Grónsko

Dnes jsem absolvovala nejkrásnější let v mém životě. Nádherné počasí, dechberoucí výhledy. Snad i díky tomu mi po 10 hodinách v jednom letadle nehráblo. Ale popořádku.

Today was the most beautiful flight in my life. Beautiful weather, breathtaking views. Perhaps even thanks to that I have not gone crazy during those 10 hours in one plane. But first things first.

Můj let L začal v Amsterdamu. Tam teda žádné pěkné počasí nebylo. Pouze šeď, šedošedá šeď. A to žádná módní vojenská, ale zastaralá ocelová šeď. Nad Islandem (díky bohu) ještě bylo zataženo, tak jsem se vyhnula zbytečnému sentimentu. Jenže Grónsko mě dostalo. A to i přes to špinavé okno.

My flight F strarted in Amsterdam. But you can't expect any good weather in Amsterdam. It was just grey, greyish grey. And no modern Military grey, plane outdated Ocean grey. It was still overcast over Iceland (thanks god) so I avoided unnecessary sentiment. But Greenland got me. Despite the dirty window.

Na začátku jsem dlouho jsem přemýšlela, jestli jsou to ještě mraky, když jsem konečně zaostřila na pevninu v pozadí
In the beginning I was wondering for long whether those are still clouds, when I finally focused on the land in the background

a nevěřila svým očím, až jsme konečně přiletěli blíž, jak se na droboulinké střepiny rozlámal led,
and couldn't believe my eyes, when we finally came closer, how all the ice broke into tiny slivers,

a když jsme přeletěli nad skalnatá pobřeží, pokrytá sněhem a ledem, modrá si vytvořila své cesty, kterým vzdorovaly jenom kusy ledu,
and when we flew above the rocky coast, covered in snow and ice, blue paved its way, defied only by the bits of ice,

aby je přece jen ledovec přemohl mocným pokusem o hladkou bílou pustinu, čemuž se moře urputně bránilo,
and yet be overcome at last by the mighty iceberg's attempt to create a smooth white wasteland, to which the sea fought back fiercely,

a po lítém boji, jehož rozměry plní člověka jak úžasem, tak hrůzou,
and after the savage battle, the scope of which inspires both awe and dread,

 

vytvořil sníh a led v moři něco, co patří spíše jako snímek do elektronových mikroskopů,

the snow and ice created something seems rather like a picture from an electron microscope

než do arktické pustiny.
than arctic wastelands.

Stále jsem plna až posvátého obdivu k přírodě, která mi dnes ukázala svou krásu v celé své šíři. Hodinový přelet nad Grónskem rozhodně patří k mým nejkrásnějším zážitkům v životě!

I am still full of astonishment by the wonders of the nature that revealed so vastly for me today. One hour flight over Greenland certainly belongs to the most beautiful experiences in my life!

Closing thoughts and thunderstorms

So my stay in Leiden is... over? I don't know if that is the right word for that, as I will be coming back to Leiden soon, I will go back there as an Algant master student and I have fallen in love with the place so much that I will definitely want to come back as often as I can. So I can't say that this is over, as I will make sure my bonds with Leiden will continue. 

But my Erasmus exchange is almost over. Unfortunately, these kind of matters always bring along a lot of bureaucracy and administrative issues, so this together with my exams and general exhaustion from all the travelling and arranging matters and most importantly the beautiful weather begging me to be outside and meet people and talk in the sun render finding the mindset for writing for me impossible. And also, I had to somehow cram a whole semester of a tricky course for me into one week, as I had been so overly diligent with my duties this semester...

Anyway, how was my stay in Leiden?

Great. 

Well, it wasn't a very good semester for me, for obvious reasons I could not study as much as I wanted, so frankly, I didn't get that much out of being at such an awesome place as Leiden. I refused to commute for courses so I missed some amazing opportunities to learn new stuff, but I think I still have some time to learn all that. But honestly, had I taken on more courses, it would have been too much for me in the end. So it was a good decision. And I know best how exhausted all the travelling (even commuting) makes me feel.

Also, I couldn't see as much from Holland as I would have loved to see, but again, this was neither my first nor last time in the Netherlands, so I am sure I will get to see all the places I want to visit. And all the lazy days on the beach and biking through the dunes and lovely strolls with my friends or my beloved one in Leiden, that was well worth skipping more famous and touristy places. And I did my fair share of sightseeing in my life, so I don't mind either.

I could have spoken more Dutch, but I learnt enough, I was able to conduct nearly-decent conversations occasionally, so that was not so bad. And considering the amount of stuff I had to learn learn with higher priority, for instance I finally learnt some class field theory I had been fantasizing about learning for several years now <3, I think I did enough.

Of course, I could have talked to people more. But those who know me and understand my shyness and the embarrassment I feel whenever I talk to someone smart (and there are many smart people in Leiden for sure), I am happy I managed to talk to several people I have dreamt about talking to. Surely many more will come, as I will become more relaxed and as I am resolute about doing maths more than twice a week and thus perhaps not forgetting everything before I get back to my studies. Childish naivety, you might object. But I believe in myself, I know that this time things will work out.

So, what next? My plan for the summer is simple: enjoy my well-earned holidays in July, that is, PCMI Summer Session in Utah and IMC in Blagoevgrad and, in August, finally revise my notes from this year and learn properly the things I was so discontinuously trying to study. Now that is naïve.

But I promised a thunderstorm in my title. So here is a video of the most beautiful thunderstorm I have ever seen, descending slowly on my home town Blansko this Monday, June 22nd 2015:

https://goo.gl/photos/XPaDYkfhTF2HeSJRA

Travel guide

I travel a lot. Too much, to be honest. I have seen many places on my own, traveled to a different continent completely on my own (though needless to say, New York City is not a wilderness). But my traveling experiences are usually very stressful to everyone around me. I excel in planning my trips way ahead and everything goes indeed very smoothly.

The motivation behind this post is of course my recent very successful booking of my tickets to Salt Lake City. Nevertheless, two weeks later (and two weeks before my departure, ehm) I finally have my tickets. But first things first, here is a list of my favourite traveling adventures that will make your trip unforgettable for everyone:

Nonexistent connections

Undoubtedly the greatest delight from my traveling for my family!

Ideal conditions: Small town with last connection sufficiently early in the evening, ideally after a long and exhausting week.

What to do: Forget that a certain early morning train doesn't go on Saturdays.

How to react: Wake up your family in the middle of the night asking them to drive you somewhere.

Expected results: Harmonious family relationships.

Failure to book I: the plane

This is undoubtedly my specialty.

Ideal conditions: Booking a transatlantic flight last minute.

What to do: Use a technical glitch to interrupt / cancel your reservation just when you submit the details of your credit card.

How to react: Spend several days waiting for customer care to get back to you via email, panicking, as you cannot provide enough information (e.g. no reservation number as technically, that has not happened) for the airline to help you efficiently.

Expected results: Large sum of money frozen on your bank account for a few days, acquisition of the ticket varies with the airline (Delta yes, US Airways no).

Failure to book II: the bus

A more modest but more pressing variant of the previous trick.

Ideal conditions: Booking last minute a bus connection you need to take due to your obligations / arrangements.

What to do: Reserve a ticket but forget to check that it has been successfully paid.

How to react: As before, wake up your family in the middle of the night asking them to drive you somewhere. Alternatively, run for your life to catch the train.

Expected results: Increase in your stamina by taking way less comfortable connections.

Packing frenzy

Especially effective with an early morning departure.

Ideal conditions: 30 minutes before the departure.

What to do: Check the list of things you wanted to pack and realise that your bag contains a mere half with at least 5 items easily procured anytime except for that moment.

How to react: Run around the house / apartment frantically looking for substitutes, rendering your place uninhabitable with all the junk you assess. Especially efficient in tight places with many doors and stairs. Issue search instructions and commands to anyone around, moving quickly to avoid any resistance.

Expected results: First hours after arrival to your destination will be devoted to sorting out your supplies and getting the missing essentials. 

Please bear in mind that to perform these tricks successfully, you need to repeat them roughly every two weeks or so.

I hope this will be a nice piece of inspiration for your upcoming travels!

 

Horrified I await how will my moving out look like.