WINTER December 21, 2014 - March 20, 2015
Year 2 in Ukraine and another winter season has passed, and I should add, another mild one, especially for this part of the world and in comparison to this winter in The U.S.
Since today is the first day of Spring, I thought it would be a good time to update the blog and fill in the winter gap.
In December we had several "frozen fog" days in Kiev. It was dreary weather, but the trees encased in ice helped to make our walk to school more beautiful.
Frankfurt, Germany
We made the decision to return to the U.S. this year for Christmas. On the way back we stopped overnight in Frankfurt to experience the outdoor Christmas Market. It was worth it! We were lucky enough to get a hotel right downtown where everything was happening. The streets were lined with food vendors, craft vendors, and beautiful decorations. We walked around for hours eating sausages, French fries and sweets. We also drank our share of Gluhwein (hot mulled wine) and beer. We also picked up a couple of traditional German Christmas items, a pyramid and a smoker.
A view of the street from our hotel window.
One of the many sausage stands
Orlando, Florida
We spent the week of Christmas with daughter Nicole and her family. It was a Disney/LEGOLAND Christmas!
Our own princess Kati
Ethan hanging with Stitch
In the spirit of Disney's hit movie "Frozen" the castle was lit up like a giant frosted icicle.
We stayed in a condo with a full kitchen so we were able to bake cookies for Santa. Somehow, he knew where we were and stopped by to eat the cookies and leave stockings full of goodies.
Christmas day at LEGOLAND next to a giant Lego Christmas Tree
Sadly, the kids had to return to Pennsylvania after one week. We still had two weeks until we had to return to Kiev and we wanted to soak up as much sunshine and warm weather as we could, so we rented a convertible and headed as far south as we could go in Florida, Key West!
The southernmost point in the continental U.S. and only 90 miles from Cuba. The closest Wal-Mart was farther away than Cuba!
We stayed in a trailer with a big tiki porch where we had an occasional visitor like the one below.
The trailer we rented included kayaks, so we used them!
We were so happy to get the chance to grill that we stayed in on New Year's Eve and cooked our own romantic dinner.
Prague, Czech Republic
February 27-March 7
We spent our mid-winter long weekend in Prague. We kept hearing from our colleagues who have been overseas longer than we have that Prague is a must see city. Prague is not only known for its beauty and history. You find out very quickly once you arrive, that the city is also known for its beer. For us, it was a weekend of food, beer, and music.
The famous Charles Bridge is a walking bridge decorated with amazing religious statues. During the day, vendors and street musicians line the bridge hoping to make some money.
The Astronomical Clock
Old Town Square
Street Musicians
And Some Formal Concerts
Our hotel restaurant offered a dinner concert on Friday evening. The music was better than the musicians' costumes and our food, but overall a neat experience.
The next evening we attended a concert in this old basilica which was located inside the walls of Prague Castle.
St. George Basilica
Waiting for the concert to start.
Prague Castle (on top of the hill)
Prague Castle at night
One of Jay's highlights: Mozart played this organ in St. Nicholas Church
Food and Beer Highlights
Hotel breakfast buffet
Czech fried pancakes (they were like a cross between pancakes and donuts)
A cute little cafe we read about on Trip Advisor. We went once for wine and once for cappuccinos.
Czech street food: Prague ham, brown bread, sausages and beer
Yes, Starbucks has made it to the Czech Republic
A bakery just around the corner from our hotel. They make great croissants and pretzels.
U Fleka, the oldest brewery in Prague, began brewing beer in1499.
We went to the Beer Museum...
And we even bathed in beer! This is Helka fixing our beer spa where we soaked for 30 minutes while tapping our own beer.
On Sunday afternoon there was a demonstration in Old Town Square in support of Ukraine.
(The banner says "Stop Russian Aggression in Ukraine")
One more evening stroll across Charles Bridge before we said goodbye to Prague.
Tbilisi, Georgia
March 13-15
The overseas teaching community is constantly on the move. Many teachers in our school system, QSI, transfer to other schools after two or three years. While it is sad to be saying goodbye so often, the bright side is that you end up having friends all over the world who open their homes to visitors! Visiting the country of Georgia was not on our list until Dan and Mirka moved there. Dan was our secondary school director last year. He is now the director of the International School in Tbilisi. They were excellent hosts and gave us the best of Georgia in just two days. It really is a beautiful and unique country. It is a post Soviet country and there are definitely reminders that it was, but there is also a definite middle eastern influence as well.
A blend of old and new
Turkish rugs for sale
They're not candles, they're fruit roll-ups!
More support for Ukraine on the streets of Tbilisi
We took a cable car to the top of the mountain,
and walked back down.
An old monastary on top of a mountain near the village of Mtskete, where Dan and Mirka live
There are picnic tables next to each gravesite so families can continue to celebrate certain holidays "together". I had never heard of this custom before.
Sunday dinner at a traditional Georgian restaurant before we had to leave. I can now add Georgian cuisine to my list of favorite foods.
The sign next to our departure gate at the airport.
We love you too, Tbilisi!
