The season is not in full swing yet, so there is not much work to do. In addition, the weather is not very favorable to us – it is cloudy, it rains alternately, the temperatures are slightly above zero, and sometimes foggy. I have already had a few other tours for the aurora borealis, fortunately never alone, once we even had 4 cars and almost 30 people together! It was just chaos! The aurora did shine a bit through the clouds, but it was not great. On the last day of October, however, I had my first reindeer tour. I picked up only two customers – a father and his son (about 8 years old) – and we set off. We chatted on the way, I told them whatever came to mind, not only about reindeers, but about everything – changing speed on the road in winter, interesting facts about Finland, about the forests around. They told me about themselves in return and it was really nice. They both had a great time at the reindeer farm and seemed very satisfied. What I enjoyed the most was watching the little boy, how much he wanted to feed the reindeer, but at the same time he was so afraid of it. So it went like this – he took a few lichens in his hand, walked a little away from the reindeer, stretched out his hand, but as soon as the reindeer started to get closer, he backed away and finally threw the whole handful of food on the ground and ran away. Then he went to get another lichen and repeated the process. About a million times. In the meantime, his dad and I talked and I took some photos for them. At the end we warmed up by the fire, where the local guide told us about the reindeer year, what happens to them and so. We were also given cookies and juice. It was a very beautiful morning and I was sincerely happy about that. And they also left me a five-star review.
Yesterday's northern lights tour was completely different. There were three cars, three guides. My clients were upset and angry from the very beginning that it was foggy and that they wouldn't see anything. We arrived at the first location, the fog was still thick enough to cut through. In an attempt to cheer them up and encourage them a little, I explained to them how the northern lights work. They didn't listen at all, their indignation only gradually grew more and more. Then almost all of them (6 adults) confronted me, asking why they had paid that much money for this, why we weren't going somewhere where they would see something, why they were promised by the office that they would see it, and whether it was possible to reschedule the tour for tomorrow or refund the money. It was very unpleasant, especially because it's hard for me to process other people's dissatisfaction, upset, and anger. I almost wanted to cry. They didn't help me much from the office, so we continued in uncomfortable silence. From the tone of their voices (they spoke to each other in Spanish and I didn't understand everything), I could tell how terribly upset they were. But luckily things got moving – Denis wrote to us that there was no fog in another place and there was an Aurora also, Andrés went to check it out and we finally set off there too. We drove for almost 40 minutes through thick fog and I was losing hope that it could actually get better. But then, all of a sudden, the fog was gone, the sky was clear and the Aurora was dancing above us. The whole car started cheering and screaming! So much joy! We stopped in a small parking lot, got out and enjoyed the view. We also took a few photos and there was great enthusiasm on all sides. The mega stress fell off us all and we could relax. And Lady Aurora danced sensationally and didn't mind at all that it was the day after the full moon! She was in front of us, above us, behind us! Beautiful!!! I was glad that I wasn't alone in it. Once we got home, we all shared our impressions and feelings in order to process it. What a night!
As I already wrote, there is not much work yet, so there is also time for in-between-work activities. One of the opportunities to kill time was a visit to a pub with other Czechs who live here or were visiting. A total of 8 of us arrived – Kuba and Barča, who live here, Aleš and Soňa, who want to buy a property here, the three of us from our apartment and Silvia, who was here on her first solo trip. Then Filip from Slovakia joined us, who brought his roommates with him – from Brazil and the USA. So our Czech circle fell apart a bit. It was a very nice evening! There was a sign in front of the Irish Pub with a panorama of Prague and they had Staropramen on tap inside! Unbelievable. And as proper Czechs, we couldn't just stay with a beer, so we also had a few shots. I got home around midnight, but was actually very happy. I don't normally get involved much in the Czech community abroad, but this time I liked it and felt good there.
And there were also a lot of "little" things - I got my first postcard! I like receiving letters and postcards, so this made me very happy! I found The Chronicles of Narnia (again in Finnish) in a thrift store, Czech beer in a store, and on the way home, white rabbits between the houses. Lots of surprises!
Another significant leisure activity was a trip to watch the sunset. On Wednesday, it was a beautiful day after a very long time – SUNNY! And since I had a free afternoon, I decided to go for a walk. Zsolti recommended the most beautiful place to watch the sunset, so the goal was clear. The place is on a “hill” on the other side of the river, about 6 km one way. And the sun set at 15:35! So I had lunch and set off. A very strange feeling to go to the sunset after lunch… But it was worth it. I arrived at the top just in time. Although it was windy and cold, I didn’t mind at all. It was so beautiful and peaceful, just the forest, the sky and me. Silent beauty!
