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| Tommy in transatlantic traffic. |
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| Lisa received a rose from a stewardess in Munich. |
On the day before departure to Europe, juniors insisted on playing in our front yard, which gave me a chance to clean out our bus while keeping an eye on them, so that we had room to load all our luggage and bags. It still seemed to me that we'd have plenty of time, as our departure time was Tuesday evening, but in the end my initiative paid off. On the flight day, when I drove the kids to their preschool, the bus started signaling a flat tire. My Hippo started to formulate a new unexpected disaster development, figuring an immobile bus, our subsequent failure to reach the airport in time, alternating with the bus being seized by the police as abandoned in a repair shop, and so on.
Still even in this case, Sid met with disappointment. Instead of finalizing our packing and getting ready, I drove the unfortunate bus to Costco to get it fixed. There, Hippo picked me up with his car, we transferred kids' seats, I drove Hippo to his workplace and hurried off to pick up kids from preschool. I packed in the afternoon, then I loaded kids and we went together for daddy and from there to Costco for the repaired bus, loaded our bags and headed for the airport. On the way we added Gabka, who's job was to take the bus back from the airport to our garage. This phase of the trip worked flawlessly, we even got a message from Gabka that she made it back OK with the bus.
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| Blooming Czech May awaited us. |
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| Our cottage in the Highlands (left to the pink one) |
Lisa got a rose as a parting present, since they had one extra in the business class. Munich Airport was a pleasant surprise. Small, comfortable — but most importantly, we found a machine at the gate that dispensed excellent coffee for free, or hot water for about six choices of tea. After eighty dollars that we had to shell out in Copenhagen for a sliver of pizza and a bowl of noodles mere year and half ago, I consider the coffee machine a very humane deed.
And since we'd gone through the passport control in Munich, we got out of the Prague airport in no time. This year's welcoming committee consisted of Prague grandparents and Nejedlý's who came to lend us children's car seats. Granny lent us her flat, where we arrived in the night, the kids asleep in the car, of course. It was raining, which did not improve our jet-lag depression.
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| Eliza. |
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| Suddenly a whole bunch of kids. |
We set out to call on some government offices, cancel my housing savings account, and so on. Juniors were obviously tired, whimpering and being obnoxious; only lunch at "Blue Tooth" helped — a Thai restaurant in down town. Nothing lifts a bad mood like "comfort food". Our kids showed an interesting reaction to an unknown animal species — smokers. Apparently due to our displeasure in Pinnacles, that they should not run around with burning sticks, children reported to us every smoker that he smokes, even made a few (unsuccessful) attempt to blow cigarettes out. On the way home we bought a stack of "Brumík" cakes — I'm not sure about the nutritional value of this delicacy, our Lisa, however, who frowns upon many things, liquidated Brumíks at a speed that we suspect her till today that she breathed the cake in, whole.
First guests started to arrive in the afternoon. Jitka with Liduška, Míša and Víteček, and Martina with Eliza. I was amazed how relaxed can an afternoon turn out to be in a single bedroom flat with six children, although in one moment, a pooping queue formed in the corridor, while Eliza, through our ignorance, learned about the existence of water colors, besides crayons and pencils, hitherto kept secret from her by her own mother.
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| Granny Josie prepared balloons. |
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| Lisa lasted at it unusually long. |
Lisa got up at inhumane three thirty, I managed to keep her in bed till four thirty, but then Tommy started getting up as well, and we gave up attempts to sleep on. Well, at least we were in time for the early express train to Brno and the other grandma. To our surprise, Lisa remembered since being two years old that granny from Brno played throwing balloons with her, and now insisted on doing it again. Our train maniac Tom settled at the window sill and watched street cars passing by. We took granny out with us to a playground — after juniors became unruly and it was obviously time for an outing.
Due to the fact that it was May Day and Brno hosted an extremist protest, we preferred to stay indoors or nearby. Still this demonstration had complicated our logistic, as we had to take a detour bus instead of the easy tram. Lisa fell asleep in my lap on the bus and could not be roused. I had to carry her flat in my arms like a little baby, in all other positions her head would loll. Sid took turns with me and I must say that it was hilarious to watch people's reactions to a family quickly leaving the locality of a radical protest with an unconscious child. We tried to smile and dispel suspicions in the directions of policemen and other bystanders. Several black-clad strong young men joined us on the train to Prague, chemically invigorated, judging by the level of noise they were making. They surprised us again at the Prague Central Station, when these ready-to-fight youngsters meekly and orderly waited for Lisa to handle long staircase down to the metro.
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| Tom asked for a dandelion crown. |
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| Lisa and Matt. |
Hippo set out to Martina in the morning, who promised us a loaner car, I was packing and the kids played and watched TV. By noon we arrived in the Highlands, awaited by granny and grandpa. Tommy was fascinated by our back yard full of dandelions and asked for a dandelion crown like in the educational series Cubes (Kostičky). Then he dug in the sandbox, where he proceeded to dig for most of our remaining stay. He tried to entice Matt, our neighbor's boy, to dig with him, but Matt only had eyes for Lisa. It did not take long and Lisa and Matt were walking hand-in-hand everywhere, kept hugging, and parents' eyes moistened at the sight, with sentiment and laughter. Some things must be instinctive from birth — Matt was seriously showing Lisa their family possessions (a car), Lisa would coquettishly lower her gaze, and play shy.
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| Sandbox (photo Petr). |
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| In the cottage, watching a fairy tale. |
Nejedly's came to visit us at the cottage, and so Tom finally got, the the person of Jack, a partner in digging in the sandbox. Poor Matt kept shyly away from such a horde of kids, although in the end he and Lisa got away a bit and played together. In one moment, while trying to supplement a pair of hands to the triple-mother Blanka and feed the ten months old Noemi, Lisa, out of nowhere materialized on my lap and urgently tried to engage me in a conversation. As much she has been fascinated by babies, woe as soon as her own mother shows interest as well.
Monday May 4
Weather was ugly since morning. We wondered for a while how to alternate our program, and in the end we left granny and grandpa at the mercy of our children, and Sid and I, just the tow of us, fled by car to Brno. We arranged a beer evening with friends. Thus even a rainy day turned enjoyable — granny and grandpa could play with their grandchildren, while we attended to things unsuitable for children. Besides going to a pub, we tried to buy Geladrink (shake) in Brno for our friend Vendula. Reactings in various pharmacies were at least interesting. From ubiquitous "we don't have it" to a sneering "these diets are not something we'd carry". I would expect a professional behind a pharmacy counter to at least be aware that Geladrink is a joint supplement and not Herbalife. We were slowly giving up to a depression from a failed task, until at the last pharmacy we heard that they did not have it, but will order by tomorrow and when would be able to pick it up? Apparently, market economy had arrived here, but not everywhere.
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| Roštějn Castle gate. |
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| Lisa makes friends with anybody. |
We said good-bye to our Brno grandma in the morning and drove back to the other grandparents and the kids. Weather got a bit more reasonable, though it was still cold in the Highlands. We put on proper clothes and drove out to Roštejn Castle. At such time on a weekday, there were no other visitors. We climbed up on the tower, checked out the courtyard, and eventually endeavored the guided tour of the castle. It was the first time we would take kids on such affair, and we were naturally worried that they'd cause a scene or even do some damage. Lisa lost interest toward the end, but the guide unlocked the next room and released us early to a wooden nativity scene. Lizzy liked it a lot and in the end did not want to leave.
Mildly ambivalent about the weather we then chose to hike from the castle, while Sid's task was to move the car down to Small Stumpy Lake, and come up to meet us. This succeeded, though Tom complained that it was a long walk. I fear that he reaches an age when being just with boring parents is — boring.
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| Expedition from the castle to the lake. |
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| At Stumpy Lake, the kids perked up. |
We said good-bye to granny and grandpa in Highlands and drove to Brno again. On the way to Brno's granny we stopped by the Special Matricular Office to ask about the process of securing Czech Citizenship for our children. We know theoretically that this can be arranged through a Czech Consulate in Los Angeles, but having interacted with this institution left deep scars on my soul and a persistent feeling like loud screaming and banging one's hand on a wall. Only to illustrate — the Consulate sent me a stack of forms. Back in California I dutifully filled out every single one of them, although writing down one's current address and maiden name twenty times in a row seemed like wasting time and paper. In Czechia, as I progressed through various government outlets, ALL of these forms got gradually torn to pieces and discarded, either because they were no longer required (such as an application for permit to a middle name, which had been eliminated some eight years prior, yet the Consulate doggedly insists on it), or because the forms themselves were obsolete and therefore no longer valid (for example, the basic record of live birth). So much for care for Czech citizens abroad. End of consular rant.
The Special Matricular Office informed us that we need a certified translation of birth certificates, Apostillas, and "that permit from Prague". We promised to supply all of it, passed documents to a translation service in Brno, and proceeded to granny. There kids played with her and after lunch on the following day we sped back to Prague, stopping at Macocha Caves on the way.
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| Stalactites in Punkva Cave. |
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| Flower chafer beetle. |
The cave was a great success. First we got to go by a gondola, which fascinated our Tommy, then stalactites and stalagmites and caves, which our kids already know from Lehman Caves in Nevada, and so they quietly tolerated even the guided tour. They responded to the Macocha/macecha/evil step-mother legend — for several subsequent days I answered questions, who is this evil step-mother, why did she throw this little boy into the abyss, and whether he died there, who saved him, until I started to worry whether the kids would have a life long trauma. Yet after they made sure for the hundredth time, how it really was, they concluded that the step-mother was evil, and that was that.
High-point of the cave visit was a boat tour, and juniors liked it very much. We promised them more boating later with grandpa, and took the gondola back up to the top of the abyss. Tommy found a green scarab (flower chafer) on the way, I'm quite fascinated by his sense for detail, nothing eludes him. Then we only had to reach Prague.
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| Grandpa took kids on Vltava River in the Anchovy.. |
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| Old hand Lisa disembarks from the canoe. |
The weather cooperated and we executed an all-day outing with grandpa in Chuchle. This included engaging Sardel (Anchovy), an ancient canoe that in the past took us down may rivers. This time we just carried it a few yards down to Vltava. I was a bit worried how the kids would handle a tipsy boat, but it was a great success and grandpa did not seem to lose his balance by his grandkids. Tom has been convinced since that he had steered the boat, for he sat up-front.
Grandpa took us sequentially around an islet to a meadow on the other bank. Lisa spend several subsequent hours by wading in Vltava. Tommy splashed for a short while, watching cheeky ducks and swans, and then we made a picnic on the meadow. A picnic is a necessary component of every such outing. Grandpa produced a small styrofoam airplane and Tommy was in seventh heaven. He disregarded the wind-up rubber band to drive the propeller — he caried it through the air himself, making adequate engine noises, and that was it. Tommy lost the rudder to the plane on the same day, but it did not dampen his joy from such a beautiful machine a single bit.
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| Expedition to Chuchle Hill. |
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| Cameroonian goat. |
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| Kids at Stříbrná Skalice. |
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| At the cemetery where uncle is buried. |
We planned to visit with Bára, aunt Věra and great-grandmother as soon as possible, but given the current illness outbreaks, our visit had shifted to the very end of our stay. Aunt Věra offered their cottage in Skalice, which was great, for juniors could stay outdoors there. She also cooked a superb lunch, and so, when fleeting Tom flicked around me, he was caught and sat down to the table. He protested very vigorously that he was not hunry, but I ignored it and went to load his plate. Coming back to the terrace with food for my children, I could not believe my eyes. Tommy, who wasn't, but really wasn't hungry, just finished last bites from my plate. It should be noted that I had loaded it with a rather large adult portion. In a moment Tom disappeared somewhere with Andulka and neighbor's Míša.
We went to the cemetery in the afternoon. We did not manage to be with our wider family, when our uncle died previous winter, so we only lit a candle. My grandfather and cousin are also buried there, and it was a kind of family visit. All went well, until on the way back Tom spilled his bubble-maker. A horrid howling ensued, so I talked Lisa into pouring some of hers to Tom's bottle. Clumsy Tom repeated the mishap. He cried so desperately and acted as a completely traumatized child for his spilled bubbles, until my puzzled cousins asked, whether bubble-makers are unknown or unavailable in America. Our way back to Prague got enriched by an experience with overstuffed bus. Fortunately granny managed to secure a seat for her and the kids, and I snuck into a seat next to the driver, from where he ejected any pensioners, so in the end only Sid had to flailed somewhere clutching a post. But we managed OK.
December 2025: on our anniversary, Sid started to review and organize our journals, running into this one, which had been unfinished for sixteen years — I admit that after all that time I fail to remember most of the things that happened, except for a few key moments — and even those only through photographs. It'd be a shame leaving the journal undone, so here is the little I remember or can trace back from pictures.
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| Three Elizabeths at Srbsko. |
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| Everybody follow me! |
We organized a collective trip to climbing area Srbsko, in particular the old quarry Alkazar. By pictures, there were Nejdlý's, Martina and Péťa with kids, and probably our grandpa as well. I have no idea who brought the rope and quickdraws (Péťa, perhaps?), and I led Železitá (Irony, or perhaps the one next to it, which uses the same final rings, and DOES NOT have that difficult step over the edge), where everybody climbed subsequently — including Hippo and Tom. Most of the time, however, the kids played — three Elizabeths are worth mentioning — our Lisa, Blaka's Eliška and Martina's Elizabeth called Eliza. Naturally, the day was finished by a meal and more importantly ice cream bars at a restaurant near the railroad station.
Monday May 11
I spent in government offices, arranging Czech birth certificates for our kids. It succeded, though fight with the bureaucrat is never simple.
Tuesday May 12
We went to Brno to say good-bye granny Josie — but I remember no details.
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| Doubles? Roman and Sid. |
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| Before departure. |
On the last day of our stay we moved to Martina's — to return their car. We slept the last night there, because they live close to the airport, saving us from getting up a three a.m. and hoping to traverse the whole Prague. A very interesting situation ensued. Martina's Eliza asked her mother at some moment, "why is daddy so sad?" — we did not understand, for Roman was not at home. Well, then we sat in the kitchen, myself sideways to the door, in which I noticed Sid standing, by my peripheral vision. He stood there for quite a while, not saying anything, until Martina says, "This is my husband, Roman."
Roman and Sid are doppelgangers, not just by their looks (Roman truly looks more smiling than Sid, and that's why Eliza wondered why daddy was sad and did not respond to he the usual way). Naturally, when properly scrutinized, they are not truly look-alike, but their figures are same, and so are motions and certain individuality.
Thurdsday May 14
A flight home awaited us — which I don't remember of course — after many trips to Europe, everything blends toghether. It also means that apparently no strong experiences took place. It's probably as well. You may know the proverb — experiences don't have to be good, as long as they are strong. All is well that ends well.