Winter's Antics

It certainly has been a strange winter, weather-wise, here in Prague.
It's been one of the mildest winters on record, here in the Czech Republic. The first few months, in fact, turned out to be the warmest winter in over 40 years. There just wasn't any snow to be found. Ski hills sat empty, the city's hills lay brown and barren, and a day out on the town only required a light jacket and a scarf (for the wind.) No need to get all bundled up here! It was even worse in the Alps, where they were experiencing their warmest winter in 1400 years! Whoa, hello global warming!

And then came the windstorm, when much of Europe was nearly swept off the map due to hurricane-force winds. Actually named Windstorm Kyrill, (who knew they named windstorms like they do hurricanes?) the storm caused over 3.5 billion euros in damage across Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Czech Republic. Over 40 deaths were related to the storm that also caused major power outages across the continent, delayed hundreds of flights, and disrupted rail service in over half a dozen nations.

The Czech Republic was spared from major damage, but apparently the winds were strong enough that city residents were advised to stay indoors. Unbeknownst to me, I actually went for a walk through Old Town that night, just to check things out. Oh Scotty... It was actually quite difficult to walk but I didn't realize at the time just how strong the winds were. Yes, sometimes I'm not the brightest crayon in the box ("Oooh a windstorm! I'm gonna go for a walk!") but hey I survived it just fine.

And then less than a week after the windstorm, the Czech Republic finally got it's first real dumping of snow of the season. And what a load it was! More than 30 cm. fell in a few days, and it kept on falling even as the weekend approached. Prague was transformed into a beautiful white cityscape, until the salt and sand attacks turned most of ito slush on the city streets. For the first time it actually felt like real winter, and it was pretty fun (read: messy) to be out and about.

On Thursday I got a text from my good buddy Petr asking me if I wanted to join him, his boyfriend Patrik, and Patrik's two kids for a weekend away in the mountains. In desperate need for a city escape, and quite eager to see some snowy scenery, I was quick to reply 'yes!' So on Friday morning, after I finished my AM class, the five of us drove out to Orlicke Hory - the small mountain chain in North Bohemia on the border with Poland. I knew that we were going to be staying in a rented cottage near some ski hills, and I had pictured it being a mountain 'zoo' of sorts, with all of Prague flooding out of the city for the first white weekend of the season.
Fortunately, it turned out to be the exact opposite! It was so quiet and peaceful and serene - and there was hardly a soul around. We rented 3 bedrooms of a 5-bedroom cottage and were the only ones there. The cottage was way up in the mountains (more like big hills actually) and the ski hills weren't even open the first day we were there. Everything was a complete winter wonderland, the hills and forests nestled under a thick blanket of snow, no people, no noise, no traffic...it was magical!

The three days were spent with all of us acting like big kids in the snow - plenty of sledding, snowball fights, and snow angels. I can't even remember the last time I went tobogganing! It was so much fun! The girls went skiing, but I opted instead for sleeping in and long walks down the snowy country roads. The five of us played plenty of indoor kids games as well, including hide-and-go-seek (another game that I haven't played in ages, and still fun when you're 28!), card games, and lots of horseback/piggyback rides for the girls by yours truly. Anychka's 11 and Tereska's 7 and they both took to me instantly. I felt like a bit of a 'New English Toy' and Anychka was quite eager to practice the bits of English she had learned in school. Both girls were really sweet and I had fun with the all weekend long.

We had a particularly fun afternoon on the Saturday when the five of us went for a short drive up a mountain to have hot chocolate and coffee in this chalet. The chalet sits on the peak of one of the larger hills, and overlooks an amazing view of the countryside. What's really cool is that right behind the chalet is the border with Poland! There's actually a border crossing there (no roads though, just a hiking trail) and a concrete post marking the exact position. Naturally we had to play the whole 'Look at me jump back and forth between countries!' game, which I'm quite convinced that no human being can resist when presented with a border situation like this. And so, with a single bound, I lept into Poland, and thus added my 21st* country to my list of places travelled. No, there isn't a stamp in my passport for it, and yes I was only in Poland about three metres, but whatever those are mere technicalities. I can say I've been to Poland and I'm sticking to it! ;-)

We made the 180-km. drive back to Prague Sunday evening and I returned to the city feeling so happy and refreshed. Three days of fresh mountain air and good ol-fashioned winter fun was just what the doctor ordered. I really needed the break, and came back fully ready to return to work and city life. It's amazing what one little weekend away can do!



* Okay if I'm using these silly techicality rules, then in acutality Poland would be my 23rd country visited. In 1997 I was in Zurich Airport on the way back to Toronto from Italy and although I only had a layover there, and never left the security area (thus no stamp) I guess you could say I was only sorta in Swiss space? And in 2004 I made a trip to the DMZ border area between the two Koreas and was allowed to visit a meeting room that straddles the exact border. In this room you're actually able to walk around the meeting table and thus cross into North Korea, but you can't leave the building (cause you'd probably never be seen again!) When you think about it, it should be a simple thing to say whether or not you've been to a country. (Much like asking a woman 'Have you ever been pregnant?' I mean you can't 'just sorta' be pregnant. You either have or you haven't.) So why do we make it so complicataed to answer the question about visiting countries? I mean really, either you've been there or you haven't, and if the border marks the line where one begins and one ends, well then according to those rules I've been to 23. But, my faithful passport only says 20 (including Canada.) Man I need to get my numbers up! The way I see it, if your age is more than the number of countries you've been to, then you're not doing something right. Well, that's my personal philosophy anyways, which means that I'm currently about 8 or 5 countries short of where I should be. Time to get a move on! ;-)

Petr and I in the forest.

The view from the road that leads up to the border mountain chalet.

Looking up to the highest point of Orlicke Hory.

Hello Poland! I see you!

Scotty will straddle just about anything, including international borders.

Me with Tereska and Anychka on the Czech-Polish border.

Not much in the way of security here!

The sign welcoming you into the Czech Republic.

Awww so pretty!

The Orlicke Hory are a protected area, as the sign denotes. The chalet is in the background.

Close to where we were sledding on Sunday.