Svíčková, a very popular national dish in the Czech Republic, consists of braised sirloin beef, bread dumplings and a savory, sweet and tangy sauce. It's perfect in the cold weather and I could see why it's so popular in the Czech Republic.
We listened to a lot of Chopin in Poland and a Bohemian folk group in Prague. I liked listening to a lot of American popular music from the past year like Janelle Monae, J. Cole and Superorganism. Music is everwhere in Europe. In Bucharest, we enjoy street musicians who play accordian, guitar, harp or hammered dulcimer.
My favorite activity was taking a daytrip to Malbork, Poland and seeing one of the largest castles in the world. We almost missed our train because we couldn't find our platform, but multiple people from the area helped us get our tickets right. We spent four hours exploring all of the giant arched hallways, painted frescoes, armories and hidden passage ways of the castle that was built in the 1300s. I've never seen anything like it in my life.
This week, besides a number of confusing signs in Polish, Swedish and Czech, I started reading a book I've been meaning to read for years called East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Kelly finished two books over Christmas break.
I played a couple of puzzle games on my phone on the airplane, but didn't have a chance to play any sports because we were traveling the past few weeks.
