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Ok, first off, a trivia question for all you movie buffs! Which movie does the song, "The Posh Traveling Life" come from?
While you are pondering the answer, I will update you all on my travels this fall with Vanessa and Paul and Andrea and Spencer whilst they were competing in the Junior Grand Prix. I was lucky enough to visit Norway, Chinese Taipei, and the Czech Republic, none of which I had visited before. I also squeezed in a week in Oberstdorf between Norway and Taipei, which of course for me is like coming home, I've been there so often. But for Vanessa and Paul it was their first visit, so it was fun to show them around. But back to the beginning!
At the end of September, Vanessa, Paul and I set off for Oslo, Norway. My sister Sally and her husband Eric flew out form London England to cheer them on, as did Vanessa's mum and Paul's' dad, Janina and Mark. I was expecting Norway to be very clean and fresh and full of blonde people in pigtails, but such was not the case! It was actually quite grubby and seemed to have a strange smell! We had a bit of an incident on arrival, when the coaches hotel proved to be miles away from………just about anything actually, but I did my best impression of Queen Elizabeth, and told the bus driver to take us back in much the same tones as I'm sure E.R would have muttered "off with his head!" Sometimes it helps being English! Eventually we all got settled in and around the skaters' hotel, and the rink was only 10 minutes by bus, so that was ok. The rink was very nice, with seating that rose straight up at a very steep angle. Our team leader Louis Stong was very helpful and supportive, and Vanessa and Paul enjoyed hearing his tales of goings on at other events. The competition was very good, and V/P were delighted to earn 3rd place, and to finish first in the free dance. We were all so proud to see the Canadian flag go up, I felt like waving my passport! It was a magic moment for all of us when the medals went round their necks.
Norway was unbelievably expensive; I think the team pizza dinner almost bankrupted poor Louis! We did go on a cruise on the fjord, and visited the Kon Tiki and Fram museums, as well as the art museum where we saw the Munch painting, "The Scream." But not much shopping was done this time! On the last evening we discovered a very nice restaurant a little off the beaten track, where Eric sampled moose steaks! Not for nothing am I a vegetarian!
After bidding a tearful goodbye to Sally, Eric, and Janina, Mark, V/P and I flew to Oberstdorf for a week of training. Mark rented a small car in Munich, and somehow we managed to squish inside with all the luggage for the 2 hour journey, but we all felt like pretzels when we arrived. But O'dorf can always make you feel better, and after a reviving meal and some beer, (for the adults!) we all felt revived. Vanessa and Paul loved the beautiful rink, and were also able to work with Michael Huth, coach of Carolina Costner, and Tomas Werner, who despite a rotten cold showed them some very cool exercises. Mark left after two days, and I played mum in our tiny apartment, keeping school work on track, and occasionally cooking (well, opening a tin!) Paul and I discovered that we know all the words to most of the songs in "The Sound of Music", and so we were able to serenade Vanessa, who I think was tempted to disown us after a while. We also performed a very spirited version of "All By Myself" (Bridget Jones style) while cleaning our teeth, which I expect to be stolen by Canadian Idol any day now! We shared a couple of lovely meals with our friends Marie-Therese and Alexandra Kreiselmeyer, and Ingeborg Stobbe, including some scrumptious cake at Cafe Gerlach. The week flew by, and it was time to go back to Munich to catch the plane to Taipei. Fortunately for us, Alexandra came with us and helped with the luggage, otherwise I think we would still be on train platform crying!
We flew uneventfully from Munich to Hong Kong, and then had to change planes on to Eva airways. I had never heard of it, so was expecting a tiny little plane for the short flight to Taipei. But it was a huge plane and we had seats at the front, and when we got on we sort of gasped, because we were in the 1st class section. Paul looked at me and said loudly, "I think we are in the wrong……………………….." but never got any further because I threw my hand luggage at him and yelled "SIT DOWN PAUL!!!!!!" He got the hint and we all collapsed in our lovely seats with individual videos and lots of leg room and enjoyed the flight.
When we got to Taipei, Janina and Paul's mum Debra were already there, so they had scoped out the territory. Taipei was fascinating, full of noise, colour, people and motor scooters. Hundreds and hundreds of motor scooters, I have never seen anything like it. Sometimes with 3 and 4 people on them, including kids without helmets. We laughed at the crosswalk signals, which featured little men and a countdown. When it was your turn to cross, the numbers counted down and the man walked slowly. As the time ran out to cross, the man walked faster and faster until he was sprinting. If you were not careful, you were so busy laughing at the little man that you almost got run over! The hotel was beautiful, and so was the arena, which was one of the biggest I have ever been in. As it was in the centre of town, they were really advertising the competition, and had lots of flags outside the rink (which mysteriously disappeared at the end of the event, I don't know anything about it). Quite a lot of people came to watch, which was really nice, and there were T.V, cameras every day. Louis was our team leader again, and did a wonderful job supporting everyone. Vanessa and Paul placed 5th in Taipei, and achieved a personal goal of skating clean in every portion of both their competitions
Jon arrived before the event started, and we were able to do some sight seeing together, including the National Art Museum, which was fascinating, and the night markets, which were so loud and bright and full of so many people. Jon saw the biggest sausages he had ever seen! One night we were reading in bed and we felt the hotel move, literally from side to side. Everyone rushed out on to the hotel balcony, where we were told that it was an earthquake. That was a little unsettling to say the least, but it did not happen again, or I think Jon would have been on the first plane home again. All in all, a wonderful and very different experience, and I would love to go back to Taipei again.
And so, I flew back to Toronto for 24 hours, enough time to do my laundry and my nails, and then I was on a plane back to the Czech Republic, and the town of Liberec, about 90 minutes from Prague. I had a very tight plane change in Vienna, which I made but my bag did not! When I arrived at the hotel, there was tremendous confusion at the check-in which took over 2 hours! Finally I got my room, but still no bag! I had a nice dinner with Andy Chong, Andrea's dad, who really spoiled me food-wise all week. Finally I had a shower, and then started a huge nose bleed, probably from all the flying. In the midst of bleeding to death, my bag arrived, and I had to trickle down to reception looking like I'd done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson to get it. The hotel was huge and meandering, so I took about 10 minutes to get there and 10 minutes to get back, but now that you have to put toiletries in your checked luggage…………………let's just say that I wanted that bag, Badly!!!!!!
Andrea and Spencer had a nice skate in the compulsories, and acquitted themselves well in the od and fd, which have come a long way. Petra Burka was our team leader, and did her usual job of being truly encouraging and supportive. Andrea, Spencer, Andy and I spent a nice day exploring Liberec, which has some beautiful architecture, but not much in the way of shopping. However, food here was very good, and after Norway seemed very reasonable. We especially liked the restaurant in the hotel, except for one night when all the things we wanted were "off", including salad! Andrea and I couldn't quite figure that one out! Andrea and Spencer had a beautiful new outfit for the od, and I must say it was a big hit, we had so many comments about it.
At the end of the event I was lucky enough to spend the day in Prague with my friends Natalia Karamysheva and Rostyslav Sinitsyn and their son Alexander. I have known Natalie and Rosti since we competed together many years ago, but it is not often we can all get together. I was really happy to see Prague with them, it is such a beautiful city, and they know all the best places to show me, so I had a wonderful tour. In the evening we had a nice meal together, and it was a great end to my adventures.
The next day I flew home, and it was great to see my house and sleep in my own bed, and best of all eat my husbands cooking! I had been away for a month, and that is a long time. It is wonderful to travel, but the biggest gift is to come safely home again.
Did you get the trivia question? The answer is "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
Carol
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