Our Czech’s diary
( Navsi, from 9 May till 13 May 2016)
Sunday, 8 May 2016
There it was, a sunny Sunday morning. Nobody was sleeping because we were all too excited about our trip. From the moment our first mobility to Romania ended and our first group got back full of great stories, the preparations for our second mobility to Czech Republic practically began. Now the turn was on us: Ema, Manda, Doroteja, Luka Fran, Vinko, teacher Horvat and again teacher Kujundžić. She wouldn’t miss this trip for the world.
We all met at the main station, kids accompanied by their parents. We could hardly wait to get on the train. A final shooting, some hugging and away we go. The train was very modern, a real European. We passed the time by chatting and talking about how we will introduce our selves to our hosts and other partners and, naturally, we also had a lunch. The lunch was a priceless experience, especially a pea soup. After six hours of driving we arrived in Vienna. We had a little time to take a break and then we were headed for a train to Prague. We had to get out of the train in Česká Třebová. After three hours we were there, waiting for the train to Navsi, but he was late so we had time for sightseeing. One hour later we were on the road to Navsi again. We were greeted by our merry hosts, students and their parents, headmaster Vladimir and teacher Katarina. We said goodbye to our teachers and went with our new friends to their homes. The trip was adventurous and we were a bit tired. Tomorrow was a work day for us.
Monday, 9 May 2016
At 8 am we were all at school. The welcome was organized in the school canteen. Headmaster Vladimir and teacher Kristina were leading the welcome party. The mayor of Navsi also came to welcome us. Our hosts introduced themselves and afterwards we did the same. Well, the introduction went alphabetically, so we were second. It was quite an event for which we had to hang our dearest photos that best represent us on a rope held by Navsi’s teachers. After that we were off to workshops where we made woollen toys, memo cards and we kneaded dough and baked cakes. Then we had a break during which we made a short movie about folk costumes, pottery and wooden objects. For lunch in the school’s dining room we had a taste of traditional Czech cuisine and thereafter was a dance workshop. To end a first day, the headmaster and teacher Kristina had guided us to see Jablunkova. We all got an assignment to ask inhabitants about life in the town. It was quite a day, very dynamic, but we were all very pleased and maybe, just maybe there was a bit of love in the air.
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Do you know where the woods are most green and where birds sing most lovely songs? Wait for a moment and we will tell you where the place is.
We started our Tuesday’s adventure in a village Dolna Lomna where we were greeted by the mayor Pavlinova. Firt we had a traditional breakfast and afterwards we went to a farm where we saw domestic animals and real traditional cheese making.
Vinko liked the most hiking through the woods of mount Kotava. We visited a museum in their first public school. Our snacks were great traditional pancakes. The next stop was a region of Matice Slezke were their mayor Kantorova told us everything about music festivals that were held here and movies that were filmed here. In the Beskid Mountains, village Hrčava, Luka found the smallest school in Czech Republic. Ema liked the junction between Czech, Poland and Slovakia the most. Mayor Stanjo had a presentation about the capacities of the junction to develop its tourism.
With a little help of our hosts we made a fire and grilled sausages in the open. We ended this lovely day in nature with a photo contest. Manda and Doroteja liked the latter very much. We have to recommend you to visit this region with most beautiful Czech forests.
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Wednesday was very exciting for all of us. In the morning we headed to Trojanovice where we took a cable car up to the height of 1000 meters and went by foot to Pustevny. Some of us didn’t know they had fear of heights, but they survived. We took a group photo in front of the monument to Radegast (the god of beer who isn’t really that, but nevertheless this is the most famous beer in this part of Czech Republic) and continue to hike up to the little church of St Cyril and Methodius. This mountain adventure was 4500 m long. Very tired we went to restaurant Koliba where we ate Czech specialities like dumplings called knedliky, sour cabbage (sauerkraut) and meat, very tasty, yummy...
After we head our lunch we were off to Roznov beneath the Radhošť Mountain (Rožnov pod Radhošťem) where we visited Valašski museum, wooden town and Water Mill Valley. Very nice curator explained to us everything about the life of this museum in the open and about the wooden architecture of the locality. We went back to Navsi very tired, but we all mingled a bit more with our hosts.
Thursday, 12 May 2016
For today’s adventure we took a train. We got together at the train station in Navsi and went to Ostrava which is the third biggest city in Czech Republic. First we went to a mine near the city. It was a bit scary to go down into a mineshaft to a depth of about 622 meters. None of us has ever done such a thing, but it was incredible. The guide told us how it was like to work in a mine and that horses hauled carts here up until it was forbidden for women and horses to work in a mine. After the mine we went to visit a museum and then we had workshops where we had to depict what would be most typical for our country... So among Croatian attractions one could find palms, see and boats, it looked a bit like we were from Hawaii, so our teachers said. During the lunch teacher Hana from Ostrava and teacher Kristina organized a little birthday celebration for Luku Frana and for Malina form Romania. If you didn’t know, they were born on 12 May not so many years ago. Besides Yu-Gi-Oh cards that our teachers brought from Zagreb, Luka Fran like Malina got a cake and a sparkler. Naturally, we all sang a happy birthday to them. The afternoon was the best part of the day because we were in a Zoo. Every team had an assignment but we had enough time for walking the zoo and our own interests. The day was perfect but we hadn’t had enough time to look round Ostrava.
Friday, 13 May 2016
Unfortunately, this day had to come. It was our last day in Czech Republic. We attended classes with our hosts and afterwards we went together with the headmaster and all of the teachers to walk round Navsi. At the train station we saw a TV where the school broadcasts its program so that everybody can see what is going on in school. During the break we did a movie about our mobility in Czech Republic which will be broadcast on Czech national television. Our task was to talk about our second day of mobility here. Ema talked in English and Doroteja in Croatian. After the lunch we compared questionnaires about our project and filled evaluation forms.
In the afternoon the school, parents and Navsi’s inhabitants organized a cultural programme and a dinner for all of us. Headmaster Vladimir thanked the participants on a lovely week in Czech Republic and we were all greeted by the mayor. We had one more evening for socializing with our hosts.
Saturday, 14 May 2016
It was a day of departure and goodbyes. We were all at the train station. The headmaster came, teacher Kristina and student’s parents also. It was time for taking photos, some tears, hugging, and even invitations to Croatia for summer holidays. Manda and teacher Ivana were not really in a mood for leaving. Headmaster had promised them that he will make an international class so that they can stay. The train has arrived and we were bound to hop in....
In Wien we had to change the train and at about 23:00 we arrived in Zagreb where our excited and curious parents were waiting for us.
Thank you Czech Republic, thank you Navsi and thanks to everyone who made this beautiful experience possible. Until some other meeting Ema, Doroteja, Manda, Luka Fran, Vinko, Ivana i Tanja say hi.
Edited and adapted by: Ivana Kujundžić, prof.
Written and translated by: Ema Barišić 7.a, Manda Martić 7.a, Luka Fran Kovačević 7.a, Doroteja Noršić 7.b, Vinko Đurić 7.b
Translated by: Dubravka Vuleša, prof.