Kolo kolo mlynsky :::

The angels and devils were out in full force at Náměstí Míru tonight. Caroline thought she'd be too old this year, but changed her mind at the last moment. She's decided that next year will be time enough to change hats and don a halo or horns.If you haven't been in the Czech Republic for Mikuláš Eve...  

Zdeněk Miler, Krtek's creator, died yesterday. I've written about Krtek, the little mole, before. He is the most gracious and kind of Czech illustrated characters and a dear friend of the children. He's also a constant in young kids' lives here, ours not excepted. Mr. Miler will be much missed.  

Every evening just before 7, a little fellow with a red felt hat and cotton beard visits German kids' TV, taking his viewers around the world on all manner of rides. Monday might find him on a carpet in India, Tuesday, a submarine under the sea, Wednesday, he‘ll guide a troika into the wilds of Russia. The...  

Blue skies and above freezing weather this weekend made it easy to explore the Christmas market at Náměstí Míru and take lots of pictures. The sun (sun!) and shadows kept tempting my camera though, so I gave it free rein, and decided a portrait of a bush was my favorite picture from a morning of clicking...  

"T-D, T-D, T-D-ahhhva. T-Dava," said Caroline, standing at attention in front of her kindergarten’s director, years ago. "T-D-am. T-D-aktor," she continued, giggling a little as familiar words turned to nonsense. She repeated the list again, faster this time. We were in the director’s office and Caroline...  

All over town Advent wreaths are on sale, in various states of readiness. You can either buy a wreath off the shelf or be bold and make your own. Foam core wreaths, hot glue guns, candles of all color and decorations of all types - the world's your oyster when it comes to construction. We made our own again...  

Yesterday and today are our days to celebrate Thanksgiving, so we're cooking up a storm over here, which doesn't leave a lot of time for writing. In lieu of something longer, I thought I'd post the sweet potato recipe that's become our party favorite, at least for adults. The kids prefer marshmallows,* which...  

Germany may have been home to the Grimm brothers, but the fairy tales they collected grew in both Czech and German lands. Like regional recipes, these stories share common ingredients if not a common language, more similar to each other than to the saccharine sweets whipped up by Disney. Three Hazelnuts for...  

Hope everyone in the States is having a wonderful Thanksgiving, and enjoying the holiday. We'll celebrate Friday and Saturday, but I certainly have Carolina on my mind today.  

We haven't reached Thanksgiving yet, and already I'm obsessed with...no, not Christmas, though it is looming around the corner shaking its bells and holly at me like a merry bogeyman. I'm obsessed with acronyms like NAO and AO and whether or not they are going to be negative or positive and will we or won't...  

Last week one of the leading Czech newspapers, Hospodářských noviny, came out with a story slamming Czech food suppliers for the low quality ingredients they use in some of their products here. HN compared the same products in Germany, manufactured by the same parent companies, and found that the reason...  

Rather than post pictures of yet another darkening sky, I thought I'd brighten us all up with a collage from late October, when we were on a short trip abroad. Any guesses on the country? (Ellen, you can't play ;-).Note added: There are nine more days of NaBloPoMo. I've got a long list of possibilities to...  

Outdoor skating rink, Na Františku, opened its ice this weekend, in well timed synch with the Prague Christmas markets. After a few days of accidental meanderings by Náměstí Míru to test out the market's treats, we decided ice skating might be just the right antidote for all the cider we'd tried this...  

An academic husband comes with benefits you might expect – the ability to translate Latin inscriptions at a glance and quote "The Waste Land" at just the right moment, a library of books you’d never buy for yourself, but like to read on occasion, a schedule that allows at least a week off for Christmas....  

Do you ever make German Pancakes?* When we were children we loved them extravagantly, but in my fickle teenage years I moved on to other food favorites, like chocolate malted milk shakes, soft shell crabs, shrimp of all variety. Apparently there is a gene for puffed pancake adoration though, because when I...  

Today’s joint celebration of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day and International Students Day meant a day off from school for James and Caroline, but not, apparently, a day off from study. Caroline organized a music class that included plenty of breaks, jingle bell practice, and the well timed „fite...  

In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets. In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like...  

I like month-long projects. A few years ago, before James was born, I decided I’d try to do a little art every day for a month. It was a most creative time, and the happiest mid winter I’ve ever experienced. Thanks to NaBloPoMo, this month I’m trying to write and take pictures every day. And two months...  

It's Monday, how about a fish story? *******These beauties were caught off the coast of Croatia the day before we met. One glance into their eyes, and I fell in love. I'd never cooked with anchovies before but suspected that any fish this fresh had to be delicious. Once home from the farmers market, I found...  

Saturday morning found us retracing our St. Martin’s walk of the night before, carrying shopping bags and James‘ bicycle in place of lanterns. The fall mists had disappeared with the drop in temperature and all was sunny and cold. Caroline and I took turns finding signs of winter as we walked. Rose...  

Daily* blog posts aside (and last night's parade), I've worked a lot recently, staying up past midnight most nights as our team finishes projects, and starts a few more. It's November, our busy season, and I know that things will quiet again in January. In the meantime, there's music to listen to, and work...  

Candle-lit holidays come every few weeks now til the end of the year. St. Martin's Day fit the bill tonight, and Caroline's school celebrated with a lantern* parade through the streets of our neighborhood. Caroline and her friends led the parade with their teacher; we were cordially acknowledged and then...  

Joan from Charleston Daily Photos recently mentioned kolokolo on her blog, and added kolo to her low country blog roll. In thanks, I decided to dig into my photo files from the summer for some pictures of one of our favorite places in the world, Johns Island, S.C. I also asked Caroline if she'd like to be a...  

Stores here are torn between fall and Christmas decorations right now. I'm favoring the fall for at least a few more weeks, though as soon as the Christmas markets open and mulled wine season begins, I'm sure I'll be singing "Deck the Halls" along with the rest of the choir!  

Prague's trees don't turn spectacularly crimson or orange, but for a week or so each November, they do line our streets with gold. This weekend the trees and the sun conspired in a final fling of color. Everywhere we walked we saw people taking pictures of the leaves, and the children ran beneath the trees...  

Is it just me, or do these jack-o-lanterns look like they're plotting to take over the breakfast table?  

Liz from Lizardek asked about the books in my post office tower. Because I read mostly on a Kindle now, only a few were for me – Mariana, by Monica Dickens and a book on Chinese brush painting. The rest are Christmas presents for Will and Caroline. Caroline's stash includes The Saturdays, A Wrinkle in...  

Only two hours north of Prague, Dresden is my favorite city 'abroad' to visit when friends and family come to town. We spent Czech Independence day there last week, basking in late fall sunshine and even trying out an Italian gelato or two. The weather was too good to miss by walking through a museum so...  

I think the pictures speak for themselves ;-). These are from Friday a week ago, when we headed to Dresden on our fall holiday. More pictures to come!  

Czech post offices have come a long way in the twelve years we've lived here. You don't need to use your elbows to keep your place in line any more - order tickets and clearly marked windows preserve politeness, as do the friendly twenty-somethings who speak Czenglish behind the counter. I might miss the...