A disappointing football match & a great 5K!

 Today was a good follow up to yesterday's disappointing football match. We traveled to Utrecht to visit some of Jaap's friends. It was great day with fun company and lots of tall, orange people. Europe is experiencing some football fever. The European Football Championship started this Friday and Nederland's first match was yesterday. They lost to Denmark, but I still had fun watching the game with Jaap's friends. We went to a pub in Utrecht and I was surrounded by orange giants everywhere. I forget how tall Dutch people are!

Me, Angela & Billy

This morning was the Maastricht Mooiste. A race that starts and ends in the Markt for 5K, 10K, or 15K runners. This year I registered with my school board and colleagues, hence the yellow Mosalira running shirt. I ran a 5K and waited for my friend Angela to finish the 10K. It was the perfect day for a run.

 Angela and I have started a tradition of finishing the race and having lunch on the Vrijthof afterwards. The perfect spot for watching the 15K runners close to the finish line. We did this last year and I think this will become an annual thing.

 Later on Jaap and I took a stroll through the city and found some great live music. The city was alive today with happy runners and live music in the streets for Jekerjazz. (Jekerjazz are organized jazz weekends in Maastricht throughout the year). We found a group next to Café Pieter and pulled up some chairs. We've seen them before and they're fun to listen too. Another great afternoon in the sun!

Bohemian Adventures: Český Krumlov

Exploring the Czech Republic with Jaap over the past week of vacation was nothing short of perfect. Adventures with Jaap is a pretty accurate description of our time spent in beautiful Bohemia. Canoeing, longs walks, romantic dinners, Czech beer, sampling Czech meat heavy cuisine, and lots of good music. This spring break is one to remember. 

Český Krumlov

Krumlov Castle

Our journey begins in Český Krumlov. A beautiful town 2.5 hours south of Prague on the Vltava river. People asked us where this place was and why we were going there. Český Krumlov came under recommendation from my favorite travel guru, Rick Steves. I love his books and travel TV series. I'm glad we decided to make the trip though. It was two days full of nature, small town quaintness, and some slow paced relaxation.

Exploring the castle grounds

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when in the Czech Republic, drink beer. I never drink beer (except during Carnaval). It's always wine, water, tea, or maybe a cappuccino. So, I enjoy "doing as the locals do" when we're on vacation and for 25 Czech crowns for a beer, why not! That's about 1 euro and approximately 1/4 the price of beer in the Netherlands. 

Adventures with Jaap has held true to it's name. Jaap and I sought out some more adventure style traveling while in Český Krumlov. We decided to skip an indoor tour of the castle and opt for a canoe trip down the Vltava instead. We rented our trusty canoe and equipment from a place in town and we were off. 

Little did we know, our canoe would tip and we'd be swimming in the Vltava about 5 minutes into the trip. We're not the most athletic bunch and we made some pretty amateur canoe mistakes. The first being sitting me at the back of the boat. I'll take the blame on that one, it was my idea. Jaap weighs more and is stronger. He should have been the one steering and balancing the weight in the back. Number two: When the rental company gives you a waterproof container for valuables, use it! Our camera was completely submerged in water, but has lived to tell the tale. Luckily, we didn't have to replace it. 

Here I am on dry land, not knowing that we'll be underwater in 3 minutes. 

Splash! Our canoe suddenly gets really exciting.

Chaos ensues: Trying to the get the water out of the boat...

trying to find a band-aid for Jaap's bleeding foot (luckily, we came prepared)...

fixing the camera...

and trying to get back in the water. Hilarious! I only wish I had a video of us tipping over. We gave lots of tourists and onlookers a good show. 

Back on the Vltava, things were much more peaceful. I only wish I had pictures of our beautiful ride from Český Krumlov to Zlatá Koruna. 3 hours of uninterrupted serenity and nature. Tall pine trees, beautiful sunshine, calm waters, and warm weather. Our pictures don't do it justice because we decided to keep the camera in the water-safe container, but here is just a quick glimpse. 

Back in town...we enjoyed a stroll. Here is a view of Český Krumlov from the other side of town. The Vltava winds right through town making Český Krumlov a small peninsula. 

This trip was full of some quality street performers and musicians. It got even better back in Prague. Here's Jaap making a donation. We always stop, listen, and donate to quality musicians. 

We ended our Český Krumlov journey with some meaty Czech fare at a dark candlelight restaurant that was a prison in the middle ages. A nice ending to our trip to the south. Next stop...Prague!

Pinkpop + a 5K= a great weekend

What a great weekend. There were lots of things going on this weekend that kept us busy with friends, music, and running. It's good to be a resident in the Netherlands during the month of June. In the past two weeks we've had three holidays. Not bad. Today is Pinksteren, that would be Pentecost in English. Don't ask me what it means, although my mother knew. She's Catholic though. I have no idea what today's holiday is about and Jaap gave me some vague explanation, but I am appreciating having this day off to relax, enjoy, and bake chocolate chip cookies. 

On Saturday we attended Pinkpop, a three day music festival about 30 minutes north of Maastricht. It's a pop/rock festival that takes place every year over the Pinksteren holiday. We went with some of Jaap's friends. I don't think we'll go again because a pop festival is just not our thing, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We heard a bunch of bands of I had never heard of but was still familiar with some of their music. (Lifehouse, Simple Plan, Manic Street Preachers). The highlight of the night was the headliner, Coldplay. What a great concert! They were incredible. I wouldn't consider myself a Coldplay fan, but I am now. It was great and fun to 'rock out' with Jaap. 

Saturday morning I ran a 5K with my friend Angela in the Maastricht Mooiste. I wish I had a picture to post here. It was so much fun and special thanks to Angela for pushing me along. We were both happy with our time and enjoyed a nice lunch and some glasses of rosé afterwards while watching the 15K participants run by. 

Here are some pictures and videos of our fun at Pinkpop. 

Here's Jaap with his Pinkpop hat. (He forgot his baseball cap at home). :)

Waiting for Coldplay