Drive to Brno

I rented a car for the first time in our Grand European Tour. I was a bit hesitant because I was driving into the Old Town and then back out again...but it wasn't so bad.

We had a 2.5 hour drive to Brno, with heavy traffic the whole way. I'm not sure if this is something taught in Czech driving schools, or just something that everyone does, but when cars want to pass, they go RIGHT up to your back bumper. This must have happened to me at least 30 times (and I was going 130 km/hr!). Seriously, it's so dangerous.

By the end, I could anticipate it and get out of the way quickly. But sometimes it was not possible because I was passing a large truck and couldn't move over. They would still drive right up to my bumper.

It was cold and rainy so we took one quick trip to the grocery store (a Lidl! and right next door!) and then stayed indoors the rest of the day.

We teach all day tomorrow and leave the following mornings suuuuuper early to catch a morning flight out of Prague.

We won't even see Brno itself; we're in the industrial outskirts.

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Underwhelming and overpriced

I worked most of the day on video and book editing. But I decied that I coudn't stay indoors the whole day! So I booked a "Prague Underground" tour that sounded really fun. In reality, it was underwhelming and overpriced. We saw the basements of 3 buildings, 2 of the 3 decorated with kitschy themes. The torture one was fun if only because I was taking pictures for the kids to see later 🙂

I met up with Kristine and some of the workshop organizers and attendees for dinner. I had a beetroot risotto with goat cheese. So good!

When we were walking to get Kristine, the street was completely blocked by a swarm of ambulances in front of her apartment. We joked, "Oh no, what has Kristine been doing this time?!?" Turns out it was for someone who fell (or maybe was pushed?) out a window.

Tomorrow we drive to Brno. Wish me luck driving in the Czech Republic! It doesn't seem any different from driving in France, so I think I'll be ok.

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Prague teaching day

I'm totally exhausted and my inbox is terrifying (so many emails since this morning that I can't evne see them all on one page!). I'm not even going to try until tomorrow 🙂

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Cold, sunny Prague!

I bundled up to expore Prague today, after getting a few hours of video editing done. It was beautiful but very cold.

I couldn't believe the crowds of tourists! In some areas, it was a literal river of people and you couldn't really choose where to walk.

In the morning I walked along the river, then across to the Petrin Tower (Petřínská rozhledna) and the Mirror Maze (Zrcadlové bludiště). 

The tower is like the Eiffel Tower but on a smaller scale. It has two observation platforms and you climb up on a double spiral outdoor staircase, going up one way and down the other.

The Mirror Maze was built in the 19th century and was quite fun. It also had a diorama of an important war in the history of Prague on the Charles Bridge.

I decided to cross the river via the Charles Bridge and that's where the crazy crowds began. I wandered back through the Old Town and then home for lunch.

After a few more hours of video editing, I wanted to get out again. Kristine and I had talked about getting a birthday pastry, so we met up and found a patisserie. It looked very French but my sacher torte was surprisingly sweet, almost too sweet! But the shop itself was quite lovely.

I snapped a few pictures during this afternoon excursion of the main square and the astrological clock. It was too cold to slow down and admire the sights!

I had a debrief this evening and talked to the family. Big teaching day tomorrow!

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Prague & lube connoisseurs

Kristine and I arrived in Prague! We left our apartment in Budapest at 6:30 am and I finally got settled into my apartment here by around 4:30 pm. So a long travel day even though the actual flight time wasn't that far.

Kristine is in the Old Town and I'm not too far away in the New Town. I have a great setup here with double desks and 3 large monitors.

I can feel the streetcars rumbling past; it's a subtle, low vibration.

It's very cold here, colder than winters in Nice ever get. Brrrr! The workshop organizer lent me a warmer jacket. That should allow me to have a good wander all over town tomorrow...because both Kristine and I have the day off! Woohoo!

I think you will appreciate this hilarious messenger thread between me, Kristine, and David. Finding good lube is super important because the birth simulators don't work well with certain brands. Back in the US, we only buy one brand (Surgilube) after much trial and error. However, that doesn't exist in the EU. We're now connoisseurs and lube snobs 🙂

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Birthday in Budapest

I had the day free today--and I needed it!

Yesterday was an intense teaching day that started at 3 am (not on purpose!!) and ended close to 10 pm. I was exhuasted and in pain and so happy to get back home.

But I love teaching, too. I just wish it weren't so taxing.

We had another fantastic group and I was super excited that Agnes Gereb attended yesterday's training. And the night before yesterday, I got a message from Betty-Anne Daviss, saying, "Hey, I happen to be in Budapest. Could I come to your training?" I said, "yes, please!" So she and Dr. Bisits helped participate and gave short impromptu lectures when we broke into small groups.

We had people from Hungary, Italy, and the USA yesterday, plus of course Canada and Australia!

A group of us went out to dinner, including most of the instructors and organizers. I had a traditional beef stew and dumplings with sheep cheese. Yum.

I finally had a good night's sleep after 4 nights in a row of very bad sleep. I still woke up at 3:30 am but at least got back to sleep this time.

And...since today is my birthday...it was an extra special day! I visited the synagogue across the street and then had some meetings. 

After lunch, I walked all around the other side of Budapest (the Buda side). I crossed the Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd) and walked up to the Citadella. The very top is closed for renovations but there still some other spots with a lovely view of the city and the Danube river. 

I kept walking down and then up again to the huge Buda Castle complex. Inside are multiple palaces, museums, churches, stables, etc...so much that I probably only saw a tiny fraction! I wasn't too keen on walking inside museums so I just enjoyed seeing the outside of most of the things.

A visit to Budapest wouldn't be complete without visiting the Semmelweis museum (of which there are more than one!). This one had a little bit about Semmelweis but it was mostly a museum of medical instruments. I took lots of pictures of obstetrial forceps and gory stuff for the kids to see and go "ewwww!"

I crossed back to the Pest side on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, then walked along the river until I got closer to the apartment.

I passed so many museums today! Maybe I will go inside another day.

The rest of the day was a bit less interesting--catching up on a mass of breech-related tasks.

I was able to talk with Eric and then again with most of the kids later in the day.

We have an early flight tomorrow to Prague.

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