I was too busy to write a blog this year so I will mention just the most important things that happened. We moved this summer to the center of Prague and my daughter Aneta started going to a nursery school in September. My son Michael was born on 26th December at 1:21 and he measured 46 cm and weighed 2520 g. We are at home now and we are just about to celebrate a new year soon.

 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.

 

It's been a long time since my last post. I stopped travelling for some time but several important things happened since last year. My last travel abroad was at the end of June 2018 with my mother when we visited my grandmother in Slovakia. Then I returned to Prague and my daughter Aneta was born on 23rd July 2018.

Pregnancy was normal but Aneta was born by acute C-section due to preeclampsia. It was very hot in summer and we spend nearly 10 days in the hospital Podoli. Aneta measured 48 cm and weighed 2510 grams at birth. 

My grandmother turned 90 at the beginning of February and she passed away on 19th February 2019. I couldn't go to funeral because I had to take care of Aneta. 

My friend Thomas from Paris came to visit me twice, once before Christmas 2018 and a second time in May 2019. We travelled to Karlovy Vary for one day and also to the castle Karlstejn for one day in May.

Although I haven't been travelling anymore I was very active during last year because there were many interesting things taking place in Prague. I visited Signal festival in October 2018 and 2019.  I went to a theatre many times and in October 2019 I went to a Korean movie festival where I saw 5 Korean movies. I also visited Japanese festival Akimatsuri at the beginning of October 2019. I visited a Halloween party in Lucerna and I went to ZOO with Aneta at the beginning of December 2019. I attended yoga lessons 3 months in spring 2019 and currently I am taking zumba lessons. We went to swim several times in summer with Aneta and I tried aquazorbing on the river Vltava. There was a concert of Eros Ramazzotti in October and another one of Andrea Bocelli in November and I attended them both.
This photo is from the celebration of Aneta's first birthday.

Currently I am looking for some job online which I could do from home. I have been already working on some projects regarding translation and transcription. I am not planning any travels in the near future but I would like to visit Slovakia in around half a year. I want to meet some friends there. When Aneta grows up a bit I would like to take her to the sea.

After we left Cadiz on 15th December we travelled to Olvera. It is a small city surrounded by hills. It was a nice and sunny weather. We went on the top of the Arab castle and we enjoyed the amazing view. Then we visited a cemetery which was nearby.

After visiting Olvera we travelled to Arcos de la Fronteira where we stayed in the hotel Los Olivos. Arcos is a small city and not very interesting but on 16th December there was a living Bethlehem in the evening. We had to wait in the line with many other people until we were allowed to enter the city. The main square and also many streets were decorated and there were animals. People were wearing costumes and there was also food tasting.

On Sunday 17th December we travelled to Sevilla where we stayed in the hotel Petit Palace Santa Cruz which is a 4-star hotel. We had very good breakfasts in this hotel with a large variety of food. For me it was already a second time to visit Sevilla, I had been there before in November 2012. At that time it was rainy and this time it was sunny and relatively warm in the sun.

We visited Plaza de Espana firstly and then we walked to Las Setas or Metropol Parasol which is a wooden construction at La Encarnacion square. We had lunch in a local cafe where we ordered pancakes. Then we walked in the city and by the river until it was dark. We had diner in the restaurant La Bodega where we tasted many different tapas including chickpeas, shrimp omelette and seafood. The following day we also spent in Sevilla and we went to Casa Tomate for diner which is also tapas restaurant. We had avocado with shrimp, spinach with chickpeas, meatballs, vegetables and chips.
We left Sevilla on 19th December and we travelled to Cordoba where we stayed in 4-star hotel NH Cordoba Guadalquivir. It was a luxurious hotel and we had a good breakfast there.

We walked to the Roman bridge of Cordoba and then to the Great Mosque. Thomas came back the following day because the entrance was free in the morning but I didn't go with him. In the evening we went to the tapas restaurant El Churrasco.
On Wednesday 20th December we travelled to Granada where we stayed in the hotel Palacio de los Navas. We walked up the hill in the afternoon and we watched the sunset. There was a Moroccan restaurant nearby where we had diner, we ordered meatballs. Granada was the only place which was really cold during the night and we needed a warm jacket.
On Thursday we visited Alhambra which is a beautiful palace and a fortress complex built in Arabic architecture. We spent some hours there.

On Friday 22nd December we travelled to theTabernas desert close and then to Almeria. We saw the village Fort Bravo from the distance which is used for filming western movies.

\

We spent one night in the 4-star hotel Catedral Almeria and we had a breakfast there. My friend Younes who I met in Morocco in 2012 and his girlfriend came to meet us in the evening and we went together to the restaurant Entremares which is by the sea. We ate a lot of different kinds of seafood.
On Saturday 23rd December we returned to Malaga/ It was the last day of our trip in Spain. Thomas flight was departing earlier than mine so he dropped me in the city and he went to return the car. I spent afternoon walking by the sea and in the city and finally I went to McDonalds' to eat chicken and chips. It was warm and sunny that day. I took a bus to the airport and my flight to Prague departed around midnight. When I got to Prague it was late night and I slept only 4 hours because I had to catch a train to Slovakia around 9:30am. I arrived there in the evening and I had Christmas dinner with my mother and grandmother.   

I got holidays for 3 weeks in December and I took a flight on Friday 8th December to Brussels early in the morning. I spent 3 days in Brussels with my friend Sarka and her boyfriend. After arriving at the airport I took a bus to the city center and the journey took quite a long time. The first evening we had dinner in the restaurant Au Soleil D'Afrique which I had already visited once in 2015. This time I ordered a chicken in palm oil with rice. On Saturday we visited Bruges which is a beautiful historical city with cobbled lanes and picturesque bridges.

We spent some hours walking in the city and admiring the architecture. The city looked like a fairy-tale. It wasn't snowing but it was very cold outside. My friends did some shopping for Christmas and then we returned to Brussels.
On Sunday it started to snow and in the evening we went to a party to Sarka's friends. We had fun, we got food and drinks and then we returned home because I had to get up early on Monday morning 11th December because I had to travel to Eindhoven in order to catch my flight to Malaga. I took Uber to the bus station where I travelled by Flixbus to Eindhoven. There was a very heavy snowstorm when I got to the airport and approximately half of flight were cancelled. There was another flight to Malaga which was supposed to be departing around 20 minutes before my flight and it was also cancelled. I waited a long time and I was getting ready to return to Brussels but finally my flight was only delayed by one hour. I made a booking in the Casa Al Sur Hostel because I couldn't find a host on couchsurfing. I was supposed to check-in by 10pm and I arrived a few minutes late but it wasn't a problem. The staff was very friendly and let me in. I made tea in the kitchen and then I turned on heating and I went to sleep. The bed was very comfortable. When I got up on Tuesday I went to visit the city. The hostel was located in the city center. I walked to the beach and it was warm, in the sun it was around 18°C. Then I climbed up the hill towards the Gibraltar castle and on the way back I visited Alcazaba which is a fortress.

My friend Thomas from Paris joined me in the evening and we visited tapas restaurant together. We tasted many different kinds of food including octopus, shrimps, squid, pork and beef. Then we had a dessert and we went to an Arabic tearoom to drink some tea. On Wednesday morning we visited the city center of Malaga. Thomas hired a car but it was towed during the night because he parked on some forbidden place. We had to take a taxi there and the fine was 80 Eur.
Thomas booked accommodation for the rest of the our trip. We travelled to Ronda on Wednesday 13th December where we stayed in the hotel Parador de Ronda where we had impressive view overlooking a gorgeous abyss.

There was a tapas restaurant nearby where we had dinner. Then we watched some movie online.
As we stayed in 4-star hotels which were luxurious we had usually comfort there. We also had a good choice of food for breakfast there. We spent only one night in Ronda and then we travelled to Cadiz on Thursday 14th December where we spent one night in the Hotel La Catedral.

We weren't lucky with the weather in Cadiz because it was raining heavily when we visited the city. I had already visited Cadiz once before in 2012. We also met Raul who had hosted me in Cadiz before and then he also visited me in Prague. We joined him for dinner in the tapas restaurant.

I took a flight to Venice Treviso on Monday 20th November at 15:35. We flew above Dolomite mountains with snow. When we were arriving to the airport I watched sunset from the plane. Then I found a bus which took me to the city center. I stayed with my friend Maurizio in the hotel Gardena above canal. We had a well furnished room. We went to walk around the city and we had dinner in a restaurant where I ordered spaghetti with cuttlefish. The following day it was a nice weather, sunny but not warm. We had a breakfast in a hotel and we walked to the St. Mark's Square.

Then we walked around the city, admiring architecture and watching gondolas. Maurizio bought me a carnival mask on a square in Venice and I wore it for some time. 

We spent a good time together and then we had dinner in a restaurant where I ordered pizza with seafood. Then we went to a train station and Maurizio went to Milan while I went to Verona. I stayed with my friend Giamba from couchsurfing. I had met him in Prague before around 7 years ago. It was already late evening when I got to his place. Giamba had to go to work on Wednesday and I woke up late but we met for lunch and we went to the restaurant Locanda Lo Speziale. I had chicken with potatoes and pumpkin, it was very tasty. Giamba had to return to his work at the university and I went to visit the city. I walked to Arena and afterwards to the city center. I visited Casa di Giulietta which is not particularly interesting and then I walked to Tomba di Giulietta. 

In the evening I went to a couchsurfing meeting in the bar Osteria Ai Preti. There were many people but I didn't know anybody there. I spent some hours there and I talked to several people and then someone accompanied me back home. 

On Thursday Giamba worked in the morning but he was free in the afternoon. We went to the Caffeteria Fuoricorso where we had lunch. I had Cuttlefish with peas and polenta. 

We walked up the hill where we had a view on the city. We watched a sunset there. Then we crossed a bridge and we returned to the city center. We went to a Christmas market and then Chocolaterie where we drank hot chocolate with whipped cream.

I left Verona on Friday afternoon. I met Giamba before I left and we had a lunch in Locanda Lo Speziale again. I took a bus to Munich but it was more than one hour delayed. The journey took around 6 hours and we got there late, it must have been around 11pm when we arrived. We crossed Austria on the way and it was quite cold, we saw snow. My friend Christian whom I already visited in Munich before came to pick me up at the bus station. We decided to have dinner in McDonald's because it was already quite late. I ate chicken and chips.

On Saturday we went to the city center and we walked around but it was rainy. We went to a cake shop and we had dinner in an Indian restaurant. In the evening we went to a Christmas market.

We visited Neuschwanstein Castle on Sunday. It was sunny weather firstly but then it was snowing. 

The Neuschwanstein Castle is an impressive palace with many decorated rooms and paintings. 

We bought excellent sushi for lunch in the Chinese shop and we ate it at home. Then Chris accompanied me to the bus station. I took a bus to Prague and I arrived in the evening around 11pm. 

I started working in an assistance service on 15th May 2017. It was the same job as I did before at Axa. I was very busy during the summer season but I took holidays at the beginning of August and I travelled to Slovakia to visit my grandmother. It was very hot, around 35°C. I went twice to the swimming pool and I met some friends there.
Then I travelled to Krakow in Poland on 5th August and I spent 2 nights there. The ticket from Presov to Krakow was very cheap, it costed around 5 Euro. The journey took 3 hours and I arrived there in the afternoon. I walked to Rynek Glowny which is the Market Square.

I bought some clothes there in my favourite shop Tatuum. I waited for my host Soumya from couchsurfing next to the Cloth Hall. Soumya is from India and he is a PhD. student. We went to a resutaurant to eat pierogi (dumplings) and then we travelled by tram to the dorm where Soumya was staying.
On Sunday I visited the city by myself because Soumya had to work. It was rainy and it got much colder, it was only around 20°C. I went to the Wavel castle and then I visited the city center.

When I returned to the dorm Soumya cooked dinner for us, we had a chicken and rice. We watched a horror movie in the evening. I travelled to Prague on Monday. Firstly I took a bus to Ostrava. I watched a movie Gone girl which was very exciting. Then I continued travelling by train and I arrived to Prague in the evening.