Lake of Glass

After a few weeks of max temps round about the -5 mark, and watching everything just freezing over including the running waters of our local river, it occurred to us in a flash of inspiration that we should go see the if Bolevec lake near our apartment was frozen.

Hayley has had a bee in her bonnet about going skating... I have about as much interest in skating as I have in frontal lobotomy, but you know, marriage is about doing whatever your wife wants, so off we went to see...

As we came around the last bend to the lake, the Bugz could already sense that there was much frozenness nearby, and the accompanying excitement was quite evident. Sure enough, the first thing we could see were the hundreds of people skating, playing hockey, walking dogs, pushing prams and doing all kinds of other things that can be done on a frozen lake. These photies were taken during the later afternoon when most of Plzen had already gone home. Just the die-harders, for whom the novelty value is still high are left.

In CZ, there is no limit to where you will find babies, here on ice, in summer on the roller rink and, on the pistes there are even prams (buggies) with skis on so you don't have to miss your black run on account of your nipper...

After parking in the overcrowded lot, we all went to see this new thing for the first time in all our respective lives and were suitably impressed, yours truly included. We set off onto the ice and walked along well onto the surface looking all ways at once at the stuff going on around us, and jumping on the ice, or inspecting it below our feet to be sure that it was thick enough to walk on.

You could land a plane on this lot mate - the ice had to be 8 inches thick from some of the sheers we found.

There was some major skating talent on display esp with the hockey jocks who were doing their very acrobatic stuff all over the place - things that make you want to skate, because it looks so darn natural and graceful... cool even
Still, without skates, and left flat-footed on a slippery surface, what are you to do...?


Dads have a particular purpose in life, in this instance it involves going there...


... and then coming back...


... with babies in tow.

For giddy-happy children, repeat this simple procedure at various speeds an indefinite number of times. Include the occasional gracefully executed turn for added effect.
Without more than a few minutes passing it was decided (Bugz declared) that "we're getting skates!" It was lateish... probably 16:30 or shortly after when the decree was made, so off we set to the car to get to the nearest sports shop to do the necessary deal.



Unbeknownst to us, the whole town shuts down for Christmas eve - Nothing wrong with this, just that it's not something we're accustomed to, what with all the last minute shopping done at 10pm on Christmas eve in ZA. The dissapointment!



Christmas day is Christmas day, there really is nothing that can detract from the pile of pressies under the tree, for those who get them of course, and so the idea of a skate took a back seat for a while as all the available attention was absorbed by the sheer bounty of China's economic boom awash beneath the tree. Later that afternoon we went back to the lake, keen for an outing, and this time we took the sleighs...


And again, it is the Dads duty to go here, then there, then everywhere, then spin in circles etc, etc...
Sleighs work very well on ice, I will try and upload a few video clips for your amusement...


Well, with all the anticipation, and now having to wait until the 26th - after the shutdown is over - before there is going to be a shop open anywhere. Needless to say, the anticipation was high for a day or 2...
On the appointed day, we set out to get skates, me included in my now altered state, with a plan to fit in a skate before we had to get to Prague to pick up the incoming family.

And there we were, all skated up and miles and miles to go... the lake almost to ourselves


Ice and smiles for as far as the eye can see...



Did we forget to mention... "Winter rules!"