These past few days, we had nothing but blue skies and bright days. Summer is indeed here.
This morning, since we didn’t go out of town, my husband and I decided to take a short trip to Kutna Hora, a neighboring town, for a picnic at one of the famous parks there. Because we didn’t check the event calendar for the park, we ended up running on to the “Festival of the Royal Silvering of Kutna Hora.”
Performers dancing a traditional medieval danceYoung girls dancing as part of a short stage play.
The event was held at the Italian Court, the central mint of the Kingdom of Bohemia and former residence of the king in the 15th century.
The Italian Court overlooking the Park where the festival was held.
It was an awesome event filled with music, dancing, jousts, and the fictitious arrival of King Wenceslaus and Queen Sofia of Bavaria.
Drummers announcing the arrival of the king and queen.The knights’ paradeThe king and queen arrives.The king’s court
Being in the event made me feel like I was transported back in time when Kutna Hora was at its prime. Back then, Kutna Hora was a famous silver mining town which was the second most important town in the kingdom of Bohemia after Prague. The costumes that were worn signified wealth and prosperity in the town.
One of my favorite parts of the show was a sword fight performed by actors.
Another favorite was the performance of a band that specializes in Medieval music.
It was also fun to watch people dress up for the event. Kids in costumes always have a soft spot in my heart.
But I wasn’t the only one who was totally entertained. Guess who were at the front row?
I am really glad that we accidentally attended this event in Kutna Hora. I will mark it in my calendar next year, so it will be one of those weekend events that we will go to.
More information about this event can be found here.
It was a little bit rainy today, so Jakub and I stayed indoors through most of the day. Since it’s Thursday, and we normally do shopping on Fridays, the food supply in our household was quite depleted. He already ate up his favorite snack. Thus, supermama had to make something for this picky little eater. I checked out the cupboard to see what I have and was lucky to find that I had flour, milk and eggs – the main ingredients for palačinky.
my palacinky
Out of all the Czech foods I’ve ever tried to make, palačinky is my favorite. Not only is it very easy to make but it is also very flexible. Palačinky is a thin pancake very similar to French crepes. It is very popular in Czech and almost every housewife knows how to make it. Palačinky is normally eaten with jam/jelly as a filling. It can also be made fancier with whipped cream on the side and chocolate syrup drizzled all over it. It can even be made as a main course when it is stuffed with meat and veggies. But the best palačinky variation I’ve ever seen was at my in-law’s house where it was made as a birthday cake. I thought that was pretty innovative.
Birthday cake made out of palacinky
It was very simple yet delish. I would never have thought to make it for that purpose.
So, to appreciate this awesome food even more, I am sharing here my Palačinky recipe:
Ingredients:
2 eggs
200g flour
400ml milk
pinch of salt
Procedure: Mix all the ingredients together. Pre-heat a cooking pan. Add a little bit of oil to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan. (If you are using a non-stick pan, there is no need to add oil.) Take 4-5 tablespoons of the mixture and spread evenly on the pan. Turn when the sides turn brown.
Yield: 10-15
Whatever the occasion, whether it is a simple afternoon snack, a main course or a party, rest assured that palačinky will always save the day.
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Here are 7 facts about me:
1. I made 18 significant moves so far.
2. I can play the bandurria, a plectrum chordophone from Spain, primarily used to play folk music. When I was 14, my mom enrolled me in a bandurria class to give me something to do during the summer.
3. I like putting hotdog as a main ingredient in my spaghetti. Sliced, of course.
4. When I was a child, I used to walk 1km to school every single weekday.
5. On my first year at the university, I, together with almost 300 other students, was a victim of a food poisoning outbreak at the dormitory cafeteria.
6. I used to have a cat named “Tiger,” because he looked like one.
7. When I was pregnant with my son, I ate 2kgs of dill pickles in one week.
This past weekend, we visited my husband’s brother in Brno, the second biggest city next to Prague. It was the birthday celebration of my nephews, so we decided to spend the whole weekend there. However, the weather was not cooperating. So we were limited to doing activities indoors.
Saturday morning, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the day because it rained to whole day. We were supposed to bring the kids to a steam engine exhibit but it got cancelled due to the rain. So we proceeded to Plan B — go to an indoor play area.
We went to Bongo, a family amusement park. There were a lot of attractions for both young and old, and I can tell the boys had a lot of fun. While their fathers took the little ones in the bump cars, my 4 year old nephew begged me to come with him to the big slide.
I have a fear of heights. This fear started way back in my early twenties when I rode a roller coaster in South Korea. As I grew older, the fear intensified. Now that I am a mother, it seems like I will be forced to conquer this fear.
Off we go!
I didn’t want to disappoint my little nephew so I went with him on the slide. But when I got to the top, the nerves got me. I almost didn’t go but it was too late. My poor nephew was a little but surprised on why I was too slow. Truth is, I was hanging on to the side rail.
Finally
Until finally, I found the courage to just let go and was able to catch up with him. It was very ironic. Instead of me keeping an eye on him, he kept an eye on me. Oh well, I know this will not be the first time. When Jakub will be old enough to go on great heights, I wonder what else I will get myself into.
I like flavored coffee. Now that my son is at a stage where he tries to imitate everything I do, it is quite difficult to keep coffee away from him. I always try to trick him by giving him milk, but he is starting to get smarter and cannot be easily fooled. But I found a solution. I found Caro.
Caro is a drink composed of barley, barley malt, chicory and rye. The origin of this drink can be traced back to the Napoleon era. During the war between France and England, there was a scarcity of goods from overseas, one of them being coffee. To compensate for this, people experimented on ground cereals and grains as a replacement for coffee and thus came up with Caro. Due to its popularity, with a taste closely resembling that of coffee, it stayed as a regular product.
In the beginning, we bought this drink so Jakub can have his “coffee” with us. But recently, I have found myself drinking caro as well. The same is true with Kinder chocolate. I bought it for Jakub so he can have his own chocolate when I’m eating mine. But recently, I am also finding myself craving for this chocolate too.
Having a kid awakened the kid in me. So don’t be surprised if I offer you baby juice instead of beer when you are a guest in my house.
How about you. Do you ever consume stuff for kids?
Today we mark our first year in the Czech Republic. What a move it had been! Here are a few realizations I’ve had from the length of time I am here.
1. When it comes to environmental initiatives, I applaud the Czech Republic, or maybe Europe in general for the steps it has taken to save mother earth. From small appliances, to small cars, to bagging your own groceries to building eco-friendly homes, it is the best I’ve ever seen. Details on a previous post can be found here.
2. When it comes to alcoholic drinks, Czechs are not to be outdone. They really DO know how to drink. The variety of alcoholic drinks are the most interesting I’ve ever seen.
3. When it comes to safety, the safety measures around here are not as sophisticated as the US. I guess this is one area that needs to be improved.
4. When it comes to hobbies, Czechs are so into the outdoors. Most of the Czechs that I know like to spend their weekends in a cottage by the woods.
5. When it comes to making friends, Czech people are not the friendliest kind at first meeting. But once you become their friend, you are friends for life!
I know there’s still a lot more to come. But with all the things we’ve seen and experienced, I think we have finally “Czeched In.”
This past weekend, the Filipino Czech Association (FCA) had a successful launching party at the Na Marjance Dance Hall in Prague 6. The party was indeed a fusion of Filipino and Czech culture. Guests from all over CZ came to celebrate with us.
Photo courtesy of Maj Capuchino
From my experience attending a Czech party, it is normally more subdued, with soft music, and relatively orderly. This one on the otherhand, is more jovial involving a lot of singing, dancing, and loud music.
As an officer in the organization, I had to make rounds making sure that everyone is ok and no one is left at a corner. I was talking to one non-filipino guest who was at the party and asked him if he likes it. His comment was: “Yes! it is typical Filipino. It’s a little bit chaotic, BUT everybody’s happy.” My thoughts exactly. I couldn’t agree more.
There are Czechs and there are “Czechs”. If you want to distinguish a true blue Czech, you have to be in the lookout for their bread preferences. A true Czech will always look for Chleba. Chleba is a sour dough rye bread, dark in color and moist. It has a distinct unique taste to it that is very different from any other bread.
Through all those years that we have spent in the US, my husband never got satisfied with the kind of bread that was sold in the stores there. He was always saying that it is nothing like Chleba. Apparently, the same is true for some of the other Czechs that I know. My brother and sister in law, both Czechs, had to bake their own chleba from scratch when they lived in North Carolina. They missed it THAT much.
Well, I guess I know how it feels because in the many years that I lived outside of the Philippines, I still crave for rice. That is also our gauge for “Pinoy-ness.”
Czech the Flip 