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!

Friday & Flowers

Friday was our day with the Jansens.We spent the day with Jaap's parents and visited one of our favorite little places outside of Maastricht, Eijsden Castle. 

Eijsden Castle

The trip to Intratuin was a success! (Intratruin is the Ikea version of a floral nursery). We wanted to go with Jaap's parents because they are expert gardeners. The Dutch don't mess around with their flowers. Gardening in this country is serious business. 

Our balcony is now officially Dutch. Boxed plants of herbs, flowers, and Jaap's favorite, the hanging plant. Thank you to the Jansens for helping us and especially to Jan for planting everything!

Our leftover "tea-lighter" is now a potted plant

Father & son enjoying the flowers

After a nice dinner with the Jansens at one of our favorite restaurants, Eetcafé Ceramique, we went out for an evening of live music with our friends Jenny and Arie. 

This soul-funk-jazz night was actually hosted at our local library in Ceramique. Not bad for a library!

Ardennes with Friends in St. Hubert

Two weeks ago we enjoyed a weekend away in the Belgian Ardennes with friends. It was a weekend full of relaxation, walks, cooking (and drinking), and of course games. We rented a house in St. Hubert with four other couples and friends of ours that live in Maastricht. It was an international weekend of American, British, Dutch, and French-Canadian fun. 

First night of games...Cranium!

Our walk into town

Basilica in St. Hubert

You know you've had a good weekend when you don't have many pictures to show of it. I was having too much fun with my friends to pick up the camera and capture the moments. Oh well! 

Dutch guys having fun

My favorite thing about Belgium...beer!

Along with our friends, we rented this house in the Ardennes region in the province of Luxembourg. 1.5 hours from Maastricht and we're surrounded by beautiful forests and big rolling hills. It's a nice change in landscape from the Netherlands. 

We spent our weekend cooking for each other, playing board games, walking, hiking, and lounging on the couch. 

We had some great weather on Sunday, so a group of us decided to do some light hiking. 

My favorite photo of the day was four of the guys posing for this shot in the trees. I love the pose.

Times flies when you're having fun and this weekend went by way too fast. We're looking forward to our next weekend trip with friends!

Easter & the Paas Haas Taart

Vrolijk Pasen or Happy (Second Day) of Easter! Easter is celebrated with two days here in the Netherlands. First and second day, similar to Christmas. Today is the second day of Easter or Pasen and we're spending a relaxing day at home playing board games, drinking tea, and enjoying our day off from work.


In keeping with a Pardo family Easter tradition, I baked my mom's Easter Bunny cake. I had fun decorating the cake with Jaap's nephews and showing them how to decorate the Easter Bunny (Paas Haas) in my broken Dutch. It was a hit with the nephews and it made me think of my mother and family all day. :)

Tijn on the hunt

Baby Simon and Opa

Blindfolded Mees playing Jasper's Paasquiz

Jazz, shopping, and some TEFAF

My week at work was very busy, so I was looking forward to all the fun things that were planned for the weekend. Jaap and I went to a Jazz Maastricht Masters concert at the Theater aan het Vrijthof on Friday night. Dianne Reeves was the headliner and she was amazing. The real deal. I got goosebumps. The opening act was a jazz trio with Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi. We weren't familiar with him, but we really enjoyed their set. 

Maastricht Conservatorium

Dianne Reeves

Theater in the background aan het Vrijthof

Saturday afternoon was spent with shopping with my friend Angela, enjoying lunch at the Derlon Hotel, and sipping some glasses of rosé wine at a very "Maastricht" bar on their small hidden terrace. Spring is officially here and everyone is flocking outside to enjoy the sunshine.

The perfect ending to a classy weekend ended with a trip to TEFAF, THE European Fine Art Fair. TEFAF calls itself "the world's leading art and antiquities fair". With the exception of André Rieu concerts, TEFAF is the biggest thing that happens in Maastricht. TEFAF is where museum curators, art collectors, and millionaires from all over the world come to purchase art, antiques, jewelry, rare books and manuscripts, paintings, fine jewels, etc. Collections of sketches and paintings by Picasso, Renoir, Chagall, and Klimt. The list goes on and on. It makes you think...Who is buying this stuff? It's really incredible. 

photo: Tefaf.com
Exhibitor: Daphne Alazraki

Opera glasses anyone?
photo: tefaf.com
Exhibitor: Wartski

By far, my favorite exhibitor was Graff. An exhibitor that had two of their own private security guards protecting their cases of diamonds and fine jewels. Their pieces were incredible. Collections and sets of jewelry with incredibly huge white and canary diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. It was so beautiful. My friends and I stood in amazement gawking at a 100 carat pear shaped diamond for about 5 minutes. What a sight!

R.I.P. Fiets

We've had a beautiful Sunday. A bike ride to nearby Eijsden, lunch with a river view on the Maas, and a viewing of an "antiques roadshow" with our friends. We stopped at one of my favorite little spots, Eijsden castle. I love this place. 

In bike related news, I got my new fiets (bike) today. It's been a sad few weeks without my bike that I liked so much. I stupidly left my key in my bike during Dutch class and my bike was stolen. An easy steal for a bike thief. Jaap says I'm becoming more and more Dutch because having your bike stolen is a part of Dutch life. Well, you live and learn! 

R.I.P. fiets...thanks for the good times