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Published: March 10th 2013
I woke up this morning with aching feet (darn heels) and sore shoulders from the flight over. Although I felt rested, it was very clear that I hadn’t eaten since lunch and was very hungry. I knew there was a supermarket next to the apartment, and hoped I could piece together some sort of breakfast quickly. I bought some bananas, yoghurt, pancake mix, mixed berry jelly, bread, eggs, and a painting book for Ava that contained paints. At the counter, the cashier picked up the bananas and started asking me a question. I pointed to where I got the bananas from, but that was apparently not her question because she kept talking. I told her that I only speak English and she just kept talking with the bananas in her hand. I made a hand signals to forget about the bananas and she set them aside. Translation: bananas will not be included in this morning’s breakfast. When I got back, mom and I went through the cupboards to find what we needed to make pancakes, eggs, and toast with yoghurt. It became clear that the girls who live in the other room do not cook often. There wasn’t even a flat
spatula! But I made it work and we had breakfast. By the time we were dressed, it was 1:45 p.m. and Raddick planned to arrive at 2 to take us around the city.
The 4 of us got on the bus and were in the center of the city in less than 10 minutes. Unfortunately, it was overcast and drizzling rain, so the photos may not look that great. We saw one of the rivers, some river rats (You’ll have to watch the videos I included below), and the town square. I asked him about the situation with the bananas. He told me that small stores require you to weigh the produce and receive a price ticket for them that you give to the cashier. He said that he often forgets to get the ticket when he goes shopping and ends up leaving his produce at the counter because he can’t be bothered with the process. His explanation made me feel better about the situation this morning. After two hours of walking around in the yucky weather, mom and Ava were spent. We got back on the bus and Raddick parted ways with us. The three of us went
to the big shopping center to get hot drinks and some dinner. Luckily, some of the places at the shopping center include English on their menus and have a lot of photos on their menus.
While we were eating, Ava noticed that there was a train a few floors up. It was the kind that kids ride on (Briarwood mall has one now). So, after we finished eating, we went to the third floor so she could ride the train. But, when we got to the third floor, we saw that a lot of kids were riding on stuffed animals. It looked like something very cool, and so we found the stand to pay for Ava to ride of the animals. It was 40Kc for 10 minutes, which is only about 20 cents. Make sure you check out the link with Ava riding on the camel. She had a lot of fun! After she had finished her ride, she got on the children’s train. While the train at Briarwood Mall costs $3, this train also cost about 20 cents. Then she rode a few rides that cost about ten cents each which were placed in various locations throughout the
mall.
I stopped into T-Mobile and bought a SIM card for my phone. I paid about $13 for it and believe it will last for the duration of my stay. It doesn’t make allow international calls, but as I said before, that’s what Skype and Facetime are for. We also went to a large store that resembles Meijer. We ran into Olga there, which was a nice surprise. She advised us to look for the Czech flag when buying food because there is a lot of the cheaper food that is from Poland and is not good. I had noticed the flags on the packages before she mentioned this, but didn’t think about the conditions of the surrounding counties. We picked up some more groceries and a coffee maker and headed back to our apartment in the light rain. It’s now 11 p.m. and we have put everything away. Our feet are really killing us now and mom says she doesn’t want to walk anywhere tomorrow. Good luck! Mom and Ava are snoring and I wish I was more tired. I am excited about getting the code for the WIFI so that I can post all of this for
The River
I think it's the Elbe. I have to check.everyone as well as see my email and Facebook. I also wonder what tomorrow will bring.
Be sur to check out the videos:
River Rats:
