BLAST OFF: Czech Republic (Pre Paint Day)

Czech Republic Pre Paint Day
9/1 - 9/8 (Total until 9/17)

The last blog left off with Phoenix and I surviving a severely horrible and pukey 8 hour boat ride from Bornholm, Denmark to Sassnitz, Germany. And of course, as miserable as the trip was we are so grateful to have had that experience and adventure…and even more grateful that it’s over!

So after the boat ride we ended up in Sassnitz, instead of on the Island of Hiddensee. This change in course worked out relatively well because we had no interest in taking another boat to get off that Island, and even turned down an offer by another boat owner from Tennessee to take us to the next biggest town. So we tried hitchhiking for about an hour, standing with two different signs and trying to cultivate enough energy to attracted a safe and quick ride toward the Czech Republic. But no such thing. One thing we have learned about hitchhiking is that you have to be in it, it’s an active energetic exchange. And if you are low on intention and energy (or on the wrong side of the Autobon) then you’re much less likely to get a ride than if you are full of love and light and feeling the flow of the Universe, of course.

Basically, we vomited all our love and light into a bucket for the past 8 hours, so had little to share and needed a recharge. So we decided to use the money we saved by hitching the boat to buy a bus or train ticket. Once we found the station, we were fortunate to meet two American students - Clair and Peter. They were actually headed to Berlin, which was where we figured we could definitely find a ride. So we paid €39 for us both to get to Berlin - Definitely worth it. In total it took about 5 hours to get from Sassnitz to Berlin, and we were glad to share our travel stories with Clair and Peter who seemed eager to hear them. Again, it’s always nice to have the smooth communication so easily shared with Americans.

Once we got to Berlin, it was about 1am and we weren’t quite sure what our plan was yet. We struggled with the idea of whether to try and find a place to sleep outside, to walk to the nearest highway, play some music, just buy a ticket to the Czech or what. We still had pretty low energy at this point, and it was hard to gather our thoughts and planning ability. We ping ponged in and out of the station several times in this confusion, but with the start of a rain shower, we decided that we were going to just buy a ticket to Cheb, Czech Republic which is where Chris and Pavel are. This decision seemed like a pretty significant let down at the time, since the ticket there was €112 and it kind of felt like a cop-out. But we released that stress after a few minutes of budget talking and universe feeling.

After buying the ticket, we were tired enough that we just slumped down on the ground in the station, next to the ticket dispenser. A few minutes later two guys, that were very obviously drunk, stumbled up to us. Usually in these situations, both Phoenix and I go into hyper-alert and avoidance mode to just avoid any possible dangers. But this time we both took on the lessons that our Ariel so boldly teaches, that Love and God(dess) comes in many forms and not always the most charming and beautiful. Besides that, it wasn’t like we were going any where for a while and we were in a perfectly safe, public, constantly patrolled area. Oh, it’s totally legal to walk around Europe drunk or with alcohol in hand so they weren’t doing anything “wrong”. So, once we released our walls and just enjoyed their company, offered them some apples, they gave us some hints about playing music for money in different cities - supposedly Berlin is very giving. After a while of chatting, we decided to test this theory since we didn’t have to be on the train until 6:17am and it was only about 2am.

We headed out to the front of the train station and out to a bus stop, since it was covered and the rain hadn’t stopped yet. One of our inebriated friends joined us, keeping his distance so as not to interfere with our gig. Not much action happening at 2am in the donation hat, but our friend went and bought us some coffee to keep the spirits high. That was so sweet, even though neither one of us drinks coffee, it was a gift from an angel. Soon after that he came over to us again and quietly dropped a €50 into our hat! No typo there, FIFTY EURO! We protested in broken Russian and German at first, saying it was too much, but he waved our protests away. Thus, our angel solved our huge stress of paying so much to get to Cheb instead of hitchhiking! I don’t remember his name, but honestly it probably doesn’t matter…as sometimes these angels just pop in for a small amount of time and then out “forever” (Like our friend Siva in Odense, and the 400 crowns). So thanks to him, wherever he is!

After that we didn’t care too much what else we made, and he only encouraged more people to donate to us. In the end we earned a total of €54, haha, meaning our tickets only cost about €55! So, after a bit we called it a night and headed back into the train station to find a place to nap until our train. Easily enough we found a cozy, safe spot under the escalator area and set the alarm. When the first of our 6 train, 6 hour adventure from Berlin to Cheb came we got on, set another alarm, and passed out. This was how we did the whole trip, though we almost didn’t wake up on one of the trains in Leipzig, Germany. Phew! The last train ride we made friends with a gaggle of old German men that travel every three months or so, hilarious cute things! So, all went well, and by 12:54pm we were in the central station of Cheb, Czech Republic.

It hit me then that at ANY moment we could run across Chris or Pavel, and that was really exciting. I haven’t seen my good friends in about a year and there were so many stories and experiences I wanted to share with them. But I’d have to say our first few hours in Cheb were not what I was expecting. We hadn’t told the boys that we were going to be there early since we had told them we would TRY to be there by the full moon, the 4th of September. So we were really excited to surprise them somehow, and figured it would work out perfectly…that maybe we would find a cool place to play music and they would stumble across us or something. But first we decided that we needed to find an internet connection somewhere, and in doing that we could probably find their address.

We headed toward the center of the town and looked around for an internet café. But, this is the FIRST country we had been to where English speakers were not easy to find! And Czech is SO different than any other language we know, that we were having trouble. We came across a small casino/bar and went in to ask if anyone knew, and luckily a few of the patrons spoke German. Quickly though, it seemed like things were a bit off. They were talking super fast and insisting that we needed to take a cab, that there was no internet within walking distance. Also, that they would go get us a cab and tell the driver where we needed to go, since we didn’t speak Czech…and for this service we should pay her €5, which “is normal”. She had brought us outside and was ready to do this, everything was going so fast, we were definitely flustered and confused and I was getting slightly frustrated. So we told her that we didn’t have money to give her and were going to go to the park to think about it and relax for a while. It was a really weird, obvious scam. But we were able to escape it with no harm or unnecessary money paid. We learned later that there is a specific culture of people that live in the Czech that seem to have a tendency to be a bit tricky like this, called Gypsies. Though, I really don’t want to lump any cultures into categories and stereotypes. The Gypsies don’t really have a country to belong to, and are originally part Romanian I believe.

Anyway, after calming down a bit in the park and surviving a frustrating WC (bathroom) experience with no water and a busted turnstile, we found our way to the center within a few minutes walk. Here we were able to sit down in the open air and access a very slow, but free internet! Obviously no need for a taxi. (A few days later we saw this woman in the grocery store and imagined confronting her, but didn’t). So we were able to access the internet enough to get a very vague set of directions from Chris, who imagined we may be in the area soon. Eventually we thought we would try to go and find it, but had a very frustrating adventure, tired from our long train ride and carrying our heavy packs we decided to finally see what we could find out from the Information Center. We knew that there was SOME reason why our search had taken almost two hours, and that it would be perfect. It was…

Right as we were walking to the Info Center I heard an American voice say “Danielle?...Danielle that knows Christo?” I had no clue where it came from at first, and didn’t recognize the guy as he came jotting over with a little girl. But then he identified himself as Kaleb, a long-time friend of Pavel! He recognized us as traveling Americans with our bags, and knew we were coming soon. PERFECT timing of course. So he took us right to the boys’ apartment. We had hoped to surprise them, but they weren’t home so Kaleb called them at work for us and Chris said he was on his way! We were all so excited to see each other. The last time we saw the boys was almost exactly a year ago at the Earth Dance festival, which was probably the longest time I had been away from my wonderful former fiancé and best friend Chris. He came jotting up the stairs with long hair pulled back in a pony tail and a huge smile. HOORAY for reunions of great friends.

We dropped off our packs and decided to head to the Ordos Cookie factory to meet Pavel, and of course that started the 48 hour period of non-stop catch-up and story telling. When we got to the factory, which was set back in a cluster of industrial buildings I finally got to meet Pavel’s parents. I’ve heard stories of them for 6 years now, and finally I got to meet them, and they were both incredibly sweet and of course wonderfully hospitable. They invited us in loaded us up with wine, cheese, sausage, and bread - a common snack in Europe it seems. Oh, and of course Oplatky, the traditional Spa Cookie that they make and is very popular throughout the area.

The Czech Republic is unique in the that has hundreds of natural springs that have been proven to contain healing properties due to the minerals absorbed while the water is traveling through the many levels of Earth. So these springs are tapped and open to the public to drink and collect from any time, and Spa’s are built around them as well. The boys, always in search for a healthy solution, go to one of these springs and collect their water in massive glass jugs every few days. This particular spring was actually tapped during Hitler’s reign, and was actually the tastiest water we had while there. The other springs tend to have a coppery taste to it from all the minerals, and some were actually very hot! But more about that later…

So that night started our nightly stroll through Cheb’s beautiful Disney World looking streets, castle ruins, and mystical forests. It seemed that most every night we would head out into the woods for a meditation or some fresh air. That night we walked and talked non-stop, in an attempt to catch up on the last year and especially our exciting travel stories. The city is incredibly intriguing looking during the day, with its pinched looking buildings and “post-communistic” colored buildings. Chris explained to us that during communism the Czechs were not allowed to have any abnormal styles, including long hair for boys, unique clothes, and colored buildings. So, after the fall of communism there the people were free to experiment with brilliant colors and styles, and thus the very beautiful pastel buildings that look very much like a box of crayons. In the night, with the churches, streets, and castle ruins lit up it takes on a magical glow that makes you feel like you’re walking through a crisp dream.

Our second day in Cheb was spent primarily inside! Chris, Phoenix and I pretty much stayed at the kitchen table all day, waiting for Pavel to come home and sharing all our philosophies and experiences. It was wonderful. When Pavel eventually came home, we headed out for our nightly walk.

September 4th was the full moon. We all had intended on having a bonfire and large party outside to celebrate but it was rainy, so instead we had a small gathering of friends. The boys have very wonderful friends and we chatted and sang songs throughout the evening. The next evening we were lucky to be able to go to the wedding reception for a friend of Pavel's. We were excited about seeing how different a Czech wedding was from an American one, and there were a few significant differences. Mostly I noticed that the cake was much more simple and that they bride and groom deliver the pieces to everyone. And it is common to have a bunch of little cakes and goodies on all the tables. The thing that I loved the most was that each person gave their gift to the couple and everyone was there when it was opened. The gifts and the giving process seemed a lot more intimate and intentional. I suppose overall the wedding seemed more intimate than a lot of American weddings.

Sunday the 6th was our first day of Silence. The boys and us had decided to dedicate the whole day to silence, now that we had finally gotten out enough travel stories. It was absolutely wonderful. We started the day out with making the boys a big yummy breakfast, which was intriguing to enjoy in silence. Then we decided to go outside into the sun. It felt like the whole day was a meditation. We walked slowly and intentionally through the streets, smiling at each other, pointing out things for other to see. When you are silent, you see so much more. You are less concentrated on communicating, so are able to enjoy your surroundings as well as go into yourself. The moments stretched on for hours and it was one of the more beautiful and peaceful days of the entire trip so far. We stopped every few minutes, in awe of a new detail and meditated - after smelling roses, on the top of a tower in the park, at the edge of a cliff overlooking the area. And with all four of us silently enjoying existence, there really was nothing to verbally share with each other. A smile and a point and a big breath was all we needed.

Phoenix and I had decided that we wanted to cook dinner for the boys, and that it would be fun to do it on Silent Day. So, eventually we headed back towards the apartment, but while trying to communicate a bit in Sign Language with Phoenix…I didn’t see a sign post on the street and pulled a CLASSIC move, and walked right into it, smacking the side of my head. This lead to her first accidental breaking of silence with “OH. MY. GOD!” Haha! But after that we had to go to the grocery store, which was super fun in Silence. Again, pointing at lists, products and prices as we collected what we needed. Unfortunately, a few friends came up to the boys and they had to temporarily break their silence but they were back in the game as soon as the friends left. After all the shopping we walked home with bags in hand, which is completely normal in Cheb, in fact we walked almost everywhere while visiting. Silent cooking was a lot of fun! I made the sauce while Phoenix made her traditional Gnacci (homemade potato pasta). The appreciation and enjoyment of the meal was so vivid, and we broke silence in order to OM over our food.

The next day was a reflection of the lessons learned in Silence, about patience, appreciating the details, not worrying about verbal communication as much, etc. When I work up I had decided that I may even spend that day in Silence, but if not I was at least going to be quiet until noon. It was weird to hear everyone talking again, and it felt like talking would be awkward. So I read the entire book by Deepak Chopra called “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success”, which we had been quoting and contemplating passages from everyday. It has some incredible messages, and conveniently the Law for Sunday, our day of silence, was “The Law of Pure Potentiality” which encouraged meditation and time in silence in order to release desires into the realm of pure potentiality. So that was a neat coincidence!

But that concludes the first half of our Cheb visit. Wednesday the 8th, we had concluded, would be Kitchen Painting Day!

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