Prague.....Part 1

Dobrý den!That would be Good Day in Czech! I'm so excited to begin my series of posts from my trip to Prague. I arrived home around 8 PM Saturday evening and am just now feeling like I am getting back to normal. Jet lag is for real! I have never been as tired as I was Sunday afternoon. I went to bed almost immediately upon arriving home Saturday and woke up Sunday morning feeling good....or so I thought! I piddled around the house and took down the remaining Christmas decorations, unpacked and so on. And. Then. It. Hit! Extreme fatigue! I felt as though I had been run over by a truck! I slept the afternoon away and felt better again on Monday morning. Good thing since I had to go to work. Fortunately we have two days without students after Christmas break and I managed to muddle through the days. The kiddos came back today and I was happy to see them! Thankfully I felt really good today....almost back to normal. I have went to bed crazy early the past few nights and am trying to catch up on sleep and am feeling good. I am only sharing the first day of my trip today but will be sharing it all. I have never had a more amazing time in my life!
It started Christmas day....the hubby and son dropped me off at my friend's house since she was going with me and driving us to the airport. We headed to Tampa and boarded our plane around 1 PM. We departed around 1:50 headed for Washington DC.  This flight was around 2 hours long. We had a couple hour layonver in DC and then we boarded toe plane bound for Munich, Germany. This flight was around 8 1/2 hours long and we flew through the night.  We arrived in Munich around 8 AM which was around  AM back home. 

Leaving Munich, Germany

Somewhere over Germany or the Czech Republic

Nearing Prague

We had a really long 4 hour layover here but it passed pretty quickly and we continued on the last leg of our journey around noon. Here are a few photos from the plane window leaving Munich and heading to Prague. This flight was only around 45 minutes. I was about to burst with excitement by this point! I was glad to be near a window in this smaller plane so I could snap a few photos. 

Now, by the time we landed and we claimed our bags and exchanged our currency, I was in a bit of a state of shock I think and did not take any pictures until we went to eat. Let me say though that seeing my Randa waiting for me (along with her boyfriend) was a sight for sore eyes! I have never been so happy!

She had arranged transportation for us, so we loaded up and headed to our hotel to check in and drop off our bags. after that, we headed out to grab something to eat. I was excited to have a Pepsi (my favorite soda) to go with my meal. Miranda had told me that drinks aren't served over ice in the Czech Republic so I was prepared for this. LOL! It was a bit different but I got used to this by the time we left. Here in America, it is common to get free refills which means we drink way too much soda or sweet tea if that's what we order. That isn't the case over there. You get one small, chilled  bottle of soda and they pour a small amount in your glass for you when they bring it to the table. If you run out or want more, you order another one. I made mine last...:) One difference in culture.

One of the highlights of my trip was getting to meet this handsome man, Shahid! He has stolen my daughter's heart and I was so excited to meet him and get to know him a little before he left. He isn't from Prague,...he lives in the UK. They met just after Miranda moved to Prague while he was vacationing there. They hit it off and remained in contact and he has flown over to see her twice. This time he got to spend a couple weeks there. He flew out the night I arrived. It makes me so happy to see her so in love. They are just precious. :)

Moving on, we had out first authentic Czech meal....Goulash. Now, my goulash is much different than this. But, this was delicious! And, the presentation was awesome! Just look at that little kettle over the tea light candle. Love it! It is delicious chunks of the most tender beef in a rich and tasty gravy. It is served with bread dumplings and sliced bread. Quite tasty!

Here it is all together. Yum!

We all enjoyed this delicious meal and wonderful conversation. After we finished eating, we went to one of the Christmas Markets for Shahid to pick up some things for his family members. After that, we headed back to the hotel to drop off Jeana and Ashley. Jeana is one of my best friends and Ashley is her daughter. She and Miranda are third cousins since their dads are first cousins and they have been close their whole lives. Miranda was so glad she was able to come too. Anywho, we dropped them off  at the hotel and I went with Miranda and Shahid to the airport. Yes, I went back to the airport...lol! I wanted to spend some more time with them and I wanted Miranda to have company after she dropped him off. I knew she would be sad...and she was. But, she was happy that Ashley, Jeana, and I were there to spend a week with her.

I have never spent so much time on public transportation. We rode the trams a lot, along with the metro and even an occasional bus. On this night, we rode all three to get to the airport. Here we are going down to the metro. 

I can't wait to share my other days with you. I will be posting again as soon as I can. We are still in the middle of the bathroom remodel as we put it on hold until after I got back home. It gets dark too early to do much after work each day so we will be working on it this weekend. But, I will try to squeeze in a post too. I also want to visit your blogs and catch up but I've been falling asleep so early and just haven't been able to get to all of them. I will though...:) I hope you have a lovely rest of the week. Until next time.....Na shledanou! 

that's good-bye in Czech!