Oma With a View
Living The Dream
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Life on Barton Heights...Sunny, 79º today
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Home Sweet Home...Sunny, warm days this coming week.
Monday, August 26, 2024
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Amersterdam, a breath of fresh air... Sunny today
Amsterdam the city of bicycles, yes bicycles, canals and bridges everywhere, as well as smiling people on buses, trams and subways...It is a welcome change from the stoic people of Prague...Cienna, (usually with a smile on her face), told us that when she first arrived in Prague, she thought she had made a big mistake, but in the "Language House" and "ABC preschool," she has a made a circle of friends, none of them Chech...I'm not knocking Prague, it is a beautiful city, but just telling you our first impression.
Our four days in Amsterdam have been filled with food, drink, shopping, sightseeing and a 2 hour cruise around the city, where like Prague, the buildings are stacked in like cordwood, plus they are built on a swamp. (these are Rusty's words).
Breakfast at the airport, before we took Bolt to our Hotel, settled in, Ci ordered tickets for the transit system and we were on our way...Almost everything we book and pay for is done on her card, that is on her phone to swipe...I'm using the treking poles everywhere and the streets/sidewalks are smoother here, also with Rusty's help and the slower escalators, we don't have to hunt for the elevators!
We hop the "22" bus, in front of our hotel and it delivers us to the middle of downtown, where we got educated on how the buses, bicycles and a few cars, all use the same space...Bicycles usually have the "right of way." NOBODY wears a helmet, most bikes are just one person peddling, but some have crates, front or back to carry dogs, children, groceries, etc...They peddle fast, weaving in and out of traffic, all looking like they are having a good time...It is truly amazing.
The first night we ate at the "Seafood Bar," sharing appetizers, and main dishes family style, along with drinks, (my Bloody Mary was delicious).
The Cruise is a great way to see the city architecture and points of interest and get an idea of the canal system...Amsterdam is 7 feet below sea level...We chose a small boat, holding about 15 people, that included snacks and drinks...A light rain started about halfway through and we finished the cruise with umbrellas and blankets for all...That's it for today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Sorry it won't let me post photos here...GRRR
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
A break for Oma...75ª
After walking over 17,000 steps in the last two days, I opted to stay at the flat and write a blog and just chill...Bobi, Rusty and Cienna are shopping at the farmers market and getting their steps in for today.
Ci is the ultimate tour guide, finding us different adventures, each and every day...Different cafes for our dining and drinking pleasure...She is ever cautious of my well being, and finds elevators instead of stairs or escalators to access buildings and transportation.
Bobi is our photographer, extraordinare, and mood boosters, always looking for things to make us laugh and making sure we have the best experience!
Rusty is the steady patient one (after all he is putting up with 3 women for 3 weeks), he fixes breakfast most mornings and calmly waits and people watches, while the "girls" dart into just one more store.
We enjoyed A day at Cienna's flat, where she fixed a delicious buffet of finger foods and invited co-workers and friends to join us...It was a delightful day and so much fun to see her, in the life she has made for herself in Prague.
We are looking forward to 4 days in Amsterdam, flying there tomorrow...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Some of the sights in Prague...
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Adventure Outside of Prague...Still very warm
A correction on my last blog, "The Vltava River flows under the Charles Bridge." This bridge, now open to foot traffic only, was the first bridge built to span the Vltava River https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vltava... This bridge like most of the streets, sidewalks etc, in Prague are cobble stone, of all shapes and sizes...Some are big and very bumpy and others are small stones and smooth.
Up at 4am Friday morning to board the 7am bus for "Cesky Krumlov," a small city, 3 hours from Prague...The buses are air-conditioned and comfortable, scenery is mostly fields, some with large round bales, like we have in the US...Some forested areas, very small diameter trees.
Cesky Krumlov is built along side the Vltava River, with the Krumlov Castle, built in 1240, as its center...From the bus station, we traversed down a very steep hill, crossed the river, made our way up, around, through, over, in and out until we arrived at our hotel (Wellness Pension, Ametyst bed and breakfast), for the night...We dropped our backpacks, found a tiny cafe, and an "aperol spritz." Rusty opted for a beer!
Afternoon was a time for shopping for the "kids," while Oma took a 2 hour nap, before dinner...Next morning's breakfast was served in our room and then Cienna had booked a 1 1/2 hour spa, which we all enjoyed immensely...Ready for the day, we now loaded our backpacks on the transport chair, that Rusty pushed and I navigated the cobblestones with my treking poles...We got a reprieve from the heat, as a gentle rain moved through...We found a small riverside cafe, with an outside awning, where we sat and watched the many rafts floating down the river.
Storm over, we finished our trek, up the steep path to the bus station and the 3 hour return trip...Hugs to All...OWAV:)
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Sight Seeing in Prague
We are 5 days into our trip to Prague, where Cienna (my granddaughter) now lives...She has been here teaching for 11 months and recently returned to Portland and spent 10 days with family and friends, before joining us on our trip to Prague, so she could show us all the sights and we (Rusty, Della and Bobi (Cienna's mom) could spend time with her and see what her life is like in a foreign country.
Rusty and I met up with Bobi and Ci at PDX, Thursday, August 8th, after driving 2 1/2 hours to Pendleton, then flying on Boutique Air for an hour...We all waited 5 hours at PDX, before boarding our plane, Iceland Air, for 8 hours, to Iceland, where we had a 1 1/2 hour layover that stretch into 3 1/2 hours after a delay and a different plane...Arrived in Prague around 5pm Friday (Prague time.) None of us got much sleep, because with the change in time, it never got dark.
Our first day was spent acquainting ourselves with our surroundings, shopping for a few groceries, mostly breakfast items and drinks...We spent the afternoon at Cienna's flat, only about 5 blocks away and Bobi and Rusty soon got oriented with directions...Our flat is in between a freeway, major roads, and tram lines, so earplugs are our friends at night...We are on the second floor (have an elevator) and can leave our windows open, with fans, as AC is not in most housing in Prague...We spend most of our time on trams, buses, subways, walking and occasionally on BOLT (Uber)...So far we have visited the Jewish Cemetery, Old Town, parks and beer gardens and today we took a lunch cruise on the Charles River...It has been very hot but is cooling with possible rain by the weekend.
My kids have been super good to me as we navigate the cobblestone sidewalks, roads etc...I use trekking poles when walking and sometimes we take a transport chair along for me to ride in...It is quite rough but Rusty is a good "pusher" and hasn't dumped me out yet...When crossing roads, you have to watch for cars, buses and trams that all run on the same roads, cars don't have to wait for you to get clear across the street and they drive very fast.
That's enough for today, hugs to All...OWAV:)