It has been a crazy week. I have not delved into any of this on my blog for several reasons, but now I feel like I can say something as the major step has been taken...the dad has moved out of the house, at the mom's request. Sounds like a divorce is not far off. Apparently, things have not been great for over a year. And lucky for me, the past six months have been the worst. (I did not know what I was signing up for when I gamely came over here.) Hopefully things will calm down and get more cheerful now. But it is very sad and I am overwhelmed. I am not prepared for this! And it has certainly put me in an awkward position. Which is okay, I can handle that--I am just sad for the children. I know there is not much I can do; I can't fix anything, but I want to help and especially to be a safe, happy place for the kids. I am quite invested in these children, now.
So that is how that stands.
On a happier note, Julie and her friend Ondine took me to Tabor with them on Saturday for a medieval fair! It was awesome for several reasons.
1. You know how I love Renaissance/Medieval fairs!
(Thanks to Julie for the pics of me!)
2. Great to get out of the house for a little while.
3. Trdelnik.
4. Underground tunnels.
5. No children to take care of.
6. Super cool travel buddies
We weren't able to get tickets to the bus we planned to take, so we decided on a train and headed to Marks and Spencer in Wenceslas Square for some nourishment pre-journey.
Then we strolled to the train station and hopped aboard. But our trip was interrupted. Turns out something was wrong with a section of track so we had to disembark about an hour into our journey and get on buses for about fifteen minutes, then get off of those and re-board a train. Finally we got to Tabor. Travel is never dull.
As we walked to the historical center of the city we stumbled upon a parade. Awesome.
See, this isn't a normal medieval fair. Tabor was built by Jan Hus' followers as a military stronghold from those mean Catholics. The town is wholly identified with the Hussites and their rather violent history. So instead of people in costumes selling funny things and a Queen Elizabeth impersonator judging a jousting contest (like American fairs) this one was all about the Hussites. And people were really into it. Really into it. Julie remarked that Tabor lives in sort of a dream world where they are still under attack from Catholics. They are obsessed with Jan Hus and his one-eyed lieutenant, Jan Zizka. Here he is.
As the people marched they shouted things like, "Health to Master Jan!" and "Zizka is our brother!" and "The anti-Christ is in Rome!"
It is a militant medieval fair. They were celebrating the Hussites and their victories and their victimization, not just the funny things and fun times of the medieval age. There was an atmosphere and an attitude of "Look at what we had to deal with and look at how we dealt with it!" Much more authentic, I think, than the flower garlands and turkey legs that I am used to. And the people looked so authentic, too. A group of hairy peasant men with axes and knives walked by in the parade after the mounted knights and I stepped back a little because I suddenly worried that they might have the plague. They looked so medieval!
There is something a little different about going to a Renaissance fair in an open field somewhere near Charlotte where you wind your way through a meadow of parked cars and pose with plastic dragons and knights...and a Medieval fair in an actual medieval town with actual medieval architecture and actual medieval history. Both are awesome, of course. Just a little different.
We walked around the town and I was amazed to see every square packed with tents and vendors and people in costumes and performances. The whole town was given over to the fair. It is a big deal.
There are some pretty, elaborate buildings in Tabor, but who cares when you have knights in armor walking around?
Look at what we spotted around a corner?
I got a cone of chips and a trdelnik so I was happy.
Tabor is great, but it became fantastic when I learned that there is a huge nextwork of tunnels underneath the town. The residents built them mainly for military uses in their battles against the anti-Hussites and partly for storage. They were also useful since fires often destroyed parts of the town, so the tunnels could help people escape the flames and provide a safe place if their houses were destroyed. There are 14 kilometers of tunnels, but not all of them are connected, so it is not a continuous 14 kilometers. We went on a tour of the tunnels underneath the main square. Almost every house had an entrance to the network. Stairs lead up out of the tunnels every few meters. So I guess people could go down and walk to their neighbor's house if they needed to borrow something. Would be quite convenient if it was raining!
We had to wear hard hats and the tour guide kept talking about the importance of staying together and she asked for volunteers to go last and often stopped to holler back to see if everyone was with us. I wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. It was cold and damp in the tunnels and the ceiling was not very high. An excellent excursion, and something I would not have known to do, and probably would not have had the courage to do by myself, so thank you, Julie!
And guess what was playing? I felt like I was back in Cameron Indoor or Wally Wade. Not quite as authentic as the rest of the fair, but I loved it. Especially the dancing at the end of the video...
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