Another fun day in Brno

We got a late start today but had a full afternoon and evening. First we toured an ossuary under a church near our hostel. I went there last year but Miran had missed it so we went again.

As we walked through the city we passed a number of people in strange costumes singing and dancing and weren't sure what was going on, but finally Miran asked some one and it was people celebrating Carnival. Not quite New Orleans Mardi Gras, but fun!

After that we tried to see a Renaissance theater that is one of the oldest in Central Europe and in which Mozart performed as a child. We couldn't get into the hall, but a gaurd explained it had been totally modernized anyway. Here is the exterior.

Then we headed to see a museum dedicated to the scientist Mendel, and on the way bumped into Aunt Mimica. We walked a bit with her and by the time we got to the museum it was closed for the day. But Miran wanted his picture by the door because he remembers learning about Mendel's genetic experiments on beans in his biology class.

And we ended the day with dinner at a really nice restaurant with Suzana and Zoran.

Miran went with them for another drink after dinner, but I came back to the hotel to take a shower and take care of some stuff (like blogging) and get to bed earlier to be all ready for tomorrow. The transfer isn't until 2:00, but we will probably take it easy in the morning too.

First few days in Brno

As reported on facebook and in an email to some, we arrived in Brno fine, but tired on Sunday afternoon. The flights went by quick and we watched a couple of movies. Miran quickly discovered that there was free wifi on the plane so took advantage of that.

We had a brief layover in Munich and were so happy that Miran's good friend Albert, who lives there, came out to the airport to meet up with us. We tried to change our tickets to leave on a later fllight to Prague so we could have more time with Albert, but they were going to charge us change fees (just to switch from the 11 to the 3:00 plane) as well as the change in fare so we passed on that.

We arrived at the Prague airport about noon.When we made our way to the bus ticket place to make arrangements to get to Brno, the sales people were gone for lunch and wouldn't be back before the next bus left. So instead of waiting a couple hours until the second bus we decided to rent a car and drive instead. We returned the car within 24 hours so as a 1-day rental it was only a bit more than two bus tickets. Of course we had to get gas as well so it was maybe twice as much. But we arrived in Brno before we would have left Prague waiting on the bus, so that was good.

We spent Monday walking around the city with Miran's cousin Suzana and her husband Zoran. We had lunch, than desert, walked a bit, and then Suzana showed us her new office. She has a tour operator business that she used to run out of her home, but now has a really nice office in a shopping / business center. Miran checked out her website and pretended to work there.

For dinner last night we went to the apartment of Miran's aunts - Suna and Mimica. We had a feast. There was so much food there were entire dishes we never even made it to because we were so full. And we left with a pile of leftovers to take home. While we were there Mimica gave us a tour of her art gallery. She is painter and all her paintings have very personal stories to them and many are based on photos or specific memories. This picture is of me and Mimica and her father.

If you noticed one above our heads to the right that looked familiar, its because Mimica was inspired by one of my mom's recent quilts that was posted on facebook and I liked or shared. Mimica saw it and it led to two paintings - one called Carmen and one called Swan. She is giving the one called swan to a friend's daughter who is getting married soon. Miran took some close ups and I put them together here:

Miran and I think its pretty remarkable how artists on different sides of the world can influence one another through facebook!

Anyway, finally a few pictures of our apartment, which is quite large. Its very sparse and neutral and in a great location (one block from our hotel last time and one block also from the central square). It has a separate bedroom, huge bathroom, and even a twin bed in the living room so if we'd stayed here last year Milada could have stayed with us. But we didn't know. It has a full kitchen and even a roof terrace (that is where the stairs lead). Below is a combination of pictures I took and a picture of the bedroom from their website because Miran was still sleeping when I took the photos. There are actually bedside tables instead of plant now.

I'm totally fine.

The surgery was very quick and the whole pre-op extravaganza seems to have been more complicated than the procedure itself. I went into the OR around 2:00 and we were home before 4:00. The last thing I remember was them asking me if I wanted them to change the radio station, the next think I knew I opened my eyes in a totally different room. As soon as I did they got me dressed and sent Miran for the car and wheeled me out of the building.

Miran was able to work in the waiting room, so it seems he didn't even lose the day. SO that is good news. He talked with Dr. Teaff afterwards and she said it went perfectly and that I didn't need a follow up and shouldn't experience any pain other than mild cramping maybe tonight.

I already feel fine, a little groggy and fuzzy still, but that might be because I haven't had my contacts in all day (and my glasses are broken) so everything is a bit off anyway.

The procedure was guided by a mini-camera and Dr. Teaff took a few pictures for us and to send to Dr. Machac in the Czech Republic. This shot is from inside my uterus today: the white bumpy blob on the left is the now-removed polyp.

And Miran took a few pictures of me (and us) after they got me all prepared. I looked like a patient for a much more intense procedure!

DNA test results!

For Christmas Miran gave me a DNA ancestry test kit and I got my results two weeks ago but keep forgetting to tell everyone.

It basically confirmed what we knew - I'm of European descent! Surprise surprise! I'm nearly two thirds from Britain and Ireland (Granma, Pop-Pop, Granie) and a quarter Ashkenazi Jewish (Granpa). With a little non-specific European in there to finish it off.

My maternal haplogroup is U3a1, which means the DNA of my mother's mother's mother's mother back millennia . I read a little about it online and apparently its most prominent among Roma (gypsies), but I didn't have any Roma DNA int he breakdown. They can't determine information about paternal haplogroup from a women's DNA, so Matthew will have to take the test to learn about Daddy's paternal genetic past.

And I can't make fun of Miran anymore because I'm just as much Neanderthal as he is! In my defense, apparently we all are and I have a slightly below average percentage for Europe!

Preparing for Brno ... with an extra surgery!

We leave for our third trip to Reprofit in Brno in the Czech Republic on Saturday. I've been preparing for a couple weeks by taking estrogen pills. Last Thursday I went for the mid-cycle ultrasound to check on my uterine lining, which was a very nice 10 mm. Its been much thicker in the past, possibly because of the endometriosis, so this is more optimal.

However, Dr. Teaff noticed a polyp in my uterus that is right up at the top where embryos like to attach. She had seen in last month during another procedure, but said it was more prominent now (which I don't get because the measurement was the same, 6 mm). So she contacted Dr. Machac in the Czech Republic to see what he thought, and they both agreed it should be removed before the Frozen Embryo Transfer.

So I'm having outpatient surgery today to have it removed. The procedure itself is no big deal as there is no incision, she will go in through the cervix. But there should be some discomfort and maybe cramping later. But for some reason it requires full anesthesia, I guess so I don't wiggle while she is trying to snip the very small polyp.

I'm not worried about the surgery at all, though of course full anesthesia is always a bit nerve-wracking. But I didn't need this extra mental and maybe slightly physical stress this week. I have so much to finish before Spring Break and the trip next week that I'm most worried about losing a day or maybe two of work. And of course we're both stressed by the unexpected cost we weren't planning.

I'm sure there won't be much to report, but I'll post again tonight or tomorrow morning with an update.