Mathoms, etc.

I just came back from a trip to Prague with two of my sisters and my brother-in-law. Lynn and I went to Spain last year with some friends of mine(my first European trip!). Although we had a blast, nothing compares to a family vacation. I love the confusion, excitement and panic that you get when you're in a new place. I remember my anxiety (unwarranted it turned out) about the food and the language.

Highlights of the trip? The immigration officer scowling at me; hanging out at the cafes and restaurants just laughing the whole night; crossing the Charles Bridge over and over yet noticing different things each time; the day trips to Cesky Krumlov (an achingly picturesque town), Kutna Hora and its famed Bone Church, spa town Karlovy Vary; knowing that Bohemian kings, the Nazis, the Russian Communists and protesting students have walked the same streets I was now on; strolling through Old Town lit by the eerie streetlamps; looking up at buildings and finding all sorts of surprising details in the architecture.

I even loved the gray, rainy/snowy days and getting lost, the crazy drivers coming to a dead stop in the middle of the highway just to let us pedestrians cross and the overspeeding escalators in their subway system. I never got over the sense of awe at being in a former Communist Bloc city and trying to imagine life behind the Iron Curtain.
I just hated our "ugly American" sightings, that smoking was allowed everywhere and the darn hotel elevator that my sister swore was out to get us. In hopes of avoiding the elevator and to get some exercise, we tried taking the stairs but getting out of the stairwell turned out to be a problem too. We were rescued by a kindly but unsmiling housekeeper. There's so much more to see and do in the Czech Republic. I hope I'll get to go back someday.

P.S. We saw a guy who looked like Heroes' Papa Bennett at the hotel and Ginny Weasley-Potter lookalike on our city tour. No sign of the Haitian though nor Harry.