Four months, baby!
It seems like we’ve been here so much longer and so much shorter at the same time. As I didn’t do any traveling this month (saving up for Christmas! For which we finally have travel plans! More soon!), it felt like a month where I really started to get to know Prague.
FOUR MONTHS IN PRAGUE: BY THE NUMBERS
ONE and a half HOURS in a Czech protest. Did not know it was happening! And the crowds were insane!
ONE PILE of dog poo stepped in. With the volume around here, I’m mostly grateful it’s only happened once! Not a fun fact but let’s keep it real.
THE FIRST SNOW in Praha. I love snow and have been hoping every day for it to snow here! Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly the magical day I had pictured–the trams shut down for the first time in about thirty years due to some dangerous ice. This led to stressful traveling as, of course, I usually only take trams. Rerouting to buses and the metro was not always as successful as I hoped. At least everyone else was late that day, too? That evening, however, I met E at Old Town Square to see their Christmas market. There, we found some of the magic I’d been missing.
THREE Christmas markets. Already! I want to live at these things. I went to my first one when it was raining, and cold, and I was exhausted, but within two minutes I was singing Christmas carols and chugging hot, mulled wine. Talk about the magic of Christmas!
Make sure to follow me on Instagram (@amygreatworld) to get a first look at my many Christmas market photos to come!
EIGHT HOURS spent celebrating Thanksgiving at my boss’ house. My boss (who’s American) and her husband (who’s Czech and also my boss) employ the English teachers at the public school we all work at in Prague. So, they invited us all over for American Thanksgiving! Everyone brought their families, so it was a giant party. It’s going down in the books as one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever. We ate so much food, played games, took a long walk, and then came back for more food and hilarious stories and old pictures. I felt like part of their family (as did E) and I am SO grateful!
TWO HOURS wandering around the lovely Petřín Hill.
AT LEAST TWO LAPS around the fortress Vyšehrad (as we couldn’t find a way out). I kind of wished we’d gone a few weeks earlier because most of the autumnal color was gone, but the views were still worth all the getting lost.
SEVEN HOURS on blates with Jessi and Andrea!
APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED BIRDS fed on an island in the Vltava River.
THREE DAYS OFF for my first official holiday in the Czech Republic.
Velvet Revolution Memorial–25 years on November 17!
FIVE NEW local clients. I am enjoying getting a glimpse in Czech (and Russian) homes. I thought it would be weird to do a lesson in someone’s house but they are so hospitable and I like seeing cultural aspects in the home. It’s much more comfortable and they always bring me tea, and sometimes cookies!
SO MUCH good food. This was definitely my best eating month since we arrived, thanks to the blates and the Christmas markets and Thanksgiving.
A FULL AFTERNOON making an Advent wreath with some other teachers at my school. I am generally not crafty, at all (I usually have such great vision in my head that I just can’t create) and while mine certainly won’t win any beauty prizes, it was so much fun! We cut our own branches and added cinnamon sticks, so now our place smells like Christmas. The closest thing we are getting to a tree this year–I’ll take it!
A COUPLE OF Advent calendars purchased to celebrate the season. E and I both need our own, obviously.
SOME NEW POSTS in case you missed them: all about Berlin, Expectations, Thanksgiving Abroad, a new series about book inspiration for travel, Where I’d Go Again, and another daily life post.
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Catch up on the other months in Prague!
One Month in Prague by the Numbers Two Months in Prague by the Numbers Three Months in Prague by the Numbers
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QUESTION:
How was your November?
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Your Thanksgiving sounds amazing! And Christmas markets, ahh girl your living the dream!
German Christmas markets are my new favorite thing. I want to go to them every year!!!
You’ve managed to cram so much in in such a short period of time! What great experiences for you guys!
Yes, it’s been so great to move here! Although I’ve been sick for the last month, haha, so maybe I need to take it easy on cramming stuff in…it’s just so hard to slow down 😉
I want to go to a Christmas market so badly! Also, it took me a second to figure out what was going on with your page. Haha. The snow is so cute!
I recommend the German ones, especially the ones we saw in Cologne. They make everyone else’s look tiny!! And I totally forgot that I did it, too–I panicked for about five minutes before I remembered that I’d spontaneously said “sure, wordpress, make it snow, whatever” lol.
What a great month for you! I think you did a great job on your advent candle holder thingie-mo-bobber. Looks precious!
November was good but I’m so happy it’s my favorite month now 🙂
Looks like you had a great December! And thanks–I won’t be winning any craft awards but it was fun and festive, my two favorite things;)
So nice that you got to have an American Thanksgiving abroad! And cute advent wreath 🙂 I hit a lot of highs and lows in November but it all ended up being productive. And now it’s December and I’m older 🙂
Happy belated birthday! And nice to meet you, Kelly 😉 (I’m so far behind on all the blogs!!!). I hope you had a great December!
I love these catch up posts Amy! So lovely to read how things are going for you guys! I especially loved how awesome your thanksgiving was! Your boss and her husband sounds like such good, welcoming people! Also the Christmas markets look amazing! And lastly, I absolutely LOVE that you and E got your own advent calendars. Best idea ever (why share when you can have one each!). Xx
Thank you, Carly! I always get a boost from reading your comments, they are always so joyful :). I love these posts too, they’re a great way to remind me what happened, and a great thing for me to look back on!
This was our first year with our own Advent calendars…and there’s no going back now because why share chocolate, exactly! 😉
I couldn’t agree more! Chocolate should never be shared 😉 xo
Yay for the magic of Christmas! I just had a mulled wine.. and it was cold. Not happy!
Bummer! Demand a refund! Mulled wine just has to be hot.
Happy 4 months in Prague!! Looks like you are settling into Prague culture quite well!! Going into their homes is such an amazing glimpse of their lifestyle and culture!
Yes I’m so happy I’ve been able to do that more these past two months. I think it would be easy to settle into an expat community here (although not THAT easy) but I really want to make sure I meet some of the locals, too!
Happy four months in Prague! Glad you had a great November!
I love Christmas markets so much. There’s nothing like strolling wandering through the market with a hot mug of glühwein! And those views from the hill are stunning!
Hi Sara! And thanks! 🙂
Christmas markets are my new favorite thing, especially the German ones. They just can’t be beat!
What a busy month! I never thought about doing something like this each month, but I’m not sure I take enough notice of things to be able to do it haha.
It’s not an easy post to write–it takes me a long time to remember everything! Luckily I take a lot of pictures so that helps 🙂
Your Thanksgiving dinner sounded wonderful! And speaking of food, that brunch…YUM!
Yay for brunch! 🙂
I love that photo over the beautiful orange roofs! Gorgeous and we see so far! And it sounds like that Thanksgiving dinner was a blast! And happy four months! Time sure flies by!
It really does! I see you just hit three months yourself–congrats! (I am so behind on blogs and blogging, ha).