The Plan for 2017, departing from Florida a little early...
... on March 18th for 2017 using our second most preferred route of Tampa Frankfurt Prague and reaching Doubravice by late afternoon on March 19th, 2017. For our return trip in the Fall we may toss our outbound ticket and buy Prague xxx Tampa returns, which we think are much cheaper than what we've been doing.
We hope that the Pub will still be open when we arrive. Likely to be a rainy afternoon, but we're hoping to get our first glimpse of the wall murals that we commissioned last Fall before leaving. We had found out that Čenda's colleague, Otto, has an artistic flair so one thing led to another...
Our first week will be very busy with various appointments and the excitement of having to pay the insurance for the car plus a visit to a renowned optician/opthalmologist who will atttempt to examine and prescribe a rectification of Z's vision. We have a meeting at the Town Hall to receive sign ups for our English classes so it will be interesting to see if there is much interest in that continuing.
Very busy few days here before departure cooperating with Jacalin's laundry room makeover project. My part was to design, build and help install the extra deep cabinets. An allowance for inaccurate dry-wallers was set at 3/8", which should have allowed a 3/8" gap. In fact a gap of 1/8" (3 mm) was all that remained. The laundry room will sport an investment in fancy hooks, knobs and faucets that are usually found in the most upscale bathrooms. The male contingent was assured that these are absolutely necessary for the actual users of the room...
Once in Doubravice again, we expect to have our laundry area there upgraded by Mr. Ženišek and his able Slovak assistants, while the currently unfloored part of the barn workshop will be floored using material leftover from the attic lining project and the barn roof project. Once these disturbances have been accomplished, a good garden chair has been promised to our neighbor; we think he will attain 70 this year so it should be a nice present for him.
The Sykes entourage are scheduled to arrive in June. Unfortunately Bryan can only spare a week away from his law practice. We plan to keep the girls while Nancy and Bryan spend a few days visiting other parts of Europe, perhaps Vienna before we meet up for Bryan's departure. Thinking about staying at our favorite Romantik Hotel U Raka for the girls' last night, which coincides with my next birthday.
In September, Jacalin and Phil will arrive and we are planning to drive down to Čaklje in Croatia, which we have not visited for 10 years. We have reserved rooms next door to where we stayed before. The proprietor speaks some Czech, no English, has no email, so probably has no wifi and we have no idea what his place is like except that each 'arpartma' has its own bathroom. But his place is 30 meters to the water, just the other side of the palm and bougainvillea lined road. Should be wonderful.
After their departure we shall enjoy another six weeks in Paradise before jetting back to Tampa in early November.
And that's the plan for the next eight months or so.
... on March 18th for 2017 using our second most preferred route of Tampa Frankfurt Prague and reaching Doubravice by late afternoon on March 19th, 2017. For our return trip in the Fall we may toss our outbound ticket and buy Prague xxx Tampa returns, which we think are much cheaper than what we've been doing.
We hope that the Pub will still be open when we arrive. Likely to be a rainy afternoon, but we're hoping to get our first glimpse of the wall murals that we commissioned last Fall before leaving. We had found out that Čenda's colleague, Otto, has an artistic flair so one thing led to another...
Our first week will be very busy with various appointments and the excitement of having to pay the insurance for the car plus a visit to a renowned optician/opthalmologist who will atttempt to examine and prescribe a rectification of Z's vision. We have a meeting at the Town Hall to receive sign ups for our English classes so it will be interesting to see if there is much interest in that continuing.
Very busy few days here before departure cooperating with Jacalin's laundry room makeover project. My part was to design, build and help install the extra deep cabinets. An allowance for inaccurate dry-wallers was set at 3/8", which should have allowed a 3/8" gap. In fact a gap of 1/8" (3 mm) was all that remained. The laundry room will sport an investment in fancy hooks, knobs and faucets that are usually found in the most upscale bathrooms. The male contingent was assured that these are absolutely necessary for the actual users of the room...
Once in Doubravice again, we expect to have our laundry area there upgraded by Mr. Ženišek and his able Slovak assistants, while the currently unfloored part of the barn workshop will be floored using material leftover from the attic lining project and the barn roof project. Once these disturbances have been accomplished, a good garden chair has been promised to our neighbor; we think he will attain 70 this year so it should be a nice present for him.
The Sykes entourage are scheduled to arrive in June. Unfortunately Bryan can only spare a week away from his law practice. We plan to keep the girls while Nancy and Bryan spend a few days visiting other parts of Europe, perhaps Vienna before we meet up for Bryan's departure. Thinking about staying at our favorite Romantik Hotel U Raka for the girls' last night, which coincides with my next birthday.
In September, Jacalin and Phil will arrive and we are planning to drive down to Čaklje in Croatia, which we have not visited for 10 years. We have reserved rooms next door to where we stayed before. The proprietor speaks some Czech, no English, has no email, so probably has no wifi and we have no idea what his place is like except that each 'arpartma' has its own bathroom. But his place is 30 meters to the water, just the other side of the palm and bougainvillea lined road. Should be wonderful.
After their departure we shall enjoy another six weeks in Paradise before jetting back to Tampa in early November.
And that's the plan for the next eight months or so.
A Pictorial Non-Sequential Review of 2017
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Featuring: US and Czech Family Members; children learning English and Crafts in Doubravice, CZR; residents of Hruba Skala, CZR; Zdenka and Blanka
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Morgan's Birthday in Lutz, Florida
Pictures in Wesley Chapel Pictures in and around Doubravice Prague Mikulov in South Moravia Croatia: Makarska, Podgora, Caklje and Dubrovnik Bosnia i Herzegovina: Mostar Good IPA discovered in Frydlant, CZR English class in Doubravice Morgan and Haley's old school Rainbow River Camp, Florida |
From Caklje to Dubrovnik and back via Makarska
The drive itself from Caklje to Dubrovnik is not too bad, but parking, when one arrives, is almost impossible. When we arrived in Caklje, we soon discovered a new, much improved way to get to Dubrovnik: the ferry from Makarska; this high speed passenger ferry makes very short stops at several islands on its round trip, but which are, nevertheless, very interesting. Parking in Makarska at the port is only slightly better than in Dubrovnik. On the ferry's arrival in Dubrovnik, one discovered the need to acquire bus tickets for the final leg of the journey to the Old City; this turns out to be not the best way to get there as it seems possible to load several hundred perspiring tourists on to a normal bus, devoid of climate control; so, on the return from the Old City to the ferry terminal, we decided to take a taxi - slightly more expensive, but infinitely more comfortable and a better climate. Accommodation on board is similar to very spacious aircraft type seating and completely comfortable. Due to the speed of the ferry, the doors are sealed with all humans inside, during passage.