Time to Head Back Home

I can't believe that it's already been three weeks and now it's time to head back to Euroland.  It's been great to spend time with Steven & Michael in Atlanta, and with my family in Arizona and California.  A special shout out to my brother-in-law, Manuel, for driving us all over Southern California!!  I even got to spend my birthday with my family for the first time in forever.  

I'm really glad that everyone got to meet Kája.  It's been fun seeing his reactions to some of the differences between Czechland and the USA.  

I've had a bit of reverse culture shock as well but I suppose that's a normal thing that most long-term expats experience.  I may have to put together a list later of some of the things that I noticed.  

Of course my last meal in the motherland had to be an animal-style double-double from In-N-Out.  If you're from California...then you know.

At LAX

For now, we're waiting on our flight from LAX to Madrid, then to Vienna before our train back to Brno.  We'll lose a day travelling back and I'm not looking forward to the jet lag.  Jet lag always hits me worse going back to Europe way more than it does flying west.  I hope to get over it soon because at the end of the week we're off to the Tatras.

San Clemente Pier, California

Yesterday we went to San Clemente Pier to meet my aunt and uncle for lunch.  San Clemente is a city of about 65,000 people about a half hour drive, 42 km (26 miles) southeast of Irvine roughly half way between Los Angeles and San Diego.  

San Clemente is known as the "Spanish Village by the Sea" due to its Spanish Colonial style architecture.  

It's a popular California beach town that gets about 300 days of sunshine and an annual average temperature of 23℃ (73℉).

The most famous landmark is the San Clemente Pier.  

Me and mom

It was first built in 1928.  It was rebuilt in 1939 and again in 1983.  The pier is a popular fishing site and home to a nice seafood restaurant.  

It was nice seeing ma aunt and uncle and lunch was nice.  But for dinner, I finally got my In-N-Out fix.!!  

My niece decided that we needed to wear the hats during dinner.  Though not everyone was on board with that one. 

Going Back to Cali

Yesterday, we drove from Prescott to Irvine.  Well, Dad did all of the driving.  

The trip took 7,5 hours and thank goodness for air conditioning because it was wicked hot.  It was 45,5 ℃ (114 ℉) at the Arizona-California border.

I was one happy Mexican when we got to my sister's house because she had a feast waiting for us. #fatandhappy 

I need to make sure that I don't put on 5 kg while I'm on holiday. 

Fun in Atlanta, GA

We've had an absolutely fabulous time in Atlanta with Steven and Michael.  It's hard to believe that I haven't been back since 2012.  

The boys really rolled out the Southern Hospitality for Kája which he loved.  Hopefully he's not spoiled now for the rest of our holidays.

On Sunday, Kája got to see his first baseball game.  The Atlanta Braves no longer play at Turner Field.  They now use the new Truist Park stadium that was built in 2017.  The Braves played the Miami Marlins and the Braves won 6-3.  

I still miss baseball in Euroland.  Anyway, the game was fun.  At one point I was trying to explain to Kája what was going on.  We were speaking Czech and this kid in front of us turned around and you could see he was having a hard time processing it.  He must have thought we were speaking Klingon or something.

The 4th of July is a big deal in the USA.  Parades, fireworks, lots of flags, BBQs, family and friend get-togethers, and we had it all.  In boys' neighbourhood, kids have a little parade and the local fire station even participates.

After the parade, we spent a good bit of time at the neighbourhood pool.  The home owners association had the Varsity send a food truck to cater.

The Varsity is an Atlanta institution.  It's a family owned business that opened in 1928.  It's huge.  It sits on two city blocks and can seat about 800 people.  When you walk in, the cashiers all shout out "What'll ya have, what'll ya have, what'll ya have?"  It's not the healthiest of foods but you can't go wrong with a chili dog, onion rings, a frosted orange drink and a fried peach pie.  So tasty but only as a special treat.

Later we spent the evening out at Lake Lanier, about 97 km (60 miles) northeast of the city.  Steven's sister Beth and her husband Reggie Davis invited us, along with Steven's mom, for dinner on their houseboat.  Steven's mom is great and I just love her to pieces.  The last time I saw her was when she and Steven came to visit in 2014.

Again, the Southern Hospitality was in full force.  Beth had a full spread of BBQ ribs, corn bread, mac 'n cheese.  Everything was so good but I'm afraid at this rate I'll gain at least 5 kg.

Plus music and fireworks out over the lake.  What a great evening!

Atlanta has lots to see to do.  We spent a few days trying to see as much as we could with out feeling overwhelmed and rushed.

The World of Coca-Cola museum showcases the history of the cola.  

The Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005.  It's huge.  Until 2012, it was the largest aquarium in the world.  Today it only ranks as the world's 6th largest aquarium.

The aquarium is home to thousands of animals, in seven major galleries, living in more than 42.000 m³ (11 million gallons).

Centennial Olympic Park was built for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.  It's a 89.000 m² (22-acre) public park in downtown Atlanta.

The Swan House is a mansion that was built in 1928.  It is part of the Atlanta History Centre and has been featured in many films.  In 1977 it was listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden opened in 1976.  It sits on 12 hectares (30 acres), adjacent to Piedmont Park.  

The Chattahoochee River is about 690 km (430 miles) long.  

The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum is located at the Atlanta History Centre.  The Cyclorama is a cylindrical panoramic painting of the Battle of Atlanta during the Civil War.  It was painted in 1885. 

The painting is 114 metres (374 feet) and weighs 4536 kg (10,000 lbs) and was once the world's largest oil paining.

Stone Mountain is about 24 km (15 miles) east of the city.  It's the state's most visited tourist site.  It was opened on 14 April 1965, exactly 100 years to the day that President Lincoln was assassinated.

On the north face of the quartz mountain is the largest bas-relief artwork in the world.  In 1972, the carving depicts three Confederate generals.

What a week it's been.  It was so nice spending time with the boys and catching up with people.  Brian and his wife even drove down from Tennessee for a visit.  

The last time I saw Brian was in 2013 when made it to the 5th Czechsgiving.

Now it's on to Prescott to to visit Mom & Dad.

Türkiye Trip Summary 2023

We had a great week in Türkiye and Kuşadasi was the perfect home base for adventures.

We started right off with an airport adventure.  We flew to from Vienna to Istanbul, went through immigration, and caught our connecting flight to Kuşadasi.  

We were the last two passengers waiting for our bags but they didn't show up.  Someone from the airport had to take us from the domestic arrivals to the international arrivals terminal where our bags were waiting because they hadn't gone through customs in Istanbul.  At least we had our bags.

Throughout the week we took a number of day trips.  Our first was to Şirince which is known as Türkiye's Tuscany.

On we visited the House of the Virgin Mary and toured Ephesus.  My first visit to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Another day, we went with Mesut to Izmir for the day.  

On the way back we stopped by a traditional carpet factory.  Unfortunately, none of them were magic flying carpets.

Our trip to Pamukkale was fantastic.  

Especially the paragliding.  

I'm still not comfortable at all with heights but this was absolutely brilliant.  I'm so ready to do it again.

One of the best things about visiting Türkiye is the food.  

Lots of meat, plus Turkish Delight, baklava, and copious amounts of tea and Turkish coffee.

While in Türkiye, I wanted to visit a hamam for a Turkish bath but we never managed to fit it into our schedule.  However, we did find time for a traditional shave and wax.

There was a lot to see and do in Kuşadasi.  Thanks to Atlas Obscura we found a few off the beaten path sights nearby such the train museum, Cave of the Seven Sleepers and the Cave of Zeus.

I can see coming back here again for another visit.  Highly recommended.

Tchibo

Tchibo, pronounced CHEE BO, is one of Germany's largest retail chains.  The stores are interesting.  It's a café where you can get a good cup of coffee and something sweet.  Of course, you can also purchase coffee beans and accessories.  

Then there is everything else that you can buy there such as clothing, household items, electronics, appliances, and sometimes even furniture.  You never know just quite what they will have when you go there because the non-coffee products change weekly.  In Germany, the company's slogan is Jede Woche eine neue Welt, "Every week a new world".  In Czecland, it's každý týden nový svět. 

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Tchibo Coffee Company.  It was founded in 19149 in Hamburg where it still maintains its headquarters.  The company founders were Max Herz and Carl Tchilinghiryan and the name Tchibo came from the abbreviation of Tchilinghiryan and Bohnen (coffee beans),  The company started off as a mail-order service for roasted coffee beans.

In the early 1990's the company started to expand outside of Germany.  There are about 550 stores in Germany and over 300 stores in Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Türkiye.  

The company also operates "depots" in various supermarkets have a Tchibo section of shelves selling its coffee alongside non-food items such as clothing, sporting and household goods.

Tchibo Praha, spol. s.r.o., was established in 1991 and today there are 38 stores in Czechland.  In 2021, the company expanded its distribution facility in Cheb, near the German border.  The new facility is over 102.000 sq.m. (+1 million square feet) and services seven European countries.  

Here are a couple of Czech television commercials from about five years ago that I found out on YouTube.

©Tchibo Česká republika

©Tchibo Česká republika

Here's also a short, three-minute video I found that talks about the history of the company.  It's only in German but it's still pretty easy to follow the story.

©Irgendwas mit ARTE und Kultur