Amsterdam, Netherlands

We haven't posted anything for a long while, so thought I should at least get our blog updated. When I logged into our blog today I found out that it has a new layout. So I am going to post, but if it doesn't turn out well I know I will have to try again.

We went to Amsterdam way back in March for a long weekend with our co-worker. There is a direct flight to Amsterdam from Bosnia, so we were excited that we wouldn't have to have a layover in Vienna or Munich. Two weeks before our flight we got an email saying that our flight had been canceled. So our co-worker and I decided that since we would be getting a refund for our flight and our hotel that we reserved was non-refundable to save money, we booked another flight. This flight was no longer direct and we had a layover in Munich. Flying through Munich is alright with me because I can pick up a bag of gummies (Haribo).

So after arriving in Amsterdam we found our hotel by taking a taxi. Zack and I have found that taking a taxi to the hotle from the train is a time saver. After getting to the hotel we are able to not rely on a taxi and realize that I do a great job finding hotels that end up being closer than we think. Pat myself on the back for.

Our time in Amsterdam was great. We had good weather for almost the entire time. We atee great food and even found a Mexican resturant that served chips and salsa. That is one thing I miss not living in the states. We went to a few museums, Ann Frank House, Van Gogh museum, Rembrandt's house, Reich's Museum, floated in the canal or rode a boat through the canals. We had a great time. So, I am just going to post pictures and add captions since this trip was a few months ago.

Enjoy the pictures.



A lady buying cheese

Waiting for the canal bus

After fighting with this blog for the last twenty minutes trying to get pictures loaded and in the place I want them. I am giving up! Sorry this is a short blog and not many pictures, but it is all I am willing to do today.

Prague

We have a snow day today, so no school for us. So I thought it would be a good time to catch up on our blog.

Prague was a beautiful city to stay in and visit. We arrived from Budapest on the overnight train at 4:00a.m. and stayed in the station until 7:00. Luckily there was a cafe that we could sit in, drink hot drinks, and read our books. Having a Kindle and e-reader is the best way to travel. We were going to meet our co-workers who spent Christmas in Prague and had one day left, so at 7:00 we called them and made our way to the apartment they were renting. We ate breakfast with them and then walked around Prague for the day. The girls went to the Toy Museum and the Guys went to get beer and walk around the town, or maybe they just focused on the beer and brats.



The Barbies were our favorite toys at the Toy Museum.

 We enjoyed walking around the town with our co-workers and  their girls. By the time we got to our hotel in the evning Zack and I were pretty tired. The next day Zack and I decided  to go to the Castle grounds. We bought our tickets that allowed us to get into eight different places on the castle grounds (the largest castle in Europe, maybe even the world). At each place you need to have your ticket punched as you enter. After the second place I had lost my ticket. I don't know what happened to it. So we had to make a decision to either buy a new ticket for me or have Zack go on by himself. I decided to go and buy another ticket. This time I didn't lose it and we had a great day.

There was no snow in Prague while we were there, but the wind was very cold. I think I will just put in some pictures and add captions for some of them.

The changing of the guards took place right behind me.

St. Vitus Cathedral

 We climbed up 287 steps up the spire for a great view of the city.

Charles Bridge

Zack loves the flying buttresses.



That is the Charles Bridge with statues lining the sides

The next day, we walked into town and saw the Astronomical clock. The clock shows several versions of time. The clock was damaged during the war, so what you see today is mostly reconstructed.

Kafka lived nearby and his father had
a store next to this clock.

Our favorite lunch to have in Prague was to grab a sausage and a drink at the Christmas market. It was fast, easy, and so tasty. 

Walking across Charles bridge to get from our hotel to Prague's Old Town we saw many performers. Here are a couple of our favorites.

We walked past a mirror labyrinth when we were out and about with our co-workers and said that we would have to try and find it another day. Well we found it and went inside. We were probably inside for a good 45 minutes. We got turned around a couple of times. I did walk out the entrance a couple of times and in my confusion asked the lady at the desk if this was the exit. She smiled and said "no." The exit was blue and the entrance was red. I went back in and realized I was the only one in the labyrinth. It is strange being surrounded by mirrors alone and not knowing which way is the exit. I did make it out eventually. It was a fun time.

Freaky to think there might be more than one Zack!



We had to wear gloves, so that we would not leave our prints all over the mirrors. Could you imagine having to clean all of these mirrors? We spent most of our days walking around for half of the day, getting lunch, and then finding a Starbucks to get something warm to drink and read for an hour or two. One morning we went to the Ghost Museum, which was fun and interesting to read all about the ghosts of Prague.



I feel like I am going to Diagon Alley.



Another day we went to the Franz Kafka Museum and learned more about the author. What an interesting life he lived. You weren't allowed to take any pictures inside so all of these came from outside the Museum.

As we walk around the cities we visit we find ourselves joining a walking tour. In Prague we went on the Underground Walking Tour. I never knew there were so many tunnels under the city. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

I found my Knight in the underground of Prague.

It is interesting how many cities had to raise the streets
at one point. Seattle is an American example.

Lots of wishes have been thrown down the well.

While on our trip to Budapest and Prague we were able to find great Japanese resturants and enjoy some delicious food. We ate at "Kyoto" in Budapest near the river and then I can't remember the name of the resturant in Prague, but we took a picture of some of the food we ate. The Miso soup was fantastic!

We spent the last couple of days outside of the city in a different hotel. We slept in, read, cross-stitched (Honey) and even went bowling in our hotel. Zack and I hadn't been bowling together for a long time and he was impressed at my skills (I won both games!). He did say that I had improved since the last time. Check out the scores.

We stayed inside our hotel room on New Year's Eve. It was cold outside and sleeting and we thought the Old Town would be crowded with people. It was a great idea to stay in. We were able to see the fireworks from all over the town. I am not sure what my camera decided to do while I was taking these pictures, but I thought they were kind of neat to include.

Happy 2012!









Happy New Year

Zack and I had a great Winter Break away from Sarajevo. We traveled to Budapest and stayed through Christmas day and then loaded up on the night train to Prague staying there through the New Year.

I have to back track a little. Before we left for our trip I always talk to one of our co-workers who have lived in Sarajevo for 13 years and has traveled to many places. He has given Zack and I some great ideas on what to see and do in cities we have traveled to in the past. So I asked him again for this trip. He told me that he and his wife and two daughters took a cooking class in Budapest they really enjoyed. So, Zack and I looked online for cooking classes in Budapest and found the Chef Parade Cooking school, signed up for a class which included a walking tour of the market in Budapest. When you register for the class you get to pick the menu you will be cooking. You don't have to cook Hungarian food, but we decided to go with Hungarian food.

We met our chef Marta in front of Burger King across from the Market in Budapest, crossed the street and went inside with her. She gave us a little history on the layout of the market, told us about the food, and answered our questions that we had.

Budapest Market



Marta told us that the main center aisle of the market is where the rich people would enter and buy their food and goods. The aisle to the left was for the middle class people and it was a little more narrow and  the aisle to the right was for the poor people. Their aisle was the narrowest and is still the narrowest but all stalls now sell the same quality and quantity for the same prices.

A look inside the market

Main aisle of the market



Many varieties of pickles, even small pickled watermelons.

 They were really good, believe it or not.



Woman selling her goods.





Look closely and you will see the pig noses for sale.



They sold every part of the animals.



After our tour of the market we took a taxi over to Chef Parade. The building had four kitchenettes inside and could hold up to thirty people for a cooking class. We found out later that the Chef Parade has two other schools in Budapest, one able to hold 100 people for classes, one school in Prague, and another school in Ljubljana. Marta told us that several companies hire them to do team building activities with their employees. Zack and I thought that would be a great PD day for our school. We have high hopes.

Chef Parade Cooking School



Todays Menu

Tejfolos gombapaprikas (creamy mushroom paprikash)

Krumplileves (creamy potato soup with sausage)

Palacsinta (Pancakes Hungarian style)

We had a lot of fun cooking with our Chef Marta and eating the delicious food we all made. Enjoy the pictures.

This was a great day. We even went back to our apartment with a ton of food to eat over the next couple of days. This was great with it being Christmas eve and Christmas day and many places closed.