Manic Trans-Atlantic Panic

Hey, it's been a supremely long time, I know, but with good reason. And I promise you all, you will get a full update if you can make it through this post, which will be excessively long, but with lots of good stories and pictures interspersed.

So, last week was the inevitable 'visit' to the Czech Republic by Jessica, Mandy, Murray, and Ted. All five of us, as well as Nikola, spent one week crammed into my small one-room apartment. Between floor mattresses and suitcases, there wasn't a square-inch left on the floor. I even had to step over Ted's head every morning to go to work. How did I even make it to work?! Every night we were out until past midnight (some nights for very late), and every morning I was back at it to work another day. Not a great thing to get into the habit of, but it was awesome while I had the visitors.

First great story belongs to Sunday February 18th. Niky and I got up at 5:30am so that we could get a train to Prague and get the metro/bus to the airport to pick up Murray at 10am. Then we were supposed to get Jessica and Mandy upon their arrival at 3:30pm, so we had some time to take a jetlagged Murray into the centre of Prague and make him walk around for awhile. We got back to the airport to get Jess and Mandy, but after one hour of waiting, I began to get nervous. Then I got a phone message from Jessica saying that they had missed their plane to Europe, and had to get another flight, but that she would land in Prague at 8:30pm. So we waited around to get Ted at 7pm, and then waited another half hour for Jess and Mandy. Let me set the scene for you here: the last train from Prague to Hradec Kralove left at 10:11pm and I had to work the next day; once Jessica and Mandy arrived, we would have to get from the airport to the main train station as fast as possible. Many factors were at play here. Jessica didn't step out from the arrivals gate until 9:15pm, and when she did we immediately all bolted for the exit and grabbed the bus which was just pulling in (luckily, 2 minutes later than it was supposed to). The bus took longer than it usually seems to take to get to Dejvicka station, but when it did we hopped off and, trying to all stay together, we ran down the stairs -- luggage and all -- to the platform. We waited for about 5 minutes and then our train came and took us to Muzeum station, where we had to switch lines and go one more stop to Hlavni Nadrazi (main train station). This subway train took FOREVER to get there, and I was certain that we would not catch our train. Finally we boarded our subway, and I made the executive decision that we would make this train (it was 10:08pm at the time!). I told Nikola to get them to the platform, and I would get their ticket. Once the train stopped I ran full tilt up the escalator to the ticket booth. I looked back, and worriedly saw nobody coming up the escalator (they had got trapped behind a homeless guy and his dog, and he wasn't budging). Once the lady handed me the ticket, I looked back and there they all were, looking around for me. We located each other immediately and we all started absolutely sprinting (them with their luggage) down the aisle toward platform 4. In mid-sprint, Ted laughed and said that he felt like he was in the movie Home Alone...good ol' Ted! We darted up the stairs to the train (it was now 10:11) and I straddled the platform and the train while the others caught up. We loaded up all the luggage, and before we had even taken our seats the train was moving. We literally just made that train, with a great story. It took us awhile to catch our breath, but wow......

Murray, Ted, Jess, Mandy -- in Hradec Kralove

On Monday night, we just went out for some dinner and beer at one of my favourite restaurants in Hradec, U Cerny Kun (at the Black Horse). Lenka, and one of my students, Pavel, came too. Pavel and Murray compared their MENSA cards (oh yes, Murray has one too!). After dinner, we went to U Gastona for some free foosball.

On Tuesday, I had something special planned. We took the train to Pardubice, which is 20 minutes from Hradec Kralove) and we got tickets for the hockey game. Pardubice is in the Czech Extraliga, which is the top level of competition in the country. Before the game started, Ted asked me if there were any washed-up NHLers in the league, and I wasn't really sure. To our surprise, and complete delight, we were treated to the spectacle of watching Jiri Slegr and..............drumroll please....................Robert Reichel. Yes, I repeat: Robert Reichel. And, get this, he is the captain of his team Litvinov, and he scored a goal that night. I know Steve is laughing right now.

Before the game

In our seats

There he is, in the yellow/white/black jersey.

Niky, wearing Ted's toque.

On Wednesday, the four of them went to Kutna Hora to visit the bone church, while I worked. We went out for dinner that night at U Ceske Koruny, a wonderful restaurant in Hradec Kralove. However, later into the night (after several drinks) Ted got yelled at by the waiter for making too much noise while he told his stories. Way to go, buddy!

Thursday night was the all-anticipated ball at Niky's school. We got dressed up and hit the town...well, the Aldis building, but whatever. Ted even won a raffle prize........drumroll...........arc welding supplies. Yes, I repeat: arc welding supplies. Not to mention the fact that none of us even know what arc welding is (I'll wikipedia that one later), does it particularly strike you as a strange prize for a raffle? Ted was speaking with the girlfriend of the guy who donated it later that night; it apparantly went something like this:

• Ted: Well, I'm from Canada. I can't really take these back, I have no use for them. Does your boyfriend want them?
• Girl: My boyfriend?
• Ted: Yeah, does he want them back?
• Girl: Oh no. He can steal those from his work anytime he wants to.

The Czech Republic, ladies and gentlemen.

My lovely girlfriend Niky, and my lovely sister Jessica

Mandy, Niky, and Jessica: dressed to kill

Sheer delight upon winning arc welding supplies

The morning after. This girl has seen better days than this.

Friday it was off to Prague, where everybody was leaving from this past weekend. Including me. Jessica and Mandy flew out on Saturday at 2pm. Oh wait, I'm sorry, their flight was cancelled! They were bumped to the later flight, but again had difficulty getting back to Canada. They didn't arrive until 12:30am this morning (Tuesday February 27th). I beat them back to Canada, and I left Prague on Monday morning at 8am. Triumph. Murray is also back in Barrie, so I imagine that before Jessica heads back to Carelton University, we'll have a Ted-less and Niky-less mini-reunion.

Our hostel in Prague

Absinth shots at Double Trouble

I dunno, three's a crowd?

There they are in the Old Town Square, Prague

It was singularly the best visit a guy could ask for. I think everybody had a real good time, and I definitely know I want to hang out with Murray and Ted more in the future. Thanks guys, and godspeed! So now you're probably wondering why I've come back to Barrie again. I'm back because my step-father Larry has had some pretty important quadruple bypass surgery. He's doing well, and he's up walking and talking again, but I thought I should come home to see him, give him someone to talk to, and to help out for a couple of weeks while he's going through the worst.

I'll be back in the Czech Republic on the 9th of March, and I may have another announcement, job-related, to present at that point. Keep watching and reading.

Till next post...