On the travel front
- The Czech Republic is beautiful and green and hilly with lots of woods.
- I literally can not understand a word of Czech… learning to say “thank you” (“děkuji“) properly is quite a task…
- I remember loving Prague when I last was there 20 years ago and I now remember why: it is truly beautiful! Granted, it is overrun by tourists like me but it’s beautiful.





- Sometimes I wish I was a man, then I wouldn’t have to miss certain sites like this one:

- We have visited many places already. Besides Prague my so far other favorite place is the town of Telč (Teltsh)


- Yet again confirmed: my kids are so much fun and make me laugh!


On the reading front
We have also had some down time. We stuck to our campsite now and again and when the kids go off to play in the pool or with new friends on the trampoline, there is plenty of time to read. With bad internet connection I have been less glued to the laptop and have been able to finish 3 of the 9 books on my summer reading list! I have learned that:
Had I read “Go Set a Watchman” before “To Kill a Mockingbird” I would never have loved Atticus Finch quite as much but I do still love the way he parents. “Go Set a Watchman” is a good book about growing up and letting go of the image of a parent as a superhero, but nothing can beat Harper Lee’s first novel. And I can’t let go of Attitcus as one of my heroes…
- Parents can screw up their kids so badly! Well, that is no news, of course, but in “Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew” that became so ver
y painfully clear yet again. And the character of Chop in “Urban Grimshaw”: he is so far from perfect, how can he be the one to help Urban? And yet, he does. A little attention, a sense of right and wrong, a little love and some nurturing can help a young life forward and can redeem your own. In the end, even when people are more or less redeemed, humans remain fallible, that is also clear. Can’t wait to see what Richard Armitage has done in the role of Chop when the film comes out!
- It’s amazing what the chemistry in a brain can do to wreak havok in a life… Susannah Cahalan’s story in “Brain of Fire”
was a very interesting read. And her dad, I love how he and Susannah ‘found’ each other again. He has a tough facade but is gooey on the inside. A role I already look forward to seeing Richard in.
On Richard Armitage
I was able to view the first two Hannibal episodes he is in and… WOW! The show still creeps me out (I started watching and I couldn’t make myself view more than a handful of episodes) but he is amazing. The things he does with his body I have never seen him do before!
The quietness and the hidden emotion and the insecurities and the creepiness.. ah, this man is good! And I really love how he is stretching his acting legs, finding roles that challenge him as I think this one did.
Finally
I hate wasps, the ones that sting and are circling around my head right now as I try to post this blog entry with awful wifi, which means it will take ages to load. Nonetheless, I am loving my vacation. 🙂