Holiday Roundup….

Well I’m happy to report that apart from Jackie’s phone and the 85 bottles we’ve killed in the last 2 weeks, there were no casualties from our madcap holiday v Praze. Originally I had wanted to head home, but that just wasn’t in the cards, and really, I had a great time staying here. It was nice to be able to relax for a week and catch up on some sleep! Apart from sleeping and going out a few nights, I had nothing to do which was kind of great. Relaxing seems like a much better idea than traveling all the way home, especially as so many people had travel issues this season. So what did we do??

Christmas Eve: Went out at 11 o’clock to walk around the center. I took lots of pictures and tried to keep my camera dry. I’ve also come to an important conclusion: Snow is sooooo much better than rain! I never thought I’d say that, but especially here where I don’t have to shovel, drive, etc., means bring on the snow! Rain is just inconvenient. And wet. Anyway. So Karl and I walked all over Old Town, over the bridge, through Mala Strana, getting the full tour of Praha Christmas trees. We even popped into a church to catch the last 1/2 of a midnight mass. So kudos to Karl for getting me in a church on Christmas for the first time in….. at least 10 years. And a Catholic church at that. Grandma H. would’ve been so happy.

Christmas Day we opted to sleep in until 11, which I’m sure is the latest I’ve ever gotten to sleep on the day. We started the day off right with Bailey’s in the coffee while we got the soup and meatballs going. Karl was in charge of the Christmas feast, so Jackie and I just did whatever he told us to do. Our feast consisted of the following:
Appetizers: Bagel chips and cheese
First course: Italian wedding soup
Second course: Christmas colored pasta and sauce w/chicken and meatballs
Third course: Venison, roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus and carrots

We also have stuffing we bought and forgot to make, and dessert had to wait until 2 days later because we were still full. Strawberry dumplings with mixed berry topping. Yum. It was a good day, filled with Christmas music, movies, an Office “Benihana Christmas” drinking game that we invented, and trying to talk to our families. Too much going on= lots of technical difficulties. Eesh. So in summary, yes, it would’ve been nice to go home and see people, but this was good too.

New Years Eve: After deciding that we couldn’t make a decision on what to do (and trying to do it on the cheap), we decided to just see where the night took us. The night took us to our apartment until 11:45, when we walked down to Wenceslas Square. We brought champagne (bless you Prague, for your lack of laws re: open containers), and cracked them at 12. If there was a countdown, it was very disorganized. We hung out on the square for awhile, enjoying the fireworks, racing through the battlefield, and being generally silly. It was a lot of fun, and I think we all remember at least that part of the night. We walked to another bar, but didn’t want to pay the cover, so we ended up in the bar in the park right near our house. This is where it gets a bit hazy, but I know that we were messing around throwing grapes at Katie, Jackie fell asleep, and somehow I was the only one there. And then I couldn’t get into the house because my keys weren’t working. And Karl had to scrape himself off the bathroom floor to answer the buzzer when I pushed it 72 times. Whoops. Overall, I’d say it was a successful New Year’s Eve.

I guess I hadn’t given it much thought, but the internet has informed me that the ’00’s were the worst decade in recent history. Why? Well here’s what Time magazine says….
Yep, that’s pretty depressing. So we have nowhere to go but up, right?? This is a blog I recently discovered that’s pretty cool. A little cheesy sometimes, but you know what? They’re right. There are a lot of awesome things everyday, and I think we all need a reminder of that. This is their NYE entry, and it made me pretty happy. I ended the ‘worst decade ever’ running around the streets of Prague after a completely ridiculous week of fun times, new people, boxed wine and excessive napping. Not bad. Do I miss family, friends, critters? Absolutely. But I’m doing exactly what I want to do, and that’s all that matters. This whole thing is an exercise in being selfish, and that’s not a bad thing. My life is pretty damn good right now, and if I want to drink too much, sleep too late, and be oddly influenced to do crazy things because of Don Henley, I can. Thank you, “Boys of Summer.” Ha. Happy New Year.