11 months!

Yesterday was Hershel Bershel Bear's 11 month birthday!  How crazy that next month our little man will be 1 year old!  I can vividly remember how I felt last year at this time--just a few weeks away from my 30th birthday, about to become a mother, and so very pregnant.  A year later it feels as though almost no time has passed although so much has happened in our lives.  We love him more and more each day, and as you can see in the pictures he is full of personality!

Look at these thighs--amazing "thundercookies" as our good friend would call them.

Czech it off the list, we've been to Prague.

 After having traveled to quite a few different cities around the world, the thing that strikes me as most interesting about Prague is how old and well preserved it is.  Even after being a part of so many wars, and changes in power, everywhere you look there are beautiful old castles, buildings, churches, and synagogues.  In the main square of the Old Town is a large clock tower.  From here, you can walk to just about anywhere in the city--over the Charles Bridge, to the Castle and the exquisite Gothic Cathedral.  We also spent an afternoon taking a tour of Jewish Prague, where we visited numerous synagogues.

We had a great time with Jacob's parents and Hersh really enjoyed being with his grandparents.  Jacob and I went out to dinner after Hersh had gone to bed, since we had built in babysitters.  We traveled back and forth from Prague by van with a driver and on the way back we got stopped by the Czech police for speeding.

I would recommend Prague as a city to visit to anyone who is planning to travel around Central Europe.  Enjoy a Pilsner while you are there!

Hershel and Savta in the laundry tunnel.

The celery and Hersh are the same size!

Old Town Square.

View overlooking Prague.

St. Vitus's Cathedral

Just walking around.

Little Baby, Big Chair

Astronomical Clock Tower

Cheers!

Spanish Synagogue

Chevra Kedisha.

Finishing our walking tour.

Snacking on the car ride.

Back on St Vitus's--amazing Gothic architecture.

Our hired van driver with his 2000 CZK traffic ticket.

Wading in the Adriatic Sea...

Feels so good to be back home, although we had a really nice week in Trieste.  Trieste is a beautiful seaside city.  When walking around you can tell that it used to be an important city, and that it used to be a part of Austria.  We stayed at the International Center for Theoretical Physics/Adriatico Guesthouse.  This is located right on the Adriatic Sea, and we had a beautiful view of the water.  Where we stayed is about 5 miles outside of the city, but there was a bus that went from just outside the hotel to the city center every twenty minutes--so we got to know the #36 line very well.

Upon arriving in Trieste we spent some time exploring our little area and the city itself.  We walked around the main piazza, had a wonderful lunch in an outdoor cafe, and found the synagogue, which is huge and well-maintained.   The next day, Sunday, we traveled up the mountain into the town of Opicina.  From the center of Trieste, there is a street car that turns into a funicular as it travels up the mountain.  From there we wondered around the town and had lunch at a wonderful "mom and pop" type restaurant.  We followed a sign down an alley and were greeted literally by mom and pop, and their 3 table restaurant.  There was no a menu, they did not speak any English, and we do not speak Italian.  But, we were able to get across the point that we are both 'vegetariana.' From there, we ate whatever she brought us that was vegetarian--a lunch of eggplant, and homemade gnocchi with an arrabiata sauce.  Needless to say this was a delicious home cooked meal that all three of us enjoyed.  We then walked down from the town, along the Via Napoleana, a walking path that follows the edge of the mountain.  Hersh snoozed and we enjoyed a drizzly, yet picturesque walk.

Next, the work week began, as did Jacob's conference.  We had some challenges figuring out the logistics of having an almost 1 year old at a conference center, but  in the end it all worked out.  Hersh loved our room, as the bed and furniture were at the perfect height for cruising and there were lots of drawers to open and close.  He didn't love sleeping in the crib the guest house provided, though, so we had to do lots of holding him, rocking him, shushing him to keep him from waking our neighbors.

Hersh and I took a lovely walk to the castle that was just around the bend from out guesthouse, right on the Sea.  The grounds have a Mediterranean feel, and as Jacob put it, the location is just perfect for a castle!

We also all enjoyed a delicious meal that began with a typical Italian anitpasti plate--even Hersh.  Hersh also enjoyed the swings at the park, and all three of us enjoyed walking along the coastline in the sunshine on the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification.  Thank you Trieste for a week of Italian charm! 

We are home now, which feels really nice, especially because Hersh's Sabba and Savta are here for the week.  And, we made hamantaschen--Hag Purim Sameach!

A sampling of some of the delicious Italian food we enjoyed:

Hersh loved the antipasti.

On AirDolomiti they gave us Toblerone and a drink!

Pizza Vegetariana

Prosecco

Homemade chips

Homemade gnocchi

Amazing antipasti.

A few pictures in and around Trieste:

A happy Hersh on the waterfront.

In the main Piazza Della Unita Italia.

Ruins in the city.

Outside the synagogue.

Love the crooked smile.

Obelisk on the hill in Opicina.

View from Opicina.

Lighthouse.

That's Hersh asleep on Jacob.

Doing "pull-ups" on the bus.

Beautiful sun on the water.

Limestone hillside.

Swingin'

Packing to go home.

Detail on the castle.

View from the castle.

The castle.

                                                                      

Hamantaschen.

Hershel and his Savta.

Hersh helping Abba make hamantaschen.