Friends and Mushroom Picking

Hello! 

     Saturday, October 25th was a truly special night. We were invited by our dear friend, Vlasta, to come to her house and go mushroom picking in her forest and to have a traditional Czech dinner! We had been talking about getting together and doing this for a long time. But, with our busy schedules during the program, we had no time. We were so excited to finally be able to do this and so was Vlasta.

     We took the train 20 minutes out of the city, which was a really cool experience. It was such a smooth ride. We arrived at the station and Vlasta was waiting for us with a big smile on her face! We got into her vehicle (a Chevy Orlando) and went to her house. The house was BEAUTIFUL! She and her husband started to build the house in 1998, moved in in 2000 and though it is finished, they say it is still in progress. When I say they built it themselves I mean she and her husband literally laid the bricks with their own hands! 

     Vlasta has told me before that her hobby is to garden. I had no idea. It isn’t just gardening, it is landscaping! I have included pictures below. She was embarrassed because nothing was in bloom but we didn’t even care! It was gorgeous and you can tell that in the summer it’s truly an oasis.

Vlasta made this. Beautiful!

     Mushroom picking is a big deal here in the Czech Republic. Everyone does it growing up, everyone does it on the weekends, and everyone can name you at least 15 different types of mushroom. You aren’t a real Czech if you don’t pick mushrooms. And surprisingly, we LOVED it! It was so much fun!

So proud =)

Selfie with my mushrooms

Our bountiful harvest! This was pretty good for how late in the season we went picking. 

     When we couldn’t feel our fingers or toes anymore, we turned around and went home. Vlasta prepared our lunch of typical Czech food and we talked to her husband about their travels. They have been EVERYWHERE! 

     I have never had that much food in my life. Cathy Seymour, I hate to say it, but it topped the amount of food that I am accustomed to with you. Everything was truly amazing! She sent me the names of everything on Facebook but  for some reason messenger deleted it…. oh well. It was incredible! We had a wonderful evening talking about everything from their lives to the different sounds that animals make in Czech. Yes, even the animals speak Czech haha. For example, in English cows say “Moo” and in Czech they say “Buú.” I can’t wait to do this again!

Bye for now! =)