Zlin

Easter- ate far too much, spent far too much money, had an amazing time!

I was back in Brno sooner than I imaged. I wasn’t quite ready to leave London again and the first few days were pretty tough. But soon I was back in swing of things, and happy to be in Brno. The weather helped somewhat. The sun just hasn’t stopped shining. I wake up every morning thinking… today it must be grey, whatever happened to April showers?? Hence I have spent a lot of time outside, lapping up those rays. The first weekend back in fact, we went to a lake just on the Brno borders. I had no idea it even existed. We all brought some food and drinks and we had a very international picnic. There was all sorts of different gastric delights. It was lovely to see everyone again, I think there are quite a few people here I am really going to miss!

The following week was an interesting one. Our tutor had organised with his friend, who is also an art tutor, that Kirstie and I visit his faculty. Kirstie and I are always happy to visit new places, so we jumped at the chance. We were put in touch with one of the students from the faculty, Hana, who was to be our guide. The faculty was in a city called Zlin, 2 hours from Brno. It is famous for one thing… Bata shoes. The whole city was basically a factory for the shoes, most of the architecture was designed and built by Mr Bata himself. Therefore the city has a very distinctive look.





On first arriving into Zlin, Hana drove us to the university (for the next few days Hana drove us everywhere). Where we joined an English class. We were in the class for about 2 hours. It was tiring stuff, but I like to think that we were quite helpful. The girls were practicing for their English exam in a few weeks. They were encouraged to ask Kirstie and I questions. Annoyingly, most of the questions were 'how can we get a job in England'. This resulted in some tactful replies, but it was still difficult not to give them too much hope.

We stayed the night at Hana's flat. It was an interesting experience. We had already met her British Bulldog when she picked us up from the train station, but we were yet to meet her other animals. Now Hana is the sweetest person, and I am very thankful for her generous welcome that she showed us, but sadly, she has some really smelly animals! The hamsters, fish, dog all accumulated into a smell that I am not at all accustomed to.

The next day we continued the tour to Olomouc and a nice stately home with some beautiful gardens. Having been to Olomouc before I was happy to return and see the town again.

VIENNAAAAAAAAaaaaa

The following weekend I was off again. This time I finally got to Vienna. Kirstie and I were becoming more and more frustrated that we hadn’t visited what is our nearest big city. It is only two hours away on the bus, the ticket is ridiculously cheap and its not like we don’t have the time. We had no excuse. We booked our ticket. It was our new friend Irma who was the original catalyst to our eventual decision. Irma is Hungarian with lots of her friends studying in Vienna. When we told her how quick and cheap it was to travel there from Brno, she was determined to get there as soon as possible. Therefore, with Irma leading the way, the following weekend we were on the bus. One of our main problems preventing us from going to Vienna sooner was the expense of staying there. However amazingly this problem never materialised because thankfully we ended up staying with one of Stefan’s friends. What a stroke of luck that was. Tim, Stef’s mate, is working as a choral singer in Vienna. He has a small group who sing Renaissance music. Kirstie and I had quite a few questions about such a career; he was very obliging in answering them. Tim was also a very generous host, and we ending up staying for two nights, saving us a lot of money. Furthermore, he lent us a guide to Vienna, and gave us lots of useful advice.



Vienna is a great city. It has all the beauty and grandeur of Prague, but with an edge. It seems the art scene is more open and interesting, with galleries and exhibition on every corner. The city also doesn’t feel crammed with tourists, I think due to the fact that it is quite a spacious city. None of the Prague style narrow lanes. Kirstie and I spent most of the time going from gallery to gallery. Stopping in cafes every now and again, eating lots of schnitzel and spending far too much money. Best not to think about it. We met up with our friend Irma a few times, and she took us to some of the places she knows. All in all we had quite the insiders visit to Vienna. We got recommendations and advice that made our stay so much more interesting. I have a special thanks to my friend Daniel, who lives in Vienna; he sent me an e-mail with loads of places to go!

There was only a week or so left in Brno after Vienna before I was due to fly home for Easter. Not too much happened in this time. Our friends Lena and Filip held an exhibition at our faculty and I visited a cave complex north of Brno called the Moravian Karst. The caves were impressive, but having seen a fair few caves in my time, they don’t really excite me any more.

Easter- ate far too much, spent far too much money, had an amazing time!

OOPS, I've been busy

Firstly, apologies for not keeping this Blog up to date. I have negligent to my regular readers and I am sorry. Since Francis visited Prague I have been on quite a few more trips. I have since visited Leipzig, Vienna and Zlin. All of which I will tell you a little about now…

The weeks after Francis’ visit were filled with Erasmus parties. The students who were only staying for the first semester started to leave, many leaving parties as a result, and the new Erasmus students arrived, many welcoming parties ensued. I also managed to completely miss Pancake Day! I was devastated! But all was not lost, I decided any Tuesday could be Shrove Tuesday and I proceeded in planning a late celebration. I have to say it was the best Pancake Day I have ever experienced. Mainly, I think, because the majority of the people at the party were French, and then French knooow how to flip a decent crepe. I was happily satisfied with my pancake consumption for the year.

Also this Semester I have started having private Czech classes. Last semester we were having classes in conjunction with our university. But surprise surprise, funding ran out, and we were left to either give up learning Czech, or seek other means to gain the information. We decided, quite simply, to employ our old Czech teacher privately. We are paying her, what in my opinion is a very cheap rate. But she suggested the price and she seems to have given herself the task, to not only teach us Czech, but also give us a crash course in Czech culture. It seems to me it is not such a measly sum by Czech standards. I will miss learning Czech; I will miss learning a language. I have decided on my return to Britain, I will definitely start learning a language properly. First on my list is Spanish, but I will try and improve my Polish as a side project. There is something about learning a language that really keeps your brain alive.

The week of my delayed pancake day, I visited my friend Johannes in Leipzig. I ended up going later than I originally planned. I was advised to buy my tickets on the Internet to get the cheapest price, this involved waiting for them to be delivered. Finally I received my tickets and I departed for my 6-hour train journey. The journey passed without incident. I arrived to Leipzig relieved to at long last stretch my legs and of course to see Johannes waiting for me.

I stayed with Johannes’ parents. Lovely people, but with limited English. This was very frustrating for me. I find it very hard not to communicate with people, especially people I am staying with. However, when Johannes was around, I was able to hear a translation, I suspect, a little edited from time to time. I was made to feel very welcome, and I felt a little spoilt. Johannes’ mother is quite the accomplished cook, and she whipped up a few delicious meals. I was assured it was all traditional German grub, just what I had hoped.

Leipzig is a vibrant student city. In proportions it felt quite similar to Leeds. There are lots of trendy bars, nice shopping streets, and most important of all, an impressive modern art gallery. Johannes and I wondered the Leipzig streets, did a little cycling and drank a few German Beers. We had a very lazy time. Unfortunately we might have been a little more active if the weather had not been so miserable. I don’t think it really ever stopped raining. However I had a lovely time, and I really enjoyed my true German experience. I have to say that the German people, what I have experienced of them, are delightful, very friendly and accommodating. I look forward to my next German trip. Next on the list is Jena, to visit my friend Anne. I can’t wait!

After the Mountains

After the dramatic landscape and climate of the Vysoky Tarty, I was ready for a quiet week. We returned home on the Saturday, and managed to have a lazy Sunday. I slept like a log. The Saturday evening, I absolutely conked out on the sofa. I put it down to all the fresh air, and of course the blinding white light from the snow.

Sunday was to be my only day of recuperation. The following Monday brought guests, two of Kirsties friends from Prague, Felix (German) and Moira (Portuguese). That evening was to be another Crepe fantastic. This time we were more ambitious, inviting around 8 people. Pauline was our head chef. Flipping those crepes like a crepe flipping demon. It was such a nice evening. It was extra special because we knew it would be one of the last evenings we would spend with Pauline. On the Wednesday she was to fly home! This meant that on the Tuesday night, we were to have a farewell party. It was so sad to say good-bye; we have become accustomed to these grand farewells of late. The new semester has brought lots of new people, but has also lost many of the people we had grown to know last year.

Talking of new people. Apparently there are 8 new English people! I have only met two of them. They seem very friendly. You could tell a mile off they were Brits, very much of the indie dream generation, ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ kind of look. I have discovered this is very unique to us Brits. Most of the rest of Europe like to wear clean clothes that actually fit properly, those crazy Europeans. I hope to meet the rest of the other Brits soon.

The day after the leaving party was the day I went to Prague. After weeks of excited waiting, anticipation, expectation…I was finally to go to Prague, and see Francis.

I went on the Wednesday evening so that I could catch up with some of my friends before the travelling party arrived. I had a bus at 5pm, which meant a brief meeting with my tutor, Josef, and then off I went. The Wednesday evening was lovely. I met up with Johannes and Eeva. Eeva is my Finnish friend who was to go back to Finland that Friday. I wanted to see her before she left, so with a few of her friends we all went out for dinner. YUM YUM, Maly Buddha, highly recommend this restaurant.

The evening ended in a terrible club; Mecca. I should have really been warned off by the name. The saving grace was that lots of people from my language course were there. Many of them will have now gone back to their respective countries. I fell asleep that evening wishing the night to pass as quickly as possible. Little did I know what tomorrow would actually bring.

Rolling out of bed, having breakfast, getting dressed. I knew that Francis’s flight would be arriving at 11.50am, and then Suzie and Rob flew in at 1pm. I had time. I had a quick look at my phone, oh, one message… NOOOO! Francis had text me, saying that it had snowed in London and that Flights were being cancelled all around him!!! I was in shock. I went straight onto the Internet to see his flight status. It was scheduled, not cancelled; I drew a sigh of relief. However as the morning drew on, Rob and Suzie were stuck in Gatwick, they thankfully had a departure time, Francis on the other hand was just waiting for any kind of information. Then it came, the text message I had been dreading… ‘My flight has been cancelled, I am going to see what I can do’… Nothing, I thought. I have been a student too long, and watched too much daytime TV, to know that when a flight is cancelled on ‘Airline’ the passengers go home. I was already planning what I was to do know Francis wasn’t coming. I thought about Rob and Suzie, would they want me hanging around them, they could have a romantic weekend without me there. Then I thought about the hotel we had booked. We would probably have to pay for it without staying there; cancelling now would be too late. The thoughts were racing through my head, at that very moment I just wanted to jump on a bus back to Brno. Even Rob and Suzie’s arrival was uncertain.

I went out. I had been in my friends flat running up the walls. I thought it would be good if I got some food and fresh air. I tried to distract myself. I finally got a message from Francis to say that, miracle of miracles he had actually managed to reschedule his flight! Then I received another text to say that Rob and Suzie were due to leave in the next few hours. I couldn’t believe it! I was so thankful that Francis and I had decided that he flew out with Czech Airlines, if he had been with any other airline in Stansted that day, I really don’t believe he would have got to Prague. Rob and Suzie’s flight was amazingly one of the few flights in Gatwick that wasn’t cancelled.

That evening, when we were all sat around a table, I was the happiest person in the Czech Republic. Francis was absolutely exhausted. His 10 hours in an airport were not something he wanted to talk about. But the most important thing was that he was in Prague! That we were all in Prague, the weekend of fun started at that moment, all the stress and worry of that day was forgotten.

SLOVAKIAAAAAAA

Just before I went to Olomouc we had our good friends, Pauline and Jeremy from France, around for a crepe evening. We were talking about their travelling plans, as they were about to go to Krakow. Next thing I knew we were discussing what bus we were going to get back with them from Poprad Tatry, Slovakia.

Kirstie and I decided we were going to get the train to Poprad on the Wednesday morning, as we were going to get the bus back, and we are not fans of doing the same journey twice. I got a text message whilst I was on the train from Pauline, telling me I needed to get to Stary Smokovec. It was all very exciting. On Stefan’s advice we jumped on the first very snazzy electric train straight into the Vysoky Tatry (High Tatras).

Having never experienced proper snow, I was amazed at the white landscape that surrounded us. It was endless. When we got off the train, the snow had been pushed off the paths, and was piled up above my waist. First thing we did was purchase two sleds (more a circular piece of plastic with a handle), one red (red lions) and one blue (blue frogs). The gauntlet was thrown.

Pauline and Jeremy had already arranged our accommodation. Our first night was to be spent at Bilikova chata, basically a mountain chalet. It was a log cabin and absolutely idyllic. The first evening was stunning, the sun set with all the colours of the rainbow. We sledded until we were completely wet through and could sled no more. It was the perfect beginning to a great few days.
Red sky at night...


However, over night, whilst we were sleeping, the weather changed dramatically. On waking, the beautiful view from my window that stretched far into the distance was now a sheet of white. Snow had fallen all night, and was still falling. It didn’t actually stop all day. We were determined to not let it stop what we wanted to do. So, as planned, we went to see a hidden waterfall near our chalet. A walk that really should of only taken a few minutes became quite the expedition. That day, any bit of walking was a real effort. But it was exciting too. In the evening the wind picked up, and I have never felt such a natural force. We were told that since a terrible storm two years previous, which devastated much of the wooded landscape, the weather in the region had become more and more dramatic. I think the loss of the tree’s protection has left the region much more exposed to the elements.

Kirstie and Pauline snowed under
Am I pleased I got skiing clothes for christmas!!!

Thankfully the wind blew the bad weather away over night, and again we had a new view in the morning. The sun was shining and the sky was a deep blue. The snow looked the most brilliant white. I literally jumped out of my bed, and got outside as quickly as I could.


The good weather meant that we could go up Lomnicky stit, the highest peak in the region at 2634m. Highly recommended in all the tourist guides. We had to get three cable cars up the mountain. The last one was standing room only, the steepest ascension, and just a tad terrifying. But it was all worth the effort; the views at the top were spectacular! I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
Not quite at the top.

Looking at the Polish side of the Tatry
The whole gang, me, Pauline, Kirstie and Jeremy, very very cold (-15)!!!!

I was very sad to leave Slovakia, the owners of our last accommodation at Penzion Vesna were so lovely and generous, and the breakfast was to die for. The snow was a lot of fun, and having seen so many skiers I was quite keen to give it a go. Also, just to add, that the blue frogs were the more superior sledders (or luge as they persisted on calling it). Kirstie and I, with our much-practiced English humility, were defeated with honor.

SNOW

Need I say more...

Closura

So the day of the highly anticipated assessment finally arrived on the 24th January. Kirsite and I had no idea what to expect, and in the lead up were forever fishing for little snippets of information and advice from everywhere we could get it… ‘You must defend your corner’ Daniela told us, our German fine art friend who was relaying hints from her Czech boyfriend, ‘the jury will attack, be prepared.’! Be prepared? This was the one piece of advice I had no idea how to act on.

What little we were told was that the Closura is an open assessment, anyone from the public can come and listen. Anyone can ask questions and get involved. You have to speak briefly about your concept and then answer any questions. This is very unlike what I am used to in Leeds. In Leeds I put all my work into a room, leave it there for about a week and then return to find it seemingly untouched. I receive some feed back, but there is nothing really expected of my verbally.

A week before the assessment we went to see our troublesome tutor, Josef, to show him our work for the assessment (I say troublesome, but since writing this he has changed somewhat and has become far more useful). Having only shown him a fraction of what I had done, he was satisfied that only that would be enough. Again, differing from Leeds where we are expected to show EVERYTHING we have done.

Our assigned time was to be at 8am on the Wednesday morning. Therefore we came in the day before to put all our work up. This was a laborious job. Merely trying to get Josef to tell me what he thought I should hang took over an hour, and then the actual hanging… Where? And how? Were the next two tiresome questions. But finally with some help from the other students and some tactfully appropriated yellow tac, my work was finally up and ready for the onslaught. I forgot to mention, there was an added obstacle that day. The clouds decided to open and a foot of snow fell in a few hours. It made getting into the studio an unexpected assault course.

So finally the morning arrived. The jury slowly appeared, a real mixed bag. The Czech students went first and read off scraps of paper before being heavily questioned about their work. I was desperately trying to decipher the mood of the discussion. However having concluded they were going from bad too worse, I was pleased to be told that they were actually doing quite well.


Coming to the end of the Czech students presentations, I was suddenly confronted by Blaroslav (our tutors best friend, and quite accomplished in English) to explain my ideas so that he could translate them to the jury. I tried to explain in the few moments we had, I don’t know if I succeeded. The Jury were on their way over…


I was relaxed by the fact that I was sure none of the jury would have any idea what I was talking about. Although there were a lot of people there, I was confident that hardly any of them would really bother trying to listen to me. Blaroslav was there, translating what I was saying, but still there was a sea of blank faces in front of me. I finished my explanation, and then silence followed. Josef had a few things to say, none of which I understood. Then the jury thanked me, and moved on. I stood there completely confused by what had just taken place.

I found out later that I had got an A. Co?

Olomouc

After the assessment I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders, and my German friend Anne suggested at the perfect moment that I should go to Olomouc with her for a few days. Olomouc is town about 1½ hours north of Brno. People had told me that it was a pleasant place to visit, and I have been keen to see more of the Czech Republic and stop being tempted by all my surrounding countries.

We rendezvoused there, Anne having travelled from Pardubice. And we soon checked into the very homely and friendly Poets corner Hostel. Lovely place. In fact that very evening the staff kindly invited us out with them, to see some very good, very cheap, live jazz at the ‘Jazz Tibet Club’. It was a great evening.
Anne in soaking up the sun

Olomouc is a lovely small town, with a very impressive main square. It has something of Krakow about it. The surrounding town is full of parks and lots of narrow roads very reminiscent of Prague. There is also an astronomical clock to rival Prague’s, it has the added novelty of showing all the name days of the year. There is a good art gallery, two thumbs up from me, and there is a nice café culture. The big university attracts lots of students, which means there are lots of cool bars. Sadly when Anne and I were visiting it was absolutely freezing. There was lots of snow, which enhanced the beauty of the town, but the cold meant that we couldn’t wander, as we would have liked. Instead we spent hours and hours in cafes nattering away about all sorts of rubbish, my kind of holiday.

Here's the Astronomical clock dad!

Back in Czech land

I thought that I would post an amazing picture that the visiting Rich took whilst we were hanging out in Prague. To all those who doubted I could fly!