July 29-Aug 3

Okay so here goes

July 29, 2009

Prague, the Czech Republic





Got up at 730 and had a shower…all the rest of the guys are in….I didn’t even hear them…must have been tired…..that is usually how I sleep…dead to the world…that is why Jennifer could have gotten away with coming in late if not for Lyn…..she could hear her come in late…….me ….not so much…..
They have a good system here….put money on a charge card and then just pay as you go…they give you whatever is left on the card when you leave…no need for a lot of cash…hope to see the hockey arena today….as well as the major sites…..
Didn’t…but I did go on the free walking tour……we met at the hostel and then took the tram to the centre…..get this……the tram to and from our hostel is tram 12…..at 1100 we met in the square…..there were about 120 of us so they broke us into 3 groups and off we went….the tour leader was an Irish woman about 25 and she did a fine job….told a few stories about the Czechs…..they have a very storied past….mainly being over run and occupied but seemingly able to survive until today they are their own Czech Republic……more history and historical buildings……things are a little less expensive here…it also reminds me of North America about 40 years ago….same music and an attitude of hope and good feelings…..felt like this would be an ok place to live…..the tour lasted until about 1400 and then we were on our own….I just walked around the centre and took pictures and people gazed…still lots of smokers….similar to Germany they drink right out on the streets…but you don’t see a lot of drunks as I would have imagined….they give tours in vintage cars for 1200 kronuns…75 dollars….decided to go to a black light show of CATS…not sure why…just something to do for an hour or so…it was 500 so about $30….waited for 2 more hours downtown and then went to the show…..not really my liking I actually dozed off one….no really I did….my head bobbed me back to the world of the living
Got out at about 2030 and wandered around a little more before I decided to catch the trolley back…silly me….went over to where we should catch it and you need a ticket before you get on …I knew that but thought there would be a place on the way to buy one…..not …….so I walked all the way back down town and bought a ticket for the Metro so that I could get home quicker….same cost…..
Here at the hostel I had a supper on my card and then checked emails….need to phone Beata tomorrow mow I guess….also should see about booking a few more nights of hostels and my train outta here…..
A shower and here I finish the day in my bed typing out for my next blog?

July 30th, 2009




I am writing this now as I have done something very interesting…I am going sky diving tomorrow at 1100…so you will either get the story below or this will be a final goodbye from my blog…..
Not sure why I did it but seemed like a good idea at the time…..in hundred years, I would never have thought I would do this but then again who knows…….I never thought I would do a lot of things but I have…..and I look at all the friends and relatives that have lived before and maybe didn’t have the opportunity or the lunacy to do some of these things……
Anyway. Tomorrow will be a highlight day I am sure….you are supposed to freefall for 1 minute….I am going to ask if they supply a new set of underwear after the jump as I think I might need a new pair…..It will be a different highlight….Bruce Springsteen wasn’t an adrenalin rush …..just a damn good concert……..this will be something else…

If I don’t make it back, this will be the last you will hear from me…if I do make it back I will talk about it….
Well I did make it back and no they do not supply the extra pair of shorts…I decided not to have breakfast in case I “woofed my cookies”…and spent the morning cleaning up some emails and talking to Vivian…a surprise because she was on during the day….had a stupid thing happen that caused some unneeded worry…when in Barcelona I had a fellow take a picture with me at one of those Gaudi houses…..well he also took a picture of a Chinese lady just before he snapped mine…I had forgotten all about it an when I sent one to Vivian, I sent that one and not mine…..she was rightfully a little upset and I couldn’t understand why because I thought I had sent mine…..got that straightened out I hope….then we had a few laughs……I did not tell her that I was jumping…..didn’t tell anyone as they might have convinced me not to go….
Was about 5 minutes getting to the rendezvous point for the Skydiving….I couldn’t find the damn place…… it was well hidden….but I wasn’t the last one ..thank goodness….
About a 1 hour or more ride to the private airport …had a chance to talk to the driver…Andrew …a young Czech who is taking economics…we laughed about that…
One thing I think they got right is that state college is free…they do have private ones (which Andrew says many employers do not trust as they are in the business to make money so some standards may go by the board)…so no matter how much money you have or don’t have you can go to university……I said that students coming our to our colleges are usually burdened with debt to which he responded what are they doing with their lives…when do they get a chance to have a family, raise kids, with all this money hanging over their head…he said he will have no debt and he has a job in the summer that gives him spending money and not just for college next year……we talked about politics, education, travel, hockey ( he is a Wing’s fan)….it was a real bonus to the flight experience
Got there at about 1300 and had a 2 minute instruction on the safety and what to do when you jump out of the airplane…and that was it….we were divided into two groups….mine went second and there were 5 in it….

The others left and we wished them good luck…I took a picture of the plane in the sky…it was a long way up…..4000 m or 4 km…from Chaplin to almost Val Jean…..whew…..saw little dots jump out of the plane and then the chutes open up…and it was over in about 10 minutes….

The guys came in and repacked their parachutes and off we went into an older biplane that just held us all…..a couple of empty seats…my partner was Roman and he informed me that we were going to be the first to jump…oh thanks….on our way up to the 4000 m level he opened the door and just looked out…I was sitting on the opposite side and had no chute on …..he didn’t seem at all worried about that….i just hung on to the bar above my head a little bit harder….he had a chute…I didn’t…..this was a tandem jump….a couple of the other instructors were snoozing on the way up…..must be old hat to them……
OK….we got ready …..I got strapped in….or is it on….anyway Roman and I were going out first…..positions…the cameraman went out first…standing in the doorway looking down…..holy hell………and then out we went……I thought I was dead…..the first 3 or 4 seconds we were going like the dickens…..the adrenalin rush for me was intensive…I hope the dvd didn’t catch the words I was saying as I don’t think they were pretty……..and then it slowed down….guess we were at maximum speed…but the wind was speeding by us….we did a few movements for the camera man but I don’t think I got that “scared out of my pants look off my face” until about 10 seconds after the parachute opened….and then it was a more leisurely flight down to earth…..we were even talking and carrying on a conversation…..we made it down…..no problem….landed on my arse as I was supposed to keep my feet in the air while he landed us…..but that was ok with me…..I felt a little nauseous as I think the going round and round coming down was a little reminiscent of the Tea cups in Disneyland and I did have a problem there….remember that Jay…the rest of the crew landed and it was all over…..took off my suit and waited for the pictures and the dvd….we go a t shirt and I bought a turtle neck protection for cold weather jumps…but that is not why I bought it…..it can also be used as a hat……got back home and had another good talk on the way home…
Took the subway home and got off at the wrong side of the tracks and couldn’t figure how to get out….anyway finally made it home and phoned Vivian…..we had a long conversation …about that and our future plans…she is planning to leave the school there but is a little unsure how to tell her headmaster…so we chatted about that and some other details about getting her into Canada…I have started by contacting the mp for my area and the secretary is going to get back to me….
Then I had some supper/lunch and decided to go out on a private tour…found the ice hockey arena……Sparta team again I guess…at the Tesla arena….man they have some huge buildings…..saw a couple others…I think one was the Natural History museum…a place for a water show with music….a park area and it looked like a sort of permanent amusement part=k that was run down pretty bad….then a couple of pics of normal housing and it was back to the dorm
I have not been able to get in touch with Beata so I am off to Frankfurt tomorrow I think…I will try to book the train for the overnight and then book a hotel for one night in Frankfurt and sort of get ready for Berlin…..I need to contact one of the kids from CISB as he is here for the summer…so it may extend to a longer period I don’t know….
Tomorrow I go to the train and then book a hostel and then spend the rest of the day at the castle and cathedral and any sights I want until I leave…you can leave your luggage here so that is cool
I tried out the pool and the sauna…was going to try to wash clothes but all the washers and dryers were being used and I didn’t want to stand around to book one….
Went up to the room…tidied my area up a little….the 5 other boys are quite messy…stuffed left all over the room, don’t clean up after showering….very messy…from a slovak country I think…
Another observation…..it looks like many of the hostelers are from Germany, or Australia or England…..and in my mind most of them are fairly well to do…rich kids so to speak….most seem to have good clothes, enough to go on the tours, and yet some of them are cheap sob’s……I guess that is what makes them rich…..they really are skin flints when it comes to spending money…except on things like pub crawls, some foods, and some of their clothes…spoiled, rich kids for the main part I have seen……wish hardworking, poorer kids could have the same opportunity to expand their mind and see the different parts of the world…. Not sure exactly what they are looking for because they seem disinterested in many of the things…not the pubs or the restaurants or the ice cream shops…many are overweight ( I think from assuming a North American food and lifestyle)…especially the girls…although in fairness I haven’t been keeping track…..but quite a lot of them all over Europe…

August 1, 2009
Ok……where did I leave off…I arrived in Frankfurt 400 in the morning…dozed off at the station for a couple of hours and then headed for the main train station….found the hostel as I said…..
Got there and the front desk man told me to help myself to the breakfast (I hadn’t even signed in yet)……which I did I put my luggage in storage and helped myself to some breakfast and it was a buffet so you could stuff yourself…….well I didn’t quite but I had a good meal……then squared away some stuff, got my camera and headed out for several hours of Frankfurt…..
First stop a 54 storey high building that overlooked all of Frankfurt…..and I saw where I had to go…..and take pictures…. and I also had one taken of me…but now the height of a building seems rather low compared to 4 km high in the sky…still impressive though…..several other buildings and a few museums and then I headed for the newer areas of the city….a couple of photos there and it was time to return to check in……a fairly routine procedure and I as ready for another adventure…the internet…..FOR ME IT DID NOT WORK…BUT FOR OTHERS IT DID…..just my electric personality I guess…..even had to change my password it got so complicated…..and I couldn’t get on the Wifi….Had to go to another internet place….and they were going to charge 5 Euros an hour…….didn’t take that and went looking….found another and got to talk with a 14 year old student called Atilla…he wanted to practise his English and I was sending all the stuff out over the normal system…we chatted a long time…time enough for the computer to lose most of its charge…but I got all that I needed accomplished…..1 Euro and his mother was a generous person on the hour…..the area is not a high society type……a lot of sex trade goes on here I guess…..in the evening, but I did not see it…..
At 1900 I went over to get my ticket to Berlin and it took 58 inutes to do it…..I was supposed to meet Duo En and his mother there too…was about 1 minute late……but I did get my couchette and my train and my hostel booked for tomorrow.
Went with Duo En and his mother on the tram to the Italian restaurant near their apartment…..we ordered and had started to eat before the father arrived……I was presented with a tie that was designed by the guy who designs ties for Bill Clinton and George Bush……wow…..we had a very good chat over dinner and then Duo En and his dad showed me where the football stadium was…I will go and visit it tomorrow….as well as go to Heidlberg where the formula 1 is run apparently….I must remember to give the parents a gift from Sask……maybe some wheat weaving….
Got back about 2230….and they invited me out to a Chinese buffet tomorrow night…..his dad, (and I will get his name as he is heavily involved in media…films, theatre} even offered to take me out golfing tomorrow…..he shoots in the low 80s, and perhaps in the high 70s
Duo En has had to work all summer…riding….he has a coach who is competing at a high level….whose dad was in the Olympics…..he puts hours of time in and he says it can be boring at times …Duo En is also going to contact Fabian in Berlin if he can and maybe I can see him play or practise soccer there…..we shall see……anyway I think from some poor and frustrating time on the computer, I salvaged a good day all around….
Got back to my room….it was hot…the fellow from Seattle asked how the meal was…I asked how was the free pasta…..the Dali Lama is in town for a couple of days…not sure how that plays out here…..will shut it down for tonight….