Monday, September 14, 2009

Lipno Point!

A Weekend Retreat at Lipno Point!!
(left) Ana and I posing for a beautiful photo!
(Below) Saturday Pig Roast... (Mom- Tell Dad it was some of the best pork I have EVER had! )




This weekend, I joined about 50 ISP faculty (and some of their families) for a Faculty Retreat at Lipno Point. This is a resort in Southern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Lipno is about 30 minutes North of the Austrian Border and 30 minutes south of Cesky Krumlov- a very beautiful and well known Czech Republic town. As you can see from the photos, the weekend was lovely. We stayed in resort rooms that had balconies overlooking Lipno lake. The lake is about 9km from one end to the other... and incredibly beautiful with the hills and trees surrounding the water! The resort has row boats which many took out on the lake for adventures while others were brave and swam in the cold water! BRRR! On Saturday, the weather was overcast, windy and quite like a November weekend at the Oregon Coast! People spent the weekend doing many activities- indoor tennis, racqetball, squash, visiting the spa/jacuzzi, bowling, rowing on the lake, walking into the neighboring village/Marina, biking, playing cards, napping, reading and a few did an hour or two of work... typical fall weather activities. Many of us even bundled up in warm clothes and blankets and sat sipping espresso and hot cocoa on the deck while watching the sail boats. Mom and Dad-- you would love this place- it reminds me a lot of Crescent Lake Lodge. I ran both Saturday and Sunday morning for 30 minutes from the resort to the point near the dam. It was a nice long run along the water and a great way to de-stress after a busy week at work! Sunday the weather cleared up and that made sitting on the deck really enjoyable... Ana and I even jumped on the trampoline for a spontaneous photo op! The cost of the weekend was only $2350 koruna (about $135) which included a bed for two nights and three excellent meals a day. That is a pretty good price for a weekend of food, wine, friends, and beautiful location.
On another note, while relaxing over the weekend, I had some time to decided what I wanted to do over fall break in October. I had many conversations with other teachers who have traveled more than myself and it came down to a decision between Paris or Rome. After researching ticket/hotel prices... I booked my first travels tonight... from October 19-23 I will be in ROME! I love Italy, but I have never been further south than Florence... I am excited for my first trip while living abroad and to see Roma... the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine, St. Peter's Basillica in the Vatican City, The Roman Forum, Fountain of Trevi, and the Sistine Chapel. There is so much Christian history in Rome, it will be great exploring more in depth about it the next few weeks as I prepare my "While in Rome" itinerary. I found a great ticket price (only 106 euro) and since I booked the hotel within 30 days I got a 10% discount... so in total including, airfare, hotel, and a spending budget for food, museums, and fun... I am proud to say that I will travel to Rome for 5 days, 4 nights for approximately 620 euro ($900)... considering some of my friends are traveling for 1000 euros or more.. I think I did pretty good!

I hope you are all well. Lots of Love-- Nikki

2 comments:

  1. Awesome! I LOVED Rome (it's way better than Florence!); it's just so metropolitan but full of such history at the same time, and unlike Florence, Italians actually live there! And the food was better and cheaper! Yay for you!!! xoxo Chels

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  2. Sounds amazing Nikki, but where is this trampoline photo? You might be traveling in Rome when baby Miller is born.

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