Bystre

That's the little village where we spent last weekend. It was a lovely trip. We rented a car for the first time and Jeff got us there safely and without incident. That was cool! Although, since Greece, Ella loves to say, "I'm just not used to cars", a statement she heard her mother say when she was whining after an hour or so on the road.

It was a group trip of 8 families, arriving and departing at different times over a long weekend. All of the couples were "half and half" (Czech & foreign spouse) except us as the only totally non-Czech couple there. So, it was neat to experience a typical Czech get-away. The hotel was wonderful! They have these family-style hotels here. This was our first experience with one. It was a basic 3-star, not very expensive, but the service was so friendly. It had a nice Czech restaurant in it, where we usually ate. It also had an outdoor playground, including pool and trampoline, and indoor pool which claimed 28C water, and a huge indoor playroom. Fantastic!

We arrived Saturday, met up with friends for lunch, explored a little and enjoyed the pool, which had been reserved for our group for an hour. After dinner and getting some of the younger children to bed, we had a disco party for the kids in the playroom.

And they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me and toasted me with champagne. Fun! I helped get the kids calmed down for bed by reading 2 Robert Munsch books, "Smelly Socks" and "We Share Everything". Always trying to sneak in some Canadian content!

Sunday we all made our way to nearby castle Svojanov and explored it.

There were dragons to look for, towers to climb (very proud that Ella was actually the only child to go to the top)...

...and windows to break (less proud about this accomplishment of Ella's.

The little kids were exhausted after supper and a 2nd swim. With all the toddlers off to bed, the parents managed a little adult time...well, except for Jeff, he was entertainment for the older kids....right, "Jeffie Baby"? (By the way, older is no more than 6 years old!) Did you know Jeff can juggle, do handstands and act just like a 6-year old? Me neither.

Monday, despite rain, the planned treasure hunt went on and was lots of fun.

The kids were really into it and the preparation for it was admirable. We ended at a local znamek (or chateau) and the final treasure was a coin with which to buy a treat. Ella ended up sharing an ice-cream sundae with her friend, Lola. Not to be outdone, Jeff and I split a banana spilt. After all, it was my birthday!

It was a friend-filled, fun-filled weekend for everyone...

(This is Matej with Mattias. Matej is 2 months the senior.)

~Maylia