where I was able to get some books for my students.  We were a bit tired from all the walking around the city, so we went to Letna to relax.  We laid on the grass for a while.  When I sat up I saw what looked like Zoe Robbins sitting within earshot of us.  I wasn't 100% sure if it was her, so I decided to just say her name and if she turned around I would go up and talk to her.  I said her name and sure enough she turned around.  I went over and talked to her.  She was super nice and I was able to get a photo of her wearing my glasses and a photo of her.  She is currently filming season 2 of The Wheel of Time.  The first season will be shown on Amazon Prime in November.  It was a nice day.

                                                                   

                                                   picture worthy, but not very practical to eat

                                                  we went inside a church that is normally closed

                                                        Kaufland was giving away free samples

                                                                      first burčak of the season

                                                                        hand made from cans

                                                                            nice chairs

                                                                        got to eat bingsu

                                                            Zoe Robbins (New Zealand 10,168)

                                                                   got a pic with her  :)

Wakeboarding (Ceska Lipa, CZ)

In May I bought Leoš an hour of wake-boarding for his birthday.  However, the weather wasn't right in May, my parents were here in June, we were busy in July, and we traveled in August.  We were lucky enough that the weather was still fine and warm in the beginning of September.  We were given wet suits that covered us from ankle to wrist, but our hands, feet and heads were exposed so it was nice that it wasn't cold out.  I had been wake-boarding when I was in high school, but it was off of the back of my friend's boat.  The experience we had was with a wire that an attendant was controlling.  At times it was a bit frustrating, but overall it was really fun.  I was really dead and sore after it, but it would be nice to do again in the future.

                                                                            let's do this!

                                                                                the area

                                                                    Leoš doing well

                                                                    just before he wiped out

                                                                                    me

                                                                            creating waves

                                                                           all done!