Mom and Dad visit Music City!

May 18, 2014May 19, 2014adriennesipLeave a comment

Hooray! After a month of getting used to this new place, I was ready to show off Nashville to my parents! They drove down 9 hours from Michigan on the first Friday in May. The weekend was packed with eating, and exploring. Here are the highlights!

Saturday May 3rd

The next morning we head out for a busy day of exploring the city. At Yeast Nashville my biscuit breakfast sandwich was tasty and large.

Then, we went to check out the downtown Farm Market. It was right next to the Bicentennial Mall; at one end is the capital and it’s made to mimic the National Mall in DC. There were towers with bells at the other end, quite the carillon!

After we were done learning about Tennessee’s history (16th state in the Union!) and headed down to see Warner Park, where I’ll be holding camp this summer!

Mom and I, enjoying the Little Harpeth River.

We had a lovely little wander, then headed to Harding Academy to meet Jessie & Ron’s friend Barrett at the art show. Barrett spends a LOT of time outdoors, waiting for wildlife to photograph. He captures some really stunning photos and even won a National Geographic contest for this photo of a Grizzly, charging after salmon in a stream.

Dad was feeling nappish after that, so Mom & I dropped him off at home and went to split a salad at Calypso Cafe and take a brisk walk in Shelby Bottoms Park, my favorite spot to run with the Indigo Buntings.

Hours later, we roust Dad and head to 5 Points Pizza to grab a few slices to go. Dad gets pepperoni and we get prosciutto and basil. YUM!!! We eat it on a bus stop bench and head off to explore downtown Nashville.

We park on the north side of the river and take the pedestrian bridge across because it has the best views. This is Dad’s cool abstract-reflection-of-the-bridge photo.

There were about 9 different groups of red-carpet-ready teens getting their prom photos on the bridge. Here’s the prom pix of Mom and Me!

Dad found a rooftop wedding to photograph.

I spotted a horse-drawn carriage!

Finally, across the Cumberland River and into town! We stop to admire the fountains.

And explore Broadway- with all the Honky Tonk bars. But of course, we’re only there for ice cream.

After grabbing ice cream, staring at all the gaggles of ladies in cowboy hats and walking past the buskers – we got sleepy and hiked back over the bridge.

Sunday, May 4th

In stereotypical ‘Adrienne’ style, we spent Saturday running all over town and Sunday we were tuckered out! So, we were going to try to take it a bit easier…

So, we went to church at the cute little Episcopal church in my neighborhood, then met up with Laura and Won at the Gerst Haus for lunch. Oops, no photos. Then, we went to meet the cousins, Rachelle and Steve Sipkovsky at Radnor Lake!

We hiked around the lake, spotting big turtles with Brayden, Bryce, Brenden and Ellie. We were careful to follow ALL the POSTED RULES… no running on the trails, no dogs, do not sit on the scopes. Lots of rules.

It was a lovely little gem of a lake – nothing remarkable by Michigan standards, but since there aren’t any natural lakes around here, it’s pretty unique. In fact, this lake was created to supply steam engines with water as they passed through Nashville, an overland transportation hub.

We hiked until 5pm, then Mom and I were hungry, so we headed to Calypso Cafe! Mom and I got salads (again! SO good!) and dad? Well, he got a warm mint brownie with whipped cream. He loved it.

We were tuckered out and headed home, where we spent 45 minutes watching YouTube videos like this one about the “Flippy, floppy spider of the Sea” (aka. Octopus). Do yourself a favor and watch it.

Monday, May 5th

Mom and Dad head out early, and stop by Louisville to see Father Roger and Andrew. They got home pretty late, but it was worth it! They’re making plans to come back for another visit this summer when we go to Mammoth Caves! BYE MOM! BYE DAD! I LOVE YOU!!!

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Moving to Nashville is like going to college.

April 28, 2014May 6, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

I started off my last post by talking about my standard 2-4 week ‘settling in’ period marked with location-based frustration and uncomfortable-in-a-new-place grouchiness. (My local CVS had NINE gun magazines on display.)

Hooray! The transition is over! Here’s a recap of my gradual acclimation to NashVegas.

I took a weekend trip down to Atlanta, GA to spend the weekend with Barb Knust & family! Atlanta itself was hot and ‘concretey’ but Barb & Jaime’s neighborhood was designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted who also designed Central park! It was shady and the winding streets were lined with gorgeous flowing trees!

Barb Sabina

On the way back to Nashville, I stopped in Chattanooga to see Sara Breese Apgar and meet the Cheetah Brothers, Simon and Owen Wilder. Chattanooga instantly felt more like ‘home’ than Atlanta did – there were water features for the kids to play in, bridges to stroll on and handmade pasta to enjoy.

Back in the Nash, I began feeling more like a local when I had my first celebrity sighting! I was at the little organic grocery store, the Turnip Truck and saw Hayden Panettiere, star of the TV show Nashville! She was just buying some organic produce and wearing this cool leather jacket.

That weekend Laura and I set up a Camp Warner Park booth at the Earth Day festival in Centennial Park. For those of you not familiar with Nashville, Centennial Park central feature is the Parthenon which was constructed for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial & World’s Fair. Memphis built a pyramid. This is an awesome Wikipedia photo of the celebration.

Our booth was near the Children’s stage and we got to watch a number of ‘global dance’ performances.

The stage drew quite a crowd and we had a fun craft project for the kids to do in between acts. We colored 200 bird necklaces with kids that day!

Then I got to go to a Bird Banding event at Warner Park Nature Center! I wrote a whole blog post about it, click HERE to read it.

This past weekend I got to meet some great new people and one of them told me that moving to Nashville was like going to college. (I bet you’ve forgotten the title of this post already.) There are lots of fun, young people but no one is really ‘from’ here, so you get to have 100 conversations that revolve around where people ARE from and why they moved to Nashville. Then you hang out around a bonfire and someone plays guitar.

These adorable folks are Nolan and Nicole Rossi! Nicole and I worked together for the YMCA of Metro Detroit, back in 2007?! They have been in East Nashville for 4 years and had a backyard BBQ to celebrate their new privacy fence. (Which is a MUST in a city. Our own ‘backyard’ is not a relaxing locale due to the 2 smelly, barky dogs on chains next-door.) I got to meet their awesome friends and hope to see them much more often now! Hooray for old friends!

And for cousins!

And for NEW friends that are old friends of your other COUSIN!

And finally, hooray for Dogwoods- they are the prettiest trees!

Nashville makes me feel like an elderly person. But I’ll get over it.

April 6, 2014April 6, 2014adriennesipLeave a comment

Disclaimer: I KNOW that I need to grant myself a ‘settling in’ time so I feel comfortable in a new place. This has happened before. It usually takes 2-4 weeks and then I’m zipping around like a local and going to shows with my new friends! BUT when I’m in it, this is how I feel… like an old lady who has NO idea how to do anything. (Luckily, my new boss Laura is a patient and kind guide!) Just to give you a picture, these are random thoughts that floated through my head this past week: Why can’t I figure out how to type my sister’s name into my Contacts list on this Android smart phone?!? It keeps auto-correcting “Jessie” to ‘JESUS’! Why do I have to drive on the highway just to get to the grocery store? Why did my TWEET just post to my personal FB page and not the CampWarnerPark FB page? If I’ve never used the handbrake on my car, will it be stuck forever? If I don’t use the handbrake on my car, will it roll down the driveway and into my housemate’s car? I think I need an APP to work the thermostat… it’s 62 degrees in here. Brr. OK. OK. OK! Enough of THAT! Here’s a pix of a cherry tree! They are blooming EVERYWHERE in Nashville! This is what I’ve been up to lately: I’ve spent this first week getting things set up for camp (Insurance, marketing, etc) and also getting to EXPLORE the 3,000 acres of Warner Park!!! What a fun day at work! Hiking and seeing Blue birds and OWLS! And that counts as work! Because of Laura’s vision, our new camp has access to this whole area; forest, streams and field! PLUS, Warner Park has a really amazing Nature Center where they keep bees, a pond full of chirping toads, an organic garden AND a staff of naturalists who are going to lead activities with our kids! Jackpot! Here are some photos from Warner Park.

Even the bathrooms are CUTE and naturey!

So camp is going to be great- I just need to get the word out and sign up about… 400+ more kids!

Yesterday, I drove to Columbia, TN, where Laura is the new Exec of a Community YMCA. Their town is ‘famous’ for MULES. (That’s right, the horse/donkey hybrid) and they celebrate with a week-long festival called… Mule Days. Saturday was the parade and BOY O BOY was it entertaining!

Check it out! 1- Horses in overalls 2- Lil’ Miss Paternity Testing 3- Cool old car 4- Giant Radio Flyer

And the fun doesn’t stop there! Horses with stars and guys yelling, “I say, WAFFLE! You say, HOUSE! WAFFLE! HOUSE!” Star Horse Waffle! House!

And don’t miss out on the Mule Train! The Saturday of FUN doesn’t stop there! That afternoon I stopped by Laura’s house (in an old bank) to pick up some things and I got the grand tour! The bank had to be majorly remodeled over the past decade to make it livable- and it’s awesome inside! I don’ t have a pix of the 2 story vault that is now a library with a rolling ladder.

But I DO have a picture of me, riding on a cowboy fish in the ballroom. Yup.

To cap off a great day, Laura fed me handmade Korean pork dumplings and took me to see some art. OF course the ones made of crayons were my favorite. I’m so sophisticated!

This arcade does an art crawl every 1st Saturday of the month.

Remember when I used to write blog posts?

March 31, 2014adriennesipLeave a comment

The last time I wrote a blog post, it was about our trip to Slovakia… we flew back into D.C. the day the gov’t shut down… October 2013. Since then, I haven’t been overly inspired to do much more than post photos to FaceBook. Lame, I know. Here’s my attempt to get you all updated before I start posting about Nashville and how slowly people walk there (I’ve been warned!)

FALL 2013- WINTER 2014 UPDATE

This Fall was split between applying for Event Planner jobs, teaching swim lessons at the YMCA and helping my dad build a house. (In the photo I am DRYING a house, but I did get real handy with an impact driver and did some actual work!)

Then Cory came home for a wedding, the beginning of November and helped us out at the house.

November Cory

Then it got insanely SNOWY and FREEZING! Dad and I had some very leisurely mornings, making eggs and watching Kelly & Michael on TV while the wind chill hovered around -18. (Dad went through a lot of Hot Hands this winter…) In late November, Mom and I went Silver Bells in the City- in Lansing. Freezing, but a fun time!

Silver Bells

When it was warm enough to breathe outside (without your nose hairs freezing) Mom and I would take walks and have adventures. THEN, just before Christmas, we had a crazy storm that knocked out our power for 3 days. I slept over at Uncle Pete & Aunt Kathy’s. They had a FULL house and threatened to go to a hotel. Family Rocks!

We managed to cut a tree and put it up for Christmas. It was decorated with 30+ year old salt dough ornaments that were G’ma Smith’s. So adorable. I miss her. Merry Christmas!

Then we headed back to Pete & Kathy’s for Christmas Day. It’s always nice to hang out with the Smith crew.

What a bunch of cuties! Above: Betty Jane, Emma and Mom. Below: Uncle Petey & Callie, getting along just fine.

I rang in the New Year with the best bunch of college roomies a girl could as for! 1234 White Street may have been such a generic name that they refused to deliver pizza to us, but we know how to have FUN! So happy to have spent the evening with this crew! Also, Cards Against Humanity? You should buy it. Tentacles. That is all.

In January Mom, Dad and I drove out to Colorado to spend a week with my siblings. It DUMPED down snow on our ski day at Beaver Creek and the powder was almost to our knees. It snowed all day and the hill was so empty that we could ski RIGHT back on the lift, no wait at all. The NEXT day, there was a snow day and everyone flocked to the slopes. People were waiting 1.5 hours IN LINE for the LIFT! You could see the lines at the Vail lifts from satellite images.

Then, 4 of us spent 2 hours shoveling 2-3 feet of snow off of Cory & Maria’s roof. You do the math. Epic snow.

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Jessie and I, doing a dance in our matching Patagonia jackets. We’re so spoiled!

Sister Patagucchi

It was also Dad’s birthday before we left for Colorado, then it was Mom’s birthday when we got back! There was much celebrating!

mom and dad celebrate

Let’s just skip February… and now it’s MARCH! My Aussie friend from YMCA Camp Jewell is doing a tour of the USA with his friends and invites me to meet them in Chicago for St. Paddy’s Day! What fun!

Troy & I, waiting for my favorite Irish Band, One of the Girls, to go on!

Chicago sure knows how to do a solid dye job!

Troy wore that Kermit head all day. Seriously, for about 14 hours. Drunks LOVE Kermit! (We have no idea who these girls are, but we will claim Sebastian- in the sunglasses. Surprisingly, he’s not drunk- he’s just Argentinian!)

And we’re all caught up to present day! Here is my motto for 2014…

It seems to have worked, I’m moving to Nashville, as we speak and developing/running a nature day camp in a 3,000 acre city park! Should be an interesting summer!

Meeting G’ma Sip’s Cousins

January 20, 2014May 6, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

Sunday, September 22nd, 2013

We woke up in Klato and Elena made us omelets + liquor for breakfast, toured a neighbor’s garden and had mushroom soup (made by Michael’s mother, Hana).

Every time we left a relative’s house, we got presents- usually it included alcohol! (See below: my bell + apron!)

On our way out of town, we stopped in Nedanovce (a tiny town a few miles away from Klato) to plan a visit for the following week with another set of relatives.

(Zdenka & Marie: The sisters are 80 & 85 year old cousins of his mother!) It was a pretty old-timey way to set up appointments. They sure were surprised to see us!

Hana’s summer cottage is in Neda Nofsa and she took us over to the cemetery to visit dead relatives.

We headed back to our Slovak ‘home base’- NITRA- It’s a mid-sized college town where dad is friends with a Lutheran priest called Pastor Ivan. We settled in at the Penzion Vila Aria and made plans to drive across the country the next day. Luckily, in Slovakia it will only take us 4-5 hours. 🙂

September 23

In the morning, a tiny, hummingbird of a woman, Anka, made us omelets for breakfast and forced me to take a pile of salami for the road. She didn’t speak any English, but she was very concerned that I might go hungry. This often happened to me in Slovakia… I guess I just have that look about me. ; )

Before we begin our cross-country trip we pop over set up a visit with “Young Jan” who also lives in Nitra. Dad knew where Jan lived, so we stopped over- but no one was home. We called Jan’s cell phone and he answered but the connection was bad… until he stepped out onto the front porch! HEY!!!!

After setting up a visit for the 30th, we start our journey to Poprad, at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains.

The Agricultural Fair in Klato Nova Ves

December 20, 2013adriennesipLeave a comment

When I last left you, we were just leaving the VINOTEKA – where we tasted BURCIAK (wine’s sweeter/younger/cloudier cousin) and gave the chandelier the ‘Ultimate Test’. We headed towards Alena’s school through the grounds of an abandoned mansion- the family had collected ‘exotic’ trees that we recognized from Michigan! Species like Black Walnut, Ponderosa Pines and Sycamore trees!The Mansion was owned by the mayor and in 1901 his wife started a school in a spare room. Now, Alena is the principal of that school, on the same property. Today is the Agricultural fair and all the kids have brought their biggest vegetables/fruits to school to win ribbons.

Outside of the school, Veronica was gathering seeds for her garden.Inside the school, the ballroom was lined with folding tables heaped full of the bounty of the backyard gardens of the town of Klato Nova Ves. It was pretty impressive!

The school kids recreated the town with cardboard box houses, decorated with seeds and leaves.

This is the cutest Leaf-Fox I’ve ever seen. Good job, Anetka!

Mom found a BIG pumpkin and a basket of gourds!

There was also an entertaining table of door prizes – our favorite was a gift basket of wine, paired with a first-aid kit! Just incase you injure yourself in a drunken stupor. We headed out an hour later and stopped to admire the fountain in the ‘Nameste’ (Town square).

Then, we head back to Alena’s house for leftovers! We’d spent 1/2 the day, wandering through this tiny town! As we made our way home, these hearty geese chased us across their yard… eventually, I should post videos- these guys were SO NOISY!

Slepacia, Slivovecia and wood-fired pork knee! Oh my!

December 12, 2013December 12, 2013adriennesipLeave a comment

Klato

We arrive at Alena's house just before noon and lunch smells fantastic!

Meals are long and boozy when we are hosted by our Slovakian relatives. Every course begins with a shot of local liqueur called Slivovica, served in a fancy cut glass. Whoa! Mom & I play along- knocking back our shots and shouting, “Nastrovia!!!” Dad has learned that he can opt out of most celebratory drinking with a single word, “Chauffeur”, since the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.0%. Slovakians take drunk driving very seriously… probably because they take their drinking very seriously!

*Upon closer review of this photo- this is breakfast. Omelets and shots = Yowza!

The first course is always Slepacia. Homemade, delicious chicken soup with delicate handmade noodle (if you're lucky). Alena had ordered focaccia with bacon from the bakery and I had to pace myself- everything was so delicious but there was more to follow.

Then, the pork knee arrived at the table, wood fired and full of flavor. (Did we have veggies?) There is a little plate of cut veggies & pickles- just like at G'mas house.

We sat for a while after dinner- Michael in the center of multiple conversations- and then dessert arrives on the table. Kolache! Dad's favorite kind of Slovak cake is a roll with walnut paste inside. There is also a poppy seed version that is very popular. G'ma Sip used to make both varieties. Two & 1/2 hours after lunch began & its time for a walk… Or a nap. We opt for the guided tour of Klato.

In such a small village, the principal attracts attention wherever she goes. We stop to talk to kids & parents as we head up the hill to the cemetery.

One of the older women we pass offers us handfuls of walnuts that she has collected.

In the cemetery, we visit Alena's mother's grave, Stephania who passed away 3 months ago and clear the leaves off her grave and light a candle for her. In Slovakia, everyone takes care of their own family's grave – one family was there doing some landscaping with white quartz rocks.

The town of Klato is so small that they do not have a church- the chapel in the cemetery holds services on Saturdays, when the priest from the next-town-over is available.

We stopped in side to ogle the paintings on the ceiling and making sure our number wasn't up…

Jesus is now serving number 888.

After leaving the cemetery, we make the logical next stop… the VINOTEKA!!!

Slovakians grows lots of grapes and many of them make their own wine. This guy built a bar in his basement and it's awesome! He is also a metalsmith and really went all-out decorating the bar in a manly fashion.

The owner really wanted to put up this sweet chandelier and then his wife pointed out that tipsy patrons may try to swing on it. So, he re-installed it to support up to 250 lbs. In the photo, Veronica + Michael are giving it 'the ultimate test'. It seems to be holding up!

Did you notice the pitcher of cloudy 'wine' in the photo of all the taps on the wall? No? Well, it may have been your introduction to BURCIAK- its midway between grape juice and wine. A lot of the sugar hasn't fermented into alcohol yet, so it's sweet yet gives you a buzz. And since we had WALKED there, Dad's usual excuse did not apply. This photo cracks me up!

The tour of Klato wasn't over, next we head over to Alena's school to check out the Agricultural Fair! We'll save that excitement for next time!

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Sloooovakia! Leaving the fast-paced life behind.

November 8, 2013March 30, 2015adriennesip1 Comment

September 19th, Thursday

(Photo by Mom)

When we last left the story, we had escaped the frantic pace of Prague and we were cruising the back-country lanes of Slovakia. We arrived in Martin in the late afternoon and got settled at the St. Martin Hotel. Their aren’t really ‘hotels’ in Slovakia… we stay in places that are more like a cross between a motel and a Bed & Breakfast.

There were always comforters with duvet covers, folded sideways on the beds. Quaint and adorable.

We hopped back in the car and headed off to find Dad’s favorite spot for dinner, the Chopper Club. (Yup, it’s a Harley restaurant!)

Dad has eaten there 3 times and always orders the Flintstone Platter; a sizzling slab of rock with a chunk of meat cooking on top!

With full tummies, we headed back to the pension and off to bed. The first day in Slovakia was a SUCCESS!

September 20th, Friday

After an (almost) uneventful breakfast (Dad’s ‘French Toast’ was covered in salty sheep cheese!) we hit the road. Heading to Banska Bystrica to cruise the pedestrian walkway and explore the gorgeous downtown.

There were clarinet-playing buskers serenading us with Stevie Wonder songs, a HUGE rock fountain and a whole slew of lovely saints, carved out of marble.

(Hmmm… taking a second look at this next one, I think her dress is telling me that she’s no saint!)

We strolled through the cemetery and then went in search of lunch. We found a lunch special at a cute little restaurant in the lower level of an alley but had a bit of trouble with the menu.

When the waiter came over we just pointed to the #1 and hoped for the best. Dad may look a bit skeptical, but we ended up ordering a 2nd plate! (It turned out to be fried PORK NECK with boiled potatoes & cabbage. YUM!)

After lunch we headed out of town and headed to Hronsek, to see a 300 year old wooden church. Slovakia is famous for their wooden churches, many with onion domes. Their interesting designs stem from a 1681 set of restrictive laws that were placed on the building of Protestant churches.

What kind of church would you build if it had to be built with the following restrictions:

No metal nails may be used
Construction must be completed in 365 days.
Church may not have a steeple/ bell tower.
The front door may not be directly on the street.

PFFT! That sounds difficult!

The Hronsek church is what they came up with in 1726. I’m pretty shocked that an uncoordinated altar boy didn’t accidentally burn it down, considering they must have held candle-lit services for many of those years.

Next, we head to Nitra- Dad’s favorite Slovakian town! We stay Friday night at the Pension Zorboska.

This window at our Pension has many ‘Slovak’ details:

Lace curtains. (Every house in every Slovak village has lace curtains. Seriously. Every. Single. One!)
Geraniums in the window box!
No screens! Plus, cool windows that can be opened from one side or tilted in from the top so the blinds can still be drawn.

We walked into downtown Nitra for dinner. On the way we passed a new art installation honoring Cyril & Methodious – Slovakia’s patron saints who brought Christianity and written language to the Slavic people.

Even half-way around the world, Mom & Dad show their Spartan Pride!

We keep walking through town, til we get to one of Dad’s favorite parts of Nitra- the ‘Nameste’- or central square. It’s got a fancy fountain with color-changing lights!

Our hunger forced us to move on… until Dad found an Italian restaurant and we had a great dinner. Yum- lasagna and arugula pizza! Dad also drank three glasses of ‘apéritif’… which Mom described as ‘cough syrup with bubbles’. Blech.

Full & happy we walk Back to the Zoborska to bed down for the night!

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Leaving Prague… if our car isn’t impounded!

October 25, 2013October 25, 2013adriennesip1 Comment

Wednesday, September 18th

Recap: It's 4pm – Natasja just left us at the Ameriky Bar and we took Dad back to start his nap.

Mom & I head over to the Metro and make our way to Prague Castle.

On the way to the tram, we pass this lovely fountain- landscaped with curly kale!

Momma and the cutest curly kale.

Then, it starts to rain. Again. Mom kept saying that the rain made the cobblestones look so pretty.

What do you think? (That's me, trying not to fall down on the slippery cobblestone.)

Ok- back to our trip to the castle… the Guinness Book of Records lists Prague Castle as the largest ancient castle in the world. It is basically a walled city with a huge cathedral in the center of it. In fact, it doesn't really look like a classic 'castle' but there are guards posted at every entrance.

Mom really enjoyed the view- those red roofs are her favorite. You might notice the cloud cover is thick.

The only benefit of the rain was that we got to see the downspouts on the cathedral do their thing.

There were some pretty neat building in the castle compound.

What a pretty city! We got back to the hostel @ 7pm to wake Dad up and take him to dinner!

We had a traditional Czech dinner (which turns out to be very similar to a Slovak dinner) of meat & gravy, boiled potatoes and dumpling- which are a steamed bread, sliced. It looks something like this…

This is also where we discovered the magic of Medovnik- a layered honey cake! Yum!!! No photo, but you can check out the recipe & a pix, here: http://www.czechinthekitchen.com/2012/03/31/honey-cake-medovnik/

We also had a yummy Czech beer, so now we're tuckered out! Plus, we have to pack up & get leave Prague

in the morning!

Thursday, September 19th-

Good-bye, Prague! The Sipkovsky's are off to explore Slovakia!

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast! Remember how we had to put the rental car in the parking garage when the parents arrived? Well… It turns out that we royally messed that one up! We knew to park in the underground structure of the Ibis hotel, next door. We were not staying at the Ibis, so we parked in the green area marked, VISITOR. Easy, right? The green area had some parking spaced roped off, like they had just been painted, so we drove past those and a huge steel door slid open and there were open spots! Great! Let's park here!

Upon our return, the door that had magically slid open for us was LOCKED! No answer from the intercom box, either. We headed upstairs & the hotel desk clerk informed us that the green area was for the law firm next door… they moved their offices 2 years ago. She could not help us- besides, we might have been towed already!!! EXCUSE ME?

Freak out time!!! Dad kept his cool & we left Mom to wait with our luggage while we tried to get our car back. There was another hotel that shared the garage & when we told them our sad story they called in a guy with a walkie-talkie. Making no promises about whether our car was still there or not, he followed us down to the inpenetrable steel door. The intercom worked for him! After a lively conversation in Czech where he explained that the American 'tourists' had created a 'problem' with their 'auto', THE DOOR OPENED! Deep breath…. and our car was STILL THERE!!! Apparently, the other cars we saw in that area belonged to the construction workers who were renovating the old law firm. We were so relieved! We paid the $60 parking fee ($30/day) and high tailed it out of that crazy city! (Dad has sworn never to return. That means Budapest too, so don't even ask if he'll go there!)

Whew. Now we can all relax. Road trips are totally our thing!

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Prague: The story of the Parents & their patron Saint Ludwila.

October 9, 2013October 10, 2013adriennesipLeave a comment

Tuesday, Sept 17th

YAY! Mom & Dad's plane arrives in Vienna at 9am this morning! I'm super excited!!! Natasja and I took a spin around Praha since it would take them 3.5 hours to get to here.

On our walk we took note of the very pious beggars on the Charles Bridge, saw a lady getting a fishy pedicure and watched chilly newlyweds make a video in the Old Town Square (they held hands & twirled).

Then we started back to Miss Sophie's to wait for the call to go meet my parents at their hotel. And we waited… and waited… and then when I couldn't wait any more I called.

They were lost. 😦 Super lost. For at least an hour. I waited another hour and when I called back they were stress-driving through Prague (did I mention they HATE big city driving?). Mom was trying to read the street signs (in Czech) and I'm trying to find them on my map-app on my ipad and tell them where to turn. Meanwhile, Natasja and I are standing on a streetcorner in the 14th largest city in Europe hoping to spot them as they drive by! We… we needed some help.

Then help appeared~ in the form of St. Ludmila! (The Gothic church at Nameste Miru!) Mom says- “I can see two black steeples!” We could see them too! There was lots of excited squealing, then dad pulled off the side of the road and Natasja & I hopped in! SUCCESS!!! Finally reunited!!! It was 5pm. Mom had optimistically predicted a 1pm arrival. Whew. We directed Dad to a parking spot and decide to grab some dinner while we evaluated the (super-jetlagged) situation. Finally! They were done with 26+ hours of traveling! Yawn!

Over Beuf Bourguignon, soup and Mushroom Risotto Mom & Dad decided they were just too tired to try and find their hotel. They were going to stay at Miss Sophie's too! After checking, in we parked the car in a ramp across the street and walked down to Wenceslas Square to give the parents a little taste of the city.

Good King Wenseslas was raised by his Grandmother, Saint Ludmila (the double steepled church was named for her) and became the Duke of Bohemia. Wenseslas was known for caring for the poor and was so beloved by the Czech people that he was crowned King, after his death in 935.

We managed to keep Mom & Dad up until 8pm- then after tucking them into their bunk beds (yes… they were both on top bunks) Natasja and I went out for a Czech beer. Dang, those monks really make great beer! Tomorrow we'd get to play Prague tour guides. For now we rest.

Wednesday, Sept 18

9am we decided to take the 'rents out to breakfast at Zanzibar, (the restaurant by the fantastical monster fountain) and had great omelets and ginger tea.

Then, we tried our hand at the public transit system… That was a bit of a debacle! We bought tickets and got on a bus… headed the wrong way. So we got off and caught the bus going back but decided it wouldn't take us to old town, so we got on a tram.

A nice younger woman on the tram overheard us being confused and told us the correct tram to find! (This woman is nice for giving us directions but super nice for not swearing at the 80 yr old woman who patted her 'baby belly' and offered her the seat! She was NOT pregnant. Awkward.). We switched one last time and arrived at our destination- Malo Strana, just west of the Charles Bridge.

One of the smaller bridges, covered in 'Love Locks'. The Charles Bridge is below with Powder Tower on the right.

We made our way down to the riverbank to find some swans to feed- we had saved them a piece baguette from breakfast because Mom read about it on a website. We found 2 swans, but mostly just some ducks. So we headed across the bridge to check out the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square.

The photo on the left is me, on the Charles Bridge, approaching the Powder Tower. The center is the clock with all the hype. Gorgeous clock, but the hourly 'performance' is lackluster. The sign in Czech, Karluv Most means Charles Bridge.

Trdlnik is a yummy treat! It's bread, curled around a wide, wooden dowel, rolled in cinnamon sugar and slowly rotated over hot coals. Delish! (Photos with Adrienne in them were taken by her mom! Trdlnik by Natasja)

Natasja & I led our 'tour' through the square (there were some loud banging noises coming from inside the statue!) and to the Municipal House.

The restaurant was full, so we had warm beverages in the Ameriky Bar. Mom found it entertaining that the waiter spoke zero English but had a US flag on his uniform. The waiter didn't find it as funny… Then it was time for Natasja to head to the airport. We hugged goodbye, then she headed off to catch the Metro. We ended up heading back to the hostel 5 min. later to refresh & drop Dad off for a nap. But didn't see Natasja on the train. Bye!

At 3pm, Mom and I headed out onto the rainy city streets to explore Prague castle. Dad slept until we woke him up for dinner. You'd assume it was the jet-lag, but he considers a 'good nap' to be 6 hours.

Next time, Prague castle, Czech dinner & how we got the rental car out of accidental impound. Oops.

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FestiBelt Adventures

A Mid-Westerner Abroad

Mom and Dad visit Music City!

Moving to Nashville is like going to college.

Nashville makes me feel like an elderly person. But I’ll get over it.

Remember when I used to write blog posts?

Meeting G’ma Sip’s Cousins

The Agricultural Fair in Klato Nova Ves

Slepacia, Slivovecia and wood-fired pork knee! Oh my!

Sloooovakia! Leaving the fast-paced life behind.

Leaving Prague… if our car isn’t impounded!

This is also where we discovered the magic of Medovnik- a layered honey cake! Yum!!! No photo, but you can check out the recipe & a pix, here: http://www.czechinthekitchen.com/2012/03/31/honey-cake-medovnik/

Thursday, September 19th-

Good-bye, Prague! The Sipkovsky's are off to explore Slovakia!

Prague: The story of the Parents & their patron Saint Ludwila.