Planes, trains, and automobiles

Friday, we woke up at 4:50am in order to leave the house by 5:30am and catch a 5:45am bus to Sofia. We arrived in Sofia around 8 or 8:30am, and from there we took a taxi to get to the Sofia International Airport, Terminal 2.

We flew from Sofia to Vienna, and then took the Central Airport Train (CAT) to the City Centre, where we hopped on the Underground Line U4. We got off at the appropriate station and walked a few blocks, finally arriving at our hotel.



After two nights and one full day in Vienna, we were off again! This morning we were up at 5:45am in order to take the U4 and U6 Underground lines to get to the Wien Miedling train station. From there we took a train to Ostrava hl. n. After getting our ticket deciphered with the help of a woman at the information desk, we located platform 5 and waited for our next train.



The train left Ostrava at 11:49am and traveled 32 km to Frydlant nad. Ost., where we got off. It was at this train station that we got wireless internet for the first time since leaving the airport, and we found out by email that our ride was no longer able to pick us up due to an unexpected change in plans.



We panicked slightly (Ok, a LOT) when we realized that we didn't even have the name of the hotel written down, and we hadn't changed any of our Euro into Czech money. The woman at the train station's ticket counter didn't speak English, and we only had one phone number to reach anyone. Our phone, of course, was roaming, so we could only text message and not call.

After thinking through our options and reading through emails, we finally had a plan. We got the name of the hotel by text with our friend, and found the hotel's phone number in our old emails. We used a pay phone at the train station that accepted Euro coins, and spoke with the hotel receptionist, who, thankfully, spoke English. Joe explained our predicament to her, and she called a taxi for us and paid for it once we got to the hotel. (She said that she could just add the cost to our bill, which will be paid later by credit card.)

We're ready to rest a while now...

my new 'do!

So, on Friday Vania and I went to get spiffyed-up at the hairdresser. The woman got a terrified look on her face when Vania told her that I didn't speak Bulgarian. She was really concerned that she wouldn't cut my hair the way I wanted it.

Thankfully, Vania and I were able to get the point across! I think it turned pretty well myself, but you can make the decision for yourself...


Before


After

Welcome to Topolovo

This past Saturday, we got to go to Topolovo and see the house that we'll be moving to in early November. It is owned by a friend of a friend, so to speak, who is currently living in the city and hasn't used the house in quite some time. He is glad to have someone live in it and fix it up a bit.


We're told this road eventually leads to Greece

The house is situated right on the edge of the mountain, so we can literally hike in our backyard. (Yes, Joe is beside himself excited...) It's on the edge of the village, but close to a park area and some small shops. We are so excited!


Our future front door

It will be wonderful for us to have our own place again. We moved out of our apartment in Ohio at the end of May, and we've been living with other people ever since! This house is better than we could have ever wished for - we have free reign on everything - from landscaping to remodeling!

Did I mention we're excited?


We made a little drawing for you so you can see the layout... it's not really to scale...

Our new house may look small to you, but it's a decent size by Bulgarian standards. We are so thankful to have an extra bedroom space for visitors... including Jen's sister over Christmas and some other friends from the US in the spring.


Our grape arbor walkway is a little overgrown, but we still love it!

We'll have better pictures after we move in, so you can be looking for those in early November after we get our internet connected. We hope that it stays warm enough for us to work outside a bit before winter really sets in.

On that note, does anyone know the right time to prune a fig tree?


Yours truly and Topolovo, our soon-to-be hometown

Mira

We call her our "rat,"
But she's not that or a cat.
Round, and round, and round she goes...
When she bites, it's usually Joe's toes.

The pitter patter of her feet,
Black and brown, cutely petite,
Tells you that she's coming soon
From the hallway into your room.

Like a baby, she plays and sleeps.
She wags her tail and chews on her feet.
She sits on your lap at the end of the day,
And does other things which I won't say.

I don't really want a dog like her,
With dark, beady eyes and short, black fur,
But I can't help breaking out in a smile,
When she curls up beside me and rests for a while.

I'll forgive you, Mira, I suppose,
For the chewed-on shoes and bitten toes.
Your cuteness, for you, has saved the day.
Now, I've got to get back to my crochet.

Preparing for colder weather

It has been quite a bit colder here lately with temperatures as low as 3 and 4 degrees in the morning! (Celsius, of course) Along with the change in weather, come some changes in our environment.


My new best friend

We had to move a suitcase or two to make space for our room's newest addition, the heater! We were happy to accommodate it, though!


It runs on gas, so it's much cheaper than heating with electricity

Nasa has faithfully been asking us every morning if we slept well, and if we were warm enough overnight. She has some of the traditional superstitions which circulate through Europe about drafts and being cold, so she makes sure that we stay toasty!


Thicker blankets keep you toasty overnight

Short sleeve shirts, short pants, bare feet, and wet hair are, of course, completely unacceptable once it gets colder than 20 degrees C, which hasn't been the easiest for Joe to adjust to. He is more of the wear-short-sleeves-as-long-as-you-possibly-can type of guy, but he's wearing long sleeves already this year, thanks to Nasa.


House slippers, provided by Nasa

Chocolate-chip cookies

So I was trying to think of ideas for things to do with Yoanna. The other day she said she wants to learn how to cook, and she LOVES sweets, so I thought maybe I should introduce her to some all-American goodness... chocolate chip cookies.

Her attention span didn't last any longer than it took to break an egg, but I enjoyed making them anyway! The recipe needed a few adaptations, but I think the finished product was better than when I make them in the States!


Cracking eggs is apparently super cool, because that is the only part the kids paid any attention to.


Oh yeah.