I'm sure you have been wondering, "Why Cesky Tesin?"  We chose to go to Cesky Tesin because it was where Leah lived for 7 years (before she moved to Strakonice three years ago) and we have always wanted to see where she lived, the people and the places.

We got to see her old apartment complex (Which, did mom cry when she saw them?  Maybe it was like when I moved out of that frat house and mom said, "Had I known this was where you were living, I wouldn't have let you live there?" Oh, Mom!).  Needless to say, the stories from Leah about living in this complex were always very entertaining. 

While they don't look any different than a 70's built apartment complex in the states, they do look incredibly different from other construction in Czech.  These complexs were built by the Communists in clumps throughout Czech's larger cities.  All of them are the exact same size and shape, unphased by city or culture.  They stick up like sore thumbs in bland Band Aid colors across the beautiful Czech countrysides and quaint cottages.  In recent years the Czechs have been covering them with thick styrofoam and then painting them bright colors and patterns.  They still stick out only now like decorative/themed Band Aids, much more fun and much less depressing.  This photo is of them before painting:

We Josh also wanted to stop by a Kaufland.  Kaufland translated in German means "Buy Land" and Josh had to go there for that reason alone (goodness, I LOVE that guy! / though we also needed to buy some wine).  Most store chains in Czech: Kaufland, Tesco, etc, are similar to cramming a Walmart, Fareway & Aldi into one small place.  The biggest difference is that beer is cheaper than water, literally.

We were also incredibly excited to join up with the amazing Ellenwood family & friends for dinner, swimming and a movie.  The Ellenwoods (Mel, Amy and their 3 kids) have lived in Czech for over 12 years.  Mel is the VP of JV, but more than that, Mel and Amy have been (and are) amazing friends to Leah since she's lived in Czech.  We have met them before (I designed the JV website circa 2000, hahahahaha! What was I thinking!) but we have never had the chance to spend time talking with them personally at length.

It was wonderful to listen to their stories about life in Czech, speaking the language, cultural differences, traveling around from camp to camp with the kids in their VW van, in general raising kids in the Czech mission field, and laugh!  The Ellenwood family's humor is absolutely perfect for our Leah, if you knew how funny Leah is, wo/man!, you'd think God hand picked them for her.

Happily too, Leah's dear friend Romana, who is a sweetheart, and her husband, who my aunts think is a cutie, were able to visit.  (Romana just got married during the floods and Leah, Lucka, and the bride and groom were stranded in a flooded field together, oy!)  And, since the Ellenwoods are constant hosts, there was also a pastor from California visiting, scoping out Czech housing for his young family to move into next year.

Mel and Amy wanted us, but more importantly our kids, to feel relaxed at their home.  They served up a fabulous "American" dinner of grilled BBQ chicken and pasta salad (Miriam had 3 large servings), had two big dogs that Max and Miriam loved playing and rolling around in the grass with, let the kids swim in their pool (with Noah their 14 year old son, who has a knife collection that our boys think is the coolest and who gave Miriam a gummy bear key chain some swooning teen girl had given him, ha!), and then snuggled them into the living room and put in "Over the Hedge" in English... Our three were so happy and right at home! 

Though admittedly, it doesn't take much for our three to make themselves right at home, anywhere, but still, they were loving it!

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It was HOT, it was a rough day, we were done, and we had plans back in Cesky Tesin, so sadly we drove no further into Poland as we had planned (No Krakow this time and no pottery from Krakow for me, sniff-sniff!).  Happily, we enjoyed our last few moments in a great country, one that we definitely hope to visit again!

Just like our trip into Poland was short and sweet, here is a short and sweet photo recap...

We found an authentic Polish restaurant along our drive back to Czech.  They had you sit on sheep and goat skins laid on benchs.  (It was cool and creepy at the same time.)  The kitchen was in the open with one small wood burning stove where all the food was cooked. 

Not to forget the perfect Polish napkins.  For those unfamiliar with napkins in Poland, they are a single ply square, are thinner than paper, semi-transparent like a tissue paper and they are always presented beautifully.

They served delicious Polish dumplings as an complimentary appetizer and then Leah and I ordered more for our meal.  (Though they were good, they paled in comparison to Marta's mom & aunt's amazing dumplings!)

Miriam ate dumplings with us and the boys all shared the most expensive thing on the menu (ribs) which in dollars was around 5 bucks.  Josh ordered borscht and then, of course, ordered something that he didn't know what it translated into and it turned out to be breakfast (hahahaha, I LOVE that guy!).

And last but not least, the local Polish brew.

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We arrived in Cesky Tesin (which technically could be in Poland but isn't) and had planned to spend one day going to Poland to visit Auschwitz and Krakow. 

We expected Auschwitz/Birkenau to be a rough trip, seeing something so tragic and learning more about the horrors that took place right where we were standing, explaining very difficult topics and sights with the kids, but with the dust, sun, dryness, coughing, smells, and heat, oh the heat... it compounded everything, it was a miserable trip, which I found fitting.

...

Ok, I have tried to write this exact post for over the last two weeks.  I could not get past those above paragraphs.  Every time I try, I end up crying or my heart aches so much I can't continue or my chest tightens and feels like it's being ripped out or my hands shake or I can't sleep from the thoughts and memories... from getting into the parking lot to getting out of the parking lot, this trip was incredibly difficult, emotionally, physically and very personally, so much happened and yet we didn't even fully experience it all.  God bless Leah for going through this with us. 

Do I think that everyone should visit Auschwitz?  Yes.  Do we want to visit it again?  Yes. 

I simply cannot write this trip out into words.  I'm going to skip past these details.

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We spent the night/day in Strakonice at "The Leah Hotel," as Miriam so affectionately called it.  From there we would take turns nursing Zeke back to health.  Still, it was unbearably hot in Strakonice and no AC / fans, so we had to give Zeke frequent cold baths to lower his core temperature.  In the midst of it all, we had fun mini adventures around Strakonice.

Josh, Leah and 2 kids spent the morning at the bus station saying goodbye to our Czech friends and the American Team from Cherry Hills Church.  Then we had lunch with some of Leah's friends at her favorite restaurant, two of the women there were school English teachers and one of whom has been a huge support for Leah and her efforts at the high school.  The high school kids and Leah recently got permission to start spending time with some of the elderly there and it has been a great ministry so Leah, 2 kids and I went to visit a nursing home and one of the women Leah spends time with.  There was no AC and no fans at the nursing room and the heat in her room was intense but so was her and her daughter's love of Leah.  

When we were finally certain that Zeke had enough strength and was definitely on the mend, we decided to make an evening drive to Cesky Tesin, stopping in Pisek along the way.  Pisek is a half hour from Strakonice and where Leah's church, Elim, is located.  There we got to meet Lucie, an adorable gal who works with the women's ministry in their church.  Josh got to tour their building, which has an amazing sports ministry in Pisek.  We also had WAY too much fun at a Tesco buying food that we didn't know what it was.

Then we began the 5 hour drive across the entire country of the Czech Republic, from the southwest to the northeast, with all 6 of us loaded into the VW. 

Remember how I said I had been r e l a x e d when driving the entire trip so far?  Well, that was fading fast.  I was thankful for Zeke's healing but to be honest, by now my nerves were shot.  My back seat driver nature which, let me tell you, is known to be INTENSE had been rare up to this point of our trip but was now in full force.  Once, from the third row of our car I yipped out something driving related to which Josh and Leah in the front seats quickly laughed and scolded me.  I totally deserved it.  The entire trip to Cesky Tesin I was trying hard to keep my mouth shut but in all honesty, I was struggling.  Josh lovingly forgave me countless times during the drive.  (What a guy!) 

And as I mentioned, my phrases of "if you're going to throw up, use the blue bag" and "take another sip for mama" were said hundreds of times over the course of this drive (no more heat stroke!) and it was now a big joke for everyone because I said them SO much.  Goodness, I am thankful my whole family gives me SO much grace while I wrestle through calming my heart and trusting God! 

Even still, crammed into the VW, our three are THE BEST little road trippers EVA!  Zeke was content and quiet but definitely feeling better.  Miriam and Max were writing songs with dance moves / hand gestures, just like at camp.  They drew up all the dance moves on paper and even included Josh in their routine.  Here's a little snip it, can you see Josh's role?

By the time we arrived at Hotel Central in Cesky Tesin it was after 11pm the kids were actually tuckered and ready for bed.  (Once in their beds it only took a little extreme sports dubbed in Polish and they were out.)

We had to pay for our rooms when checking in and when I looked for my check card I couldn't find it anywhere in my wallet.  My heart started racing as I feared it was stolen or lost.  Josh went about paying for the room while Leah looked in the wine/beer cooler at the front desk.  They weren't as concerned as I was and quite honestly, I think they knew.  Josh picked out a local brew and Leah a local wine as I was still frantic, then searching in my wallet once again I finally found my check card hiding in a different slot than normal.  At this point both Leah and Josh were saying, "Dana, you need a drink." 

Now, I don't want to start any blasphemous rumors, but someone may have poured me a larger than normal glass of wine and someone else may have said, "Take another sip for mama" and someone may have said, "Take another sip for me" and then two someones laughingly discussed together and may have said, "I think Paul actually added in Timothy that along with drinking a little wine to help your stomach it also says, 'If your wife is freaking out, give her a little wine,'"... oh, and then someone may have said again, "Take another..." Hahahahahahaha!!!  :)!

*sigh*... I love that my husband and sister get along so well and that they love me enough to laugh at me instead of get mad at me and that they unconditionally forgive me more than I deserve.

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We suspected the heat was getting to Zeke but it was confirmed once we got down from St. Peter's Cemetery to the Domplatz.  He was really excited to pick out an Austrian knife as a souvenir but immediately afterwards he made a disoriented dash to the nearest trash can and threw up all his breakfast.  Josh got him cleaned up and we sat under a cool archway.  Zeke was smiling and feeling much better after puking, but was definitely overheated.  The trouble was NOTHING indoors was open (even if it was open there was certain to be no AC) so we grabbed a snack and then retreated to the AC of the car.

We drove (a beautiful drive with a view to the south of the Alps for the whole drive, mind you) to Munich as planned, hoping the AC and rest for Zeke would help, then we could find dinner in AC to help continue to keep Zeke cool.  When I was a little girl I got heat stroke often so I knew what to expect.  It would generally happen after a long day of swimming, but when it would happen I'd throw up once, rest for a while, drink water and be better.  I was hopeful for the same type of healing for Zeke.

We got to Munich and went to the main square Marienplatz hoping to find an AC restaurant to eat dinner since Zeke was tired but hungry.  Sadly, it was the same unbearable heat in Munich as in Salzburg.  We found an ice cream joint that had indoor seating but no AC.  I ordered 4 waters but I forgot what country I was in and paid a hefty $3 for each small 8oz bottle.  Yikes!  They did bring ice, which I used to rub on Zeke's neck to help cool him down while Josh walked the square looking for any place with AC, but he came back empty.  Josh, Max & Miriam shared a fancy ice cream sundae (Zeke was no longer in the mood for food, and I was in trying-not-to-be-worried-mama-mode and couldn't eat) and then they went to a fountain to play.  But the fountain was filled with trash so they were quickly back. 

Our time in Munich was turning hopeless as within the hour there: Josh was finding nothing, the square and fountain were trash city, Zeke was becoming more tired, and to top it off, the restaurant said it was closing and they kicked us out on the street.

As soon as we were outside and on the Marienplatz square, Zeke said, "I think I'm going to throw up" and even though he says he missed the trash can, it was overfilled with trash a foot high (which was true of every Munich trash can) and would have been worse had he made it.  He ended up spewing water and chunks all over the busy sidewalk while I held him from falling into his own vomit.  A passerby was kind enough to hand Josh some napkins and thankfully nearby was a public drinking water spigot to wash the vomit off our feet. 

With that, we said goodbye to Munich.  Only 6 photos taken in Munich, and this one sums it up:

I suppose one would say we should have just headed straight for "home" instead of Munich.  No matter how you sliced it, things were not going to be "perfect" this day.  It was about the same distance to "home," aka Leah's apartment, adding only an hour more car time to drive thru Munich.  I was honestly hopeful he would have healed like I used to, but on a continent where AC is a novelty and fans are scarce, it was near impossible to cool down, even for us. 

When I think about it then/now, the timing of it all, it was either going to be puke in the car or puke in the main Munich square.  Quite honestly, I am happy it happened where it did.  Zeke, too, was the ultimate trooper.  Even sick, he was so excited we got to drive on the Autobahn and drive up to 105mph.  He loved seeing (/get passed by) SO many amazing sports cars he'd only seen pictures of before.  Max and Miriam were troopers, too, they were sticky but full of energy and just rolled with the spew, I mean flow, HA!  (Ok, that was kind of gross, Dana.) 

When I think about it then/now, it is all part of the adventure that we call "life."  I've said it before, even on vacation "life" happens and we have to keep moving.  Thankfully, Zeke didn't throw up again, but it did take 24 hours and a load of prayer to get him feeling better.  It wasn't how we had planned the vacation half of our trip but we didn't plan on a lot of things: me getting bit by a deer tick before leaving for Europe, me having a severe toxic reaction to the medicine, Josh getting strep throat the day before leaving, kids having sore throats and coughs throughout camp, Miriam throwing up donuts in the middle of the night, and now Zeke having heat stroke... and we still had 4 more days of "life" to happen while on vacation. 

Yes, more unplanned fun was to come!

OH!  But there were perks to our sidetrack to Munich as Josh found Faxe Bier, and this made Josh very happy!  Max and Miriam ate these German paprika flavored kangaroo shaped snacks called Jumpys, that they loved!  Max also got some German candy all his own that made him OH SO happy.  I was still reasonably r e l a x e d while Josh was driving an average of 95mph on the Autobahn and the soon-to-be-funny phrases "if you're going to throw up, use the blue bag" and "take another sip of water for mama" were born from my lips.

AND!  I would go back to Munich again, only I would do it on a not as hot day and pay to go on one of their 4 hour city tour bike rides. 

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