One Night in Chanovice

We went back to Chanovice last Saturday for a traditional woodcrafts fair at the Skanzen. With us were Sara and Tomaš (blue shirt), who had never been to the village. We met the town mayor, Petr Klasek (with long hair and a beard), who introduced us to Josef (in the red shirt), an excellent speaker of English who has been volunteering at the Skanzen for many years. A while later, Michael (short hair & beard) and Meredith (in the hat), arrived with Eva Smolikova, the headmistress of the schools, and wife of the Skanzen director. They had just come from Prague to Chanovice, where they are staying in the Dětský Domov, or Home for Children.

The mayor and his wife, Jarka, fed us tasty grilled fish and Josef later took us on a tour of the Skanzen. That night, we joined most of the people we'd met at the fair in one of the town pubs (in this town of 400, there are three). The mayor passed out rounds of some strange cherry liquor with eggnog shot, and we bought rounds for him, Josef and his parents, and the Skanzen director.

Josef invited us to spend the night in the Skanzen building that houses the project's volunteers. Steve, Sara, Tomaš, and I each had our own bunk and Josef let me use his pillow.

My available language today will not adequately describe the Chanovice adventure, but some of the photos might give you an impression.