Day 72 Hooplahs, Daring Feats and Time Travel

woah, I can't believe how much I've done in the past 3 days... I've barely had time to breathe let alone write a  blog, but I'm sitting now and I have a second, so I'll update the crew!

So Kaja came to Sir Toby's on Saturday night to go out with us all, and after collectively determining that the pre-organized pub crawl was too much money, we designated her the new leader! She started planning a real local, awesome night out while we all predrank and played cards... great division of labour I'd say! I was a little concerned about the cheap vodka we were drinking - it had a green label, which is the indicator that it may have come from the year in which some wackos tried to poison people with chemical additives to the vodka - but Kaja assured me that the government rounded up the criminals and recalled all 2012 bottles, so it's most likely just fram a prior year. Now they use red labels to denote the new product. We had already had half of the bottle before being informed of this, and pressed onwards at her assurances, and since I'm alive, I suppose she was right! Bit of a random thing for people to do, but I suppose I know nothing...

Mel, Henry, Kaja, Harry, and a biiiit of Adam at the first bar.

We set out around 11, though with all Kaja had planned I think she would have preferred that we take off around 8! We took the tram to a local student bar, that I could not find again if my life depended on it, nor could I tell you the name... It was cute and not crowded, and the prices were hella cheap... $7 for a bottle of red wine! We all chilled and drank, and those with cigarette and rolling tobacco tendencies were able to smoke indoors. As a non-smoker, I can't say I'm all for this kind of liberalism, but it made for a more cohesive night since people weren't always stepping out and missing parts of the conversation. Still though, of course health first! While we were chilling, we noticed a local guy get up and head for the little mixing station/stage at the back corner, and he switched on the mic. He proceeded to ABSOLUTELY BLOW OUR MINDS with the most insane beat-boxing skills I have ever seen. I took a bunch of video, but it's really long and terrible sound quality, so hopefully someone else has a good clip I can upload to facebook soon. He performed for about 30 minutes, and we were all pretty much silent except for admiring "oh my god"s or whistles. Seriously... mind blown.

David and I chillin'.

We moved on, and unfortunately the next place she wanted to take us was closed, so we stopped in at a nearby watering hole to warm up, before heading to this amazing lookout. There is a huge metronome statue there, which replaced the statue of Stalin that was erected during the Czechoslovakia's brush with communism. It was really peaceful, and the lights of the city were gorgeous... even more so in my state I'd say! A few of us were already feeling it - me because I'm a lightweight after all the Kenya sobriety, David because he had just gotten through a 23 hour bus ride the night before, and Mel as well, so we motioned for a bit of a stop. The consensus was for McDonalds... so I had a (bunless) Big Mac and fries for the first time since Spain last year! MAN THEY ARE GOOD... danger! But no, I'll be more disciplined from now on... but it did taste wicked! Then the 3 of us caught the tram back to the hostel, and Kaja (who had to wait until 4 am for her next train into Stratov, her suburb) stayed out with the hardcore party boys. Shame, I used to be one of them! David kept nodding off standing on the tram, and his buckling knees would wake him up every so often. I can't really talk though, I was pretty much passed out in a seat.
We woke up the next morning and I headed down to the front desk to check out. I had rallied a few votes the night before for one of life's great adventures - skydiving! The prices here are much lower than Canada, and a few people were game to come along, which provided us with the group discount. I felt like SUCH a nag running around confirming people were still in (some weren't... being sober really is a buzzkill for money things) and making sure everyone was ready by the 1:00 pick up. Kaja decided to also jump on the bandwagon, and we were off with 6 people before you know it. In the van I apologized to the boys for being a little bossy, but the Aussies shrugged it off, stating that without someone like me to keep things moving, they'd never had left bed at that point. I guess there's all kinds of people in this world, but me - I'd like to be the one that wakes up and goes skydiving with their friends! We arrived in about an hour to the site, and were whirled through a registration and suiting-up process, which made us look more like superheros than the beer goggles had. Muscling through the hangovers, which I had blessedly escaped, we were informed of the few things we needed to know to JUMP OUT OF A PLANE! We were of course strapped to someone else, and let me tell you the ride up in the plan sitting practically on them was a little awkward (especially for the boys I think), but well worth it. Two of our group had to go up with two randoms in order to accommodate the plan's 4 person capacity, so we were lucky enough to see what it would be like before it happened to us!

Kaja and I getting ready to jump out the plane!

While we had been a little silly posing for photos in the beginning, we were all pretty excited and nervous when we had taken off. There is a special "banana position" you have to assume in order to safely exit the plane, where you reverse curve your back and roll your feet under the plane. After ensuring we knew the proper way, they started one by one heading to the door and launching out! I was last, so I had longer to anticipate the death-defying fall, as I watched my friends disappear into the open. It was amazing when it came to be my turn - looking down was scary! I had less than a moment to think though before we hurled out into the air, and I felt the thrill of falling at 220 km from 4 kilometers above the ground. Holy!!! I like the fact that I took my first jump on the day that the most historic jump was undertaken! There is no frame of reference, so you really can't tell just how fast you are going, until the parachute is engaged and you feel how much slower the descent becomes. The lack of reference also makes it almost seem like you are just incredibly big, and you could almost put your foot down on the faraway, tiny ground. As we approached, I was allowed to steer the parachute, and feeling the air in my hands was really neat. It made it a little more real that I was floating to ground with the security of a piece of fabric... crazy. After landing, which you do by sliding on your butt, we all high fived (of course) and started talking at once (me generally louder than the others...). We were ferried back to the hostel, a trip that most of us fell asleep for. After a crazy night out, an adrenaline high, and 4 km journey back to the Earth, can you blame us?

David, Henry, Kaja, Me, Adam and Harry ready to fight crime.

That evening was to be the first of David and I's stay with Kaja and her family in the nearby suburb of Stratov. It's a bit of a hike, or rather train ride, to the 45 minute-away town, but Harry decided to accompany us and come to dinner, which Kaja had made reservations for. We arrived to find her family had just gotten out of the car as well, and the introductions were conducted on the lawn. Her Mom and Dad were really welcoming, and her younger sisters Anezka and Josephina were elated to be able to practice their English - they would have to since I know practically no Czech at all! The Slavic languages really escape me. We dropped out gear, and got into the car to head to the nearby town of Detenice, where dinner was to be set.

The GPS system in every country must be universally stupid. This one,which I dubbed Mildred, decided the best route was through the countryside - which would have been nice if not for the sharp curves, bumpy roads, and lack of signage! Kind of reminded my of my hometown and where I went to highschool... a.k.a. the middle of nowhere. We arrived finally, and the party consisted of Kaja, myself, David, and Harry, plus Anezka, Kaja's 18 year old sister. We really didn't know what to expect, except that it was to be a themed restaurant. I immediately assumed the kitschiest thing I could - and I was half right. What I didn't expect was that it would also be the most awesome. We entered the door and were essentially swept back in time, that is, except for the high-tech ordering gadgets the waiters carried around! Of course, everything was in Czech, so we were extremely grateful to have Kaja as our adept translator! The concept was medieval, so the floor was covered in straw, the rooms were lit by candles, the tables were big wooden affairs, and the food was served on huge platters and was meant to be consumed with your hands! We ordered drinks, and 3 plates to share between the 5 of us. It was more than enough!

Cheating with McD’s.

The best part of the evening though (aside from the company) was the staff. There are tons of people who go around dressed as ye olde villagers! They had a band, a company of dancers, a few town criers and soldiers and of course the priest. They even did an exorcism on a poor member of the audience whom they accused of sleeping with the devil. They stretched her out on the rack even! There was an amazing display of fire breathing as well, and a woman danced with flaming ropes all around her. Dangerous? Yes - Cool as all hell? absolutely! The musicians played some killer old (and I mean really old) tunes on their tambourines and flutes, and we were pulled up onto the table to dance amongst the remains of the pig's knuckle and honey-glazed ribs we'd enjoyed for dinner. We all laughed and talked (and ate) until a few hours had passed. The whole day had been so random and so wonderful. I kept turning to David and repeating the catchphrase that has essentially described my time here: "Meanwhile in the Czech Republic..." It was certainly a night to remember! There were very few tourists there too, it's mainly people from the surrounding area, or Prague, who make the trip specifically for this experience, one we never would have had without knowing a real Czech person. Thank you SO much to Karolina! The drive home was just as twisty, even though we tried to thwart Mildred, and we made it back literally moments after the train had passed. It just so happened to be the last one into the city, and so Harry, who had already paid for a hostel room, had to spend the night with us at Kaja's. It was fun though, and she was an amazing host, making sure we had bedding and towels and tea, essentially creating the best hostel I've ever stayed at! Bedtime was late, as we all just hung out, and had only gotten back around 11:15, but I slept soundly.

They have the CUTEST cat here, with really round gorgeous eyes. He's massive though, just like the family dog who has to live outside in the kennel because he easily jumps the 6 foot fence. Seriously, he's a mini horse, and potentially bigger than some I've seen! The kitty slept with me, and purred away, making me really miss my own cats. It's really nice to stay at the house, feels like home almost, just in the pace and comfort of it. They are really lovely here, and keep asking me to compare traditions and houses and conventions here with those back home, which makes me really nostalgic!

The Sexy Squad.

I miss you all, and can't wait to see everyone in a month or so!

more to come soon! Love from Abroad