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Prachatice - Laziste - Husinec
Entry 53 of 69 | show all | print this entry |
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We arrived in february, after 50 hours on various trains. There were over 12 trains to be exact. Lots of loading and unloading of our panniers and various attachments. Lots of pleading with conductors, and bungee cording. Lots of wondering if we will get on this one or that one. Upon reaching the Czech Republic, like night and day... the little local trains and drivers were really friendly and all people super nice by comparison. Helping us even. Itoe great to be home...Well, we are here. Small villages of the Southern Czech Republic. Itś freezing here, the roads covered in sheets of thick ice. Piles of snow.
Well, now spring is here and everything is blooming and smelling great. Everyone has been wondering where we are and what weŕe up to... so here goes.
Our folks got a one hour warning that weŕe arriving so unexpectedly. What a great surprise. We were frozen to the bone. For the past month, we have been dorming it out. Our parents live in an amazing old farmhouse built in the 1600oe, complete with typically low doorways and high exposed beamed ceilings. Every detail of the place was built by hands from hundreds of years ago. The whole thing makes one feel like a peasant from the middle ages. There is constant and exciting risk of head injuries. Our dad has multiple scars and deep divets in his bald spot from such head injuries in low doorways. This stuff would not pass codes in the US. There is also a wood stove central heating system, that rarely backs up- but when it does, itoe pretty mad excitement as the house fills with black soot smoke, and the chimney flap receives instant frenzied attention. Something about negative chimney flap pressure. Ahhhh, old old houses. the attic is filled with strw to keep the house warm in the winter, and there is a mystery animal that resides up there, making scratching noises and scurrying about at night. It has yet to show its´face, despite various efforts to capture it, or repel it- including leaving the radio on at full blast in between stations. Something about the animal hating static noise.
We chop a lot of wood. Kurt was a maniac with the chainsaw. He reorganized the barn. earned his stay. There are furry country cats that fight and tumble int he backyard. There are horses next door. Lots of old wrinkly people with canes and aprons. Being an old farmhouse from the middle ages, there is always something to fix or repair, or a fun project to work on. We´ve been busy building a new picket fence to help keep the neighbors´ horses out of my momoe veggie and herb garden. Mixing concrete, sawing, measuring, leveling- these are all things that the local villagers find amusing- seeing two young girls working away. The division of gender roles is pretty distinct in these parts of the world. The Czechs are very ¨¨traditional¨¨ in this way.
Time is marked by the church bell up the hill, and by the parade of locals carrying thermos flasks and containers to get their lunch and dinner at the local farm coop kitchen down the hill. We hitch hike into town to use internet, and browse the library. We answer a lot of questions from curious small townies, who sense our accents and wonder what weàe doing in this part of the world. We´ve been busy overhauling and fixing our bikes after 4 months of spinning, and sewing pouches and improving our supplies. We watch movies in Czech and practice our language. This is the longest we¨ve visited our families. Kurt receives constant and careful translation services from Lucie, in exchange for shoulder massages. He owes her three...
Our mom is a fantastic cook, and we have been eating like maniacs. Home cooked meals 3 times a day, Czech traditional cookery minus the pig knees, lard cubes, and ox tail. The parents are much healthier in their old age. She does a lot of home canning and jamming. To date, during our one month stay, we have devoured 32 jars of apricot, prune, cherry, currant and blueberry jam. Some evenings include double deserts. We have been making home made sherbert. Lime cucumber is my favorite. I want to make garlic ice cream, but the dad is alergic to and hates the smell of garlic. Our plan is to begin part 2 of our trip. After looking for work in Prague and getting hired at below dignity wages at below dignity jobs, Anna and I have decided to just live frugally and stretch our funds thin, rather than stay and work for 2 dollars per hour. We contemplated flying to England to work there, but it makes sense to not spend the time and money going there and potentially being deported.
Kurtoe departed and is riding north, toward England through Germany. The sisters Ocenas are leaving in a few days, and riding together on leg number two... EAST. Through the Czech, east through Slovakia, Hungary, to Romania, through Transylvania, along the Black sea through Bulgaria, to Turkey and Greece, and then back North along the former Yugoslavian balkan side of the Adriatic Sea. It will be a 4 month loop. The knees have healed. Pulled muscles have relaxed. Weŕe feeling great and rejuvenated. We are really excited. Did you know that one third of all of Europeoe carnivorous animals, that is bears, wolves and wild boars, live in Transylvania?? Itoe also going to be pretty exciting to see new waters... the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic. If anyone has any advice or suggestions for places to visit along this route, email us. Our route is flexible as always... We look forward to seeing everyone in about 6 months. Lots of exciting plans for the future. Yippee...
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Latest Comments (2)
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home (reply)
Jul 30, 2007 21:16 EST by bedam
love the pics, the home sounds wonderfully warm and loving. what history! i'm looking forward to reading more, but with eight more logs left, i'm curious how the next four months will sound like?
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AIRTECH (reply)
Mar 13, 2007 10:14 EST by agent420
Hey ladies..
it now looks like there wont be flights back to the westcoast, there are still flights from amsterdam to northeast, southeast and midwest..but it looks like IC is not reviving the europe to westcoast program..contact me about a refund or if you want to go to another part of the US.. www.airtech.com
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