Na konci zimy (the end of winter)

Ahoy,

An adventure is only around the corner in CZ .... you never have to look very hard for new things to happen ..., last month we visited our wonderful friend Gregory ..., (a celeb in his own right, an out and out English gent who has been somewhat adopted by his neighbours). We just popped around for a 'cuppa' and to borrow 'The Good Soldier Sweik" by Jaroslav Hasek, (you have to read it .. ) and during our chat he invited us to join him at a "festival" at the neighbouring farm house. We know the owners a little so agreed to go with him.
As is usual here, we were welcomed with open arms, offered tea and invited to take part in the celebrations.

I don't know about any similar celebrations in the UK but I am sure that they probably exist. We helped to dress a life-sized straw doll in womans clothing and long red, green and yellow ribbons (rather like a maypole). These signify earth and life. The "figure" was then painted with a rather gruesome "death face" and given a rather sharp looking scyth to hold, during which the gathering sang local songs. All spectators, adults and children alike, were given birch twigs again wrapped with ribbons and some lucky ones were given instruments to rattle and shake.

Once prepared, there was more singing and everyone danced around the figure - some holding ribbons and trying not to tie up the chap who was supporting her on a pole. At this point the elder of the family made a short speech about the banishing of winter. He has done this for many many years and it was quite emotional to watch although I have to say we were a little lost in translation. We then formed a procession and followed the figure up the lane to a small bridge.

At the bridge, more songs were sung with everyone chanting "Out out out, let the Spring come in" (in Czech obviously!) and a short speech made before the figure was set alight and then "banished" into the river below whilst the wife of the gentleman who carried "her" gently patted at the flames that threatened to engulf him too!.

This ceremony has taken place for more than 30 years. In fact Hannah wrote a good blog about her experience of the festival last year see http://krumlovbrit.blogspot.com/search/label/magic. It really is quite magical and we were honoured to be allowed to participate in this years festivities.

Emergency measures for frozen pipes !!

Dobrý den Vážení freinds, So here we are catching up on posts again ... I know that winter has moved on but wanted to post this one first of all ... hope you like it.
As I've said life here is never dull and the winters can get somewhat cold ... minus 20 again this year, which didn't burst any of our pipes but still managed to burst a main in the village. A month or so ago before going to bed we found we had no water .. at all, not unusual as we figured that having seen someone from the water board earlier in the day something was up and hopefully service would resume in the morning .. (a nice shower before travelling back to the UK the following day) ... yeah right .. !, no water so what to do ??? .... so this is where the old army training kicked in as we figured there's plenty of water out side ... just in a frozen state .. so what did we do ? .. I think the attached pics explain it all ....
We filled up a wheel barrow full of the white stuff and proceeded to melt as much of it as we could, enough to fill the toilet cystern twice, the kettle several times and enough to wash and shave before setting off on our travels back to the uk. When needs must I guess you just have to get on with it .... just stay away from the 'yellow' type .... thanks Spike !!!, oh and don't try micowaving .. it takes too long.

Fun in the snow

While England seems to have have closed due to inclement weather, life in Czecho goes on as normal.

By law every car here is fitted with winter tyres. The main roads are gritted and salted and clear. The snow ploughs make regular sweeps of the villages and add to this the fact the Czechs have lived with snow and ice every winter since forever and the outcome is that driving over here in snowy icy conditions seems a far safer option than traveling in the UK would be right now.

Of course temperatures are low. We've hit -20C over night a few times and and it has been known to get a lot colder. Our house is toasty warm thanks to the ground source heating. Whilst the part of the house that we are living in still has the original "small" radiators* temperatures indoors have only dropped to 17C on a couple of occasions when the outside temperatures have really fallen. On these occasions we stoke up the cast iron stove and it jumps to the mid/late 20's within an hour or so.

*In the future we will need to install larger radiators and possibly underfloor in this part of the house to optimise temperatures throughout the whole house as our heating engineer has set the system specifically to keep us warm in this small section.

So life goes on and new seasonal opportunities for fun arise.

We hike through snowy forests with Spike and Oz (As you can see he likes to come too).

And until the snow gets up to Spikes chin all is well. He does feel the cold and tends to rebel at about -5C as he prefers to be snuggled under his blanket on the sofa whereas Oz just likes the "tree climbing" opportunities.









South Bohemia is very close to Austria. We are about half an hour from the border and as such we can travel to several nice Austrian ski resorts within an hour or so and we have our own local resort just 30 minutes up the road at Lipno (more about that in a bit!).

Tim and I have decided to take a break from the pressures of building and take time out for fun so as part of our action plan we decided to have an afternoon of skiing in Hochficht, Austria.

We set off under the instruction of "mrs sat-nav" and headed toward Lake Lipno. The roads are all quite small in this region but they had all been cleared - even those through the Sumava National Forest area where salt is not permitted - so we were soon alongside the lake. I have been given to understand that Lipno has one of the longest skating tracks in Europe during the winter months. It is quite a sight to see such a massive body of water completely frozen. People cross country skiing and skating the entire length (Apparently there is a bar in the middle so must give that a try at some point!). There are stories - probably true - of locals that drive their cars across the lake during this season. It seems that there are a few at the bottom when drivers chanced their luck too far into Spring!

Anyway we were progressing well and under instruction turned right into Frymberk town whereupon "mrs sat-nav" announced that we should "board the ferry"! - Thanks Garmin! Please think about adding a "Ferry choice option" to your software. - Considering that using the ferry would have involved pushing it across the ice ourselves we decided to detour and go around the lake.

Well, we must be getting old because I have to say that I really enjoyed the drive. It was a lovely sunny day and the scenery was breathtaking but we eventually arrived at Hochficht about and hour later than planned.

You can find plenty of information about this fairly large resort online so I wont go into much detail here. Needless to say it was very busy with huge lift queues as it was school holidays and being peek season an afternoons skiing was rather expensive especially when you consider the time spent queuing and not skiing. Having said this we did have a great afternoon and really started to brush up on our rusty manouvering. Needless to say we chose a quicker route home with a slight detour to stand on lake Lipno (all of about 20m in - how brave arent we!!)

The very next day we decided - action plan again - that we would try out Lipno ski resort. To be honest we didnt expect too much from this resort as it is not as well known but we were more than surprised. The facilities are excellent. There are several restaurants and cafes at various points around the resort. The main restaurant at the entrance serves good home cooked food - we had the goulash with dumplings - at sensible prices. Ski passes are half the price of Austria and for those wanting lessons Lipno is ideal as instructors probably outnumber skiiers. The lifts are all "chair" and despite the school holidays the queues were non existent. There are 5 or 6 good runs and the resort keeps the snow blowers on when the conditions are not absolutely perfect to ensure that the surface remains excellent for all levels of skiing ability. All in all, this resort is perfect for those who want a fun afternoon. It is close to home, cost effective and well maintained. It is going to be our first choice from now on.

Quick post script: Just found a new "resort" (well it has 1 lift) that is open in the evenings and at weekends and is only 5-10 minutes from home. Will check it out and let you know how it goes. This is of course assuming that Tim survives his new passion for cross country skiing (he is a glutton for punishment!) without breaking any bones!!. { Tim .. "I'm just back from a ski .. it was hard work today, the snow is a lot deeper so you don't quite now how deep the next bit is .. I went for a good hike into the forest which was so quiet apart from a lone woodpecker banging on a tree ... yes it is addictive, not quite sure why but I think its a culmination of the physical effort, adrenaline and the shear beauty of the landscape although I do stare at my ski tips a lot and get in the 'zone' .... have to try out the little ski place up the road"}.

Take care all .... gonna get some Ice Skates at the weekend we think and give frozen Lipno a go .... will write again soon cau cau ..

Restaurant rave!

We had relatives coming to stay. Not a mean feat when there is only one bed and a living room but these two are the kind of people who make themselves at home anywhere and are easy to cater for.

So we planned a few outings and took them to sample some of the local cuisine - which they loved!

Now the thing about this area is that the restaurants pretty much run along the same theme. That is to say mostly the food is meat, meat, meat and dumplings! All fantastic I have to say but just sometimes you want something a little more - not sure what the word here should be - possibly challenging or perhaps a little more cosmopolitan.

Anyway, we took them to Prague for the weekend. It was fun! Cant blog about a lot of it but I do want to mention in fact give a big mention to one particular restaurant that we visited.

The restaurant is called Mlynec. It overlooks the Charles bridge.

I had visited this restaurant years ago when I traveled with a company that I worked for and remembered that the food had been very good even for one of those big corporate events. So we booked a table for the Saturday night.

Well, the website said that cocktails were free before 8pm if we were eating so we arrived at 7.30 (Just to make the most of the evening you understand!). The staff were wonderful. Very friendly and helpful. They suggested that we should join their club, the "Zatisi" group of restaurants as we would then get points towards further meals etc (and the free cocktails). We did this and then sat down for the most amazing meal...

We chose the "Chefs choice Asian fusion 7 course menu" with wines to complement. Our waiter, Peter (We have since met Philip who is equally as talented) chose the wines and provided a glass with each course as it was served. Our guests are "foodies" like us so each course was accompanied by full scale discussion about the amazing quality of the food and the degree to which the alcohol - which included cold saki with one course - went so brilliantly together. I cant remember the combinations. Lets face it 2 margaritas and 7 different other drinks before coffee and I would be pressed to remember my name but I can tell you that the courses included the following:

Beef Tataki with Bonito Jús , garlic chips and spring Onion
Sautéed Scallops St. Jacques, Yuzu fruit dressing, mango-papaya salsa and Nori Nishiki rice
Tuna rolls with asparagus and scallops Sashimi with yuzu-chillli mayonnaise
Chef´s deer goulash

I have always admired the art of the somelier. I had thought that in time I could learn some of this skill, perhaps to start with the pudding wines (There cant be so many of them can there?) but I am now in complete awe and know that this talent is in a league of its own. The saki was a complete but perfect curveball. A reisling with one course was something I would never have considered drinking at home. By the time we got to the "Cab-sav" - a usual mainstay at home- I actually found myself thinking that although it went perfectly with the food (I think that this might have been the venison) my pallet had become so suddenly sophisticated that I considered never drinking it at home again (What would my dear old dad say!)

In England we used to visit some nice pubs that had great menus and I guess that with wine it would be easy to spend £50 per head but this meal above meals cost us less than that and was the most enjoyable foodie night out I have had in years.

The story doesnt end here.

We received the membership card a couple of weeks after our visit and with it a voucher for 2 meals for the price of 1. If this wasnt enough, at Christmas we received a card and a years complementary Gold card membership which of course we took advantage of on our next visit to the city.

I should mention that at this next visit we chose the same "chefs choice" menu. The courses were different and the wines were different and everything was perfectly matched again thanks to Philip. Additionally, because of our new membership status we were able to chose a bottle of very nice wine to take away with us. And, imagine our surprise when we were offered a free limousine home!

There are some very nice restaurants in Prague and I have seen a few! Mlynec is I have to say, by far my favorite to date and if the staff ever read this I just want to say thank you for doing such a wonderful job. I cannot recommend this place enough so for those who want to know, this is the web address: www.mlynec.cz

Next time I should remember to take notes and some photos - or would that be too food obsessed?

Update

Tim is still slaving away at work so it has been left to me to post a few words.

Building is going slowly as it is entirely cash dependent but at least the roof is now insulated so the heating can turned on.

Our fantastic builder installed a large rusty wood burner into the living room of the part of the house that is habitable so at the moment all is toasty but we have already had a week of snow so I can tell you that I wasn't looking forward to the next few months without working radiators. With an electric fan, I am able to transfer some of the heat into the bedroom and the kitchen although the temperature differences remain high. At the moment it is about 30C in the living room and 8-9C in the bathroom.

As you probably know, when you use ground source heating, the temperature that eventually reaches the radiators is much lower than we Brits are used to from our gas/electric heating. Usually you have to install much larger radiators and/or underfloor heating. This will mean that whilst the heating - on this side of the house - in our standard sized radiators will be effective for most of the winter (especially as heat loss takes longer through metre thick walls) I will probably still need to use the wood burner when the temperature really drops.

Some of the plaster boarding is also completed. Our builders have curved the apex of the ceiling in the master bedroom and it is going to look beautiful when finished. Unfortunately, it took so long to complete this feature that we have had to make the decision that the other rooms will have to be boarded in a more straightforward fashion to save time/money.

Tim plans to share some of the photos of what was our garden at some point. I am glad that its winter as there isnt a blade of grass that survived the ground pump digging. We ended up with 6 x 90m bore holes (hit water 3 times!!) which were then connected via pipes buried 2m in huge trenches.

Oh well - we are in this for the long haul...

Deer Hunter

I am more than a bit behind with a few postings as you can see. The following happened a couple of months ago before "the snow came..."

As you are probably aware, Tim and I have a mad little “Min-Pin” called Spike. Up until Oz the “Mys hunter” came to live with us Spike ruled the roost and dictated the daily goings etc.

Since said relentless cat arrived we have made particular effort to take Spike for walks and give him some attention (He doesn’t get much with Oz demanding all of our full focus!). Funny thing is that whilst Spike seems to have become “all grown up” not he has a younger playmate he also become naughtier when we are out with him.

As you probably know, in Czecho you cant walk a few yards into the countryside without seeing a few deer loitering in a field or running across the path. Spike can smell the deer and it is clear that he feels the need to be with them! On the odd occasion that he has noticed deer (he isn’t all that observant!) he has chased them across fields like Pepe Le Pew, never quite catching up but very enthusiastically bouncing up and down through fields of corn/daisies (everything is taller than him) to get his bearings and further the chase. As “parents”, Tim and I find it all very disconcerting especially as Spikes excitement gets so much the better of him that no amount of calling and bribery will make him come back until he is well and truly ready. To this end – and also because it is now hunting season- he is now on “lead restrictions” except when he appears to be doing as he is told.

Our mistake…

Half and hour into a stroll in the forest and Spike just turns left off the path a few feet ahead of us and he was gone. Twenty minutes later and we were at panic stations. I was dispatched home to get mobile phone and car and Tim carried on calling for errant hound. At the hour point I think that we were losing hope but then this is Czech so what happened next shouldn’t really have been a surprise.

Tim turned back to retrace along the path that we had come only to hear a dog bark. (Ours doesn’t bark except at strangers at the house). Thinking – wisely – that where there is another dog, Spike might be drawn, he followed the sound… only to be met on the path by a woman with a large otter hound, Spike on a lead and…

a tame pet deer.

Yes, a deer. It seems that this lady has hand reared the fawn and now it follows her around like a –well behaved- dog. You can just about see the collar that it is wearing in the picture below.

So dog found and a new experience to add to the ever growing list.

Mysi

So we saw a mouse (mys)…

Tried to explain to Spike – please bear in mind that he is a Min-Pin and was therefore bread as a “ratter” – that he should catch and kill all small moving things. Most especially, we have tried to re-instill this killing instinct in relation to anything that runs across the living room floor or that jumps out of our kitchen cupboards. It hasn’t worked. In fact our not so bright hound is usually totally unaware when the little critters are eating out of his food bowl or running around behind his back. On the odd occasion that he spots one of the little monsters creeping about, he wags his tails and chases it in a sad effort to find a new friend!!!

By the time we saw the third mouse, we realized that there was a bit of a problem. OK, so we have lived in old houses before so I was prepared with the poison. The problem with poison is that it doesn’t kill the mys immediately. This leads to the unsettling problem of finding (or worse, Spike finding) small critter staggering around in the final throws. The worry that said dog might suddenly decide that dead poisoned mys might provide a tasty snack put an end to the poison stations.

Everyone said “get a cat”!

Our builder provided the second solution. He arrived one day with 5 of those spring loaded death traps and advice about potato. Apparently potato is the ideal bait….

No it isn’t, and neither is chocolate or anything else that I found in the fridge. In fact the little critters seemed to prefer Spikes food above all else and Spike didn’t seem to mind sharing at all. So dog food was the solution. The problem with dried dog food is that it doesn’t stick to the trap. In the first few cases the bait was taken and the traps remained set. So, I tied the bait to the hook – little buggers weren’t going to get it off without a struggle.

Of course, I hadn’t quite prepared for the first success. Spike saw it before I did! The trap had not worked exactly to plan and the mys was still writhing in it. Whilst I can usually cope with most things – I am after all a trained medical professional! – the sight of a spasming little mouse being harassed by an excited little dog was too much and I did the “girly” thing and ran out to find a man who dispatched the thing with a large boot.

Again, everyone said “get a cat”!

I sent a text to all English speaking friends to ask where it might be possible to find a “mys killing” fiend of a cat and was instantly besieged with messages and locations.

The next day my Czech friend and I visited a farmhouse. On entry the little girl of the owner presented me with a dangly little 8 week old ginger kitten who immediately became part of the family.

Oz is cuddly, cute and relentless. You should see him and Spike play together – no-one could have foreseen this strange bond occurring. When they are not rolling around on the floor play fighting, they are sharing Spikes food or curled up together in his bed licking each others faces.

And the mice…..

Well, we still see the occasional mys but now that Oz is the grand old age of 12 weeks the critter is usually very dead and soon becomes one with cat. Why is it that when we kill a mouse we feel inhumane and guilty but when our littlist boy does it we feel like proud parents!

Will post some photos when TOH brings back the camera cable!