Friday, April 5, 2013

Easter Eggs in Germany

My friend emailed me this great story of a man in Germany who decorates his tree with 10,000 painted eggs!

A feast for the Easter Bunny:
German couple decorate their garden tree with 10,000 painted eggs
Easter comes but once a year – but one couple have turned it into a lifetime's project.

German pensioners Volkerand Christa Kraft have decorated the tree in their back garden in Saalfeld for Easter for more than 40 years. The tree now drips with more than 9,800 colorful Easter eggs, painted with pastoral scenes and religious icons.

Volker Kraft adds to the 9,800 Easter eggs hanging from the tree in garden of the home he shares with his wife Christa. Each egg must be pain stakingly emptied of yolk and whites, to ensure it will not go bad, before they can be hand painted and hung out for all to see. The easiest way is to pierce two holes in each end of the egg with a hat-pin, then blow out the contents through a straw. The better equipped can use a syringe pushed through just one hole to extract the gooey gubbins. But be cautious when handling raw eggs - they may carry salmonella.

Don't tell the Easter Bunny! Heike Lutz, right, visits the Krafts' tree together with her son Anton Lutz. After their kids moved out of the house, it seemed the Easter Tree would finally catch a break, but grandsons arrived and the Krafts went back to decorating their giant tree. The number of Easter eggs hung by the tree‚ branches grew every year, and in 2010 it reached an incredible 9,500 eggs.








Wednesday, April 3, 2013

More eggs & Czech events!

If you're interested in seeing more eggs, “Czech” out these upcoming events:

I'll be a guest speaker at this event talking about the Czech tradition of egg decorating.

Orinda - Tabor Sister City Foundation &; California Czech & Slovak Club Cordially invites you to 2013 SPRING FEAST - 2013 JARNÍ HODY

Saturday, April 27, 2013
Orinda Community Center, 28 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA
Program starts at 2:30pm

• Live Czech and Slovak Music
• Dancing
• Traditional Folk Dresses
• “Guess What It Is” Contest
• Learn one special dance!
• Unique Easter Customs - Presentation by Pavel
• One Surprise Appearance
• ...AND THE WONDERFUL FOOD

Admission/Lunch Cost - $25.00/person
RSVP by Monday, April 8th
For information call 510-219-9852

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Balboa Park’s House of Ukraine Presents the 3rd Annual “Pysanky Celebration”
The art of Ukrainian Egg Decorating

This spring ritual can be dated back to pre-Christian times, over 2000 years!

April 14th , 2013
10:00a.m. to 3:30p.m.
in the Santa Fe Room in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
For more information, email: houseofukraine@gmail.com, or visit: www.houseofukraine.com/events

Sunday, March 10, 2013

HOMECOMING

Although my years in California by far outnumber my years living in the Czech Republic, today I am who I am because of my Czech upbringing. Many strange Czech customs enriched my life; the love for egg decorating, my obsession with mushroom foraying, a delight in duck-lard cooking, even over-the-fence fruit picking. (Note that Czechs don’t call it stealing.)   
  But more than three decades of living in California left me with a persistent and uncomfortable question: Could I still call the Czech Republic my home?   
          With my husband Larry, an Ohio native with a quirky perspective, we set out to   rediscover my homeland.  We traveled through 60 Czech towns and cities, visited with strangers who quickly became friends. We cried and laughed as we learned their stories. At times I thought I'd burst with pride, belonging to the same tribe. Other times, perplexed, Larry and I looked at each other uttering, "What the hell?"  
          For over two years now I've been diligently writing, erasing and rewriting our Czech travel memoir. I am halfway there. Through a mixture of lighthearted and heart-breaking stories, some belonging to my family, some to people I only heard off, and some to my nation, I tell  the story of my people. I am hoping when all is down on paper, and when you travel to Prague, standing in the Old Town Square, looking up in awe at the Týn church towers, it wouldn't only be because of its magnificence, it would be because you'll feel the spirit of people who centuries ago built, destroyed, and rebuilt it.  If I succeed in recording Larry's and my travels through the Czech Republic in a style as humorous and informative as I set out to do,  you'll understand the Czech history and its people. You'll be inspired to venture past Prague to see more of that lovely land located in the very heart of Europe.