Our split vacation: Together again

At long last, it was time to head to the airport to pick up Emilyn and Daddy. (Or, as is Mommy's way, it was not quite time yet, but we went anyway!)

Allen and I spent a while upstairs watching the digital piano doing its thing with no one playing it. You could tell the Grampy in Allen desperately wanted to check that thing out and see how it worked! The digital readout under the keys let us know that we were listening to such favorites as "Autumn Leaves," "Misty" and "New York, New York."

After we figured we'd killed enough time, we went downstairs to wait outside the gates. Yikes! The arrivals board said they'd already arrived!! I just knew they'd be early! Well, I panicked a little, but it turned out we hadn't missed them. Still, I jumped for joy when I spotted Steve (he's taller) down at the end of the hallway, and I probably squeezed them both a little too hard and a little too long. Welcome home, world travelers!

Prague diary: Na shledanou, Praha !

Steve says all airline food should be made in the Czech Republic.

From his journal:

Pushed back at 10:44, watched scary Delta flight attendant video at 10:52. We're moving! Takeoff at 10:58. Na shledanou, Praha!

11:50: Lunch smells great! More clouds over Europe.

England clear. Lunch was great, chicken with mashed potatoes, Czech style. I even had Pilsner Urquell. Was good. Over Northern England. Found out previous flight from JFK had to divert to Atlanta to get a new plane. Suddenly, Allentown doesn't seem so bad.

Boredom sets in somewhere over Greenland.

5:30, Prague time: I see land through a hole in the clouds.

6:55, snack was great too. Turkey sandwich with cheese and onions and peppers, and an ice cream bar. All airline food should be made in the Czech Republic.

7:40 (1:40 in NYC): Landed! Now sitting on the ramp. What an adventure.

Prague diary: Last day

From Steve's journal:

Last day. Got up like usual at 10:00 and went to the store. Got Horalky's and stuff. Headed down to a place that promised to have garlic soup and svickova (sweet sauerbraten). Walked around Old Town Square looking for it. ... They had no garlic soup, and the svickova was 450 Crowns. Too much, so I had the gulas. It was spicy.

After lunch we walked around and bought some other stuff. Never tried absinthe. Oh, well. Finally found a Prague Post. Then we walked some more. Got to the dinner cruise boat and waited for a while. Cruised for dinner. More gulas and this great cabbage stuff. Lots of dessert, and one last train ride home. It's now 12:05 a.m. and we're getting out of here at 8:00.

His final thoughts? Great town. Great food. Great beer. Great people. But I want a pizza.

For the rest of the photos from the gang's last day in Prague, click here.

Prague diary: That magnificent man and his . . .

... Well, you know.

Steve split off from the group Friday to go to the Letecke aviation museum at Kbely. (Yes, the T-shirt Daddy brought home for Allen inspired the name for our new frog! Who has a big belly!)

From Steve's journal:

I took the green line to the red line to the end and waited for the bus. Used basic Czech to ask some kid which bus to take and he showed me the schedule on the wall. Got the right bus and was there in no time.

(I just get such a warm feeling when I think of Steve wandering around alone in a foreign country, using public transit like such a pro! I wish I had been there to see that!)



From Steve's journal:

The older stuff is inside, and the newer stuff is outside getting sun-bleached and faded. The layout was haphazard, but I saw it all and hit the gift shop. Luckily the checkout girl spoke English. The placards were in Czech AND Anglicky. Good time. Glad I went.

After a lot of trains and buses, and a lot of climbing and descending of old stone steps, Steve had rubber legs when he met back up with the rest of the gang in the city. They had been doing some shopping... Together again, they hung out on a cool playground and walked to Lokal, which Helena said was a restaurant with traditional Czech food.

From Steve's journal:

Salami with onions in vinegar sauce was fantastic. Rest was OK too. Emilyn ate a whole sausage, about 6 or 7 inches long, garnished with mustard and grated horseradish. Good beer. Interesting bathroom. Finally home about 11:00 in drizzle. What a day.

For all of the photos from Friday in Prague, click here.

Prague diary: Nazdar to Helena, Jiri, Suzanna - and Hubert

Thursday started out with a guided tour of St. Vitus' Cathedral.

From Steve's journal:

Amazing history and artwork. One crypt has 2,000 pounds of silver figures and decorations. Lots of people buried there.

Then, it was time to meet up with Helena, another relative of Steve's great-grandfather. They went to her parents' house, had some yummy foods... and Emilyn got to play with the dog, Hubert!

From Steve's journal:

Jiri is Jeddah's brother's son's son. Whoa. Nice people. I had a shot of Becherovka, very good. Open-faced sandwiches, then kolaches (poppy seed, plum and only three cheese ones).

From Steve's journal:

After that, we went to Old Town Square and saw the Astronomical Clock and a World Cup match (France vs. Mexico). It started sprinkling, so Emilyn, Ellen and I came home.

For more from Thursday in Prague (and a few shots of Thursday in Ballwin thrown in), click here.

Prague diary: Zizkov TV tower and Prague Castle

Our travelers had a late night on Tuesday (very late; I saw Emilyn online at 1 a.m. and figured I'd tell her to call me... It was only 6 p.m. in St. Louis!). Eventually, they made their way to the Zizkov TV tower and Prague Castle.

From Steve's journal:

Finally left for Prague Castle around 1:30. Went up the TV tower. Great views.

Then to castle. Walked up hill. Saw guys repacking the sidewalk. Ate at a place overlooking the river. Got to the castle at 4:45, waited for the changing of the guards, then went in. Church was amazing, stained glass and sculptures. Wow. Spent a lot of money on stuff and took pics.

For more breathtaking photos (and a video of the changing of the guard), click here.

Prague diary: Tracing roots in Kadov

On Steve's birthday, he and his traveling companions met up with Rasto, who translates and gives geneaological tours in Europe. They got the singular treat of taking a trip to Kadov, south of the capital. It's the area that Steve's great-grandparents came from. (Now might be a good time to remind everyone who's on this trip: Steve, Emilyn, Steve's cousins Laura and Brian, and Steve's aunt Ellen.)

On the van ride there, Steve felt a little queasy. But he had an answer for that: Had meat & potatoes in cream sauce and .5 liter of Deep beer. Pretty good. It settled my stomach after the ride in. I don't think that's how most of us would settle our stomachs, dear!

Their guides in Kadov and Malkov were Emilie Augustinova and her husband, Pan Augustin. Emilie was an old friend of Steve's great-grandmother's family. The gang posed for a picture in front of Steve's great-grandfather's old house. They laid flowers at the Rencova grave and saw the famous Rocking Stone, and even met the mayor of Kadov! They drove to Malkov and and saw where Steve's great-grandmother had lived.

They also met an actual, distant living relative, Pan Smetana, who was selling whipped honey in Malkov. Whipped honey? Mmmmmm!

When they got back to Prague, they headed to "Lesser Town" and Mesenace for Steve's birthday dinner.

From Steve's journal:

Had huge meat platter, beef, duck, pork and chicken, and three kinds of sauce. ... Turns out this place has been around since at least 1627, when the local executioner signed the wall. There's a frame on the wall; it's still there!

To see all the photos from Steve's 40th birthday in the land of his forebears, click here.

Prague diary: Vitame vas !

Touchdown! Steve was struck right away by the Communist-y block letters that signaled their arrival in "Praha." Of course, it was right next to a Courtyard by Marriott! McDonald's, KFC... The Americans felt right at home.

After a bus... to a subway... they made it to their apartments. Turns out it's a basement! Complete with a damp smell. Couldn't figure out the heater, so Steve just turned it off and opened the windows. Time for a nap!

They woke up about 5 p.m. local time, took the trolley to the river (the Vltava) and walked toward the Charles Bridge. Amazing buildings everywhere. They found a great place to have dinner... including a half-liter of some of that famous Czech beer!



Saw Prague Castle at sunset. On the bridge, scattered performers, including two guys playing Metallica on two cellos and a guy with an accordion playing Vivaldi. They walked around Old Town until they found the "A" subway line and headed home.



From Steve's journal:

Pretty unreal. Long day. It doesn't seem like this morning that we got here.

To see all the photos from their first day in Prague (and video of the bridge performers), click here.

Day 4: On to Prague

Well, they were on their way! A Sunday evening flight over the Atlantic, with a scheduled arrival in Prague early Monday morning.

Excerpts from Steve's journal:

Pushed back at 5:00, informed by captain that we won't be leaving for 1.5 hours. ... Finally left at 6:25. Woo hoo!

The travelers were pretty impressed with the food... but a lot of clouds below pretty much spoiled the view. But Steve did note that, when he looked north, it never seemed to get dark.

Excerpts from Steve's journal:

Sunrise at 11:30 p.m. Should be close to Ireland. Solid undercast. Somebody keeps farting. Smells like rotten eggs. ... Now over Belgium, 1 a.m. New York time, clearish skies over Germany. Good bombing weather.

Meanwhile, Allen was watching our travelers over Newfoundland and out to the Atlantic. FlightAware lost them when they got out south of Greenland. That wasn't very reassuring... Steve said the sunset over Canada was the most amazing color red.

Day 3: Not much to report

Allen and I went to Bass Pro -- for the drive, and also to look at the fishies.

The boy was being very good, so he got an excellent bug magnifier from Backyard Safari Outfitters. Actually, that whole line of toys was pretty much made for Allen!

We went to a Chinese buffet for lunch... and that was the last time we tried to eat out while Emilyn and Daddy were away!

Meanwhile, from Steve's journal:

Not much going on today. Emilyn seems better; she ate a little. I hope she's better when we get over there. Printed boarding passes and found out weather is not going to be that great. Oh, well, we'll see. Saw Cindy and her kids and that's about it. Just stayed here. Found wooden Q-tips at CVS. Wow.

Day 2: Carlo's and outer space

Emilyn was feeling a little homesick (and physically sick), so she needed a diversion... A trip to Hoboken was in order, to visit Carlo's Bakery, setting for TLC's The Cake Boss. Daddy and Emilyn watch that show together regularly.

They parked a quarter-mile away and had to wait on line for an hour and a half. But they saw Frankie, Danny and Remy from the show, saw the famous back alley (where they dumped flour on cousin Anthony from the rooftop) and brought home some cannolis, cookies and tiramisu. Yummm!

Back in St. Louis, Allen and I drove to the Science Center to see the Hubble Omnimax movie, about the groundbreaking orbiting telescope (and the shuttle missions to fix it). The movie was amazing. Allen did pretty well with the big sound and the all-around-you screen. His favorite part: Where you seem to be moving through a nebula. Then, we went to the star show at the planetarium, and touched a real piece of Mars!!

To see more from Day 2, click here.

Our split vacation

Well, Emilyn and Daddy embarked on their grand adventure... with a little midair hiccup...


Traffic was stacked up over Newark, so they started circling (or is that ovaling?) over north-central Pennsylvania -- until fuel became a problem, and they diverted to Allentown-Bethlehem. For those of us watching on FlightAware, it was a harrowing experience! (I'm sure it was no picnic for the people trapped on that little Embraer either! Certainly not for the captain, who had to keep coming back into the cabin to use the bathroom, I'm told!)

So, Allen and I found ourselves all alone for 12 days... And I was jonesing for some real roast beef like we used to get at home, so he and I started our "staycation" at Kohn's Kosher Deli at Olive and Lindbergh. I had a truly spectacular sandwich, and Allen downed plenty of grape juice.

With Daddy and Emilyn safely on the ground in Newark, Allen and I were free to head to the Missouri Botanical Garden for DinoQuest. Lots of great dinosaurs, and a moody mist in the Climatron!



To see more from the first day of our split vacation, click here.