HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...JEFF!

As many of you know, Jeff's birthday was this past week. We celebrated with a birthday weekend. Saturday we went to The Museum of Communism...something Jeff's been wanting to do for awhile. It was well worth it the visit. It is impossible not to be awed by how much our "new home" has changed in the mere 15 years since the fall of communism. Visiting the museum really reminded us of the things those people around of have experienced in their lifetime. And not just older generations, but our own generation as well.

Saturday evening, one of our upstairs neighbours, Roberto, conspired with me to surprise Jeff with a dinner party. I had honestly planned to have "the boys" down to our flat for dinner...but Roberto, who loves to cook and just returned from a trip to Spain, wanted to host a tapas party. So, I got off pretty easy! After Ella was sound asleep, our landlord assisted in luring Jeff upstairs. Apparently, the surprise worked, because her nearly had a heart attack when everyone jumped out from their hiding spots! As usual when we spend time upstairs, it was a truly multi-cultural evening, filled with good drink, interesting conversation, yummy food, and fun! Thanks to all who helped us celebrate!

(Aside: Jeff and I left the party around midnight...the younger folk left to go dancing around 1am and returned about 4:30am...)

Sunday started off wet and gray but turned into a truly beautiful day (we've been very lucky to have avoided a true Prague winter so far...) and so we decided to have Ella nap in her stroller rather than be stuck inside for the afternoon. We took the metro to another Prague spot we've been wanting to visit for awhile...Vyšehrad. Again, well worth the visit and a place to which we will most definitely be returning. It has an amazing cemetary where many of the Czech Republic's most prominent have been buried. Jeff and I agreed that we need to educate ourselves before we return. We were both particularly taken by this door at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.


In addition to the history, art, and architecture, there were also walking trails with stunning views of Prague. Here is a view looking towards our neighbourhood, made obvious by the Žižkov TV Tower .


We capped off the celebrations on Monday evening. I hired a sitter for Ella, met Jeff at the metro after work, and took him to explore our street. Actually, just the little portion of the street that we live on...we were never more than a two-minute stroll from our apartment. All the places we visited are spots we see every day but are not really convenient for us to visit with Ella. We started with martinis in the Russian Café located in the basement of our building. Then we spoiled ourselves with a scrumptous meal at Aromi. And we topped off the evening with Czech's own drink, Fernet Stock, at Mu Cafe .


Spoiling ourselves at Aromi!

Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes!

Maylia (and Jeff and Ella)