UFO

The other day we gave a older man in Bratislava a ride home. He said he lived in a village outside of Nitra...well, it wasn't so close to Nitra...but whatever. He was an interesting guy with an interesting name; Mr.Zvoncek (Mr. Little-Bell). It turns out the Mr.Z is a retired biological scientist. This resulted in some stories about exploring old cathedrals brimming over with bats, and a bunch of other cool observations he had over the years. When we dropped him off in the middle of nowhere we saw a really weird sight. Strange dark clouds hovering, twisting, and morphing shape & form at frenzied paces filled the sky. What was it? We didn't know at first, but with a closer look we discovered it was huge flocks of little birds dancing in synchronization by the thousands. It was amazing. Unfortunately the photos didn't capture their magic, but take a look anyways.

PolkaParty

So, how many Poles does it take to make our guys go crazy with laughter? None. American missionaries to Poland will do. Last week we had some new friends visit Hotel Higgins. Frank & Suzie who serve with Calvary Chapel in Olstyn and Mary who serves in CC Hosanna (Radom, PL). The boys loved wrestling with them. It was great to make some deeper connections with these servants of Jesus who serve in a truly hard land. Slovakia is a piece of cake compared to PO(Mary-JohnPaulII)LAND. Please keep these guys and the fellowships there in your prayers. If you want to read more about their ministries check out this.

AirDuel

What's red & blue, screeches like a banshee, and makes hairpin turns at high speeds between two large bridges? We didn't know either, so we had to check it out. Last Sunday afternoon we headed over to Bratislava to watch the Red-Bull Air Duel. This is essentially a slalom-like race between two high-speed trick prop planes over the Danube river rocketing through large pylons mounted to floating barges. Sounds cool... It was an awesome show despite the hot weather. Enjoy the pics and videos!

romantic evening for four

I’ve always remembered Prague as a romantic place. Of course these memories were formed before our children were. Now we have two of them. What used to be a romantic stroll through a castle garden is now a charge to storm the ramparts and steal the princess out of the tower and away from the dragon (if my boys had it their way). Life simply has a different pace and shape now. It’s not bad, but it is different. It is an adventure.

Anyways, Ivetka & I just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! We have traveled many miles, emotions, ups and downs, but in general the journey has been good. It’s had its share of romance, and for sure adventure. I’m glad to be able to share this life with her.

We wanted to do something special...you know, like romantic.. sentimental...you know what I mean... Well, that’s not as easy to do with our rough and tumble guys. So, we had a “romantic evening for four.” We figured a boat ride through the town at night with dinner & jazz music would be something everyone could get into. It was and it was great!

Downtown

Downtown Praha- It is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, too many tourist (of course that included us), but still a great place to hang out on a sunny day. We had a fun time just roaming around aimlessly. Yet one of the problems of not having an aim in the heat is that you start to get thirsty. And unfortunately Praha (downtown) has not only become a tourist trap, but a tourist rip-off. Imagine a major metropolis with virtually no drinking fountains and every bottle of water cost $5+! No way! Fortunately, we were roaming and roamed ourselves into some side street to discover "normal" Czech potraviny-ies (local grocery stores) to quench the thirst. Despite the downfalls of being too attractive for its own good, Prague is a special place. I'm not sure if it's the greatest place to live day in and day out, but for a home away from home it could be nice.

Favorite things

"These are some of my favorite things....." The chorus to a cheesy Sound of Music song, but really it holds some truth. It's the simple, small things that often catch our interest and spark our dreams. During our trip I would review the day each evening with the guys and ask them what they enjoyed the most. Gabie's answer was - the swans. We saw a lot more then swans that day, but it was that simple encounter that left a big impression. The wonder of a child... keep it alive if you can.





Just for fun:

why?

why?why?why? That was the tenure of about 20 minutes spent in a little niche of Prague castle. We stumbled upon a blacksmith at work, which mesmerized the boys. They asked the guy a billion questions...it almost drove him crazy :)

The other day David was at home pretending to be a blacksmith...we will see what the future hold for that kid.

Actually, we have come across quite a few blacksmiths this summer on our random adventures. They are a interesting breed. Usually as black as a chert (devil) and skilled as angels. I wouldn't mind learning a bit of their magic myself....

Kool-Katz!

Here are our Kool-Katz hanging out at Prague Castle. They caught alot of attention (they always do). I don't know if it was their hats or their volume...





If the guys didn't steal the show, there was also some interesting architecture there as well...check out the menacing gargoyles....

Zoo

A few weeks ago we took our vacation up to Prague for a few days. One of the highlights of the trip (especially for the guys) was the Praha Zoo. It was VERY hot, but good. Its a great zoo - a must see if you are in Praha and like that sort of thing (it's growing on me). Apparently the zoo was ranked as the 7th best zoo in the world according to Forbes Magazine. The San Diego zoo (one of my personal favorites) trailed behind at about 9th place - a big surprise for us. After we hung out with the monkeys, we took a boat back to the city center. A really nice way to end a day of walking.







On the boat...