The Czech word for ice cream is zmrzlina.

Today we started a bit later than usual (slept til 9:30), but still managed to see a ton of great sites around the city. We wandered around Mala Strana for a bit, which was nice but quite crowded. Turns out this city is a big tourist destination - who knew? After lunch we took the tram to Vysehrad, an old castle/fortress resting on some quite impressive cliffs along the Vlatava River. It's a very nice place, and the views from the top of the castle walls are absolutely incredible - we could see quite far down the river and into the lovely countryside. According to an exhibit there, the archaeological record for the region dates back to prehistoric times (around 3800 BC, I think), and there are a number of myths surrounding the area's history. Unfortunately, I do not remember the details of said myths, but suffice to say they were quite fascinating indeed.

While KC was in class yesterday I took a walk in Stromovka Park, which is only a few blocks from our apartment. I went just as the sun was peeking out after a big rainstorm, and it was absolutely gorgeous. This park might just be the most fairytale-like public place in existence. Stromovka used to be a royal hunting ground, and it is filled with tall leafy trees, lovely grass, and paths winding up and down the hillside. I had a great time just wandering around, and made sure to bring KC back later in the day.

The weather here can be pretty volatile, it seems. Yesterday especially. It rained until 8:30, was sunny from 8:30 to 10:00, stormed rather nastily from 10 to 11 (a storm which I was caught in), was sunny, stormed, was sunny, etc. etc. etc. I might even venture to say that the weather in Prague is crazier than the weather in Colorado!

After seeing some of the major tourist spots on the weekend I am very very glad to be living in Holesovice, which is much quieter and more residential. I feel like we're getting a bit more of the local flavour this way. We are slowly learning more Czech, and I recently purchased a phrasebook to help us along the way.

I've noticed a few interesting things about Prague fashion, the most striking of which is the women's propensity to wear stockings. While in America sheer nude-color stockings are not particularly fashionable, here they are worn with skirts, shorts, and even open-toed shoes. A lot of older women also have really brightly dyed hair. We've seen a number of ladies sporting red, purple, or pink tresses.

There are so many places here that I'm just dying to explore! Everything is absolutely gorgeous and fascinating, and the history is wonderful. I wish that we could post pictures and share these great places! Hopefully my computer will be fixed soon - I might have to take it to an Apple Store, but the closest one is in Munich. Weekend trip, perhaps?

Actually, we're thinking about visiting Budapest next weekend. I've heard great things about it, so I'm excited to see it.