2010 Snapshot

Taken tonight as the sun set on 2010 in the Canary Islands! 

2010 was an incredible year: Our first nephew Max was born and is as cute as can be, engagement and pregnancies were announced, weddings were attended, our family is healthy, we sold Justin's bachelor pad, there were job promotions, the Blackhawks won the Stanley cup, an amazing group of friends supported us and the opportunity to see 12 countries and 40+ cities presented itself. I'd say 2010 goes down as one of my favorite years. Here's to a fanatic year and looking ahead to what's in store in 2011! Prost! 

Taken in Spain, our first stop on this crazy adventure

With my momma in Paris (our second trip there together!)

One of my favorite pictures from our time abroad

Justin at the flower farms in Nussloch. I will really miss these!!

Trouble in Munich... At Oktoberfest with Caitlin!

Trouble moved east to Prauge in front of the Lennon wall

San Sebastian. Best beaches!

Ashley, Kelly, Colleen and I in front of a Salzburg bar we were not welcomed in! 

J and E in Switzerland picking out our retirement home!

One of my favorite pics from the engagment photo shoot I made Glenn and Juli partake in

J and Grahm in front of their grandmother's old condo in Darmstadt. Can you believe she moved over with the whole family to help out for five years? Amazing!

Part of the Stein fam in Paris. Celebrating my dad's 60th and my parents anniversary! 

Thank you to everyone who read my blog over the past six months! Happy New Year!!

Praha

Group photo at Lennon Wall 

Prague is a fantastic city with deep rooted history and stunning architecture. I was fortunate enough to spend a few days there with my friends who came over for Oktoberfest on the last leg of their European vacation before Justin drove down for the weekend. It was so fun joining their crew and touring with them! We stayed at the Maximilian hotel, which was a cute, boutique hotel in the Old Town. Justin and I then stayed at the Sheraton, which was nice but not centrally located.

Old Town Square

During WWII Prague avoided bombings and today the structures are in excellent condition. The city itself is quite breathtaking and is situated on the Vltava River. Over the course of my trip I saw the Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, the Astronomical  Clock, Lennon Wall, Mucha Museum- I had my share of Prague history covered. I'd have to say that the Jewish Quarter, Lennon Wall and Mucha Museum were my favorites.

Interior of the Old-New Synagogue 

The Jewish Quarter was tiny and was much smaller than I imagined. The Old-New Synagogue dates back to the 13th century and is the oldest existing synagogue in Europe.  I found it very cool to be able to visit such an old, original synagogue. It is also here where the legend of Golem originated and is it said that he still lives in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue to protect the quarter.

J and E at Lennon Wall 

The Lennon Wall is literally a wall with graffiti dedicated to the late John Lennon. In 1988 the wall was used as an outlet for students to lash against the regime and that ultimately lead to a clash between authorities and students near the Charles Bridge. At that time it was painted over daily, but people continuously defaced the wall. So finally the owners of the wall gave up and at let it be (haha!). It was really cool, even not being the biggest Beatles fan, to see people pay tribute to the band that changed music forever and provided a platform for youth to voice protest... Multiple times. 

I also really enjoyed the Mucha Museum. Alphonse Mucha created several of the vintage posters that are so popular. And he captured the spirit of his era with his advertisements, works of art of Sarah Bernhardt and his 20 piece mural "The Slav Epic" depicting the history of the Czech and Slavic people.

Mucha Art 

I admit I was leery of the cuisine in Prague as was the rest of the group. But the food was pretty good. Our first dinner at Fragola Project was a cross between a lounge and an fancy restaurant. It had excellent food and beats jamming as we ate our international cuisine (they literally had everything from tomato soup, to risotto, to sushi). We also ate at Radost FX, where Rhianna filmed her "Please Don't Stop the Music" video years before. This enticingly decorated vegetarian restaurant also serves as a night club in the basement, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are under 18.

Other good restaurants we hit included Bohemia Bagel, Bakeshop (chocolate chip cookies!!), Jama- American cuisine, Cafe de Paris and Justin and I ate at Pivovarski Dum, a traditional Czech brewery. The food was okay; We sampled the goulash, fried bread, and my favorite, garlic soup. It was a fun experience, but the cuisine was a little bland. However, they redeemed themselves with the 12 layer honey cake!

Prague is a beautiful city with tons of excellent sight seeing. I recommend it! You can see all my pics here.