A Real Marathon...well...practically.

We had a beautiful Thursday off of school a couple weeks ago for a Czech holiday and we went for a 15 km hike (hence the marathon title) with a group of friends to an area called Cesky Raj (Chess-key Rye), which means Bohemian Paradise. We thought, for once, we should do something healthy instead of the normal gluttonous behavior :) Good choice! The Czech countryside was incredible with the lilac trees and the fields and fields of rapeseed that is brilliant yellow.
Cesky Raj is located about an hour or so out of Prague. The area is filled with forests, fields, castles, rock-formations, small lakes, you name it. And the forest reminded us a bit of being back home in the Northwest. One thing, though, that's very different from the Northwest were the three castles we ran into along the hike. Here's our first stop at Valdstejn Castle. It was built in 1260 and is considered the oldest castle in Cesky Raj. The landscape around the castle was beautiful.

And, you know that anytime I have an opportunity to climb on castle walls, I take it :)I even convinced everyone else to climb up, too!We continued walking through the beautiful forest. And came to the Prachov Rocks, a famous "rock town" made of sandstone. It was breath-taking. It's very popular for rock-climbers & if you enlarge the picture you might be able to see a few of them making their way up...and there's one who's just made it to the top. We continued through the forest where there were lots more rock formations. And made our way to our next stop, Hruba Skala Chateau. The chateau is built on an the grounds of a 14th century castle, on a high cliff. With spectacular views of the countryside... And the close-by rock formations and Trosky Castle in the distance.Hruba Skala is a hotel now. It would make for a romantic & beautiful weekend getaway. Hint hint Cisco...if you're reading this. We continued on through dense forest. And then we came upon a lovely lake. This was just before the landscape changed from forest to beautiful open fields. And there's our first close view of Trosky Castle ruins. And we got an extra treat as the cherry blossoms were in bloom. We finally arrived at Trosky Castle (13 km from where we started). The castle doesn't have much more remaining but its 2 towers. But once again, the views were amazing. A short stay at the castle then we walked our last 2 km. We made it to the train station that would take us back to where the car was parked at the beginning of our journey.And we had about 30 minutes to rest our feet and get a little sun before the train would come. We were tired, but it was a fantastic day!

Green Line Marathon 2008...It's not what you think.

Warning...some PG-13 rated material is in this blog :)

Each year, for the last 10 years, members of our school (including our school director) have participated in an event we call the Green Line Marathon. Green Line - as in Green METRO Line. We start at one end of the Green Line (at a pub) and make our way about half way across the Green Line, stopping at a pub at each stop. Most people are assigned a role to play. I was, along with a friend (Liz), assigned the role of cheerleader. So, here we are getting off the first METRO stop. People tend to start a little fast and furious...probably to get through the initial uncomfortableness of walking around in a group of 35, wearing the same t-shirt, and some dressed in costumes. This is our friend Shack demonstrating the start :) Here's the whole crew at the first stop. Including the youngest member, Dylan. But don't worry...she didn't have any beer!The GLM event holds many traditions...one being the eating of SPAM sandwiches. No - I'm not kidding. The organizer of the event even gets to wear a SPAM hat. This year, the hat was passed on to our friend Marcus (see below), as he will be taking over organization beginning next year. Another tradition is the use of the "Wheel of Entertainment." At random, individuals are chosen to spin the wheel and follow its instructions. Here's Joel, taking a spin, then demonstrating his outstanding dancing abilities.

And Susan, another victim of the Wheel of Entertainment, performing a Scottish dance from her native country.

Another important role in the GLM is that of the nurses. They have important jobs like putting Tiger Balm on sore muscles...Bandaging injuries...And handing out medicine...also known as Becherovka shots :) Becherovka is a Czech herbal alcohol...a digestif. In other words, booze.Another important role is that of the beautifiers.They are responsible for make-up application.And nail-painting. We had an ambassador...who was responsible for giving out one free beer per stop to an innocent bystander. He also got to offer SPAM sandwiches as well. But that wasn't such a hot commodity. This cook said no thanks...can you believe that?But not to worry...there were plenty who did enjoy the SPAM sandwiches. There was an announcer who got to use this lovely megaphone...lucky! And we even had our very own geisha. This...if you can believe it...is my boss. Having lived in Japan for 7 years, he had the part down pat. I love this guy! Cisco's job...possibly the MOST important of the day, was "Beer Boy." He was responsible for ordering and delivering beer or wine to the group. And he did it with a smile! Hey...anyone need a beer? The cheerleaders also had important jobs. And I took my job seriously. We were required to provide on-the-spot entertainment. We did this through cheers...This was our version of Brittany Spears doing "Oops, I Drank it Again."

And competitions. Here I am leading the "Funky Chicken, Loose Caboose" contest. Oh, my sister, the former cheerleader, would have been so proud. :) And here's Shack doing his version. He had pretty nice moves, I must say.

And here's Dave...His version was kind of Mr. Miagi-ish. As we walked through Prague, we got mixed responses from onlookers...as you can probably imagine. But we were having fun...and I guess that's what's important, right?

And quite honestly, the local police were very happy to meet us... I can't imagine why :)

Oh, I am still sassy in my advanced age, huh? Our last beer stop was at Cisco's and my local beer garden very conveniently located right across the street from our house. Here's Cisco enjoying some fusball with some other green-liners.

While I'm busy petting everybody's dogs that come to the park. Just about to show the frilly bun-huggers we had under those cheer skirts. Oh yes...we had them. Hey...it's important to let yourself feel like a teenager from time to time!Then our day ends at a local Greek restaurant with a nice meal and buckets of retsina...very nice touch on top of all the beer.

And the restaurant was kind enough to grill up the last can of SPAM in honor of the GLM organizer, Steve. Awww. (And, no, Cisco and I didn't have any.)

It was a very fun time...and definitely an experience to remember.