Ruminations upon Tuesday September 3, 2024 to Wednesday September 4, 2024 in Prague, Czechia
Just as we settled into our routine, we had to flip it to accommodate Chaim’s work schedule so that he could join us for our visit to Prague Castle. The boys proved wonderfully flexible and were excited to have their dad joining us for an excursion. The castle sits atop the highest hill overlooking the city. A road that’s not a road but a staircase leads visitors up the hill to the castle entrance. The climb is not for the weary. Halfway up is a musician playing House of the Rising Sun on his guitar and singing his heart out. We think he might only know that song because he was singing it several hours later when we walked down the stairs to head home. By the time we reached the castle entrance, our children were exhausted, hot, and hungry. Naturally, we walked right in and sat down at the Starbucks tucked away inside the castle walls.
The castle grounds contain an interesting hodgepodge of architecture over the course of thirteen centuries. Buildings from the 9th century to modern times are scattered. The most glorious of these buildings is St. Victus Cathedral, a towering gothic monstrosity in the center of the grounds. Inside St. Victus Cathedral, the boys kept pointing out Jesus on the cross, wondering why he was always being shown in his most vulnerable moment. Again, we talked about who Jesus was and what it means to be respectful in someone else’s place of worship.
The most exciting part for the boys, historically speaking, were the windows in the Old Palace two Catholic governors were defenestrated, as in thrown out a window literally, by the local Protestants who were angry at them for trying to convert their Christian practices. There are three accounts of defenestration from those windows spanning the 15th-17th centuries. The boys got a kick out of that and wondered how the individuals survived the fall. Turns out, in the first episode there was a huge pile of horse poop underneath the window that saved them. They fell in it, ran away, and never looked back. Of course, as anyone who studies history and religion knows, these kinds of episodes frequently ignite epic wars. The first defenestration began the Hussite Wars, the second brought some religious peace, and the third began the Thirty-Year War. The boys peppered us with questions. Why were Christians fighting each other? How do different Christians worship? Why did it start a war? Why would they throw someone out a window? All good questions, some of which I was equipped to answer and many I was not prepared to discuss, yet. I had my homework cut out for me.
The next day the boys were excited because Amichai had selected Wednesday and the most logical day to visit an arcade. Everyone completed all their schoolwork, primarily math and journaling. Then, we hopped on a tram, grabbed a quick bite to eat at our new favorite restaurant Pizza Shelanu. From there we rode back into town to visit Gamecity, a small arcade with plenty of games for the boys to play. I paid a little bit extra for an unlimited games card that would expire in an hour and awarded each of them an automatic 1000 tickets, no more or less. I figured this was the best way to ensure my children would stop playing and feel like they got their (okay my) money’s worth. For the deal to work, I had to buy a card for myself, too. I am not a huge videogame player, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the old school pinball machines. Shai and Matanel were thrilled when they were able to purchase some LEGO knock off vehicles. The other boys enjoyed some candy, and I got a small beach ball for them to play with – sadly, it deflated within 24 hours – Finger Twister, and looming bands that Eitan enjoys using. Although I had no interest in lugging these items around the world, their excitement over the toys was a reminder to me just how important having toys to play with can be for some children.
Afterward, Amichai led us to a shop called The Playground. This shop was over the top. The boys oohed and aahed at the live sized Marvel, Harry Potter, LEGO, and other characters, and marveled at the quantity of toys they were allowed to test out. A quick favorite were the enormous Hulk and Thor boxing gloves. It reminded me of the movie Big with Tom Hanks. As Amichai walked through the store he kept saying, “Mommy, they don’t have these kinds of stores in America. Why don’t they have these kinds of stores in America?” I had to break it to him that they did have these stores in America, we just don’t take him there. He was mildly offended and then quickly regained his composure to begin demanding that we would frequent this kind of store upon our return. I dashed his dreams pretty quickly to save money.
The Playground also contains a massive slide that anyone can ride down. As I waited at the bottom for the boys to come down, I noticed another tourist family was waiting at the bottom for someone in their group as well. As it happened, their father, who looked to be about 50-60 years old, came flying down the slide with a holler. Instead of coming to a full stop and sitting up to get off the slide, he was so disoriented that he started rolling off the side with a yelp. He tried to correct his fall which only made his hands flail and the falling worse. He looked utterly bewildered when he finally stood up. After my initial reaction of “Oh my gosh I hope he’s okay” I could not help but start laughing. It was one of those perfect Try Not to Laugh videos and his family captured the whole thing on their phones. To make matters worse they were cracking up about it themselves. When his wife noticed me trying my darndest to stifle my own laughter, she just started laughing harder. I felt terribly guilty about it until I realized he was laughing, too. I tried to walk away but couldn’t go that far because I had to wait for the boys. For ten minutes his wife and I took turns breaking down into fits of laughter. Each time one of us would finally compose ourselves we’d catch each other’s eye, and the laughing would start all over again. When the boys finally came down, I had been laughing so much there were tears in my eyes. I tried to explain what happened, but it was lost in translation. They just looked at me like I had two heads.
As we were heading home a smallish firetruck turned onto the pedestrian way with misters behind it. It was another hot day, and Prague doesn’t believe in air conditioning. The boys ran after the truck dancing, giggling, and jumping in the mist for several minutes before I finally called them back to go home. Amichai’s plan had worked out perfectly and I imagine it will live in their memories for a very long time.
On Thursday we scheduled MAP testing for the boys so that we and their sponsor school could keep an eye on their progress. I was grateful to Mrs. Rittberg who woke up early to open the test site just so that the boys could take it a time that made sense for them. After MAP testing we took a tram to the other side of Letna Park where there is a playground. Okay, I should admit that I completely missed our stop and only got off the tram when the boys, who now counted stops religiously, informed me that we should have gotten off at the previous stop. Thankfully, we were only a ten minute walk from the park.
It happened to be another blistering hot day, making the ten minute walk feel more like thirty minutes. It was worth it. The boys had a blast making up “lacrosse” games with a random toy shovel, cup, and spikey fruit they had found lying around the park. They were in heaven playing. I was in heaven watching them discover creative ways to play they never would have had if not for the lack of toys at their disposal. After several hours of playing on the playground we made our way to the pond and did what the locals do. Took a refreshing swim. Well, the boys did, at least. For whatever reason, I did not want to swim that day. Probably because I didn’t know how comfortable they would be in the water and I felt better playing lifeguard from dry land.
Just as we arrived at our chosen swim spot, we witnessed a poor little boy, maybe six years old, who was eating ice cream when a bee stung him right on the tongue. He began bawling and looked like he was in excruciating pain. Miraculously, he never dropped his ice cream. I admired the way his mother responded quietly and with a sense of control. She pushed the ice cream onto the sting, gave him what I assume was an antihistamine, and made a phone call. The boy was calmly eating his ice cream, still obviously in pain, when the ambulance arrived five minutes later. It was one of those moments where I took a note from another mom’s playbook and hoped I would remember to follow her steps if ever in a similar situation.
