This year 2020 was very specific and different from previous ones. It started ordinarily, January and February were calm and the winter was particularly warm most of the time. I went to the theatre 4 times at the beginning of the year, I visited Image Theatre which is a black light theatre, then Madame Butterly in State Opera, Wonderful Circus in Laterna Magika and also Happy Easter in the Palace theater. 

I arranged a passport for Aneta in February after several disagreements with my mother and I was planning to leave the country to go probably to Morocco, but shortly after the borders were closed due to coronavirus and it wasn't possible to travel anymore. Many shops were also closed after the lockdown, but I continued shopping for clothes online on second hand shops. Spring wasn't as warm as we would like to, although there were some nice days most of June was quite cold and wet. 

We visited some places with Aneta's father, we went to the Night of churches in Prague in June, then we went to matsuri in Vyšehrad (Japanese festival), we visited also an exhibition in MeetFactory (industrial building with contemporary art) and other interesting places as well.

At the end of May I met my long time friend who I hadn't seen so much during last years and we travelled to Průhonický park which is an arboretum and a botanical garden. It was a cold and rainy day but we had fun, we went to a restaurant with his friends and his daughter. I met this friend again and we went to his cottage next to the river Sázava not far from Prague many times and also we visited many places in Prague, for example Vyšehrad and Riegrovy sady. We swam in several ponds and dams in Prague and in Říčany. We went to couchsurfing barbecues twice, they were organized by Ali who is from Pakistan but he lives in UK.

On 27th July there was a Czech alumni meeting of Dutch universities at the Dutch embassy in Prague. It was a hot day and we had a reception outside, the ambassador had a speech and we received food and drinks. I talked to other alumni but my former classmates didn't attend the meeting.

I travelled to Uhříněves and Chodov with Aneta to meet my friend Tereza who was also my colleague at Axa. She has twin boys now, they are 1 year old. We went for walks and swimming in a pond and we also had a small barbecue.

In summer I went twice with Aneta and my friend Dominik to Máchovo jezero (lake) where we spent 3 days each time. First time it was at the beginning of August and it was nice and warm, but at the end of August it was rainy and a bit cold. We stayed in a flat which we found via Airbnb. Máchovo lake is a nice place, I had a feeling like being by the sea. Once we made a trip to the castle Bezděz.

My mother bought a paddleboard in summer and I tried it a few times too. We went to Uhříněves on 5th September to try it again and then we went to Říčany to the Indian summer celebration in the Japanese garden Aizen. It was beautiful weather and 28°C, it rained around 20 minutes but otherwise it was a sunny day. I met some old friends from the elementary school and we spent a great day together, there was also a barbecue.

I went also quite often to Výstaviště in Holešovice in September because the was some program almost every day, sometimes it was also for children, so I took Aneta there to have fun. Then I travelled often to the forest Klánovice with Dominik in the east of Prague, we found mushrooms and we bought some new wine there.

At the end of September we spent 2 days in Karlovy Vary in a hotel with Dominik and his son Don. We weren't lucky with the weather because it was only 8°C and rainy but we enjoyed our time anyway. We had a dinner in a restaurant several times, we went to a Mexican restaurant twice, then to Grandhotel Pupp for a desert and we visited also a Chinese and Czech restaurant. We walked in the city, we visited undergroud of the thermal spring colonnade and we also took a funicular to the Butterfly house which Aneta enjoyed a lot.

We visited some performances again, we went to the musical Wicked in the theater at Výstaviště, then Elefantazie at ABC theatre, the Cube at Laterna Magika and Noises off in the theatre in Dlouhá.

In the middle of October we visited Petr in Bílina, it is a city in the south of CZ close to Písek. We went to a forest but we found no mushrooms there.

Autumn was relatively warm, we visited several places where we could take pictures of colorful leaves, a very nice place was Chodov but also Holešovice. At the end of October we went also to a Cemetery of "Fools" which belongs to a psychiatric hospital in Bohnice. It was closed but we climbed over the fence. There are approximately 4500 people burried and this place has a negative energy, especially the part where murderers and people who committed a suicide are burried. I also felt dizzy there althought I am not susceptible to those things. 

In November we spent a lot of time in the forest, there were still mushrooms until it started freezing and we couldn't collect them anymore. On 3rd December it was snowing and Prague was white, but everything melted. On 5th December we went to Klánovice again and then to St. Nicholas eve to the center, but we saw only a few angels, devils and St. Nicholases. On 6th December it got warm and it was 14°C. 

Christmas eve was also warm, around 10°C. We had a Christmas dinner at home, it was a cabbage soup, potato salad, salmon and small dumplings with poppy seeds and honey.

We had a Christmas party on 25th December at my friend's place. We had a lot of food, drinks, games and music and we were dancing a lot that evening. It was a great fun because his friends with kids also attended. Aneta got presents from us which were mainly clothes and toys and we took many photos. Tomorrow this year is ending and we are hoping that the situation next year will improve soon.