A Trip to Livia's Hometown

Dobry den,

It seems like the winter time went away with the blink of an eye. April has brought us mostly sunny and warm weather. Which is perfect for a walk outside and enjoying the sun. April is one of the busiest months I had in TOTEM. Not only because of my mini-project, but also because of all the traveling we were doing for Easter and the time before.

This month started with a short trip to Livia’s hometown. We were there from Wednesday to Saturday. Although we arrived really late on wednesday in bilbao and I had to leave really early on saturday, we still did a lot of things. Livia took me on a trip around town on Thursday morning. Besides meeting up with one of her friends and going to the dentist, we also went to a piercing studio because I wanted to get a daith piercing. So the morning was spent in Gernika and in the afternoon Livia drove us to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, a church on top of an island that got famous after being used as a scenery to film Game of Thrones, a popular TV series. 

After a small hike to the church and back, we drove to another coastal town (Mundaka) to eat and drink something. We ate some of the typical pinchos and drank …… a drink made out of grape juice and took a short walk through the town afterwards. We drove back to Gernika in the evening to pick up one of Livia’s friends to drive to a beach. We arrived just in time for golden hour and to watch the sun go down. 

On Friday, we took the bus to Bilbao. At first, we just walked around the centre for a bit, then we continued our walk by the river until we came across a cafe directly located next to the famous museum Guggeneheim. The coffee we ordered was quite good and we drank it while watching the people that were visiting the museum. We sat there and talked for about one hour before deciding to go into Guggenheim. I especially enjoyed the galerie and the portraits. Soon lunchtime arrived again, it was around 3 pm when we met up with friends to have lunch. It was quite hard to adjust to the eating schedule there. Every meal is around 2 hours later than in Germany or the Czech republic. Afterwards, we spend the rest of the afternoon savoring the sun and talking some more. Our train from Bilbao to Gernika left at 6 pm. Back in Gernika, we went to a supermarket to buy some things for Livia’s mini-project. Our day ended in a bar talking with some of Livia’s friends. 

Suddenly Saturday had arrived and it was already time to go home. My flight departed at 7:15, so we had to get up at 5:40. I flew from Bilbao to Munich and then from Munich to Dresden. The journey went well which I was glad for because this was my first time flying alone. I had an amazing time in Gernika, regardless of the tight schedule. 

Directly the week after arriving back at Totem, the first part of my mini-project was scheduled. I decided to do a crafting workshop. My goal was to create lamps in the form of flowers together with the seniors. I was a bit nervous before, but in the end I really didn’t have to be. Ivona helped a lot with translating the instructions. It was fun to work together with the ladies and to see them all happy.

It seems like we are sliding from one holiday into another in april. Livia and I went back to my home to spend Easter with my family and friends. We left on Thursday with my grandparents who were visiting me here in Plzen. On friday, we drove to Spreewald, a region in germany known for its many canals. We visited a friend there that we met at the on-arrival-training. The day was spent paddling. It was Livia’s first time trying it.

On Saturday, we went hiking with my family in the sächsische Schweiz (literal translation: Saxon Switzerland). It is a tradition in my family to go hiking on the Easter weekend. The hike didn’t go exactly as planned, as the path we wanted to take was unrecognizable because of fallen trees. We had to climb over a lot of them to get to our destination. Although the hike went a bit off the rails, we still had lots of fun and were able to share some nice conversations. We ended our hike at 6 pm and arrived home at 8 pm. Our day ended with a relaxed dinner at home. 

We were able to sleep in on Sunday (that means 9.30 am for me). My mother planned to play a city adventure game with us. We headed out at 12 and started our game in front of the opera in dresden. The game led us from the opera house to the riverside,then to the Brühlschen Terrassen, from there to the Synagogue and last but not least to the womens church where our game ended after a small stop in the Hallorenkugel shop. Halloren Kugeln are a famous sweet from germany. They are chocolate covered balls with a big variety of flavours. We got ice cream and coffee as a reward for finishing the game. Our day was far from over however, back home, we started with dinner preparations. In my family, it is tradition to go Easter egg hunting in our garden on Sunday between coffee time and dinner. This year, Livia and I both got socks, perfume and different types of pasta. To end the day, my mom challenged us to a card game (Romme). 

Livia and I drove back home on Monday after a few days filled with lots of activities. The rest of the month was spent working in TOTEM.

Přeji hezký den a nashledanou 

Juli