Posts

Showing posts from September, 2017

Lock Her Up

Image
There is no doubt about the fact that our apartment is very safe from burglars. Take a look at the lock system of the outside of our door in the picture on the left. There is an upper lock and one right under the door knob. I know that most homes have two locks like this, so you're probably thinking "What's the big deal?" But you have to remember that this is our apartment door. To get this far, a different key was needed on the outside door at the street level. Plus, both the locks are dead bolts. In fact, in Prague it's very common that a key has to be turned two times around just to get the dead bolt to unlock, plus another turn to actually move the latch and open the door. So, if both dead bolts are locked, two different keys have to be turned five times around in both locks to open the door. That's safe (and, at times, irritating). You'll also notice in the picture on the right that our doorknob isn't a usual knob. It's a fixed p

The Gorgeous City Lights of Prague

Image
Old Town Square  A couple weeks ago, we ventured out on the town after dark. The city teamed with people as much in the evening as during the day. Enjoy the view! We walked into the square in Old Town where there is music playing almost constantly by one street vendor or another. On the evening we visited, a rock band was performing. Maybe that was the reason for the crowd. The towers of the Tyn Church were lit up in the background. The spires, reaching up into the sky, can't be seen very well in this photo. It's been said that they inspired Walt Disney's rendition of the castle in Disney World. Tyn Church in daylight Also, near Old Town Square is the astronomical clock. Every hour when it chimes, it puts on a show for all who are watching. The twelve apostles march out of one door near the top of the clock and go into the other door before the rooster chimes the hour. This is the tower that watches over the Charles Bridge - a m

Potraviny - Is that Italian?

Image
Since I've been talking about food for the past couple weeks, I thought I'd share my grocery shopping experience with you. First of all, remember that we don't have a car, so all the food we purchase has to be carried home with us. To help us out, we bought some "wheels" to lug the heavy groceries home. Meet "Gimli", our grocery cart. We ordered it while we were in Germany in July. The unique three-wheel contraption on the back helps us to "walk" the groceries up the thirty steps to our flat without having to lift it. Gimli and I walk to the store at least once a week to purchase all the heavy/bulky items to bring home. The other days, I take a couple bags to bring home the purchased items. It's the custom here to the grocery store on a daily basis. I don't go every day, but at least four or five times a week. These trips are necessary to purchase bread every day since it's made here without preservatives of any kind. That&#

Adventures in Cooking in Prague

Image
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole Since I described my spicy experiences in Prague last week, I thought I'd continue by explaining about my cooking adventure a while ago. We'd been here for a couple months and had been eating potatoes, vegetables and meat for dinner way too often. Of course, that was mainly because we were in the Air B&B apartment for six weeks where I had very little kitchen equipment. I had to make very simple meals due to lack of utensils, spices, and baking dishes. After we moved to our permanent apartment, I could start cooking again. When we had some left over chicken in the refrigerator, I decided I wanted to make a casserole to use it up. So I became adventurous and found a recipe for a Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole on the Campbell's.com website. I was excited to try the new dish. After looking at the list of ingredients, I was ready to take on this challenge. I knew that I could get rice, cheese to grate, and frozen vegetables.