Praha 2024.
It’s the background hum of air conditioners and transit trams, a glimmer of sunlight off the tail of a passing aircraft, long after the sun has set behind the city’s 1200 year old castle. It’s the relentless cries (who’s kidding who here he’s screaming) of my son who refuses to sleep, well, sort of ever. Mostly he just won’t go to sleep. Staying asleep seems okay. Anyway, the internet tells me it won’t last forever, so for now I remain hopeful, awake, and jet-lagged, writing this blog.
Back At It
After a few days of acclimatizing to the local time zone it was back to the grind. The flying is cool, operating into places like Corfu, Greece, and Antalya, Turkey is both beautiful and challenging.
A couple of nights ago we came within 95 miles of the Ukrainian border, skimming alongside a no-fly zone. We didn’t see any military aircraft but then I suppose you’re not meant to.
The Long Day.
People tell me, “the days are long but the years are short,” when they speak of parenthood. And I agree.
Declan is now fully walking and accelerating his pace of learning in all aspects of life. When I show him something new, he imitates me immediately. I’m terrified of how much trucker–talk he’s picked up already. I’m sure words other than “oh man,” and “uh-oh,” are just around the corner.
Moving In to Námēstí Míru
Last year I used to run up this hill towards the Žižkov Television Tower and tell Katie how we needed to live up there next time we were based here. Mission accomplished. I still have to run about 1km to get to the tower, but the neighbourhood we live in is exactly where we wanted to be.
Normality
Even though we just this morning moved units (across the hall, it only took an hour, very boring story) things seem SO much more normal this year than last. A year more parenting practice, air conditioning, and a much nicer neighbourhood. It’s amazing what a difference twelve months can make.
SARS–CoV 2.0 Update
For those who don't know, there’s another variant afoot.
SARS-CoV 2.0 is ba–aaaack, and it has not reached its peak yet. I’m pretty sure Katie and Declan got it when we arrived, then passed it on to me a few days later. I think we all had a mild case though, and now we have moved on to the ongoing Praha hay fever sneeze-fest. The antigenic distance map in the above article provides a fantastic visual of how far the virus has mutated since its –ahem– creation, if you will.
But don’t sweat it, we got this.