Mum's Visit

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Having lived and worked once already for a year in Koblenz, I know from personal experience that it’s only when you move away from home that you find out who your true friends are and which of your family members loves you the most (the ones who visit you first and most often, naturally!). Hence it came as no surprise to have my mum over as my first official visitor this weekend - a twofold highlight of my time in the Czech Republic so far, as not only did I get to see my lovely mum, but she also brought my laptop, DVD collection, cafetiere and the rest of my (urgently needed) clothes out with her, not to mention a couple of unexpected but highly appreciated books and magazines into the bargain! Result!!

As I’d expected, it was really wonderful showing off my flat and beautiful new city to my proud mum, and as usual we ended up having our typical lovely girlie weekend together, seeing the sights (Prague Castle, Golden Lane, Old Town Square etc), shopping (quirky mugs from a pottery shop in Hradčany), eating (ham and cheese croissants at the excellent Praha Bakeshop, coffee and quiche at the nearby Café Edel, pasta at the little trattoria on the corner, lunch at Yami Sushi on Sunday and a supersize Czech meal and beer at my favourite Czech restaurant Staromacek on the Saturday) and drinking at various vinoteký (wine bars) and cocktail places all across the city.

Needless to say it was a bit of a wrench to see her go on Sunday evening, but at the same time the visit had served as a kind of validation at to my permanent residency in Prague - to be honest am still having trouble adjusting to the fact that I actually live here now and am not just on some kind of extended holiday in the Czech Republic myself! Having my mum here and seeing my life through her eyes helped me realize all that I have built up here for myself in such a limited space of time, and that I have good reason to be both rightfully proud of what I have already achieved and fully optimistic about what I can still do in the future. So thanks for that Mum - I love you, and hope to see you back again soon (don’t forget the Robinson’s next time though)!

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