On Day 2, we headed to a nearby river and caught a ride on a traditional Slovakian raft. The raft was a group of hollowed out logs that had been tied together. When Vili talked about rafting I thought he was talking about white water rafting. However, this was definitely not a fast paced ride, as it took 2 hours to complete a journey of a few kilometres. Kinda funny... but very relaxing.





More photos on Flickr and Facebook

On Day 1, we caught a cable car up into the Tatras and went for a hike. The mountain was submerged in the clouds, so though it was a sunny 25 degree day down on the ground, it was only a chilly 7 degrees on top of the mountain.

The others went for a hike to the top of the mountain. Andrew and I joined them for part of the hike and then stopped to have lunch on a rock (after a little panic attack from yours truly. Heights and Jess do not mix).


On the way back down, a group of FOOgs decided to try a different method to get to the bottom. There were Go-Karts (not motorised) for hire and they decided to give it a whirl. All of the boys fell off and Rupert hurt himself quite badly when he decided to use his hand as a brake (a hand brake... geddit!). He removed several layers of skin off his palm and there was lots of blood. The next day he decided that boiling water would be a good way of cleaning the wound. So he had burns on top of the scrape. It blistered and leaked pus and was generally pretty gross. For the rest of the week he wore a turquoise rubber glove on his wounded hand to protect it while we were doing strenuous activities. He looked like a strange Michael Jackson (as if it's even possible to look stranger Michael Jackson!)

The Fugazees is a very international team. We have members from Australia (obviously), New Zealand, Norway, Italy, Slovakia, America, Colombia, Uganda, Indonesia... we even have a token Brit or two. It's our own little multi-cultural society. (Sadly, our Canadian representation returned home in June. Hi John! Hi Leah!)

Apart from the hours of fun to be gained from paying out on people's accents (oh nuuuuu! I'm beached as bru!), this diversity brings another added bonus. Holiday homes! For our Winter team trip we were lucky to visit the snow covered slopes of Norway, with a trip to Hildy's cabin in the hills (Read Det snør! Det snør!). Recently, for our Summer trip, we were invited to central Europe to stay in the Holicka's Slovakian villa.

The poor Holickas. The team enthusiastically signed up for this trip and a group of 10 of us (plus kids) descended on the house. Luckily, the villa was enormous and comfortably fit us all. Andrew and I even had our own bedroom. The house consisted of two levels which can be split into two separate apartments with their own kitchen and bathroom. There was also a beautiful view of the Tatras from the backyard.

Our holiday was lots of fun. We went hiking, rafting and spent a fun / relaxing evening at Aqua City, a water park in Poprad. We even managed to fit in a game of ultimate against a Slovakian team.


We also played lots and lots of tractor. Slovakia was fertile tractor spotting ground. We recruited two young tractor spotters, Gabi and Dylan. I can see them both growing up to be avid tractor spotting enthusiasts. We're guaranteeing the future of our illustrious car game. (If Gabi stops spotting imaginary tractors that is... Gabi says "oh it was behind the barn, you couldn't see it.")


So where is our next team trip? I have my fingers crossed for either Colombia or Uganda (or maybe Vancouver!)

We've just returned from a weekend in the Norwegian wilderness. Hildy, our team administrator, organised the trip for the annual weekend away for our ultimate team the Fugazees. Her family owns a cabin in the hills near a small town called Prestfoss, which is about a 2 hour drive west from Oslo.

Initially, I had been a little dubious about the whole event. Hildy had explained that the cabin had no electricity and no running water. I imagined sleeping in a one room hut, huddled by the fire, trying not to choke on the fumes produced by smelly boys who hadn't had a shower for three days. Not exactly my idea of fun. But, I'll try anything once, so I quashed my reservations and we signed up for the Norwegian wilderness experience.

I'm happy to report that my fears were completely unfounded. Yes, there was no running water or electricity but it certainly wasn't rustic. The cabin consisted of four bedrooms, a dining area and living room. Although there wasn't any running water, there was a indoor biological toilet. No electricity, but a solar charged battery provided power for a few lights and even a television. It was actually quite luxurious.

We had a lovely weekend. We spent our days hiking in the snow, chucking a disc around, playing ultimate, tobogganing down the hill outside and reading by the fire. (Ultimate players manage to play ultimate anywhere.) As Australians, we don't get to see snow very often so we kinda reverted to childhood. There was lots of playing, diving into the snowdrifts, throwing snowballs and general silliness. We spent our evenings chatting, learning useful Norwegian words (kne, panne, det snør) and playing games such as KerPlunk and Diminishing Whist (another four converts!).

Hildy's wonderful parents wanted us to eat authentic Norwegian meal, so they cooked us a delicious reindeer stew to eat for dinner on day 1. We also had a true Norwegian breakfast each morning: bread, herring, caviar, mayonnaise, Jarlsberg cheese and salami. It was such a great way to start each day. Maybe one day I'll get around to doing the same at home.

It was a great weekend. I really can't imagine a better way to experience Norway. Takk to Hildegunn and the Andersen family.
More photos on Flickr...

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I just managed to squeeze this note in; today has been kind of hectic. I've spent the day doing laundry and packing for my trip home to Australia. I'm heading home tomorrow, arriving Wednesday. Andrew is leaving Sunday and arriving Monday. The main reason for our trip is Emily and Goldy's wedding. Of course, I'm also very excited about seeing my family and catching up with our friends. Oh, and a little warm weather wouldn't hurt either. See you soon Sydney-siders.