Czech Republic...Fluff Festival 2009

Our recent trip to Czech Republic was exactly what I needed. As I mentioned in my last blog, I felt like I had run out of epiphanies, which is hilarious. Czech Republic renewed the passion missing in our European quest. (I also realize that I'm completely cursed with a writer's mind: analyzing, searching and constantly striving for anything that sparks powerful emotions.) So my starving mind gratefully gobbled up a mound of new thoughts and ideas that are going to regurgitate onto the paragraphs below.

I know the point of this blog is to keep in touch with our family (that includes friends) while we're overseas, but the point of us moving to Europe was much more than a future photo album. I refuse to repeat stories about a great meal or a clever run-in with a crazy local person without including how and why he felt a certain way about that situation. I've seen different places around Europe now, spoken with different international people and experienced more than I thought possible after landing in Venice over a year ago. And after visiting Czech Republic and being exposed to once again, a different side of things, I'm completely baffled, and not scared to admit it.

What's so hard about describing this however, is the immediate bias most people generate about this type of festival atmosphere. Whether it be a liberal agenda thing, a hippie powwow or whatever else that gets people to reject this group information swap - it doesn't make it any less significant to the people involved, or to the people listening. Tattoos, Vegans, Politics, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Drugs, Alcohol....I could go on, but it's these highly sensitive subjects that were presented and discussed at this music festival. The bands presented their opinions on stage and through their lyrics. Booths were set up with information about various subjects. Movies were screened in a cinema tent and every single person was talking in whatever language they could to share their ideas.

Meat eaters and non-meat eaters is a subject I've grown up with because my aunt's family is vegetarian, then I went and married myself a vegetarian, so the subject continued. Most of the festival goers were vegan, but not everyone. I decided to eat vegan the entire weekend and educate myself as much as possible on both sides of the vegetarian story and it has made meat hard to swallow for me.

Since we've returned, I've been searching the internet for pro-dairy and pro-meat eating sites and the information points to humans being supreme and meat/dairy being necessary (even though our bodies can survive without it - but watching animals get slaughtered doesn't make me feel supreme, it makes me feel like shit).

Ignorance was mighty bliss for me before learning what I have so far. I understand the obvious argument of meat for survival (and I haven't made any decisions about my diet lifestyle) but I am going to keep learning about the process of the meat and dairy industry, their slaughtering techniques, the use of hormones and the effect these farms have on the environment, as opposed to vegetable growing. I know North Carolina is always having issues with the pig farms.

(The pic below is the festival's vegan kitchen, ran by a Czech based animal rights organization. The food was incredible and practically free if you paid by euro.)

Also, most of the festival goers were straight-edge (non-drinkers and non-drug users). There were 6-7 American bands over the weekend - all but one were straight edge. This movement has been going on since the eighties when kids wanted to see punk shows but weren't allowed in because of drinking laws. The infamous "X" on underage hands was invented to allow fans into the clubs, along with the philosophy that keeping your mind clear was a greater threat to corruption rather than giving in to escapism. Obviously, this argument falls under the same category of (what I see as) non-arguable subjects (religion, politics, and yes, vegetarianism - yikes!) but this is what everyone explained to me and I definitely respect it. We still drank a few beers throughout the weekend, as did many other people, but the peace remained, no drunken fights or straight edge arguments.

Outside of all of these highly sensitive subjects - we also got to see a side of the Czech Republic most tourists don't see. The town we were in is called Rokycany and sits about an hour (by car) east of Prague. The town is very (very) small and about twenty years behind in terms of mostly everything. However, the people embraced the motley crew of the festival, estimated around 7,000 this year, with open arms. They opened up their community pool each day for everyone to shower and lounge before the bands started and the scarce local people wandering around the town would glance our way, smile politely then get on with their business.

The oddities of the trip - there was only one restaurant in the town center and we couldn't find one café anywhere! The only hotel in town allowed us, and many other groups, to dine in their restaurant every morning to drink coffee or eat breakfast even though we weren't hotel guests. The waiter would bring us free bread, jam and orange juice, and refilled our coffee cups before they had the chance to be empty, then would charge the whole table an amount in Koruna that added to about 3€ a person.

(Pics below are from the pool - practically a lake. This was always are next stop after coffee.)

(Below is the nightly party tent - yes, sober hardcore punk rockers danced till the sun came up while singing Michael Jackson songs and boogying to techno music.)

(Below is the hotel that served us coffee bright and early everyday.)

(Cigarette machine in the hotel.)

(Pit stop worship center.)

(On our way back to camp, we stopped to play soccer with these boys - made their day. One of them was blasting American rap music from an old cell phone so the guys showed them some cool ways to shake hands goodbye.)

The drive home was long. We missed our exit for a gas station in the middle of nowhere in Germany (people who have driven long distances in Europe probably know that turning around for a missed exit is practically impossible), which resulted in us running out of gas. Nice people helped us out within twenty minutes.

Then we started the car and the battery was dead. All three of our cell phones were also, dead, it was midnight and none of us spoke German - we were in a desperate situation. We ended up getting a wrecker within two hours who jump started the rental car, but then told us the battery was completely fried and wouldn't make it to Italy. We risked it, arrived in Italy at five in the morning and are now in dispute for a full refund. Knowing Italy, it won't happen.

Our drive there however, was perfect. We made a pit stop in Munich to drink a beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus - first beer hall in Germany apparently.

So that's what's going on for now. We had plans to attend Oktoberfest in September, but we might stay home to save money. I'm not sure if we'll have any travels coming up until the big move home. I hope everyone is doing well, none of us have any reason to not be doing well so hopefully you're all waking up happy. I know this blog was long, but I wanted to share what's on my mind with everyone. Life has a funny way of taking side roads off the main highway sometimes.

We love everyone so much and look forward to Christmas more each day! Talk to you all soon - The Munday's

So it goes...

I've skipped a few weeks to write a new blog, not exactly sure why, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I've run out of epiphanies. Not that every update blog should house some sort of weekly or monthly realization - maybe ending all these ditties with a dumb joke would also provide enough motivation for readers to reach the end - I don't know.

Then again, my analytical mind appreciates when everything has reason and purpose, makes accomplishing whatever it is more worthwhile. But, an update blog has been past due for a couple weeks now...so I'm going to squeeze in the past monthly activities, post some new pictures and attempt a few quirky comments along the way...if you reach the end - perhaps a dumb joke will be waiting.

To begin, the above photo was taken at a vegan festival here in Verona - shocking I know - Northern Italians that are vegan?? We were surprised as well, the turn out was actually descent and the food was incredible. Munday's choice to become vegan has made him extremely happy and us girls at the house have really benefitted from it. Maria (our roommate) and I, are still meat eaters, but the vegan diet, when properly followed, is incredible.

And to be frank, or honest, or just 'Amy' for a quick second - I will never agree that being vegan is an unhealthy choice. For one, being vegan is not always a protest against people that eat animal products; it's an individual choice that promotes eating more vegetables, fruits and lower fat alternatives for protein. 

And two - there will always be healthy vegans, and unhealthy vegans, because that's the way of the world. So if one more person tells me that being vegan is unhealthy - I'm going to list off all of the unhealthy, overweight people out there that are meat eaters. Plus, there was a cute dog at the festival (owned by the owners of our local vegetarian cafe) who was running around rampant begging for food and kept getting confused at why nobody would comply:

Our next adventures were spent with an American visitor, Errol, who is the owner of Blue Flame Tattoo in Raleigh, NC. Errol, like all of our past visitors, brought good times, a great attitude and an adventurous spirit  - as well as this guy, Chuck Norris:

Munday, Errol, Maria and I also enjoyed our very first official gondola ride in Venice!

(Yes, those are cans of beer. We chose to ride in class and represent only the upper most echelon of sophisticated ladies.)

More pics from the gondola ride:

We also took Errol to our popular Lago di Garda and the towns Desenzano and Sirmione, which required a boat ride, which required more beer.

(Piazza in Sirmione with Munday and Errol.)

(Our first pit stop was at this resort - beauuutiful - can't describe how amazing it was.)

(Cin Cin! on the boat.)

(Eat your heart out Titanic.)

(Italian card game on the train ride.)

The next thing that happened was July 4th. We had a small house party/dinner thing. I cooked burgers, both beef (Dad's famous recipe!) and bean based vegan burgers that were delicious. The crowd was pretty international to say the least, especially for an American holiday dinner: American, German, Australian, Scottish and, of course, Italians present. 

Munday speaking with a friend/customer and Luca, our neighbor and fellow tattoo artist.

Friends: Felicity (Aussie), and Paul, our Scotsman who very graciously assured that the fridge didn't run out of beer. ;)

More great friends, Stefania (hand raised) Ivan (neck tattoo), and of course, Mark, our local crony.

Poster children for the non-existing organization for People Who Never Want a Corporate Office Job - we're assuring our permanent positions proudly and happily. ;)

Maria, our roomie.

Well that's about it, that's what we've been up to and what's going on with us. Couldn't be happier but couldn't be more excited to come home! Looks like our departure date will be around December 10. We might make a few stops on our way back to the US so I'll be in touch about permanent dates. Our next trip is in three weeks, we're going to Prague, Czech Republic, for a music festival on July 24.

Oh, and here's a dumb joke for those of you that reached the end of my nearly endless blog:

A Texan farmer goes to Australia for a vacation. There he meets an Aussie farmer and gets talking. The Aussie shows off his big wheat field and the Texan says, "Oh! We have wheat fields that are at least twice as large".

Then they walk around the ranch a little, and the Aussie shows off his herd of cattle. The Texan immediately says, " We have longhorns that are at least twice as large as your cows".

The conversation has, meanwhile, almost died when the Texan sees a herd of kangaroos hopping through the field. He asks, "And what are those"? 

The Aussie replies with an incredulous look, "Don't you have any grasshoppers in Texas"?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo - Love and Miss to everyone!!