Saturday at the Park

I slept in this morning, had some oatmeal for brunch (breakfast at noon is brunch, right?), and set out on my adventure. I caught the 24 tram up north a bit and before connecting with the 26 tram, which I rode to the end of the line. When I got off the tram, I was a little confused. I couldn't tell where the park started. Then I realized that the park was the whole expanse in front of me. The tram line just ends at this park. It was so cool.

View from the tram stop (also note the puppy)

The cool-ness was slightly lessened by the looming Golden Arches. When I went in to use the restroom though, I discovered that McDonald's really are much fancier here. They have separate McCafe stations that look like Starbucks, and the smell inside is an absurd mix of fast food and fancy coffee. There was an breathtaking view out the huge window facing the park, and for the first time in quite awhile I was ever-so-slightly tempted to sit and relax at a fast food restaurant. After another whiff though, I was easily convinced otherwise.

This paved path leads to the park. It works better if you just ignore the McDonald's.

Inside the park, there were paved paths that people rarely adhered to and that were liberally covered in leftover icy snow. It was about 40 degrees (my mind is still stuck in Fahrenheit) and sunny so there were a ton of people out roaming the park with their puppies and their kids. I sneaked a picture of one that I especially wanted to take home with me. There were two of them and it reminded me of "Where the Red Ferns Grow."

These guys were bounding all over the place.

I tried to stop on a bench to write a bit but I got too cold pretty quickly so I kept moving. There was just so much to explore. The park is enormous! I wanted to see more than I got to, but I made myself turn around as soon as my knee started feeling funny. I still got to walk for about an hour, but in a park that big, an hour didn't feel nearly long enough. I'm very much looking forward to going back. Once I get my Open Card it will be free, but it only cost me $3 round trip so I didn't exactly break the bank today.

People were biking all over the park and I kept picturing my dad doing the same.

Some firemen and policemen were doing some training in the park (or just enjoying the view I suppose) and that's them in the background. I got scolded in Czech for getting too close to them.

View of city from this little hill I climbed

People on top of a huge rocky hill that my knee prohibited me from climbing

Cute little snow-covered gazebo (that also happened to be covered in graffiti)

"Did you see that sky today? Talk about blue."

My cooking results tonight were excellent, though the process was a little iffy. I made boiled cabbage and roasted potatoes. I had a lot of cabbage, so I was sauteing it in batches before adding it to a pan to boil. But I kind of forgot about of the batches and left it on the stove for way too long. Once I smelled the burning, I rushed over and turned on the fan that is graciously placed above our oven before examining the damage. I ended up just tossing that batch in the trash and taking it down to the dumpster. The smell was pretty atrocious. The rest of the cabbage turn out great though. I'll definitely be making it again. I even used the green parts of the cauliflower I bought today. I felt very thrifty.

The roasted potatoes were intended to be french fries, but I discovered that the ketchup I bought from the supermarket is absolutely disgusting. It's translucent and tastes way too acidic. I guess my thriftiness went a little too far when I opted for the store brand ketchup instead of springing for the Heinz. Oops.

In other news, I finished "Far From the Tree" by Andrew Solomon last night, which you will recognize as a rather large accomplishment if you've seen a copy. I got it for Christmas in 2012 and I thought it would take me years to get through. It's such a great book though so I couldn't wait. My mom often praises books and movies by saying that everyone should be required to experience them. I sometimes remind her that if everyone were required to experience everything she deemed worthy, they would do nothing else their entire lives. But I do feel that this praise applies to "Far From the Tree." I don't particularly feel like writing a book review here, but take my word for it: it's worth your time.

*This was supposed to be posted yesterday but my internet decided to stop working. The joys of crappy wifi...