I’m heading down to Florida to visit my family before wedding season gets going full swing, so I will be out of the office until May 5th. I will have access to email, so please don’t hesitate to contact me. I won’t be able to post to my blog until I get back though:(

Have a great week everyone!

I’ve never really been a big fan of spring in Maine, it usually means lots of mud and everything looks dirty after the snow melts. Spring also can mean lots of water and with last weeks rain (which we missed thankfully) and the snow melt there is a lot of water everywhere.

We used to live in a small town called Bingham right on the Kennebec River. We actually still own our house there and like to go there to escape. Right outside of town is a huge lake called Wyman Lake which was created by Wyman Dam on the Kennebec. I just love Wyman Lake, it is one of Maine’s hidden gems. The dam was constructed between 1928-1931 and they actually moved a town called Pleasant Ridge so they could create the lake.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well I had to go to Bingham today and while I was there I thought I would stop by the dam and see how much water they were releasing. It looks like a lot, doesn’t it? If you’ll notice though there are only a few gates open and they’re not open all the way either. I believe the only time that all the gates have been open was during the Flood of 1987 and supposedly you could hear the roar of the water in town.

Another little tidbit I’d like to share. My parents used to live in California and when I went out to visit them we’d sometimes go antiquing. Well on one visit I was in an antique store and was browsing through a box full of old postcards and what do you think I found? An old postcard with a gorgeous black and white picture of Wyman Lake on it! I took it home and had it framed. It was such a strange thing to find in California and of all the luck to find it!

We’re finally home! Traveling always makes you appreciate home that much more. One last shot of Prague (or Praha in the Czech Republic). This was the view of the airport from our hotel. What a gorgeous sunset on our last night.

Now, I’m trying to catch up on all those little things, like bills…yuck, grocery shopping, and how could I forget, I need to pick London up who is going to be very mad at us for leaving him in the kennel all week!

I got a little behind on my posting because this was our last day in Prague and we decided to go to a hotel closer to the airport because we had an early morning flight. There was a brand new Courtyard Marriott literally right across from our terminal. It’s a beautiful hotel, but they don’t give you free Internet access and it was really expensive to get connected. I just hate it when hotels nickel and dime you. I’d rather pay a few extra dollars and have all those amenities included!

On our last day we just wandered around the city, exploring some parts we hadn’t gotten to. We also went to the Museum of Communism which was really interesting.

Wenceslas Square, where many demonstrations took place during the end of the Communist era.

I love these little Smart Cars. They look like so much fun to drive in the city, but I don’t think Brendan could fit in one!

We happened upon this church in the Jewish Quarter, but it was closed so I took a picture through the door.

Last picture in Old Town Square.

Marionette’s are very popular in the Czech Republic.

We had a very long flight yesterday, first to Zurich and then to Chicago, where we spent the night before our final flight to Boston. Can you believe we flew this entire trip on free tickets using our frequent flyer miles. That’s why we couldn’t get directly back to Boston. The flight to Chicago was 9 hours! But I got to watch The Pursuit of Happyness which is a great movie…definitely go out and rent it!

We decided to take the train out into the countryside again to see Karlstejn Castle. We got lucky today, the train was much nicer than yesterday. This is the one road through town which leads to the castle. Unfortunately it is over run with tourist trap stores, but still a cute town. We did not go on a tour of the castle because you could not take pictures inside and it was really crowded. There are only two tours and one requires advance reservations and is really for tour groups.

The view of the town from the castle…

Imagine living below a castle, how cool is that!

More tulips:)

Isn’t this a cute little character made out of flower pots. It was on the ledge of someones home.

Tomorrow is our last day in Prague:(

This is going to be a short post with just a few pictures because I am absolutely exhausted. I think the jet lag has finally caught up with me:( Today we decided to head outside of Prague into the countryside so we took the train to Konopiste Castle. The weather has turned and it is now cool and windy and we were not dressed for it, so we didn’t stay as long as we had planned. We were even planning on having a picnic on the grounds but it was too cold:( The castle is about a 1.5 mile walk outside of Benesov and is located on beautiful grounds. Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside the castle and there was a beautiful chapel that they actually rent out for weddings, only $200!

The train ride out to Benesov was interesting. We have gotten used to most people speaking English (or at least a little bit), but once you get outside of the touristy places most people do not speak English, and the only word we know in Czech is dekuji, which means thank you. We managed to get a round trip ticket to where we wanted to go by writing our destination on a piece of paper, but the ticket agent short changed us! The trains were definitely from the communist era, old and worn out.

Back in Prague we went to watch the sunset over Prague Castle and Charles Bridge.

Tomorrow we are going to another castle outside of the city…stay tuned!

Today we headed to Prague Castle, which overlooks the Vltava River and Prague. It’s a long, uphill walk to the castle and we headed out early to beat the crowds, as well as the heat. St. Vitus Cathedral is located inside the Prague Castle grounds and is absolutely spectacular.

We climbed 287 steps up a tower to get these views of Prague. I’m so glad we went early, it was a very narrow, circular staircase…I can’t imagine going up and down in crowds.

The beautiful stained glass in the cathedral…

Stonework on the castle grounds…

My new favorite flower…tulips:) They are so gorgeous and are the first signs of spring after a long, cold winter.

My favorite picture of the day….

The changing of the guards. As you can tell, I didn’t have a very good spot, but managed to get a few pictures. Not quite the pomp and circumstance as the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace in London, but still fun.

Crowds at the changing of the guards….

Heading back down into Prague, much easier than climbing up to the castle!

Prague is a great walking city and our hotel is close to everything, so today we decided to just set out and walk around, exploring the city. We first ended up in Old Town Square. These crosses mark the spot where 27 Protestants were beheaded in 1621 by the Catholic Hapsburgs.

Also in Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock which displays several different times, Bohemian Time and Modern Time, as well as the sunrise and sunset and the different moon stages. Every hour there is a little show, Death tips his hourglass and pulls the cord ringing the bell, the Twelve Apostles make an appearance and then the rooster crows and the bells chime the hour. There are hundreds of onlookers each hour to watch this display.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous! It is so nice to leave the snow and cold:) The flowers are in bloom and the sun is shining bright!

Prague Castle (where we’re headed tomorrow).

One of the many statues on the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River.

Another view of Prague Castle…

The setting sun shining brightly through the entrance to Charles Bridge.

Sunset on the Vltava River.

Charles Bridge at dusk.

We made it! We’re both absolutely exhausted. Our flight left Boston yesterday (4/14) at 7pm and we just got to the hotel and it is 4pm Czech Republic time the next day (4/15), which is really 10am EST. So if I tend to ramble on that’s why:)

Our Swiss Air flight getting prepped for the flight…

Waiting to board at Logan International Airport…

An amazing view of Boston from the plane. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken off in this direction before.

I watched Blood Diamond on the flight, which is an awesome movie! If you don’t have a diamond you may never want one after seeing this movie. If you do plan to purchase and invest in diamonds, make sure that they are certified “conflict free” diamonds.

We had a 4 hour layover in Zurich, which is a beautiful airport! Gorgeous light!

Last minute tips for Prague. Rick Steve’s writes great travel books filled with extremely helpful tips and advice. We used his Ireland guide exclusively when we there several years ago.

OK, I have to go take a nap:) Stay tuned…

We’re off to Prague!! I’m so excited:) I’ll be reporting our travel adventures and posting pictures, so check back frequently!

I’ll be checking email regularly so if you need to reach me, that’s the best way.