The last couple of days....

Hi All, sorry for the delay in posting. Yesterday was tough to get motivated to do anything as we were all pretty tired.

Ringing in 2010

We celebrated New Years in style. After a team dinner in our hotel in Czesky Bodujevice, we walked about 100 metres into the town square to participate in the celebration. Our guides warned us to stick close together and not to stay out in the square long as it gets a little crazy. Our big brave boys stood in a group as far away from the parents as they could get away with. There were no organized activities but everyone was lighting off firecrackers where they stood. I am talking the ones that go high in the air and explode into a cascade of lights. The kind that we would see in Canada where we are kept a good 1000 metres away from where they are being set off – here they were going off randomly from every corner of the square.

People thought nothing of tossing the little red bangers directly at others and it sounded like guns were going off all around us. The boys, while still sticking together, moved closer and closer to the parents as the firecrackers went off. Pretty soon we were all together ringing in the New Year. Using our Canada poppers, and drinking beer from glass steins (thanks to Jeff) we waved to the TV camera in the square – we heard from Derek that the square we were in was being televised around the world.

It was getting pretty rowdy outside so the kids and the moms (as well as a few smart dads) headed back to the hotel. For those close enough to the team, you can guess which dads made the trek to the bar to return the beer steins and to help celebrate Jeff Clements birthday in style. The bar trip ended with shooters after they made good friends with the bartender (and threw a $20 bill Canadian – 120 kroens - on the bar which won the bartender over).

Meanwhile, the kids disappeared into the hotel and the moms were very well behaved in the lobby. No crazy antics there... and if someone says there is a video – they are fooling you. There was no trouble until our birthday celebrants came back but they can sleep well knowing they helped a young local outside our hotel. I think it’s safe to say the kids were the best behaved and got a chance to sleep in. What was frightening, was the fact that some spent bullets were found in the square the next day by us as we walked back from the arena.

January 1st was a little later morning for us, departing at 10 am for Czesky Krumlov. There were lots of heavy heads on the bus but it turned out to be a fabulous day. Czesky Krumlov is a unique, gothic renaissance town with winding mid evil laneways and a large castle above the river. Simply put...stunning. We toured the outside of the castle which dates back to the 13th century. The castle is under restoration but that really means they are cleaning sections up. The paintings on the wall are exquisite. Some are faded to nothing due to exposure to the elements but some look as if they were painted mere years ago. The castle is the second largest in Bohemia, built as a private residence which has passed hands many times. In fact the last owner resident built another castle as this one was not modern enough...no running water or electricity...a century or so ago. The castle was left fully furnished and remains that way today.

Leaving the castle we toured the old town section across the river which was a series of cobblestone laneways which led from the centre square to the shops and homes. There are approximately 1,000 people who live in the old town – hard to imagine people living along those walkways...very quaint. Homes in this section sell for over $1,000,000 Cdn and are like very old row houses. I can’t think of words to properly describe them but will post some pics. Its what I imagine old Italy is like.

We entered the town church which was beautiful. It was freezing inside and I can’t imagine sitting through a service. Again from the 13th century, this church is still open for concerts, weddings and baptisms. Recently the Westminster Abbey choir held a concert inside which would have been very moving with the ambiance.
Lunch and free time followed – lunch for most was pizza and for those more adventurous a traditional czech lunch. The hot chocolate was amazing...it was really just like melted chocolate bars. Very thick and rich. Shopping followed and the most popular purchase was tshirts and sweatshirts that captured the boys egos...czech me out.... on them as well as beautiful pashmina’s.

The weather was warm and with no snow, it was like a pleasant fall day of walking.
Back on the bus to the rink, the Raiders played the hometown HC Mountfield team. While the boys were tired, they rose to the occasion and beat the locals 9-3.

It was a banner day for Lukas!!!!

I am thrilled to be able to pass along the news that Lukas got his first AAA hat trick, much to the delight of the rest of the team and the parents. No hats on the ice but good cheering from the stands.

Goal scorers
Lukas (3), Andreas, Mitchell, Yusef, Derek, Jamie, Gino
Assisted by Mitchell (2), Markel (2), Chili, Brandon, Jeremy, Nathaniel, Yusef,
A game low 2 minutes in penalities helped our cause.


From the game, we were able to walk back to the hotel only to rush down to dinner. Again the food left a little to be desired, boiled chicken with mushroom rice. Good thing we could raid the yogurt bowl and bread sticks for late night peanut butter sandwiches and left over pizza.

After dinner many disappeared to bed as all were tired however there were a few who lounged, talked about how tired we were but couldn’t move. We took that opportunity to read the Pickering Panthers AA blog – they are here at the same time as us but unfortunately we didn’t cross paths. All tucked in early as we had an early start to Jan 2nd.

Jan 2nd

On the bus early this morning at 8 for our drive into Austria. By 10:30 we stopped to eat again on the road and had the best meal yet. We Canadians could learn by this example. It was a restaurant similar to a Marche with fabulous selection and food. Next to pasta as you like it, waffles with fruit and whipped cream seemed to be the meal of choice. They were amazing. It is incredible how much different the experience is, from food, selection, quality to landscape once we crossed into Austria. We just drove by what is likely a small ski hill here and there were a few raised eyebrows at the height of them. Wonder how many of us will chicken out of skiing tomorrow.

We got back on the road for the rest of our journey to Bad Durnberg (I’m sure I have spelt this wrong) to visit the Salt Mines. The snow began falling on our way and it was beautiful. Huge snowflakes and lots of them made for our first snowball fight following the tour. The salt mine was a pretty cool adventure. After dressing up in white pants and jackets we headed off on a little train into the mountain. We ended up hundreds of metres into the mountain, walking through the mining tunnels and learning about the history of the mine and how it came to be. The gang slid down 2 wooden slides and took a boat ride across an indoor pool which made learning fun. We even crossed the border into Germany and then back to Austria during the tour. The mine was first built in 560 BC. The tunnels we walked through will no longer be there 200 years from now but others will be accessible for our future ancestors to go through.

It was a short ride into Salzburg but we did have to have chains put on the bus tires for the trip down the mountain. Funny when we stopped at the bottom to take the chains off to ensure a smooth ride for those at the back of the bus. We checked into our hotel with ease and dressed for a walking tour of Salzburg. The snow was now falling in huge flakes and building up as we walked. It was a perfect way to be introduced to Austria. We saw many areas in which the movie the sound of music was filmed and learned that the real Maria Von Trapp and her granddaughters actually had a cameo in the movie. We will have to watch it again and look for them.

Of course, Mozart was born here so his birthplace was a stop on the tour. The old section is again a cobblestone walkway filled with beautiful stores full of designer gear. Also chocolates made by hand which has been done the same way for over 300 years. Hope we get to stop into that shop on Monday!!! We got to walk around for a couple hours, had leisurely dinners and of course had a great snowball fight before we boarded the bus for the hotel.

All is quiet now, the gang has shut down for the night as we have an early wakeup call tomorrow. Bus heads out at 7 am for a day of skiing in the alps. Everyone is really excited...I think a few are a little nervous after seeing the size of the mountains here but it will be a great day. Not sure that the boys will have any hockey legs left for our game the next day in Germany but a day of skiing is not to be missed.

Have a great night...will do our best to give a skiing update tomorrow night!

Your travelling raiders

(PS will post pics tomorrow after a good nights sleep)