Saturday, March 6, 2010

BLOG POST 8

Sunday, February 21

It’s a bitterly cold day in the Czech Republic, but weather.com promises it’ll start to warm up within the week. For some this is glorious news; I’ve practically forgotten what the ground looks like without snow. Others are less enthusiastic, namely the sledding crew (Allie, Jake, Ian, and Chris) who just recently acquired sleds and have been zooming down Petrín Hill almost daily. The way I see it, why slide down a snowy hill when you can ZIP down an ICY metal tube, only one bad turn away from imminent death?! And that, my dear friends, is why I organized a trip to Prague’s bobsledding course.

We headed out about 2pm on Sunday taking a slew of metro lines and buses to get to our destination in the outermost parts of the city. When we finally arrived, we could see the course stretched out down the hill before us and, being the excitable kook I am, I headed straight for the ticket office. Soon I found myself on a “bobsled” (more like a single-rider, open-top version of a REAL bobsled, but still) and speeding off down the course. It started off quite slow, to the point that I was able to pull out my camera and start recording my ride. But by the time I hit “record” the speed had picked up. Suddenly I was whizzing along the course, my hair flying behind me. I was going crazy fast, so fast that on most turns I was convinced I’d explode off the track. Somehow I held on to the camera and thank goodness I did because the resulting recording ROCKS! Take a look:



Within minutes the ride was over. My hair was windswept and my eyes tearing from the wind, but I was downright giddy from the adrenaline rush, giggling and cheering for my friends as they took their turns on the course. Later I learned that there’d been a hand-brake on the bobsled and signs in Czech warning to use it before certain turns. Guess that explains why I felt so out of control at points! At least I stayed on my bobsled – apparently Walt tipped out of his on a turn. He was a bit bruised but otherwise fine… I have a feeling he wishes he knew about the brake, too.

There was a tiny pub beside the course and that’s where we went to warm up after riding. I felt so happy and so brave (a little less so when minutes later I saw 8-year-olds zipping down the course, but still!). It was an incredible afternoon.

The adventure continued that night when Diego and I ventured off to the infamously ugly TV Tower and rode to the top. Even though the dark made it more difficult to take pictures, the view was absolutely beautiful. The viewing platform was practically empty and looking out over the sparkling lights of the city, I felt like I was floating on a cloud. So beautiful!

We returned to the dorm just in time for the Czech Republic vs. Russia Olympic hockey game. It seemed that the entire population of the dorm was crammed into the student pub in the basement to watch the game, and it was a rowdy bunch. Everyone got so into the game, especially the Czech students, that I couldn’t help but get into it, too. (And that’s saying a LOT, as anyone in my Notre Dame football seating group will tell you.)

The game ended late and with a loss, much to the joy of one random Russian exchange student and the drunken depression of a whole roomful of real and adopted Czechs. Tomorrow classes would start, and as much as we’d like to hang out all night, it was time to rest up before the mental ardor of tomorrow.

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