Double-E and M in Hradec Králové - Theme music: Calcutta by Dr. BombayIt was a nice, sunny Thursday in April, and Espen, Eva, Helge and Martine decided to spend their day off in Hradec Králové. They took the bus from Ĉernilov, went off in Hradec. So far everything's well and exactly like it should be.
Tekst: Eva
Double-E and M in Hradec Králové - Theme music: Ca
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Of course. They wander around, looking for needle and thread (and find it!), and buy Trdlic (or «rullings», as I like to call it. Red.anm.) from two nice men in a stand. For those who haven't eaten rullings before: it's a traditional hungarian sweet bread-thing rolled in cinnamon and sugar.
After a while they start to get tired, and wants to sit down somewhere. «Aren't there many tea houses here in Czech?» Martine says, and the other ones confirmes. At least that's what they've heard from Team Perk, which was in Czech the week before them. And so they start to look for a tea house. The search is completed when Espen boldly asks a young lady for the way, and get the directions straight to the nearest tea house.
The tea house is a lovely place. The four are met by a dim atmosphere, and a smell of tea and smoke. The people working there have all long hair in pony tails and long, grey uniforms. This is where Helge chooses to leave the three others and take the bus back to Ĉernilov. The three remaining choose to sit in the garden, where there's a small hut-like place to sit, with tables and pillows to sit on, blankets to put over you, calming, instrumental music and chinese lamps. Sitting there and drinking tea really makes them relax.
After approximately one and a half hour they decide that it's time to go home for dinner. They walk to the bus stop where they took the bus home the day before. They look at the time table and sit down to wait for the bus. Twenty minutes passes on, and no bus is coming. They look at the time table again and wonder where they've been wrong. Maybe they're driving Saturday-times today? No, it's not Saturday, that can't be it. Maybe they're at the wrong bus station? Yes, that must be it! And so Espen, Martine and Eva tries to find the right bus station. And when they get there, they start to look at the time table ? again. They even try asking locals! The little group actually asks thrice (different persons every time, of course). By the time they give up, an hour has passed.
And so the search for the taxi begins. Actually, there's some roadwork where the taxis normally stay, so double-E and M walk around for a little while, searching. And finally, Espen decides to ask someone. A lady ? again. She doesn't know where the taxis are, but she do know the phone number by heart! So Espen takes up his cell phone, calls, and opens the conversation with these well chosen words: «I would appreciate if this conversation was in English.». That seemed to do the trick (also with Eva and Martine, who are laughing quietly in the background). After twenty minutes, a taxi shows up by the train station. It finally seems like the three will make it to Ĉernilov.
There are no seatbelts in the back seat, at least the two girls can't find them, but they try not to think of it as they're driving ? fast ? towards Ĉernilov... The taxi driver seems to understand enough English to answer «300» when they ask for the approximate price for the trip. But as they drive on, the three Norwegians discover that the taxtametre runs very fast. They try to ask the driver about it, but now he suddenly doesn't understand them. Suspicious... By the time they reach Ĉernilov, destination: the restaurant where the rest of Once Upon a Team is waiting for them, after a few misdrivings, the taxtametre has reached four hundred. So when it's time to pay, Espen puts on a deep, strict voice and proclaims that they refuse to pay more than three hundred (Espen: «Allright. That taxtametre is running way to fast! You said three hundred and now it's four. We refuse to pay more.» Martine: «And sixty crowns per minute?! We're not rich!»). The taxi driver seem to understand (funny that he understands only when it suits him...), and the group is finally home again.
The journey home took them an hour and a half more than it should have. Oh, what a hard life...
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