Our Czech Adventures, Coda

Hello and welcome to a happy-to-be-home Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 19th.

If you've been following along with Our Czech Adventures series (all six parts are linked at the end of today's post), you already know that last Saturday was our last in-country post but not the end of our Czech adventures.

Before I dive into a short summary of our last few days, I'd like to give a hat tip and a big hug of gratitude to all of our Czech relatives for hosting us. My mother used to say sometimes that, "fish and company start to stink after three days," which brings to mind another marble of wisdom, "Fences make good neighbors." That is to say that it takes a lot of grace, energy, patience, and rohliky to host a family for six weeks, even if you do love them. Many, many warm thank-yous to all of you, and especially to dědeček for coming up with wonderful excursion ideas (and then taking us) and to babička for all the delicious meals, especially smažený sýr (fried cheese) for the kids, vepřo, knedlo, zelo for me, and the birthday cakes from both grandma and auntie for Antonin!

After we hit "publish" on last week's post, we enjoyed an afternoon swimming at the Městská plovárna Luhačovice. Czechs are super into their swimming pools and this one did not disappoint. There are four main swimming pools: one for lap swimming, a kiddie pool, a whirlpool, and - here I'm saving the best for last - the coolest pool ever that had a round whirlpool section that sucks you into a spin, like water going down a drain only instead it spits you around the center column and safely back to the other side for another go around. This was Lucie's favorite.

The water spins counterclockwise creating a whirlpool effect that carries you around the circle. (It's awesome.)

Saturday, we began our packing preparations for the trip home then spent the evening watching our nieces perform at Moravské chodníčky, a cultural celebration of folk dancing, singing, and music. Despite my 20+ years of exposure to Czech culture, this was my first chodníčky. We loved it and it was extra special having my nieces in it! :)

Sunday brought all the Hruby relatives together for a last dinner of delicious řízek with potatoes and lots of koláče. You would think it might be a sad affair, but 6 weeks is a long time and I've learned that we all have to get back to our regular lives at some point. Also, it wasn't really goodbye, as we began making concrete plans for next year (something to look forward to!) and one of our nephews came back to Wannaskaland with us.

This place, Czechia, is our home away from home. Instead of "na shledanou," I say, "Uvidíme se příští rok!"

All recipes are credited and linked to Cook Like Czechs

Our Czech Adventures Series (2023)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6