On the Road Again...

Sorry for the delay in blog entries, but the last few weeks have been chock full of activity. Let's see, where should I even begin? (If I were truly a multimedia person, you'd be hearing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" right now.)

Let's see... Ever since my expedition to the far reaches of northeastern Slovakia, it seems as if I've been on the road. After visiting Vysne Repase with Valent and Pavol, I took advantage of a long weekend and headed to Berlin. Last week I took advantage of a Czech holiday and met a friend in Krakow, Poland. While I thoroughly enjoyed my train ride through Dresden to Berlin, my overnight train to Krakow left much to be desired. I have to say I found it all a bit eerie stopping in the middle of the night or early morning in present day Oswiecim (what the Nazis called Auschwitz). In Berlin, I watched a new German movie called "The Last Train" which focuses on the relationships that ensue between several characters in one car of the last transport of Berlin Jews to Auschwitz. Well, trying to fall asleep in my couchette, my mind replayed the movie over and over. It was not fun to say the least.

This past weekend, with the help of my friend and guest Becky, we successfully hosted a pierogi making evening for women from my church here in Prague. It was an intergenerational gathering and included Asia, our resident Polish pierogi inspector. Come to find out, Asia, although Polish, has never made pierogi on her own. I was absolutely delighted when she announced to the ladies at several points in the evening... "wow, she really knows what she's doing. Of course, this usually came after I poured liquid butter over a dish of pierogis or lightly fried some of them in butter and onions. Yes, pierogi are part of a healthy dietary regimine :)

There's even more that I've been up to, but I'll close for now. As you can imagine, I'm pretty darn tired from a lot of weekend travel and hosting. I have one more trip ahead of me over Thanksgiving-- to see my friendly Minnesotan Leah, now residing in jolly ole England.

I wish you all a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving. I hope Thursday will mean more than Turkey day, but that we can all take some time to reflect on the blessings of this past year.

As for the above picture, I am standing here with Wendel Parana's wife, who came into the home as her husband was searching for a court deed listing my greatgrandmother as emigrated to America. Wendel's wife had a very warm demeanor, and exuded positive energy and a spirit of hope. I really wish I took a face shot of each and every person I encountered for each was special and unique with a story to tell. These past few months have been an amazing adventure in self discovery and plain old fun. And, somehow, I hope it's just the start of something new...