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Czech Republic

This is of course our most frequent international destination as we visit Iva's parents periodically. She tries to see them at least once a year and David goes when he can, often at Christmas.

A bit of background about the country: The Czech Republic was formed on January 1, 1993 when Czechoslovakia split into two pieces (the other being Slovakia, very mountainous and beautiful). There are about 10 million Czechs, of which over 1 million live in Prague, 400,000 live in Iva's hometown of Brno, and the rest are scattered in smaller towns and villages.

Prague is the pride of all Czechs as it is one of the oldest cities in Europe and boasts many architectural jewels that were left unharmed during WWII. In the Middle Ages, especially during the reign of Charles IV (Czech king and Roman emperor), the city was one of the commercial crossroads of Europe. Charles University, founded by Charles in 1248 (roughly), is the oldest university in Central Europe and one of the 4-5 oldest ones in all of Europe. He also build Charles Bridge, the first stone bridge over the Vltava River, to connect permanently the Old and New sides of the city.

Charles Bridge is part of the Royal Road, a string of notable sites: the Powder Gate, the Old Town Square (with the Old Town Hall and Clock, Tyn Church, St. Nicolas Church and archaded buildings), a bunch of narrow streets that lead to Charles Bridge, New Town Square (with St. Nicolas Cathedral), and Hradcany Castle (the seat of the President, some administrative offices, St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane where Kafka lived for a time).

Brno is also pretty though without the same architectural splendor found in Prague. It is a major industrial center and includes grounds for international industrial exhibitions. It is the center of the wine-making region of South Moravia, very close to Austria and Slovakia. Iva's parents like to spend their weekends outdoors. They bike near the Austrian border through a wet-forest area with lots of water foul, or walk or cross-country ski in the hilly surroundings of Brno. They actually recently built and moved into a new house in the village of Babice, 15 minutes from Brno. It is a very beautiful area.

The Czech countryside is very quaint. Its beauty is not as dramatic as some other countries, but picturesquely wavy and checkered with forests, meadows and colorful fields. In spring especially, it is all abloom. May is the best time to visit, in Iva's opinion. Winters can be nice too, with crisply cold and sunny days, but then it's pretty cold, and you're just as likely to get a warmer spell with lots of gray sky and rain.

Fun things we've done when visiting included a visit to Vienna (2 ½ hrs away), skiing in Slovakia (at Chopok), as well as some more local trips. David's sister Michelle has visited twice and his father visited in 2005.

Christmas 2002

May 2004

Christmas 2006

We visited the beautiful Czech town of Cesky Krumlov, Iva's parents in Brno (Babice actually), and the Templar wine cellars in Cejkovice (official website). We also celebrated the 90th birthday of Iva's grandmother and the 60th birthday of Iva's father.