Handball

Handball is an underratedly fantastic game to watch live. It's boring on TV. (I can personally vouch for that, as handball was by far the most televised olympic sport here in Denmark. It's kind of a big deal.) The Danish public seems pretty obsessed with the sport. We went to a random game on a Wednesday night; the place was absolutely packed.

Any sporting event that has the players walk out to this is tops in my book.

Pictured: Totally normal fanfare for a game that's basically hand soccer.

It's a delightfully fast-paced game to watch.

Guesses on what this is?

To explain the above picture: when we arrived there were what appeared to be posters on all our seats, made out of cardstock, with fold lines on it. We thought this was odd. When the players started to walk out, and we were greeted with a mighty thunder of clapping, we realized what these posters were for. They're one-handed clapping devices. This means that with one hand you can be eating a hotdog or enjoying a Carlsberg, while still applauding with the other. And this is important, because during the game you simply do not stop clapping.
Long story short, handball is awesome.

Here's some bonus footage illustrating how intense Danes get during handball games. The announcers are so into it.

Czech It Out: Prague

I know everyone says this, but I have to say it anyway: Prague is beautiful. the nine hours I spent there was not nearly long enough, even though I got a private tour from a local (which was awesome). It was really cool to get off the beaten, touristy path and see where real people hang out. But that being said, the touristy stuff is touristy for a reason. Because it's gorgeous. It also has a very interesting history, which I got to hear all about.

I also completely lucked out with the weather. It was so nice to have a completely sunny day for a change. such a breath of fresh air after the perpetually dark and damp weather of lovely Copenhagen.

The Clock Tower.

The Charles Bridge. If you squint you can see the castle in the background.

On the Charles Bridge. (Fun fact: it was specifically designed to be big enough to old jousting tournaments. Seems like a reasonable design constraint.)

On the streets. Where I spent a lot of time being lost. I've never had more navigational problems in a city, but my directional senses completely failed me in Prague. Which was actually fine with me: I got to see some places I might otherwise not have.

A view of the city from the top of the model Eifel Tower. Because yes, a model Eifel Tower on a hill is something every self-respecting city should have.

The castle. I hear this is the largest castle in Europe. I haven't bothered to verify this fact, because I trust everything my private guide, Honza, told me.

Inside the cathedral, which is inside the castle.

Just some penguin statues on the edge of the river. Because why not.

The penguins are on an island called Kampa, which holds a really cute, old-looking neighborhood. And in that neighborhood is a bar, in an old mill. We stopped there to enjoy a nice pivo (beer), and check out the bar counter, which was made by the pretty (in)famous Czech artist, David Černý. I encourage you to Google him. He definitely has a sense of humor, that carries into his work. I enjoy him. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take a picture of the bar though.

And here's Good King Wenceslas. Honza tells me that one of the most popular places in the city to meet up with your friends is under the horse's tail. So if you're ever in Prague and someone tells you to meet them 'under the tail', you'll know where to go.

Wenceslas Square is huge, and is used as a meething place by the populace on important occasions. So when the first president of the Czech Republic died, within a few hours people were already gathering there, lighting candles in his honor. since the Czech Republic only got complete independence quite recently, the first president, Václav Havel, was much beloved by the citizens.

Prague by night. Beautiful.

 

 

 
 

Czech It Out: Český Ráj

Český ráj is located northeast of Prague in the Czech Republic. If I haven't been grievously misinformed, it translates to 'Bohemian Paradise'. And paradise is an apt description of it. It's an absolutely beautiful area, full of trees and hills and particularly remarkable for its sandstone outcrops and formations. It's become increasingly clear to me that city life is not really my cup of tea, so it was refreshing to get out into nature, get dirty, and hang out with some real outdoorsy folk for a change. Basically, it was a great trip and I'm already looking into going back.
But now, pictures. There are a lot. Sorry.

Arriving after an overnight bus ride. Already falling in love with the countryside.

Let the games begin. Team slack-lining.

We played a lot of very silly icebreaking games. This one involved using a rubber ring attached to ropes to pick up a coffee can. Hilarity ensued.

Castle. Not an uncommon sight.

Strolling through the woods.

Woods, continued.

A lake. (Everything here was annoyingly picturesque, hence the plethora of pictures.)

Would ya look at that. Another castle.

Looks like a nice spot for a book and some coffee.

Climbing a nice sandstone crag at Malá Skála.

Artsy shot of the woods.

Foliage.

Yet another castle.

The site of our canoeing adventure. And of several capsizions. It was intense.

Things I've never encountered before: a dessert dumpling. Mom, you would be proud; I ate and somewhat enjoyed both blueberries and salmon. Not both at once.

Another great game- seeing who can hug a tree the longest. It's surprisingly tiring.

Adventuring through the rocks at night. Quite exciting.

This about sums it up for the adventuring part of the trip. It was everything I hoped for, and more. As far as I'm concerned, I lucked out and ended up in both of the groups who wound up clambering around on a scavenger hunt and canoeing at night. That added a whole new aspect of excitement to already cool activities.
Shout out to my new buddies at Outdoor Discovery! If anyone is planning a trip to the Czech Republic, definitely look them up. You won't be disappointed.
http://en.outdoordiscovery.cz/

Baltic Adventures: Riga

Riga is a particularly interesting city. It was devastated during World War II, and as a result, when it came under Soviet occupation, a huge amount of the city needed to rebuilt. Soviet influence is very visible when you walk around the city, especially once you get away from the old section. It's a little odd and unsettling, but at the same time very interesting to walk around streets that have barely changed since Latvia finally gained independence. Talk about a step back in time.

Rifleman Square. The statue was erected during the Soviet occupation. The black box in the background is now the occupation museum, but was originally a school, also from the Soviet era. Notice the disticnt lack of windows. Miserable.

St. Peter's church. It's Lutheran- a fact which is most easily recognized by the fact that it's topped with a rooster.

There's a very interesting rule regarding about St. Peter's church. It is clearly noticable as the tallest building in Old Riga, mostly because there is a law in place forbidding the construction of anything taller in that are of the city. This was particularly helpful for my navigation since my hostel was about 100 meters from it.

The Freedom Monument. The stars the woman on the top is holding represent the three regions of Latvia.

The Russian Orthodox church.

It contained one of the funniest signs I've seen in a long time.

A burnt-out shell of a building in the moer run-down and Soviet area of the city.

And a political/economic statement.

Just a cat statue on a roof.

There's a funny story about this cat. Apparently, back in the days when Latvia was a Hansaiatic state, there was a wealthy man from the Latvian countryside who very much wanted to be accepted into the merchants' guild. Not being from a city like the rest of the members, he was viewed as a bit of a country bumpkin and denied membership. Not surprisingly, he wasn't very happy about this, so he bought the building across the street from one of the guild halls, and put this cat statue on the roof, with the cat's exposed rump facing the guildhall. This was considered so rude and upsetting that the members of the guild relented and accepted him, on the condition that he turn the cat around. He did, and everyone lived happily ever after.
 

The main square in Old Riga.

A reconstruction of one of the buildings visiting merchants would stay in when visiting Riga. The original was destroyed during WWII.

Apparently, Riga was the birthplace of the Christmas tree. This is a statue celebrating that fact. I don't really see the resemblance.

and, last but not least, the Bremen Town Musicians. They say that if you make a wish and then manage to rub the noses of all four animals, it will come true. It's great to walk past and see people jumping for the rooster. It's higher than it looks.

Baltic Adventures: Sigulda

Welcome to Riga! Any hostel that greets you with a beer is a winner in my book.

Sigulda is apparently the most hilly region of Latvia, a fact that they are extremely proud of, advertizing the Gauja National Park there as 'The Switzerland of Latvia'. This seemed a bit inexplicable to me, since it was about as mountainous as North Jersey.

Behold, a ski area. I actually think Mount Peter has more vertical.

But I managed to forgive the shortcomings of the hills of Latvia because it was so attractive. It also certainly didn't hurt that it had snowed. Adding a little snow to a landscape can only improve it. So I had quite a jolly day strolling around and exploring the area.

Behold, the concert hall. Pretty snazzy architecture for a small country town.

One of the coolest features of the area was the bobsledding museum and track. Unfortunately, since it was a Sunday, they weren't actually running sleds, which was a bummer. But still, it was pretty cool to see. I had no idea bobsledding was so popular in Latvia, but apparently it is.

The view out over the valley from the top of the bobsled track.

Another view from the track.

The winning bobsled from some Olympics. I'm unsure which ones.

The rest of my day was spent just walking around and enjoying the chilly winter weather, and the calmness of getting out of the city. It was a much needed break.

Check it out. Some trees and such.

More happy little trees. Absurdly picturesque.

A church.

A disused bunker, now used by a colony of bats. Unfortunately I didn't meet any.

The best thing about wandering through eastern Europe is the high likelihood of stumbling across a castle.

This particular castle was quite colorful.

In an interesting twist, there was another castle behind the colorful castle. This one was significantly older.



The castle I had the good fortune to encounter was the headquarters of the Order of the Brothers of the Sword. They started work on it 1207. They were defeated in 1236 and the castle passed into the hands of the Livonians. It was destroyed during the Great Northern War and has not really been restored since. Today it serves as a venue for concerts and such, as well as a cool place to go explore. It's run by monks, who may or may not be members of the Brotherhood of the Sword. Difficult to say.

In fairness, this castle was more ruins than an actual building.



One of the lookout towers.



Behold, a bus stop. And the award for the weirdest word for a bus station goes to the Latvian language. 'Autoosta'.



The Latvian countryside.