Europe on Impulse

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The gaps I'll never fill

Note to self, don't forget Kutna Hora, and Zakopane. Met so many wonderful people who I enjoyed the company of and allowed to develop my knoweldge of the world as an alternative to spending the time writing blog entries. Not better or worse, just different.

Thank you ball boys, linesmen and refs; this trip is all but over. It's Saturday night and I'll be home Monday afternoon. And to all those Europeans who say 24 hours flying and 34 hours traveeling to too much for a holiday. NO IT'S NOT!!! I'd do it all again tomorrow :)) See you all soon.

Winding up Prague

Loved Prague. Had a day or so to catch the few things I had missed the first week (well, I did say I loved Prague). No time to write details - not as disciplined as last time :/ Got to the Kampa Museum of Contemporary Art, Lennon Wall, the Dancing Building, Old/New Synagogue, a few more public art displays and wandered in the late autumn sunshine. It rained all morning and then the sun peeped out at 1pm just in time for me to walk back across the river. Got this far on the trip and had to buy a brolly - just too wet to escape in the morning and no time left to wait.

On my last night I had a ticket to the Prague Symphony Orchestra at Municipal House. 1200 seats between 65-70 musicians and wonderful music in an old and revered theatre that demonstrates the development of Prague across the years through each political system. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Actually the variety of program made me feel for the musicians. There were loud stiring pieces, gentle springtime melodies, solos by harp, horn and violin. The violins certainly seem to be the workhorses of the orchestra.

Variety is the spice of life, and London spells variety

Few quick posts to try and get a few memories down quickly before heading out to the airport and home...

Have had a couple of days in London on my way home... went shopping today along Bond and Regent Streets (Monopoly Board memories) and looked at all the wonderful department store Christmas Windows. Fantastic. Can we start doing this again in Oz? Maybe we do and I just don't notice...

Last night my trail buddy (Katrin from Germany with better English than me) and I went to La Cage Aux Folles and had a rollicking time and laughed til we cried at the antics on stage.

We also had fun exploring China town, Charing Cross Road (the second hand book district) and Camden Markets. I had promised myself to go back after my quick visit 4 weeks ago and we spent half a day pottering in all the stalls spending Katrin's money :) I seemed to use all mine in book shops and buying chocolates we don't get at home...

I also managed to meet up with Dan Bean, my mariner mate, in London on the night I got in from Prague. We worked out it was 5 years since we'd seen each other face-to-face. Emails and text are fine when he is mostly at sea, but it was great to spend an evening in a pub chewing the fat on all the news and happenings over the years. We've booked a reunion for 5 years from now. Let's see if we can actually make it Dan!

London is wonderful city. Stayed under the dome of St Pauls again and it brought back memories every time the hour chimed. Always knew when I should be getting up... got to get Hunter and MacLean here. Every time I visit this city I think what a gret time they would have. Better work on keeping the exchange rate strong so we can :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halloween Cesky Krumlov style

Kate and Sarah are such good hosts they arranged lots of fun activities to get the in-house crew together. And the planets were aligned with activities, personalities, time frames and like-mindedness. Everyone in the exisiting group got on so well. The new check-ins haven't kept the group dynamics the same and I'm leaving at a perfect time.

Puzzels and fellowship were very much part of the fun

Halloween is not a celebration in Czech but the girls used it as an excuse to dress up and ghost hunt :) Everyone had to make a costume from the dress-up box to suit halloween and after drinks we went out on a guided ghost tour, before ending up at the 'Horror Bar' which is a themed cellar bar with skulls and torture equipment.

Chris applies his Canadian Jack-o-Lantern making experience

Kate pulls the guts out of the pumpkin

Bren creates a face in the Jack-o-Lantern

Finished product

Lucy, Helen (Snow White) and Bren (Wicked step mother) dressed for Halloween

Christian (our tour guide), Marketa (a local lady who had studied in Melbourne for a year and grew up living in the castle as the castle keepers daughter) and Colin (an American expat who loves Marketa)

A cold, spooky night in CK

The castle tower in the halloween mist

Blood shots at the Horror Bar

Kate & Sarah at the Horror Bar

Simon (Robin Hood) is kept company by bunny at the Horror Bar

Stuart (convict) & James (ghoul)

Running home in the cold night to a warm bed

Female jazz singer hits bass notes

I've bought the CD to prove it. The lead singer in international Jazz Band Trunk Show Aileen Loy has the deepest voice I've ever heard on a woman - I think she could sing anything Louis Armstrong released... She was even deeper than the male singers in the band. And when I spoke to her in a break between sets her speaking voice was just as deep and gravely. They did a lot of their own music and covers of Tom Waits arranged for their style. Their rendition of Chocolate Jesus was AMAZING. So pleased I heard these guys live. While a great recording, their show was everything - style, attitude, music, vocals. They used a milk pail and whip as part of the percussion section. Other instruments included two rythmn guitars, base drum, sax, tamborine and skull headed canasters.

The band in full voice

Ms Bass bashes out the beat on a milk pail with a whip... Yes I'm serious...

With Bren, one of the Kiwi backpackers in-house

Lucy, Brens friend and Chris (the Canadian ice hockey player) at the Jazz night

James (who kept me company horse riding), enjoys the concert with Kate

Having a laugh with another of our in-house group, Melbourne boy Stuart

Doing things I haven't done for 25 years or more

Horse riding across the fields and through the pine forest was such fun. Didn't fall off and even managed a passable trot. Forgotton how many muscles you use staying on :) My horse Roddy was a lovely brown horse, well mannered and happy to stay with the group. No photos on the horses as we had to leave the cameras at the stables but in hindsight I'm glad becasue if the'd started trotting while my hands were busy with the camera rather than holding the reins and pommel - I would for sure have fallen off.

Took these photos of the countryside on the walk over.

Right hand side of road. Farm house centre left hand edge.

Right hand side of road (we rode up the edge of the forest centre background and over the hill at the top on the left through the forest and came out on the road near here)

Ice Skating...mmm... well I think it is 28 years since I've been on ice skates... started on the outer edge of the rink holding the side and by the end of 1 1/2 hours I was managing reasonable long movements about 2 m from the edge. About as good as the 5 year old skating around with great confidence - except they were happy to fall over (lower centre of gravity and boucier bones). I didn't fall over once :) Went with Chris a Canadian who plays ice hockey back home and gave me some tips. We borrowed skates from the hostel's trunk in the attic and had them sharpened when we got to the rink. The rink was under a big hay shed type of roof, open on the sides and freezing.