The waitress looked through the list of ice cream flavours. "No" she said "there is no dumpling flavour". I professed surprise. We were sitting in the garden outside the hotel not far from Orbita near the town of Roznov pod Radhostem. It was Saturday night and the air was warm and clean. Around us in the darkness (unseen by me, of course) were people in party mood and soon dancing began. I was enjoying a beer or two with Julie and her volunteer guide Jean-Claude, both from Switzerland, Petra who is head of the Czech deafblind organisation called LORM and her colleague Marta. The 9th European Deafblind Holiday had ended that day but I was staying on to spend a few days as an observer at the periodic meeting of the European Deafblind Union. The holiday and the EDBU meeting were held at Orbita which is a holiday camp/ leisure centre near Roznov pod Radhostem.
Most of the participants in the holiday had left earlier that day starting at 5.45 am. I was up to see them all depart to their various destinations in the Czech Republic where they would take aeroplanes to their homelands. I hadn't bothered going to bed because the very enjoyable party/ dance of the night before had gone on well onto the small hours. I had done the same kind of thing at the 7th (Sweden) and 8th (Bulgaria) European Deafblind Holidays and the end of these holidays is always rather sad. The week flashes by.
I walked back to Orbita with Petra and Marta as Julie and Jean-Claude were staying at the hotel. I am as helpless as a kitten in these circumstances. If the girls had run away (mercifully, they showed no sign of doing so) I would still be wandering round the lanes of Moravia today. On arrival, we realised that we had left our main door key behind and so Petra had to display her hitherto unrevealed talents of spy(reccie expert) burglar around the building. Within an hour we were inside.
The Czechs do like their dumplings; some cliches are true. The food at Orbita was very good and plentiful but despite my protests we had no dumplings at breakfast although we did at every other meal. You might think that their national dish would make the Czechs look like dumplings but in fact they are nearly all slim and athletic- at least the girls are. I am told that about 50 percent of the population are male but I don't remember looking at them much.
I had travelled to Brno, the capital of Moravia, by coach (bus) from Brighton in southern England. I changed at Gatwick and London Victoria and Prague: 28 hours later I was at Brno bus station on a lovely summer morning. Helpfully, Radka a lecturer in Special Education at Brno University had agreed to meet me in Brno and soon her equally lovely students Lenka, Mariana and Pavla joined us. We then travelled by trains, changing twice to Roznov pod Radhostem where Jana met us, also one of Radka's students, and Jiri (Jirka) who is a doctor in Special Education at Olomouc University. During the holiday Anna and two Evas all from Olomouc University joined us. As Petra and Marta are both graduates of the Special Education Faculty at Charle's University, Prague I had the pleasure of the company of representatives of the faculties of the three main universities in the Czech Republic. Moravia, as you all know is the eastern part of the Czech Republic and Bohemia is the western part. Prague is the capital of Bohemia and also of the Czech Republic. Roznov pod Radhostem is in the Mountains of north-eastern Moravia near the Slovak border and a very pleasant town it is too. No more geography lessons now!
The Holiday was very well organised by Jan Jakes and his helpers including the lovely Zuzana, his Girl Friday who popped up during the week whenever you needed her. A good feature of the holiday was an excellent audio system including a superb induction loop set up in the dining room. We enjoyed a wonderful programme of events including two walks in the mountainous forests, a tour of a candle factory, a visit to a riding stable (I didn't fall of a horse this time), dancing lessons in the Polka and the local folk dance and visits to several restaurants where I discovered the little known secret that the Czechs drink beer. We spent at least one afternoon in the town of Roznov pod Radhostem which is a former spa town and is a relaxing holiday spot today. A big feature is the Open Air Museum and it was also interesting to learn that a curate at St. Ann's Church there was no less than Gregor Mendel. No prizes for telling us who he was!
Orbita itself was a relaxing space with a swimming pool and amusements such as man-sized skittles. Its location was exquisite being in the foothills of the mountains on the Czech/Slovak border. The air was pure, the scenery lovely and the company stimulating. I have to say that all the staff was very friendly and considerate even though few spoke English, naturally. For a lot of the time I just sat outside and made a nuisance of myself by talking to the participants and anyone who would put up with me. I didn't have my own guide/ communicator but this wasn't a problem as all the other participants did and they all spoke English. I can get around except I can't see anything at all at night.
There were 92 participants: 38 'deafblind' people, 44 guide-interpreters and 10 assistants. 13 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom) were represented. There was a healthy-sized contingent of participants from the Czech Republic itself and although they did not speak English they were fully included due to the presence of the Czech students who made themselves fully available to all at all times. The Czech helpers were all well educated and gentle as well as very good company.
I stayed on for three days to attend as an observer the meeting of the EDBU which I found stimulating. I will be playing a part in this organisation, I feel.
Things got even better when Petra invited me to spend the evening with her in a Prague Restaurant. This was not a difficult decision to take. Finally, she put me on the Coach at Prague Coach Station at 9:30 pm on 21 August. I fell asleep immediately to be woken by a gentle shake by the German immigration officers. The journey back to Brighton was uneventful and I arrived just before 10 pm on 22 August.
My dream holiday was over and the daily routine goes on. Before reality kicks in I must take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the 9th European Deafblind Holiday especially Jan Jakes and also all the staff at Orbita who treated all the participants with unfailing good humour and understanding. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone I met in the Czech Republic who was so kind and considerate to me in respect of my needs.
Colin Bennett
colinbbennett@palmeira.org.uk
(2007-03-13)