A Plamen trip, this time to the Fairytale Forest near Červený Hrádek. Barka, Žofka, Majda, Bára, Joža, Aninka, Jáchym and Artur and Koři - the Fairytale daddy :-)
Meeting point Na Knížecí at 9:15, only Tereza showed up at 9:32 :-)
Getting on board went pretty smoothly, except for the driver. Somehow he just couldn't get his head around the fact that those seven kids and one dog were boarding with just one daddy :) On top of that he said kids under six ride free and then he was surprised I only wanted to pay for 2 kids.)
The ride was fine until about 3km before Davle, where a BRUTAL traffic jam started. For almost an hour we were hopping along the river in that furnace and the kids started to go a bit crazy. Žofka most of all, because she needed to pee. In the end she stopped the service bus 3 times :)
From the bus it was about 2km to the Hrádek and to make it in time we had a sausage lunch at the old Sausage Gobbler's stand.
And then the Fairytale Forest began. The 22nd year of this traditional event for kids, when the chateau park is full of fairytale creatures. The little ones were thrilled.
About two thirds of the way through we got caught in an awful, and I mean AWFUL cloudburst. We ran into the chateau (or rather the area below it) soaked to the bone.
Luckily we had stuff to change into and off we went again. The most interesting attraction was probably the lady with a spinning wheel and a basket of sheep's fleece who let the kids spin a bit of woollen yarn on the wheel. (well, for the kids the candy floss was probably more interesting :))
After the Fairytale Forest ended we kicked off a football match in the first courtyard. For many of them it was their first encounter with this sport, so they found it kind of hard to grasp why you can't throw it with your hands when that clearly works better :)
Then another game searching the secret passages under the chateau and hooray for dinner.
For dinner there were 8 rabbit legs, the Chateau Organicky variety. Plus a Hostivař loaf.
24:00
Waking up kids who were wiped out from marching, the heat, football and chatting late into the night was a superhuman task. But in the end they all stood in front of the house in their pyjamas and hoodies listening to the instructions for the night game. The treasure the king lost in the afternoon is located in the second courtyard.
You have to follow the burning torches, cross the drawbridge and look for a candle in the courtyard. We didn't even want to tell them the treasure is guarded by a real human skull. They figured that out on their own later :)
In the end they all managed it, even though they had to go in pairs.
During the night we were visited by the Common Sock-Eater, so about half the kids had no socks at all and the other half had none that were dry. More good news is that a few goslings hatched in the incubator in our bedroom overnight :)
After a hearty breakfast (a combination of the Chateau Lady's gingerbread and buns from Albert) we set off on a roughly 4.5 km walk through woods and fields to go swimming. It was 28 in the shade, but in the end everyone made it. On the way we even discovered the hidden treasure of the Seven-headed Dragon.
The swim was worth it, and when the Fairytale daddy got into the water too, he understood why everyone had blue lips :)
For lunch there was whatever daddy's backpack happened to produce.
The way back was a bit tougher, 4.5km to the chateau, drink the entire fountain of Chateau currant juice and hooray for the bus. We were already leaving 2 hours later than originally planned, so we had to almost run those 2.5 km.
Luckily the ride back was jam-free, the kids were good as gold on the bus. Maybe also because I was sitting with Artur at the other end of the bus and dozing off now and then :-)
Tereza was late as usual (they have it in their genes) and when I told Jáchym he'd be coming with us then, he had another fit of missing his mum :-)
The financial outcome is that about 717 CZK is left over for next time.
Lost and found:
- the Mrožofkas left their insurance card with us
- Aninka and Joža left a towel and swimsuit with us
- if items like socks and undies got mixed up, we'll probably never sort that out...
