Prague, CZ First Day~

It was great to be back in Prague!

A visit to the Mission Home,

favorite stores and restaurants,

our old home and school were all

part of the fun for our first day sightseeing.

Here are many of the branch members we

were so happy to see again!

The man in the middle, Jirka, was about 14

when we were attending this branch.

Now he is married and serving in the

branch presidency!

This is Eva, Jirka's mother.

The old Delveta food store is

now the new Billa food store.

One of our favorite restaurants behind us

and across the street-Grosseto's.

Here is our old house in Prague!!

What fun times we had here!

When we moved here on 12-30-1996

Bryce was 11 1/2, Chandra was 9 1/2

Kent was 5 1/2, Cody was 2 yrs. 10 months.

They are a lot older now!

This is ISP-International School of Prague.

When we arrived the school was not quite done.

The children would attend different Chateau's,

depending on their age. Six weeks later the new

school was ready to open. It was exciting to

be a part of the history of this school in its

beginning stages.

Jim and Coreen with the clock tower

and Christmas markets on the

Old Town Square.

Cody, Jim, Bryce, Kent, Tyler, Chandra

Bryce in front of one of the best sights in Prague!

More views of our favorite town square.

We hardly noticed the bitter cold with all

the beautiful lights and festive atmosphere.

Another beautiful building

on the old town sqaure.

A night shot while walking on

Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle in view!

Our forever favorite scene!

Chandra and Coreen with

the Old Town Square in the background.

Headed to Prague with a Stopover~

Saturday, December 26th

we headed to Prague, CZ!!!

We were all excited to visit where we

had lived from 1996-2000.

Before getting into Prague we stopped and

enjoyed a pleasant evening at the

Gordon-Smith's weekend home,

about 2 hours from Prague.

Simon, Rostya, and Henry are a family we

met through the church branch in Prague.

Henry went to school with our children as well,

we quite often had an extra son in our home.

We all enjoyed wonderful conversation

and a delicious meal.

It was fun to see a Christmas tree actually

lit up with real candles!

Of course the boys had to spice it up

with some sparklers as well!

Catching up and relaxing.

Henry, Rostya, Simon

Tyler, Chandra, Cody, Henry, Bryce, Kent

Christmas Day, Bonn, Germany~

Christmas Day in Bonn, Germany!

With a house full of "mostly adults" we

had a leisurely start to our day.

Everyone enjoyed sleeping in and relaxing.

Chandra and Tyler spent time

looking at scrapbooks.

Of course it's not the holiday's if we

don't have our Swedish Pancakes!

Jim was a good sport and cooked

pancakes until everyone was full.

Tyler was going to try and break Bryan Engstrom's

9 pancake record set last Christmas,

but he couldn't do it.

I think he stopped around 7...

Instead he kept happy with giving Chandra

a few extra kisses.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

Kent's Christmas jacket came with an

extra feature.

All that bounty.

Coreen with her favorite second son, Kent!

Looks like Jim gave the right gift!

Oh Yeah! Bring on the competition!!

This was probably our second round of

"Settlers of Catan" for the day.

Christmas Eve in Bonn, Germany~

It was great to be home to rest and celebrate

Christmas Eve in Bonn, Germany!

We have an interesting "TV' setup.

We watch television on our computer

located in the dining room. We access

our cable connection back home through

the internet. We use our DVR service

to record and rewatch football games.

The holiday's aren't complete without

those American football games!

Chandra and Tyler got the Christmas

puzzle started, a scene depicting a

German Christmas market.

It's still not done, I need them to come back

and help me finish it!

Cody is happy to prove he can now

"take down" his sister.

I'm sure Tyler won't let that happen

too many more times.

The evening went late playing

"Settlers of Catan."

One of many rounds of this game

through the holiday's!

Brussels, Belgium~

Just up the road from Ghent was

Brussels, Belgium.

We decided to make a quick stop.

The main square was all lit up

for the holiday's.

A musical video show was played

every few minutes on one of the

buildings in the square.

Chandra and Coreen had to stop in

the lace store on the main square.

More than ten years ago they were

in this store and bought their

porcelain dolls covered in

Belgiam lace.

(We resisted and didn't buy any more.)

Chandra and Bryce weren't sure

what to think about this one.

We took a picture of it because

all the other tourists were....

It's a water fountain called "Manneken Piss"

labeled "little man piss" in English.

The legends aren't noteworthy to

pass along.

Ghent, Belgium~

After the fun in Paris, France

we headed up the road to Ghent, Belgium.

We happily met up with Jim who had

been working, since Monday, in nearby

Erembodegem near Aalst, Belgium.

One of two beautiful church's in

the main square of Ghent.

It was festive visiting the Christmas

markets around the church's.

The boys were excited to try an official

Belgian waffle, especially Tyler!

Belgian waffles originated in Ghent in 1839.

They are different than the Leige Waffles

also well known in Belgium.

You find them sold by street vendors

throughout Europe. They are served

warm sprinkled with confectioner's sugar

or topped with whipped cream, fruit,

or chocolate spread.

Belgian Waffles were introduced in America

at the 1964 World Fair in New York City.

Some great sights through the city.

Despite the -14 degrees celsius temps,

we thought the city was charming!

It's a definate redo for some of us...

when it's warmer.

This is the Castle Of The Counts!

It was built in 1180 mainly to impress

rather than for protection.

Eventually it was abandoned then used

for a prison until the 1800's when it

was put in use as a textile factory. It then went

unused until it was revamped in the 1920's

when the World Exhibition was taking place.

It is now used as a museum and arts facility.

Tyler and Chandra

A view of the river going through Ghent.

Coreen and Jim

Kent, Bryce, Cody, Chandra

Chandra and Tyler in a

beautiful square in Ghent.