singing with the right brain hemisphere

happened on weekend 16. - 18. june 2009 on my holiday in bohemia

my parents, as always gave me a lift to the railway station at marianske lazne, and i set out on an about eight hour long journey to the town telc, a day earlier, on thursday, because i wanted to enjoy not only singing, but also the medieval/ancient and picturesque telc. besides, the course began on friday afternoon, around five, so i wanted to have some rest after the long train journey, before i got into the singing.

oh, because i like travelling, the journey alone was a beautiful experience for me; as always i found a seat by the window, so i could watch the plentiful beauty of nature, there was plenty to adore and my soul was in awe over the beautiful forests, flowery meadows, rivers, lakes and the sky was full of you my god as well. most of all i was taken aback by the amazing landscape from prague all the way to telc, and the closer the train approached telc, the beauty was more beautiful. the sun was shining on the way, and on top of it, i was looking forward to singing and telc like a little girl, smiling plentifully. the pleasant journey passed by quickly and before i knew it i got out at telc's tiny railway station.

hmmm, where is that famous telc, i was asking myself, because as far i could see, there was only the railway station surrounded by lovely nature, while i adored the ancient trees, i decided to call a taxi. i had no phone on me, and i hadn't noticed a phone box either, but i noticed that not far from me, sat a girl, and i said hello, and i asked her if se had a mobile phone and i would pay her if she would be so kind and ring a taxi for me. she said that taxis in telc are not easily available, and they have to be booked out in advance and that the town was not too far, and she described the way there for me. i said thankyou for her information, and i was thinking to myself that i did not feel like walking with a full bag for a longer time, i understood, that with my slow walking pace, it may take me almost an hour to get there. and as i was standing there thinking what was i going to do, some other girl also sitting nearby who had overheard the earlier conversation, offered me kindly a lift into town, if i would wait for her, while she waved goodbye to her friend leaving on a train soon. wow, i thanked her with joy, and i said that i would be very happy to wait and i would pay her for a lift, and she said, that that would not be necessary as she was going that way anyway.

i was happy to be so lucky, and we were very soon travelling toward the tiny town, the lovely girl stopped her car near the old town square, and she gave me directions on how to get there, and after about five minutes of my slow pace i ran into a house advertising accommodation, I rang the bell and a lovely lady answered the door and i asked her if i could stay for a night, she scanned me from my loose wild hair down to my bare feet, she hesitated, but finally she gave me a big smile and said: "yes i have a room for you, please come in" and she showed me a cosy room with a huge comfy bed, not far from the wc and shower, and a big glass door to the little but very beautiful garden. i forgot to take a picture of it. i paid for one night, had a shower and ate in the garden two handfuls of lychees, which i also ate throughout my train journey. lychee is a great fruit for travels, it is relatively light, and nicely wrapped in its thin but strong skin, it does not get bruised, it is highly juicy and very filling, i usually eat one or two handfuls to satisfy my hunger and sometimes just one, two or three pieces. yum. after a fruity yummy dinner i went for a walk trough telc's picturesque little square, which was much smaller than i had imagined, so i had plenty of time to take a rest on a bench and enjoy the old spirit of the ancient town and more so, the more beautiful sky, much much older than old town telc.

i woke up to a lovely sunny morning, it was nicely warm as well, i had a shower, got dry in the little garden, and soon after i wondered off to get some yummy fruit. the town square had mainly shops with touristy stuff tempting tourists to get in and spent, so i took off in the opposite direction, according to the advise of my landlady, when she, after inquiring, told me the whereabouts of the nearest fruit shops. within ten minutes of slow walking, i found two shops selling a lot of fruit and i bought 1kg of very sweet apricots, and half of an also sweet and yummy watermelon. after my short shopping i returned to my room and i sat in the garden and ate with a healthy appetite about a half kg of very soft and tasty apricots. then i relaxed for a while and just after ten i said goodbye to the land lady and i was off to the town square, i sat on a sunny bench and i also took a few pictures, and around midday i walked slowly to the former monastery, where i had booked accommodation and the singing course was to be held.

and as soon as i walked into the big pretentious building and former monastery, which had been renovated and converted into an educational centre with accommodation, and when i began walking upstairs toward the reception, two lovely, happy girls walked past me, and to my amazement they addressed me by my name, i asked them from where they know me and one of them answered: "from the internet, we are working for the serafin company, we are teachers of the water colour course, and our boss sent the link of your blog to many of us." i was pleasantly surprised and very shortly the girls, who were carrying heavy loads of big drawing papers, disappeared from my view, and in no time, i announced myself at the reception, where an older gentleman, who was the boss of the place, greeted me as if i was his good old friend, and yes, he had also heard about me, you know, i was possibly, maybe the first czech-australian who had attended the courses by serafin, and therefore a bit famous.

and the lovely man, (i forgot his name) invited me to see their amazing garden, where to my nice surprise, there was also a beautiful river. and then he took me to some parts of the former monastery, and he told me a lot of interesting things about the building, garden and himself, and we surprised a busy working lady, in the dining room and we all had a lively conversation together, at this time mainly about me and australia. the whole excursion took about an hour, i left my bag in reception and when we returned the lovely man said goodbye and went home, and i checked into my attic room, with a lookout to the magic garden and river. i got all my fruit and some of my things out of my bag and i walked off in to the beautiful sunny blooming garden, which carried scent of the flowers, river and summer

i walked through the lovely garden and then i sat on a small river jetty and i felt so awesome, and i dangled my legs in the river and soon i began singing quietly and later on i sang at the top of my voice. just before five i returned to my room, ate the rest of the sweet apricots and i went in to the library without books, where the singing with right brain hemisphere course was to be held. we all arrived on time, and the teacher, dana, introduced her assistant, kacenka kahounova to us, a singer as well, and then we all joyfully began working, and we worked truly hard, oh, if you only knew the sweet girl dana houtkova, when she starts working she is unstoppable, we began singing soon after five and we sung all the way to dinner time, i am not sure if we had a one or two hour break for that, and after dinner, we chatted a bit and sang till late in the night on the dining rooms veranda, situated in the magic river garden. and so we sang all the way through the whole of gods saturday and till two in afternoon on sunday. yes, it was a lovely singing adventure all the way long.

early saturday night, when the nearby old church's lookout tower was closed for public, it was our time to climb up on the awkward stairs and sing all the songs we had learned, for all the public present on the old town square and for the audience of people who had attended the water colour course on the same weekend.

when lovely dana told us, that we were going to climb the tower, someone said, that there is no way that i was going to make it, and i said that i know what i can or cannot do, but they all agreed with that person and they were so sure, that i gave up on trying to change their minds and i decided to let actions speak instead of words. i was the last one to leave, so i would not be in anyone’s way, and yes, they were right, the stairs were very awkward, but i managed to climb them anyway, slowly but surely i took each step one at a time, i did not worry about the next one ahead of me, and soon sweet dana caught up with me and she gave me a helping hand, and it was a magic climb, like when two little girls are playing (having a good time). before we knew it, we had reached our destination, the top of the tower, and in a few seconds we were all singing at the top of our voices, as always along with dana's guitar. i sang with a great joy and that joy of mine filled up my soul and i so much enjoyed singing out from the top of the lookout tower to our audience, for myself, for our choir and god.

after we all got down from the tower and gathered in the library, i sat on my chair and i still felt the awe in my soul from the previous tower experience and when my eyes finally met up with others also sitting in their places, i was surprised of their expressions of adornment in the eyes of my fellow singers, and it dawned to me that it was about the stair climbing, and i may say that my ability to do so had taken their breath away. and sweet dana had a longer speech of admirment concerning my personality, and that, plus the expression of the others after i had descended the tower, touched me deeply and pleased me.

soon after i was touched again; our choir sang one song prior to the opening of an art exhibition of the pictures drawn by the people from the water colour course, and then we looked at the pictures, and i was touched by their beauty and i cried tears of joy. i was also brought to tears by a speech given by one of the teachers of the painting course, a very sweet girl, who used to sit with us after dinner on the terrace of the lovely garden and she chatted and sang with us as well. i forget her name, but i will never forget her.

on sunday after the lunch we sang and our songs were recorded. i was curious how the recording of the music was going to be made, but at the end we had not even noticed that we were being recorded, all that was needed was a laptop and a tiny microphone. and only a few days after the course the cd with songs arrived by post to me. during the recording of the cd, each of us also sang a little solo piece, and it took me a bit of time before i was able to do so in front of so many people, but i didn't give up and finally i made it, it was for me a big achievement and i cried with tears of joy once more, and then i sang with greater joy then before.

the singing with right brain hemisphere course was by far outnumbered by women, only one man attended

i took part in this course because i love singing and on top of that, i had for a long time been dreaming of singing in a choir. i tried to be a part of a choir while i lived in sydney, but they were all held at night time, and that did not suit me, because i avoid night city scenes. singing is a part of my existence just like talking or breathing, but at times i used to be very uncomfortable with singing in front of others, especially unfamiliar ones. i never had a problem singing together with others, just solo. therefore i was hoping that thanks to singing with the right brain hemisphere i would be able to break this fear and feel free to sing whenever i want to. and that truly happened, i can now sing alone in front of anyone. i also discovered, that i love singing more than i thought and since the course i sing more often and with more zest than before.

me and teacher dana, we grew very fond of each other, it happened already when we were exchanging emails concerning the course formalities. meeting her was a most beautiful gift which i took back with me from the singing weekend in telc, and carry with love in my soul.

when it was finally time to leave and say goodbye, i was singing in my mind and then aloud, a little from one of our songs: oh, my god, i do not want to go home.

i got a lift to prague with a very lovely girl, hanicka (who was also on the singing course), we had a very great conversation, and she took me all the way to the central railway station, she even took a longer way to show me where her home is. we exchanged a few emails, but then my email did not get delivered, i tried a few times without success, i owed her a reply. i only hope that one day our destinies will cross paths again. she also grew close to my heart and i enjoy recalling our time together

and not only the time spent with her, but also with all those i had the pleasure of singing along with, they all truly enriched my life.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL



the weekend choir at telc. me and dana houtkova are standing a bit separately, which we were not aware of, but we surely knew, that we were an inseparable pair :)



me and telc's river in the garden of the former ancient monastery, my soul was in awe, i was singing and i was looking forward to meet dana, my fellow students and to sing in the choir.

ps: i ate my yummy apricots, lychees, watermelon and bananas separately, the others had their meals booked with the course.

the pencil and my lovely auntie in decin

added a lot to my plentiful and beautiful experiences on my czech holidays. i did not know about the existence of such a thing as drawing with the right brain hemisphere, but one day i was reading some travelling stories on the internet, and there it was, and it got my attention and i became immediately interested, so i right away searched for and i found a course by the company serafin, in prague, and i gladly looked for more detailed information and i found out, that they had only one free weekend while i would be in bohemia. i had already booked a ticket online a few weeks earlier and it worked out that the pencil course would be held in decin, the town where the sister of my mum lives, my auntie miluska. we like each other a lot, and we have an unusual and strong genetic connection, and we had not seen each other for a few years, not that we did not want to, we really did, but in the end it never worked out for us and therefore i was very happy, that thanks to the pencil course i was finally going to see her.

my auntie miluska is about five years longer in this world than me, and when i was just a little girl i used to look up to her and adore her, especially when she was, as we say, a big girl. i used to like about her that she knew how to live happily in her own world. we used to see each other only a few times each year. she used to live in the tiny town bozi dar, about 70km from my little village skalna, i used to love to come and visit, we all had a peaceful and great time at grandma's place, and me and my brother and other kids used to have fun playing outside. especially during the winter it was an even more exciting and interesting experience for me, already on our way to grandma's (my mum's mum), my dad had to get out of our car, felicia, and shovel the snow away from the road so we could continue on our way, then he would get back in and drive for a short while, and that kept happening a few times again and again once we started getting closer to bozi dar, situated in the mountains. there was plenty of snow, so much of it, that us kids used to build igloos from snow bricks, just in front of the school where my grandma victorka (victoria) used to live in and work as the school keeper. i used to love to be a part of such a big and exiting project and till today i hold those memories very dear to me, despite the fact that i have not been attracted to the cold winter and snow since my early twenties.

my parents, with whom i had spent a few lovely days gave me a lift in to marjasnke lazne and soon after our goodbye, i was looking out from a bus window which ran instead of the train, because the train station was under reconstruction.. i travelled into cheb and then after a very short time i jumped on a fast train, which took me all the way to the town usti nad labem and there i had just enough time to change trains and before i knew it i was in decin. my journey was enjoyable, the sun was shining, the countryside was showing off its fresh luscious greenness of many hues and the strawberries i took along with me to feast on were beautifully strawberry, and to add more beauty to it all, i had a great conversation with one happy travelling lady. when she had seen how much i was enjoying my strawberries, she took out from her bag an apple and she was telling me how she discovered that when she eats fruit, she is both drinking and eating at once, and therefore when she travels, she eats only raw fresh fruit and therefore she doesn't have to bother taking with her a heavy and big bottle with water. she made me very happy with her smart observation, and i was gladly agreeing with her smart observation and discovery and i told her she is very smart, and i shared with her that i do not have need for drinking, because i live on raw fresh fruit alone, and she got curious and interested and we ended up having a pretty fruity conversation.

when i jumped out from the train in decin, i was expecting my auntie to be waiting for me on the platform, but i could not see her, so i decided not to wait for her and i went on my way out from the platform, and as soon as i walked down the stairs, my dear auntie mila(miluska) was calling to me: "kvetusko, i am here. helloooo, oh, i am so glad you finally came to visit us" and she give me a kiss on the cheek, then we shared a happy hug, and then she took my bag from my shoulder, she grabbed my hand and we walked while chatting with excitement toward the car, where her darling partner, pepa, was waiting for us. we also said happy hellos, and off we were to get some pineapples, strawberries, blueberries and watermelons. we got strawberries and blueberries next to the road from friendly gypsies, they let me taste their fruit first, so i gave them nice tip, and we were all happy, the berries tasted divine. since then i did not need to buy any fruit because pepa was always ahead of me with the fruit shopping; he would shop every early morning and he would take special care of my fruit as well, even though i did not ask him too, so after i woke up and had a nice bath in my own little (not so little) flat attached to their house, i would always after my morning things hurry up to, not only my lovely auntie waiting for me, but also pepa and aromatic and very yummy fruit as well. the pineapples were big and sweet as honey and i could easily eat one in one sitting, and the strawberries were heavenly, and watermelons like a poem. i was also happy to see that pepa and miluska also enjoy eating fruit (yes, they enjoyed eating other stuff as well) and we always had a great and peaceful time, and they treated me like a princess and miluska often called me princess as well.

the weather was a bit disappointing, most of the time was overcast with frequent showers and it was not very hot either, but despite all that i managed twice to have a nice swim in the garden pool, and in-between the showers, we also visited some lovely county scenes near decin, we also went to see decin's lookout, and it was right there, where suddenly some old forgotten dream came back to me and it was not just this one long-time-forgotten dream that resurfaced, throughout the time i spent in decin, and its beautiful surroundings, a few interesting forgotten dreams appeared in my mind. well, that really took my attention, it was for me a new and interesting experience. nothing is ever truly forgotten. yes, we had for a few days a great and magic time and then time for the pencil course arrived.

it is true that i really did not want to attend the pencil course, i would much rather have preferred, thanks to my big love of colours, the colour pencils course instead, but that was impossible, because the pencil course was required to get in to the colour pencil one. so in the end i made peace with it, when i came up with the idea that if i wanted to, i could colour in my pencil pictures later on.

auntie miluska prepared for me a few fruit lunch boxes and soon after, she and pepa gave me a lift into the town centre where the course was held. i arrived at the venue almost first, but the class was very soon filled up with lovely people desiring to learn how to draw. i've liked to draw since i was a little girl, and i was mainly interested in using the right brain hemisphere, and also to be able to draw things by looking at them and kind of copying them and not only using my fantasy. on top of everything i suspected that i wa going to learn something new for sure, and i always love to do that.

the lovely and clever teacher sarka began working with joy and zest and we payed full attention to all she was teaching us, and very soon we were all drawing with excitement, and it was going on for the whole beautiful day. i do not want to say in detail everything we drew and learned, because i do not want to spoil the experience for those who may love to one day attend such an amazing course full of lovely surprises. the most beautiful about it was that in a very short time, we were truly able to draw stuff we would never have dreamt of. we all were amazed by our drawing abilities and creations. wow, i could atend a school like this for ever.. i learned so much more than i had been expecting. my eye for detail increased a lot, and i also looked at everything from different angles. and everything i looked at, i drew in my mind. on top of all this, suddenly everything that i considered complicated to draw, became very easy. the two full days of drawing passed by very fast and i am sure that the next time i visit bohemia i am going to atend the colour pencil course in decin and i hope that the teacher sharka will be there as well.

my previous plan had been to travel to see my parents for some time again on monday, but monday awoke with blue skies, and the sun was shining like there was no tomorrow, so it was not difficult for my auntie to talk me in to staying for one more day, so i rang my mum that i would be a bit late with my arrival and off i went with miluska and her grand daughter, who instantly fell in love with me and me with her, for an exciting boat trip from decin to hrensko. oh, it was such a lovely day, full of joy and beauty. we stayed in hrensko till late evening. the ship had finished its journeys for the day, so we jumped on a bus instead to get back home.

and it was tuesday, time to say goodbye and the same way i travelled in, i travelled back to marjanske lazne railway station, where my sweet parents picked me up, and i spent with them a few yummy days once more. on the thursday i was again travelling by train in to telc, to attend a singing with right brain hemisphere course, and i was sooo looking forward to it.

about that some other time..

life is beautiful

ps: the pencil drawing course was run by the company sefafin located in prague, and took place on 11.-12. june 2009 in decin, bohemia



my auntie miluska is always in ecstasy when she finds any mushrooms, even non edible poisonous ones, (so is her sister, my mum). on one of our trips near by decin.



lookout in decin



i am drawing with right brain hemisphere (far right)



sarka gave us a portrait do draw, this was my creation.

school reunion

happened on saturday, 4th july 2009 in skalna (czech republic).

true, i was so much looking forward to it, not only to see my school mates again, no wonder, i hadn't seen most of them since we were fifteen or eighteen, but i was looking forward to see the little village of skalna as well. i grew up there, i loved running outdoors everywhere, i knew every stone and corner, forests, little forest, island of skeletons, the ant hill, swimming lake, little creek, and so on... so on..

and because i desired to spend more time with my little village, i traveled over on the friday morning already. mum and dad drove me with their car into marianske lazne to catch a train, but trains were unavailable, because the railway station had been bought by some italian or french company, and all the railway tracks had been pulled out and there were big trenches instead, it was obvious that workers were working fast and hard, and they also managed to construct a wc in the old railway building that could easily compete with the best i have seen in the western world. after i had said my goodbyes to my parents, i used that impressive wc, and shortly after i jumped on the bus, which the railway was using instead of the train. and it was a beautiful journey, the sun was shining on our way and i was in a celebrative mood. i truly enjoyed the bus trip, looking at and admiring the nature, and some long time memories surfaced, oh, how many times me and mango traveled this road in to cheb to get yummy durians, and how often i traveled on it throughout all my czech life, this road is so well known and intimate..

cheb was also sunny, but wet, the rain must have stopped not long ago, and i was happily waiting over half an hour on a sunny bench for the next bus journey to skalna. i didn't recognised anyone on the bus-stop. i hadn't visited skalna for many many years, only three years ago for half of the day with mango, we had a swim in the lake and then we looked around the village, driving through some parts of it and i did not see anyone i know, - or maybe i did, but didn't recognise them. the bus journey from cheb to skalna was even more intimate, and even more old time memories came up, like the ones from my childhood, when usually only me and my brother were often walking on the same 6km long road in to the picturesque town and spa baths frantiskovy lazne. we didn't used to walk all the way on the road, we took some short cuts through fields and meadows. thanks to frequent short heavy rains and the early summer season the plants were beautifully and lusciously green. they were shining with their green light. the half hour travel seemed very short, and it was around midday when i jumped out from the bus onto the little village square, and straight away i felt like i was at home.

The sun not only shone, but it gave a lot of warmth as well, and it was noticeably much warmer than in marjianke lazne, and it stayed that way throughout my whole stay in skalna. i stopped on the very short walk to my hotel, where i had been booked in by one of my shoolmates inge, at a little grocery shop to see if they had any fruit as well, and yes they did, so i got some very yummy and ready to eat nectrarines and apricots. they didn't have any cherries, i could not believe it, as they were in season, but hey, that was ok, as long as i had some yummy fruit to munch on i was happy. then i continued on my very short walk to hotel garni, and i arrived to a locked door, surprised i rang the door bell, once, twice, and all i got back was silence and so it dawned on me that noone was home..hmm, i wondered what is going on for a sec and then i decided walk across the street and get some info in a little pub and there i was told where to go and pick up the hotel key, and when i began crossing the road again, one of my school mates, olina, was standing on the other side and she was happily greeting me and soon i gave her a hug and kiss and she told me that she had time and she would walk with me to get the key, to make sure that i didn't get lost. i agreed and she took my not so heavy bag from me and we began our about ten minutes long walk, chatting with excitement on the way, and we also ran in to one afterschool teacher, we said hello and chatted for a short while, i found it interesting that she looked almost the same, as if she had only aged a little, and then me and olina continued our journey in to the restaurant owned by hotel garni owners and we arrived in no time to their lovely beer garden, lucious with radiating green vines climbing the walls, poles and pergola ceiling. i had some nectrarines for my late breakfast and olga (olina) had a drink, and very soon i was filling out the form for the hotel, and the waiters were very friendly and swift. me and olga enjoyed chatting on the lovely verandah, and we also remembered and spoke about my grandma anicka (ann), my fathers mum. when anicka retired and moved out from the school, where she had lived and worked as a school keeper, she and olga became neighbours, living in the same old apartment blog. they soon became very good friends and they visited each other a lot and my grandma was babysitting olgas little children for free as well.

when it was time to say goodbye to olina (she said she would not be attending the school reunion) i walked back to the hotel with the key and when i entered, i learned that there was no one present, just me. i had a very unusual and nice feeling about it and i was singing, walking upstairs and then on the end of a long hallway i found my my very comfy and lovely room with a big window with a lookout to a big backyard and i also could see a big part of the road i use to walk, jump and skip on a lot.. and the houses and lovely gardens around.

as usual i had no watch or mobile on me, so i was asking myself how am i going to contact another of my schoolmates, inge, i wanted to meet up with her asap. i decided not to occupy my mind with it and i jumped in to the shower, then i unpacked my bag and enjoyed the yummy apricots, followed by relaxation and then i went to see what fruit they had in another near by grocery store, and got some more fruit for the rest of my stay.

but first i revisited the shop where i got the very tasty nectarines and apricots earlier, to get some more, and this time i recognised the salesperson, it was alena, my childhood friend and she also recognised me at the second time. we had not seen each other for a long long time, and we chatted for a while, and then the shop phone rang and alena disappeared into the little shop office, so i carried my nectarines and apricots i had bought back to the hotel and then went to check the other shop, just around the corner next to the old church.. in front of the shop stood a, to me unknown, girl/woman, and when i came closer to the shop she called out: "inge", and i thought: well, this is great, inge is in the shop, i wanted to see her and talk to her, and in no time she came out from the shop and she regognised me and she greeted me with a big smile and so did i. we chatted on the street for about ten minutes and then we agreed to meet at six o clock at night, on the same verandah i had sat down and spoken with olina earlier. i told her that i was without a watch or mobile, but that i would try to make it on time. she laughed and she said, that i was always like this.. and we also chatted with her brother and sister who both live very near that shop and then we all went on with our day, i got in the shop and i bought a half a watermelon and 2kg of bananas, i took my sweet fruit in to my room, i packed my bag and i went for an about half hour walk to the lake for a refreshing swim.

and as i was at the beginning of my journey, walking alongside the church, toward the ancient castle, my school teacher brizova from my first class joined me. i always liked and looked up to her, she was and still is a very lovely person, and she also looked almost the same, as if she had hardly aged, carrying with ease her very slim body, and she told me that she also goes often for a swim, but on that day she was going only for a walk and to have a look at the water. we chatted all the way to the lake talking as well about times when i began my first year at school, about forty seven years ago. we also gave each other nice compliments and when we reached the lake, we said our goodbyes and she was off to her home and i went to my favorite spot by the lake to relax in the sun and then have a swim.. and there were two sisters of alena from the first shop i went to, and one of them had a seven year young grandson with her, and we chatted about our past and present while grandson was mainly enjoying the lakes water. once i felt nice and warm from the sun i also jumped into the lovely water and i swam with zest and joy and at times i was just floating, and all around me was only nature, i felt so great and when i felt cold i got out on the sun again and soon after everyone left and i deeply relaxed and as soon as the mighty sun warmed me up again i jumped into the lake for another enjoyable swim and soon i felt euphoric and soon after i got out from the water my euphoric feelings increased and i was laughing with joy.. as usual after i've had a good swim. about one hour later i had the last swim and as soon as the sun had dried my skin i jumped into my dress and barefooted as all day long i was off on a beautiful solo walk from the lake to my room.

i walked along a little creek, the one i used to walk barefoot through in my beautiful childhood summer days, i used the creek instead of the road next to it. this time i walked on the road, but almost with the same fascination as so many years ago, i looked at the water, how it was peacefully traveling, at the sand and the little and bigger pebbles on its bottom, and at all of its natural beauty that little creek possessed and as i went along i could also see that the little creek was getting slightly bigger.. and surely i noticed some lovely flowers along the way as well, and mighty trees etc, and there was no way that the lady with the cherries could not have gotten my attention. she carried them with a tender care, they had just been freshly picked by her husband from their garden, she informed me, after i'd asked her where she'd found such beautiful cherries. i told her that i love cherries, and i could not get any in the shops and i asked her if i could buy some from her. she smiled and told me that these were for her family, and she offered me a few big handfuls, and she also said that she would send cherries for me via her young daughter in law tomorrow morning at breakfast time to the hotel where i was staying. she happened to be a member of the family who owned the hotel i stayed in. so i was very thankful for her kindness, and just before we said goodbyes she offered me another handful of cherries, oh, how could i resist, so i took more cherries and i was continuing my magic walk, i was almost there and on my arrival i had a shower, cherries, nectarines, apricots and relaxation while watching the beautiful blue sunny skies, where lovely, and white as the snow clouds, were traveling, it was summer time, beautiful summer time, just like summer time is supposed to be..

and just as i got out fom the hotel on the street on my way to meet inge, i could hear that someone was calling my name, so i turned around and i could see that some lady was running toward me, it was one of my friends and shoolmates vladka. i couldn't recongise her, she had to tell me her name, and we were both very happy to see each other again, and we chatted all the way to the verandah of the restaurant where was already waiting inge and dana the other school mate and inge's long term friend. we had a great time chatting and looking at some photos the girls had brought along. yes, i made it there on time, and it was about eight thirty at night when we said our goodbees and see you tomorrow at reunion. inge also said to me: " come and visit me tomorrow morning". i said: "ok"

i walked to my hotel room alone and didn't meet a soul. i went to bed and i was very relaxed and looking out of the window and thinking about all the days' events, and i was looking forward to the next day. then i switched on the tv and there were people singing songs and i ate almost the half of my watermelon and it was around midnight when i fell asleep.

i woke up to a beautiful sunny summer morning, and was relaxing in bed and then i had a shower and dried myself siting in a big comfy armchair on a big towel, the sun was shining directly on me, i was admiring the sky and when i was dry i put on my dress and i walked downstairs for the breakfast included. they had lot of toxic stuff but also nectarines, i asked if i could take some with me as i wanted to have breakfast much later, they said yes, and i was also brought the promised and very tasty cherries for a beautiful price with a beautiful smile of a lovely young woman. the breakfast time for hotel guests was almost over and she began also cleaning the dining room and we ended up chatting till eleven o clock. i did not know her previously as she had moved to skalna when she got married to one of the sons of the family who owned the hotel and restaurant.

when i returned with my fruit to my room i said to myself: "inge said come over in the morning, but who knows when her morning begins, and i felt at peace and i did not think i may be late, so i slowly took out my fruit from the plastic bags and soon after i strolled bare foot to visit inge. my destination was not far, but i was very slow, enjoying walking on nice soft grass and fine sand, oh, it felt so beautiful, my feet and soul were rejoicing..

and it was exactly midday when i mistakenly rang the bell to inge's mum flat. so i was surprised when inge's sister answered the door and soon after, curious mum came up as well, because we were talking for a while, but very soon i was ringing the door bell one floor up, and the timing was perfect, inge had woken up only a short time ago and was ready to chat with me, we had a very interesting and long conversation and i am looking forward to visiting her again. time flew very fast and at three thirty in the afternoon we left separately for the school reunion.

i stopped over on my way, at the hotel, and i stuffed myself with a lot of yummy cherries, then i was relaxing for half an hour and finally i finished my walk to the school reunion. it was a reunion of two classes because i attended one before my back injury and the other class one year later after, that was also the time when i was for the first time home again, and it was only for half of the year, but that's a different story. the school reunion was held in a big room of a restaurant called pohoda. and as i was approaching the restaurant i already ran it to some schoolmates, and i found it difficult recognising the most of them, but with time i found the faces grew more familiar. a bit later already in the restaurant i walked around two very long tables, and i greeted and chatted shortly with everyone and then most of the time just sat down and chatted only with those who were near me. i changed my place a few times. i was in some kind of shock and a bit speechless later on, and i just observed and listened, it was like watching some interesting movie and at times i managed to have a few short conversations. after some time my schoolmates gave me a gift of very nice cut flowers, i was touched, surprised and i almost cried. soon after i felt sorry that they all didn't receive flowers, and then i felt sorry for the flowers being cut, because i do not cut flowers to end their life, and then i decided to cheer up and don't let myself down just because i perceive life differently than most. the whole event was very peaceful, cheerful, interesting and an unforgettable experience and around 2 in the morning the last of us said our goodbyes and a few schoolmates walked me to the front door of the hotel garni, where we wished each other a cheerful goodnight, and i went alone to my room and i placed the flowers in the big jug on the square coffee table in the corner, they fitted in perfectly and they beautified the whole room with their lovely colours and magic lifeforce and nature.

i finished the watermelon and i was relaxing in the comfy bed at least for another hour, going in my mind through the whole day and night again..and the flowers were at the center of my attention, i could not take my eyes of such beauty, and then i drifted into peaceful sweet sleep. i woke up around nine in the morning and about three hours later i went in the restaurant to return the keys, and some of the owners offered me a lift in to cheb, as they were leaving soon to some carneval, driving through on their way. it was a beautiful sunny and warm summer sunday, and i also had time after my breakfast in the hotel for a good chat with the young lady of the family and it came out that she is a good friend with some members of my family who live in skalna, i do not want to get in to it here, but we ended up having a very interesting conversation.

with the fancy car, we were in cheb in no time and i got out, said thankyou and goodbye and walked out with my flowers and cherries, to see when my train/bus would be headed for marianske lazne, and it was to leave in just a few minutes, so before i knew it, i was back out there, and from there i got a taxi in to the near by village where my parents and some other members of my family live. i spent some good quality time with them and on thursday my parents gave me a lift again in to marianske lazne where i caught the train/bus almost to the town plzen and there i jumped on the real train witch took me through plzen and usti nad labem and there i changed train for decin..

where my auntie was waiting for me with her beloved partner, and a weekend on a right brain hemisphere drawing course, but i will write a bit about that some other time..

life is beautiful

ps: they had no cherries in the skalna shops because the local trees and trees in peoples gardens were loaded, so the shops wouldn't have been able to sell them.. much more happened in skalna, but i do not want to write toooo long a post.



school reunion 2009



me and my classmates



the flowers the present from my schoolmates