The Big Kahuna

I'll paddle home on this 8' 6" board !

Just bought it on Ebay brand new for $550 AUD (worth $1200) & will be delivered to mums place.

Will probably buy a 7' 4" online aswell, then buy the shortboard directly from Wollongong retailer built for my ruggard ageing body.





A very excited,

M

Canoeing the Vltava

We had a huge weekend last weekend. Straight from school on Friday I had to take N and her friend Claire to Brevnov monestery to meet up with M and his colleagues for a weekend canoeing in Cesky Krumlov (near the Austrian border).

On Friday night we were camped out and had an open fire, where we were shown the finer art of fat frankfurt (they called them sausages) cooking over the campfire. You have to tear a branch off a willow tree, sharpen the end, put it in the fire for a while then put a frunkfurt on the end and cook. Like how we cook marshmallows - the Czechs all laughed at that idea.

The Vltava flows quite strongly and has weirs along the way which have ramps off to one side that you can use if brave enough. We braved a few but with young kids, didn't brave them all and had to carry the canoes around the weirs. One of our party flipped over at the end of a ramp and had to get stitches in her leg. There were a lot of small rapids along the way which added to the fun.

We reached our destination, a campsite just before Cesky Krumlov, after a whole day of paddling. Exhausted we walked a few kilometres into the town centre, took in the sites and had a well deserved dinner(in an ex-underground stable). The girls were so tired we took a taxi back to the campsite.

The next day we paddled for another 5 hours, through the picturesque town(which had 4 weirs)and the peaceful countryside. Along the way were numerous pubs, ice cream venders and camp sites...and more weirs.

Very quiet on the blog front

I know it's getting cold down there but you must have some news. The weather is really starting to warm up here and we are contemplating buying a fan. The days are similar to Australian days...still, dry in the mid to late 20's...then a slight breeze before thunder and a 5 minute downpour in the late arvo...then still and hot again as the storm passes.

Congratulations to Michelle(my ex-expat friend from Colorado)& her mum on successfully completing the 2006 Chicago Avon Walk for Breast Cancer - all 39.3 miles of it! What stars!

Biology is going well. We did our first experiment last Thursday and it went off without a hitch - they were happy. Last Sunday the senior students headteacher and I did a risk assessment trip of the Staropramen brewery tour and it was dead boring, so I have to give the boyz the bad news tomorrow that the excursion is off. The highlight of the tour was tasting the different malts....and watching the stunned faces on the English bucks-night yobbos when I answered the tour guides question on the difference between top and bottom fermenting yeasts. We are looking into a trip to the Pilsner brewery for next term instead. The boyz won't be happy.

Finding everything I need for the experiments has been an interesting experience. My endeavours to track down nutrient agar petri dishes looked to be heading in the right direction only to end up with blood agar petri dishes (thanks to a chemist friend I have from my TEFL training days). Thanks to my Czech teacher, personally visiting her local pharmacy, I was able to get my hands on Lactose(Laktoza) which is coveted by the chemists here (I had to go into said pharmacy, look for the man with the glasses and use the code word 'laktoza', then he would sell me some of his stash). She also helped me track down Ammonia/Cpavek ..... which was kept in the back stores of a Drogerie shop on Ujezd. What fun!

Summer camp

N survived her second summer camp at Spindleruv Mlyn with a few blisters. She had a great time. On the way they stopped off at a zoo.
This was the only time N took pictures. They also rafted (resulting in blisters) which N said she likes better than skiing. She was awarded a certificate for keeping everyone in time? She loved the rapids. Maybe she does have the adventurer spirit after all.

They also bobsledded (this picture is the track), which after some inital apprehension she also couldn't get enough of....and the faster and steeper the better. They also had great time at a water fun park with huge water slides.

One Fassbind & She's Moine !

While N is away M&J can play !

After the AUS win, M&J went to

Celnice: http://www.kolkovna-group.cz/index.php?language=en&place=13&show=hot

Great meal, then something special .....

http://www.fassbind.ch/de/index.php

We're thinking of importing into AUS - oh my god, it goes down so well.

We had several & the catch phase was "One Fassbind & she's moine !" .... stagger, stagger, roll, roll home :-))

M

A Quickie ......

• J survived biology without disecting to boyz. The brewery trip is already organised.
• J's new call sign - MM (metal mouth) - she now has top braces - 25% the cost of AU dentistry and just as good. Can already see the teeth straightening after 1 week !
• N has just left for a 3 day, 2 night school organised camp. Zoo, waterparks & having fun. Do you remember your first primary school camp ?
• M, boring - drinkin beer watching the Worldcup. Have picked all the winning teams so far
• 4 weeks to Greece
• 26 weeks til home
  
  M

Anyone for Biology ?

J has managed to score some work at N's school for the next 4 weeks teaching Biology to year 10 boyz (4 in the class). A few classes per week, not whole days. The old teacher got the sack - long story.

My suggestion for a field trip to one of the local breweries was accepted by the school. J and 4 boyz down the pub will have the mothers gossiping no-end - lol !!!

Anyway, J is studying hard to be prepared. Lucky it's a cold weekend - worst start to EU summer for a long time according to the yocals.

M

Football Fever: CZ vs Trinidad

Yesterday, a work colleague & I went to watch a friendly match between Czech Rep & Trinidad at the local Praha Toyota Stadium (same size as Wollongong stadium).

We just rocked up & got tickets without any problems - 25 AUD each.

Czechs won 3 - 0, as expected. They have a chance in the Worldcup.

Off to the Australia vs Netherlands this afternoon, down the local sports bar - this will be a good game !

M