the things i love. (and some that i just think are funny)

As my time here comes to an end, I've been thinking a lot about what images will be conjured up in my mind when I think of Brno, Czech Republic. While it is not easy to capture the complete essence of this place, I have made an effort over the past week and a half to collect photos of things that stand out as being "typically czech" I will do my best to explain them, but know that sometimes, even an explanation falls short. I would like to say, as a sidenote, that none of what I put in this post is meant to be critical or mocking the Czech Republic. They are simply cultural differences that I will never understand, and as a result, appear humorous to my naive American mind. That being said, join with me as I piece together the Czech Republic I have come to know and love.


Flower shops EVERYWHERE. with beautiful, fresh, FRAGRANT flowers!

Czech families. The children ride tricycles around. The mothers are the most talented women ever (think double stroller and a tiny czech woman hefting it up onto the tram without missing a beat) and they wear those crazy czechered pants.

the active older generation (this lady made it to the top of the vinarska hill with her cane!)

Little old ladies with brightly colored hair. This one has bright red, but I've seen purples, pinks, greens and blues. Anything goes!

Public Transportation! (slash, also being able to walk anywhere)


The MulHawk. 'nuff said.

Old men. they are so stinkin cute!


There are several other things, I just haven't been lucky enough to catch them with my camera. Also, I'm getting really sleepy and my "Day of Lasts" begins in 1 hour. :(

I will really miss it here, but I am getting more and more excited to see life on the other side. :)

i am so blessed.

This post is going to encompass a variety of events and fun things that have happened over the past week(ish), so bear with me...

Last Saturday (as in, 2 May not 9 May) Jess (my friend from Missouri) and I were invited by our Czech friend Katka to fill in on her floorball team. For those of you who have no idea what floorball is (don't feel bad, I didn't either..) it is basically hockey with a whiffle ball in a gym. Of course we agreed (who wouldn't?!) and it was nothing short of hilarious. It ended up being us two Americans and four other Czechs (only one of which could speak more than a few words in English). We spent two straight hours sweating (yeah, it was THAT intense), laughing, and enjoying each other's company (also dominating the other team, but that's beside the point...) It was so fun and definitely a funny memory to look back on.




On Sunday at church, Jess and I were asked to share our testimonies and a little bit of how living here in the Czech Republic has changed who we will be when we head home. It was really neat to stand in front of 4 or 5 homeless Czech people (none of whom spoke any English) and tell about how God has been working in our lives and answer their questions about faith in America, faith as an American, and our various experiences here in Brno. It was really hard, though, too because leaving became all too real at that point. I can't believe that after this week, this will no longer be my life.

Last Thursday, instead of regular bible study, a group of us drove out to Christa's (the leader of the bible study) Chata (cottage) in the Brno wilderness for an overnight campout. In spite of Christa's many warnings (snakes, foxes, DEER, ticks, wild swine..) we ended up having a wonderful time. It was so much fun to sit around the campfire and exchange stories of our childhoods, various traveling experiences, relationships, etc. etc. We roasted sausages (of all shapes and sizes!) over the fire and later even made BANANA BOATS (on the recommendation of Christa - apparently they do it in Holland too!) I was so excited about that because we used to make them in the campfire when we were kids! There were also marshmallows (actually more like peeps) Kofola (czech "herbal" cola) and other delicious treats. In the morning, Christa and Blaza (the other bible study leader) gave us a "Survival Kit" for things to bring with us as we head home (ranging from miniature glasses to tiny mirrors and finger puppets - all exemplifying an important theme of Christianity) It was so fun to spend the night in the woods, away from all things "civilized" (we had no electricity, no plumbing, no running water...) and enjoy the company of good friends.







For Friday, my friend Jess had organized a little dinner night for a group of us to celebrate our time here and enjoy one last hoorah before people started finishing up finals and heading home. Or so I thought. Around the time we were supposed to be meeting, I got a knock on my door and opened it to a big "SURPRISE!" Jess' little dinner was actually a surprise Bachelorette Party! I was completely shocked. I had no idea. It was so fun though. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, had dinner, I opened they gift they got me (Including but not limited to a Czech Cookbook (czech recipes written in English!) and a Czech love song CD!) and then Jess surprised me once again with a little "how well do you know each other" game that she had been planning with Sam. We came back to my room where they made me answer questions about Sam, myself, and our life together and then we watched videos Sam had recorded of himself answering the questions. It was so awesome. I can't even tell you how great it was... I love being able to show Sam off to my friends and it was so fun to hear Sam answer every single question about me dead on (unfortunately i didn't do so well on the questions about him..) All in all, it was a really fun night, topped off with two quality episodes of the office. It doesn't get much better...




Saturday morning, a group of us planned a trip to The City of Vine/Wine - Mikulov. It's about an hour south of here and a $5 bus ride round trip. We spent the day basking in the sunshine, sipping wine, and gazing out over the beautiful vineyards. It was a lot of fun. We tried our luck at hitchhiking, hoping to make it back to Brno with an adventure, but to our dismay, nobody was willing to pick up 5 people. So we rode the bus.







Finally, yesterday (Sunday) Jess and I had our last church service here in the Czech Republic. The people prayed for us (in czech and english!) and we were given little parting gifts, which were so sweet. As Jess and I walked home after church, we were talking about how cool and how lucky we were that we got to be a part of the church here in Brno - with the homeless, the widows and orphans. And even though we didn't speak each other's languages, we still bonded in the love of Christ. God is so amazing. It's also cool to think that we went to a church where the paster was Dutch, but spoke English and it was translated into Czech. Pretty cool. Definitely something I will take with me and never forget.

::sigh:: I'm really going to miss this place...

there's nothing more than you.

This morning, after lounging around my room for a while, I suddenly had the urge to go for a run. Just as I was lacing my key into my shoelace, my friend Jess showed up, also ready to run. We laughed at her impeccable timing and then started out on our journey towards the really cool park that reminds me of the greenbelt. I had a lot on my mind and the chance to be outside in the crisp mid-morning air was perfect. As we neared the bottom of the big hill that winds its way up through the hills to an outlook of Brno, the song by Hillsong called Hallelujah came on. (I know, not exactly the kind of music most people prefer to run to, but i love it) The lyrics to the song are pretty simple (most of the song they just sing Hallelujah) but there's this line that says "and there's nothing more than you." As I approached the top of the hill and the city came into view, my lungs burning and my legs trembling from the climb, that line of the song played and I had this moment of realization - amidst the stressfulness of trying to finish school, make sure my credits transfer, plan a wedding, prepare for marriage, find a big girl job, and ready myself to say goodbye to this place I've called home for the past 3 months, I was reminded that "there's nothing more than [God]." I know what God has in mind for me, at least for right now. I am starting to see glimpses into what he has for me and Sam in the coming future. But in that, I've developed this bad habit of tasting the goodness of his plan for my life, and then running away with it to make it my own, rather than allowing God to orchestrate and lead me each step of the way. Standing at the top of that hill, physically removed from my life here in Brno, and my life back home in America, I could see clearly what I'd been doing. It was in those moments of peacefulness, of being outside of myself and seeing the world as God sees it, that I was reminded of his grace and his mercies. The song continues: "See your perfection, I'm lost in Your peace. Your faithfulness sings over me"

Being here has been everything I expected it to be and not at all what I expected it to be. I never dreamed I would build deep and meaningful friendships (to be honest, I really didn't expect to make any friends!) and I never imagined that I would grow to love this crazy place, with all its quirks and lack of "luxuries." But I have. It will be hard to leave here. Knowing that I will probably never come back, that most of the people here I will never see again, that these past 3ish months will never happen again. I'm going to miss it. But at the same time, being here has made me even more excited for the rest of my life. I can't wait to go home and see how Brno has changed me, to reflect on how I've grown and the things I've learned. I can't wait to marry my best friend, to share with him these adventures; to be a wife to him and have someone to grow with and learn from and work at life with. I can't wait for that.

God is so faithful. I can't stress how faithful God has been to me. In all my life, nothing has ever been more truer than the simple fact that "there is nothing more than You." There is nothing more than God. He is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am so blessed.


(this isn't actually from today, nor did I take this picture. this is just to give you an idea. next time i'll bring my camera)

nothing comes from nothing...

i've been putting off writing this post because i know that words will not be enough and the thought of even trying almost seems pointless. but for you, my fellow readers, i will attempt the impossible :) last weekend, three other americans and one mexican and myself hopped on board a 6:30am train destined for salzburg, austria via vienna. we had been planning this trip since mid-february and had been preparing ourselves for the few weeks leading up to it. for those of you who don't know, salzburg is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but more importantly, the original home of the Von Trapp family and the backdrop for The Sound of Music. the whole way there was filled with breathless anticipation as we giggled and whispered like small children awaiting christmas morning. as the train trudged across austria from east to west and the alps came into view, we were taken aback at how beautiful and majestic they were. we had made a deal that the first person to see them had to alert everyone else, regardless of what they were doing, so that we could all experience the wonder together. i'm sure the other passengers in the train thought we were ridiculous as we snapped picture after picture and "oohed" and "aahed" for the next hour as the mountains came into full view. by the time we stepped onto the platform in salzburg, we were absolutely enthralled and giddy with excitement. from the train station, we booked it to our hostel, checked in, and within an hour of being in salzburg, we were settled into our window seats aboard the sightseeing tour of the sound of music, prepared to meander through the life of maria von trapp (especially julie andrews as maria von trapp) and experience firsthand the most exciting parts of the movie (minus the nazis, we did not experience those) since checking into our hostel took longer than we had anticipated, we ended up making the tour bus (of about 7 other people) wait 10 extra minutes for us. since we were a group of 5 younger girls and all boarded the bus with huge grins and adorned in our "salzburg skirts," the tour guide nicknamed us "the girlies" and often called on us to sing along, sing a capella, answer questions, and ride toboggans (i'll get there...) it definitely made the tour even more enjoyable to have the cutest little austrian woman treat us like little girls trapped in the middle of a fairy tale. i can honestly say none of us stopped smiling for the duration of the 4 hour tour.

i won't go into complete detail of the tour as that would probably take hours, so instead i'll just give you the picture cliff notes: standing at the entrance to where the gazebo is that liesel and rolf sang to each other as well as the captain and maria. (it was relocated so that people could visit it with more ease) the scenes where the front of the house were filmed (the yellow house hidden within the bushes) in front of the palace of leopoldskon where the scenes of the back of the house were filmed: drinking pink lemonade with the baroness, the children and maria falling in the lake... the nonnberg abbey where the REAL maria and captain von trapp were married. also where the family hides and are found by rolf the church where maria and the captain are married in the hollywood version practicing inside the church! ;) the mirabell gardens where maria and the children dance through during the Do-Re-Mi song so-do-la-fa-mi-do-re... what a tour! We ended our night with complementary "Edelweiss" cocktails from our hostel. they were prettier than they tasted.

One of the funnest and most memorable parts of the tour, though, would have to have been the toboggan ride down the mountain. the perfect blend of randomness, thrill, and hilarity.


after the tour, we wandered around salzburg in hopes of satiating our tastebuds with a little home cooking, and stumbled upon some sort of festival complete with country singing austrians and fresh grilled bratwurst. we couldn't have been more pleased. we spent the rest of the evening dancing, laughing, watching men play giant sized chess, and eating very scrumptious food. it was so fun.




on our way home, we were awed and amazed once again at the beauty that exists in the world as god presented us with this:


overall, it was definitely my favorite day in europe in spite of the fact that somewhere along the way i lost my dearly beloved wolf blanket and now have had to resign myself to sleeping with the golden princess blanket from vinarska :(

the next day we mostly wandered around salzburg, taking in the sight of the mountains and lakes and shops and castles and markets and foods and horses and knights and anything else we could convince our eyeballs to process. it was such a fun trip and after being there, i have decided i could definitely live there when i'm older. anybody wanna join? :) like i said, words cannot do the city justice and even the pictures do not suffice.

here are just a few more of my favorite pictures from the trip:

the brno "lake"

Before I get to the update of my incredible weekend, I thought I'd dedicate a short lil' post to the Brno Lake. (Which is actually a reservoir) It's about 20 minutes outside of town by tram and offers a quaint little picnic area as well as about 20 meters of beautiful (yet rocky) beach. Last Thursday a group of us decided to head out to the lake to enjoy the sunshine and have a picnic. It ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day (i accidentally got a little tan line, uh oh..) and one girl even brought a WATERMELON, which was such a treat! Another treat Brno had to offer was a cute little 80 year old gramma in her high school bikini. She had great legs. haha.
Anyways, here are a few pictures from the day...