“Can we be friends?”

Yesterday - We were resting on the grass in front of the massive and impressive structure of Reichstag building in Berlin when little C caught sight of a Russian boy playfully posing for his dad’s camera.  Without any hesitation and too happy to find a new playmate, little C hurriedly crawled towards him and befriended him.

Later on, whenever the boy would ran, little C would crawl after him too.  It was an amusing sight!

The Prague Castle entrance at the Prašný most side

I hadn’t realized until yesterday how extremely big Prague Castle (Prasky Hrad) is. According to my sis it’s one of the biggest ancient castles in the Guinness Book of World Records and yesterday I had the chance to see it for myself when we (my sis, little C and I) strolled around the huge castle complex. I’ve been to the castle few times to see the St. Vitus Cathedral and some adjacent parts but never ventured far. Too bad my parents weren’t able to see the rest of the castle grounds and the gardens when they were here; there was just too much to see in a day!

What we saw that day:

The Inner Courtyard
The gothic church of St. Vitus Cathedral and its superb interior
The St. George Basilica
Garden On The Ramparts
The Episcopal Palace
The Schwarzenberg Palace
The New Orangery
Royal Garden and many other structures that we can’t identify.

Inside the grand St. Vitus Cathedral and the ever present swarms of tourists

The southern wing of St. Vitus cathedral

At the Garden On The Ramparts, with little C posing a smile

The Schwarzenberg Palace

A building in the Royal Garden with intricate carvings on the wall


Parking little C’s stroller while she sleeps at the Royal Garden

*Thank God for the kindness of a Brazilian couple who helped us carry little C’s stroller up the stairs from the Garden on the Ramparts.

After more than a week of hibernation, I was out last weekend. Saturday was spent visiting maminka or mam for short. It has been awhile since we last saw each other. I brought along my sister so they can meet each other and of course, little C too. It was a pleasant meeting. Mam gave us flowers and prepared food for us which we gladly devoured. Mam on the other hand was happy with our humble presents and of course, enjoyed little C’s antics! We were also glad that she offered to take care of little C on Sunday so I could tour my sister around Prague.

beautiful pink roses from mam, sis had a blue rose


little C with her grandma

So on Sunday, my sis and I were trudging the cobblestones and narrow streets of Prague, admiring the beautiful medieval architecture and buildings along with sea of tourists that were overflowing in Prague. Yeahhh, you can’t even extend your arms sideways or you’re sure to hit them. That’s how crowded Prague is especially that it was a Sunday and summer at that. It’s the peak season for tourists!

Our itinerary that day included:
Our Lady of Victorious Church
Museum of Our Lady of Victorious Church
The John Lennon Wall
Charles Bridge

a view of Vlatava River taken from St. Charles Bridge

Old Town Square where you can see the following buildings:
Astronomical Clock
Clock Tower
Old Town Hall
Tyn Church

the Tyn church up ahead with two Gothic spires

Jan Hus Monument
St. Nicholas Church
Kriz House
House at the Minute
Palaces in the Old City Square
And lastly at the Wenceslas Square where the statue of St. Wenceslas is, and the National Museum. We occasionally stopped at several souvenir shops to buy souvenirs which took almost half of our time!

the pretty white & yellow roses in full bloom. pic taken along Wenceslas Square

Whew! It sure was a hot, tiring and long walk! What’s good is that Prague’s tourists’ attractions are concentrated in the centre which made our walk on foot possible. Tomorrow we’ll go out again, dekuji mami!

When time is short, speed is an important factor to accomplish many tasks. Just like our recent Europe tour to Czech’s neighboring countries, Austria and Germany. We hurriedly made a quick trip to these cities each in one day. Whew! It was quite hectic considering that we only have few hours to stroll around the place and see the sights and we also have to spend a total of more than 6 hours of travel; going there and back. You can imagine how we dashed from one place to another; walking briskly with the very limited time we had. But it was all worth it!

Speed is essential as well in the workplace. Workers need to have tools to make their work fast. Like when you have piles of documents to print out, an efficient and fast printer is important. HP LaserJet 2420 q5956a fits this criteria as it has 400 MHZ processor and a 32 MB RAM which makes printing fast. You can print an average of 30 pages in a minute! I wish we were like HP printer during our tour; able to walk 30 steps in a minute (Yikes that’s not really fast! maybe 30 steps in a second then) and not get tired (hehehe), then we could have seen more tourists’ attractions!

Last Tuesday we bade goodbye to my sister and her family. After 3 weeks of being together, our stay had come to an end. Huhuhuhu. For sure we will be missing everyone! Till next time! I have fond memories of this scenic Nordic country; the beauty of chilly Finland is simply amazing plus being with the family made it more memorable. If you’re into nature, it’s a place to visit!

Btw, I found the Finns to be friendly people. Those I encountered in shops speaks English too. And most of the girls are pretty! That’s an extra tip for tourists and guys… hehehe.

getting ready to board our bus from Pori to Helsinki

bye everyone!

on the road to Helsinki.

the rocky beauty.

hey little C! eager to see Dad again?

The Pori Jazz starts today till the 20th (and we’re leaving on the 14th to Helsinki!). Last night after our very filling buffet dinner, we took a walk to the jazz street to take a peek on what’s happening prior to the festival. It seems everyone is almost ready. Vendors selling all sorts of stuff from souvenirs to food have already filled the long street along the Kokemanjoki River. Cafes and restaurants are also in full swing. The stage has been set up and there’s a lively music playing to put everyone in a festive mood.

Some famous international artists who are gracing Pori Jazz are Carlos Santana, Shaggy and Mary J. Blige. Other guests and Finnish artists will be playing their music too.

Pictures, pictures!

the stalls!


and more stalls!


souvenirs for sale!


the stage


cafes

Because its summer, the Finns are taking out their campers to camping sites such as the Yyteri Beach (one of the beautiful and famous beaches in Finland) which we’re yet to see this weekend hopefully and other recreational areas. See below the different camper shots I’ve taken while going around the place:

This post is a continuation of little C’s 10 month “birthday” celebration.

That afternoon, we decided to see Pori (Finland) and took along little C’s cousins to be our tour guides. Boy! They were thrilled to tour us around! which is good news on our part. Shortly after we’ve left the house, little C already fell asleep. The cool breeze lulled her to a deep sleep. Even the sunny rays didn’t bother her at all.

the sleeping baby with her cousins

our tour guides

The sights are awesome! Beautiful trees! Beautiful sights… We passed by a 19th century old gothic church, riverbanks with lots of green trees, the river with white sailboats, the wharf with floating bar, several open air cafes, and plenty of locals (and probably tourists too) sitting under the sun while enjoying their favorite drink; I saw lots of colorful flowers too… then we crossed the wooden bridge which leads to Kirjurinluoto Park.

The park is huge, I don’t know the exact area but it has a an arena where the famous Pori Jazz Festival is held annually, a zoo, a play park, a beach, the pirate ship, an 18-hole mini golf course, biking/hiking/jogging trail, food and souvenir stores and plenty of trees and grassy grounds for picnic. It’s an ideal place for family outing where both adults and kids alike can have fun. Click here to see the map.

viewing the goats

Anyway, little C had her first swing ride here and the first time to play in the sand without eating it. She must have remembered how awful it tasted when she had her first taste of the sand in Punta Bulata before. I’ll post those videos next.

sitting on the swing


playing in the sand

Yesterday little C turned another month older. Yeyyy! She started out her day with a birthday cake treat from her aunt. Then we spent the whole day slaving in the kitchen – cooking spaghetti, beef pochero and baking empanada. After we’ve stuffed ourselves, we went out and enjoyed the rest of day in the park. Teehee!

my labor of love:

empanadas!!!

Everything was perfect, except that M wasn’t with us to celebrate little C’s special day. huhuhu
More pics to follow of our stroll in Kirjurinluoto Park…

It’s little C’s second international trip for this year. We’re off to visit my sister and her family in Northern Europe.

“Do you know where you are going baby?”

While we were claiming our baggages at Helsinki airport, my phone buzzed. I thought it was my sister but it was Dad K (Little C’s paternal grandpa) asking about our flight and how little C was during the trip.

The little girl behaved well. She actually fell asleep as soon as the plane took off and woke up when we were finally landing. At least I was able to get a nap during the (almost) 2 hour-flight.

Little C in dreamland…

Little C at Helsinki airport waiting for her auntie.