Prague Photo Tour

I know I said I would do a city each day with photos from our vacation but clearly I was losing my mind when I said that, because 2 weeks later I have done two cities.  So up next is Prague- my personal favorite from our trip.  I was most excited to see this place and did a fair amount of research to prepare for the big 2.5 day affair.  We traveled by train from Berlin to Prague and arrived for our stay in somewhat dreary weather and a bit of a hangover that a croissant and hours of sleep couldnt cure.  Our "hostel" was more like an upscale apartment than the slum pit I expected to see.  2 floors, with a roof deck and a kitchen and a modern bathroom fit just for us.  We immediately threw out crap down, changed clothes and went out to explore and eat, because naturally after a whole 2 hours without food we were quite famished.    We saw a ton in Prague and walked around alot.  The History of the city is pretty amazing and the castles/cathedrals/bridges and parks were better than I imagined. 

The highlight of the tour was the night we got arrested.  See how i threw that in there?  You thought you read something wrong didnt you?  Fear not chickens, we made it home alive.  But not after a good shake up by the Czech Secret Police!  After a long day of hunting for fried cheese sandwiches and beer, we decided to head to an authentic Czech dinner or meat, potatoes, and meat and potatoes at a local restaurant.  We ate enough for a small country and then hit the bar scene, eager to try some absinthe and really "get crazy".  We stopped at a martini bar, and decided that we would have shot of Absinthe at 930pm.  Clearly this is where the trouble started.  After swallowing the minty lethal liquor, we headed to an Irish Bar (yes, thats right, we Americans do not wander far from our comfort zone) and were greeted by a large group of Brits who complimented the husband and Adam on their great taste in women and possibly landed a backhand on mine and Jenn's behinds.  We were in for a great night.  We sat in the back and ordered beer after beer, until we were so drunk and so into singing 80s songs that the men getting NAKED at the front of the bar didnt seem too out of place.  Naturally we took pictures, and then kept ordering beers.  Fast forward to 4 hours later.  None of us are speaking English and the husband is asking the waitress what she thinks a good tip is, because his math skills went to sleep 2 hours prior.  This is what Absinthe will do to you.  Funny thing is, this isnt even the good part.  The following night, we take it easy, have some cocktails and see the extremely overrated Astronomical Clock.  On our way home we jump on a trolley, and Jenn tells us fairytales about how the Czech police dress in street clothes and arrest people for not paying the trolley fare.  Not 3 minutes later, we find ourselves on the side of the road with two large Czech policeman who are demanding we each pay them $700 Krohns (might I add they took our passports- we are f'd).  So we pay them (700 Krohns is equivalent to approximately $30 dollars- so what if I cant pay my EZ Pass for one week) and head home.  I am giving the short version because the long version includes a lot of anxiety, tension, nerves and scared-shitless-ness and really who wants to hear about all those details?

 Steepest and longest escalator in the world

 The husband and I- we like hats.

 Who doesnt love a peeing, rotating statue?

 Beer. the root of all evil.

J & A

 Absinthe- the REAL root of all evil

 This sums up the whole trip.  the husband playing like an ape, Jenn being short and Adam searching for food to eat

 BFFs

 Largest castle ground in the world!

 be serious!

 Astronomical let down...err I mean clock

Fried Cheese sandwiches all around

Help is needed

We had quite a busy weekend- traveled out to Texas with the parents and the husband to visit the brother and his girlfriend.  Ate way too much food and drank way too much...everything.  Now I am back and excited to say that the husband is putting the finishing touches on our farmhouse table.  Now I get to pick out a lamp for above the table and I am having some major anxiety over it.  Some of my favorite options are below, although I am still on the hunt for some others too if anyone has ideas...

 Above- the Sputnik.  He is my favorite and the silver would be a great balance for all natural wood in the room

 Very modern but I am afraid it will be too much white (the chairs I have yet to purchase will be white)

 I like this too...very organic and plain feeling.  Maybe I could buy two in different sizes?  

 Boring old drum pendant but this one is majorly over-sized...would easily be a focal point but again this could be too much white?

 This beauty hails from IKEA and for $89, it is a steal.  I need to make a trip to compare because my gut is telling me that this looks cheapo in person

Another VERY modern fixture that bugs me a little bit but for some reason I cant take my eyes off of it.  I wish it came in beige.

The husband told me I couldnt get a new light just yet, since the one we have works fine and since it looks like the 9 lb pup will need surgery for bladder stones (the surgery costs 3 times as much as he did).  However, this morning I noticed one of the bulbs on our current light was out, so I replaced it and low and behold, it still wont work...which means it is broken and we cannot have a broken light in our dining room unless we want to look like hobos.  So a new light is definitely on the menu!

Manhattan Nest...

Recently I somehow stumbled across one of the funniest blogs I have found to date- Manhattan Nest and I have become slightly addicted to it- literally checking it every single day for updates on the apartment and the hilarious stories that go along with fixing it up.  Check it out...it is absolutely worth your time and I promise at least 100 laughs.

Erin Wasson for Scanlan & Theodore

Now we are cookin with FIRE!

Well...not yet but soon enough we will be.  We had a slight problem with our kitchen.  And when I say slight...well..here goes:

When we bought the house the kitchen appliances were a bit dated.  They were circa 1965 and they didnt work very well.  So, the husband and I decided it was time to get new, pretty, shiny, stainless steel appliances.  Not a huge deal, just roll out the old ones and bring in the new ones.  That plan went off without a hitch until we realized our 1965 oven was not your standard 30" inches wide, it was 26" wide.  Which means the counter top around it wasnt wide enough to fit the new oven in.  Okay, not too big a deal- we will just cut the counter tops 2 inches on each side and call it a new day.  Folks- when you are working with 40+ year old Formica, things dont tend to go that easily.  We had a contractor come in and before he ran out of the house scared, he told us this was not easy because the counters would shred apart when cut, so, not such an easy fix.  So we realized we would have to get new counters, and hey why go do it for cheap when you can get granite (cue the oooh la la's).  We picked out our granite and were told 7 days from the time of templating (meaning from the time the two huge men from Sweden come to measure your shit and then leave a mess in the kitchen).  So the husband ripped out the old oven, and worked for days ripping out the beautiful mess that was Formica all over our kitchen.  It did not look fun and I was very happy to do other house work while he pounded beers and cursed like a sailor.  Anyways, the below photos are what we have been living with now for approximately 15 days, 8 hours and 34 minutes- I am not counting or anything.  Let me remind you that since we had no oven and since the sink had to be replaced, we have been living without running water in the kitchen the entire time...and eating takeout.  It sounds like fun until you have a Bagel 3 times a day with the same toppings.

proof is in the empty beer bottle on the left..

Formica graveyard

 My what beautiful holes in the wall you have here in your deluxe kitchen...

And now introducing...the new counter tops!  Hello gorgeous Bianco Sardo...goodbye Formica FOREVER...

Holes are still there but we are taking baby steps.  The husband is going to put up a sick back splash and put the new oven in and all will look fabuloso!  

P.S- while we are on this little tour let me show you some other new duds that 1172 Broad St got hooked up with:

 The craigslist chair got decked out in a new faux shearling throw from IKEA

 And check out the amazing shots of our new headboard!  I love love love the way it came out...such a good idea that all started with the hubby finding this old door on the side of our old street! Right now it blends in too much with the walls but once those babies are painted white, this jazzy bitch will be right in the spotlight!

Berlin- photo tour!

So much for one city per day!  I have been so lazy lately with this blog...sorry to all my fans out there (all 10 of you that is). Below is a little photo tour of Berlin.  Its much easier than doing a commentary on 2.5 days- but I'll still make some comments here and there....

 Our first night in Berlin- we stayed at the Hostel bar and drank them out of beer...things got a bit crazy late night (cue the drunk man falling and taking out a table and 4 chairs while Jenn looked on)

 If I was a better tourist I would know what this is called.  Its the entrance into an important square where the Hotel Adalon is...

 Holocaust Memorial.  Very very cool.

 J & A...who would guess they know each other?

 The husband inside the Holocaust Memorial.

 A section of the Berlin wall

 Again- I have no idea what this is because the tour guide talked too much and I didnt want to listen

 Oh fancy seeing me here!

 Gorgeous Architecture.  We tried to go in but were too cheap to buy tickets, so we just stared from outside

 Check it...just me taking a little run in my army gear and my small peanut head.

 Largest bread on the planet...or in Berlin

 Sections of the East Side Gallery (all the below are the same)

 Read it...small people doing BIG things!

View from the riverfront  by the East Side Gallery.  Best napping spot of the trip!

Overall- Berlin was a very very cool city.  Cold and rainy though- which sort of put a damper on our two days there.  But, the beer was great and the Currywurst- even better.  Who knew I would fall in love with small pieces of sauseege in a grimy looking red sauce?  We took a free tour of the city and learned so much it made our heads hurt and we had to get more beer.  It was pretty insane seeing the Berlin Wall though and thinking that we were alive when this came down and East and West Berlin were reunited.  Berlin's history is truly astounding and I think it made us all realize how little we really know about the struggles that the rest of the world has faced.  All in all- I give Berlin a 6 out of 10.  We didnt get quasi- arrested (no no, that was the next day in Prague) but we did see a ton of sights and learn a lot.