Our train from Vienna arrived in Staré Město, and our next train was scheduled to leave in exactly five minutes. Strýček Petr, Děda’s brother, was waiting for my family of four, my brother’s family of four and our parents on the platform. We basically threw all our bags off the Vienna train and gave as many as possible to Strýček Petr, who drove them to our accommodation. We hauled the rest of the bags and kids and strollers across the platforms to the train bound for the village of Hradčovice, and hopped on just as the doors were closing. Once we arrived in Hradčovice, we had exactly one minute to get our bags on the platform, which led to another mad scramble. I’m still in awe that everything and everyone made it to our destination.

We stayed at a charming hotel in Hradčovice, where each family unit had their own mini-apartment with windows overlooking the countryside. I loved our little home away from home, even though it tried to kill us or our children in three separate ways. The first dramatic incident took place only a few minutes after we checked in. We had just dropped off our bags and the boys were crawling around in the hallway outside the apartment. All of a sudden, we heard a tremendous crash. A light cover in the kitchen had fallen down, spraying shattered glass everywhere. We quickly swept up all the shards and thanked our lucky stars that no one was hurt. The second issue was the massive gap between the steps leading up to the loft portion of the apartment. We organized our suitcases into makeshift baby gates and made sure our two little enthusiastic climbers stayed well away from the stairs. The third hazard made itself known a few days later. I sat down on a chair with Ian in my lap, and the chair collapsed. Both boys had been under that chair only seconds earlier. We gave the broken chair to Strýček Petr, a carpenter by trade. He fixed it for the hotel owner, who happened to be an acquaintance of his. “People do things differently here,” Chris remarked. Indeed they do.

We didn’t bring any car seats with us on this trip, and instead used public transit or bikes to get around. Děda’s youngest cousin, Aleš Zemánek, owns a cycling business that specializes in recumbent bikes. He rented two of them out to us, along with a cargo bike for Alana, Hannah and Patrick. We borrowed the rest of the bikes from Strýček Petr’s family. Chris and I took turns using an electric recumbent bike to pull the boys in a trailer. The boys didn’t much like getting strapped in, but they seemed fairly happy once we got moving. We pedalled on quiet roads and paths from Hradčovice to Veletiny (my grandmother’s village) and Vlčnov (Strýček Petr’s village). We also cycled along a gorgeous bike path linking Hradčovice to Uherský Brod, where we ate at a fantastic restaurant with a playground attached.

Babi and I strapped the boys in carriers on our backs and walked up to the church graveyard across the road from our hotel. We visited the graves of several family members, including my grandfather. We saw the newly added plaque for my beloved aunt, Teta Helena, Děda’s sister. She passed away in January 2023 at the age of 73 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. We all felt her loss deeply on this trip. My brother and I were very close to her growing up. She had a way of instantly connecting with young children by singing them songs and teaching them dances. I was looking forward to introducing her to Eric and Ian, and seeing her bond with them the way she had with Hannah and Patrick. My aunt was a Franciscan nun, and one of her fellow sisters edited a wonderful video using footage that my family had taken on previous trips.

The playgrounds in the area were perfect for babies and toddlers. The ground consisted of rubber tiles instead of sand, making it much easier to spot choking hazards. The play areas were also frequently fenced in, which meant that we could actually sit on benches and let the boys explore more or less independently. Such luxury!

We showed the boys the village of Veletiny, where Děda grew up and where my grandmother still lives, and where we have relatives in seemingly every other house. Two of Děda’s cousins in the village also happen to be twin parents. Cousin Markéta has fraternal twin daughters and cousin Marie has identical twin sons, all of whom are now adults. I asked Markéta and Marie how they handled the newborn and baby stages. They both told me that it was incredibly difficult and that they just somehow got through it. They couldn’t remember much because it was all such a blur. I could definitely sympathize!

My 95-year-old grandmother was able to connect with Eric and Ian in her own way. She has had dementia for a few years now, and she didn’t really recognize anyone apart from Strýček Petr and sometimes Děda. Nevertheless, she reached out her hand to play with the boys. Ian didn’t like being handled by anyone outside his inner circle, so he was a bit wary. Eric, our more sociable boy, approached her and stared at her curiously.

The highlight of our time in the Czech Republic was Jízda králů, or the Ride of the Kings. The cultural festival takes place every year on the last weekend in May in Vlčnov. It’s a great time to experience Moravian folklore traditions. On the Saturday evening, the whole gang cycled and then hiked up to the party at the Búdy, the above-ground wine cellars in the hills overlooking Vlčnov. We parked ourselves in front of my brother’s favourite music ensemble, the Burčáci. I have a picture of me and Tony standing in front of the band at the festival in 1991. The violinist, František Ilik, has been the leader of the group since 1966! We listened to them play for a bit before cycling back to the apartment to put the boys to bed. My brother stayed on to party, of course.

On the Sunday, we headed back to Vlčnov to watch the folklore parade and more singing and dancing. I loaded up everything that we would need for the day, such as toys, a food bag, bottles, changes of clothes, a picnic blanket, sunhats, sunscreen. We pedalled the six kilometres to Vlčnov with most of our gear, and Strýček Petr brought over the rest in his car. Upon arrival, we discovered that we had forgotten the most important baby item of all: the diaper bag. Oops! Děda kindly drove back to Hradčovice with Strýček Petr to pick it up for us.

We spent a good chunk of the day hanging out in the yard at Strýček Petr’s house and feasting on delicious food. He conveniently lives in the centre of town, right in the heart of the festivities.

At the end of the day, the “King” comes through the town on a horse, accompanied by his groomsmen and entourage. By tradition, the King and his groomsmen are disguised as women, and the horses are magnificently decorated in colourful ribbons. It seemed like a good opportunity to get a picture of the boys on a horse, in the arms of one of the entourage members. Ian was napping in his stroller, but we were able to hand Eric over to a fine young gentleman. We managed to snap a few photos before Eric naturally started freaking out.

That evening, we packed up our mountain of bags in preparation for the next portion of our European adventure: a somewhat ill-advised side trip to Paris…