trying to break into Auschwitz is harder than you think .....

Another beautiful day this morning - loaded up into the vans and away from the course by 8am heading for a visit to Auschwitz - kids all keen on this plan even though we knew our time there would be a bit limited because we needed to be back here by 12noon for lunch and the training session at 2 pm.
Martin once again had the route completely sussed and we flew along the roads being overtaken by dare devil polish drivers who display no fear on double lines .... bicycles and tractors and little motorbikes with enormous riders all travelling in the middle of the road makes for an interesting time.
Arrived at the first camp and looked through the quarantine barracks where hundreds of people were kept ... the fields of standing brick chimneys were the only remains of hundreds more buildings which had been destroyed by the Germans in an attempt to get rid of their evidence.

 We moved on from this first camp to the big main camp where the majority of the extermination took place. However trying to get into the camp and museum was very difficult - it seemed that after 10am in the morning groups of more than 10 people would only be admitted with a guide but individual people could go through for free prior to this time - we knew this and timed our arrival for 9.45 - unfortunately when we got to the front of the line the young man asked how many we were and Pavel said "16" at which he said well you cant come in unless you have a guided tour which meant we had to wait for the group to build to 30 people and was very expensive and 3 hours long and we only had 1 and a half hours to spend there. So we said we are individuals and its before 10am - he still refused to budge and Pavel asked him if he was an individual could he go through - he said yes so Pavel pushed past , Wendy and two kids followed and there began the drama of the others trying to come in - it didn't help that there was another group of 5 Australians also trying to get in and the guy thought they were in our group as well. However one by one the kids peeled off and attached themselves to others coming through and in dribs and drabs we all made it INTO Auschwitz except Dale and Haylee and Jess who couldn't seem to blend in with the crowd. Dale spent a long time trying to explain that we weren't a tour group from another company but just common old kayakers here for only 2 hours and wanting to experience a little of what was beyond the barbed wire .... those of us who made it in were overwhelmed by the displays and surroundings .....
Back into the vans and back for lunch followed by the last training session before tomorrows racing begins - and then the storm broke - thunder, lightening and torrents of rain and power cuts. Pavel and Martin braved the rain to continue to coach through it all.

Tommy

Robin

Marcus

Jess

Patrick

Callum

Finn

Dan and Luke nailing the drop

Dan and Luke

lining up in the eddy

Pavel sheltering from the rain in a judges booth talking with Marcus

After training the rain continued and the kids really needed a snack because tea was to be a little later this evening after demos. Wendy set up the two trusty fry pans out on the terrace of the first floor and cooked up toasted sandwiches for them all - it was a bit dodgy with the thunder and lightening and the electrical cords lying in the puddles were a worry - 

make shift kitchen 

Luke protects the second helpings

 

kids eating toasted sammies in the hallway 

New Zealand uniform looking good at demo runs

Tea time in the hotel

Caving

Things are moving along well here in Liptovsky and everyone seems to be adapting to the environments. The weather has been pretty hot lately and everyone has been either studying or resting between the sessions. So not too much to report over the last couple of days. We have found a cheap place for dinner as we are unable to cook at this stage, however we will investigate having a BBQ later in the week. A few more teams are arriving, Australia, Canadians, USA, Slovenian, Irish Czechs and of course Slovaks.

This morning started off with an early speed session on the white water with Anna going for a flatwater recovery. After lunch whilst Ella and Malcolm studied Shaun, Anna, Ben and myself decided to go for a bit of a sunday drive up one of the mountains here. It is Slovakia's biggest ski area and there is resorts and chairlifts everywhere. We also found the 'ice caves' and decided to check them out.  A short 20min walk up the hill in 30degrees then down the stairs into the cave to a chilly -1 to 2degrees. Ben was pretty keen on taking some ice for his drink, while Shaun wanting to have a lick right there.. The tour was pretty cool although it was in Slovak so we couldn't understand too much. It was a fairly open/touristy cave system with all the usual, bats, stalactites/mights, animal bones and then some cool ice formations throughout the cave. A quick catch up from Seu World Cup, dinner and a late white water technique is in the plan for tonight night.

We have been well looked after by our host who has been pointing us in the right directions for bits and bobs and we will try go check out some thermal pools that are 5mins walk away and that have healing powers so Shaun might end up living in them to fix his shoulders.

Krakowski klub kajakowy - training in Poland

Team all down to breakfast at 7am looking great in team uniform - out to walk the course straight after a fantastic breakfast of eggs and tiny sausages, breads and cheese, peppers, sliced meats, cereals and yoghurt.

Its a very easy smooth motion to roll out of bed, down to a buffet breakfast, slide out the door and into your kayak ....

kayaks and gear change at the door of the hotel ....

looking back towards the hotel and hostel from the steps up to the course

looking up the course from the top of the steps

This mornings session was all about getting to know the course and Deahna had a go in Finns old boat, and apart from not being able to reach the foot pegs she thinks it might suit her better for the next few days until she gets her new one, Pavel has since put foam blocks in the boat and now she can reach. Kids all had a great time conquering the drops and the large deep eddies - the day was heating up as they headed up to the hostel at 9.30 for some quiet time and lunch at 12.

 This afternoon they walked the course in the 30degree heat and then completed a series of halves and a tech session. The main drop under the bridge caused some grief for the C2 boys at times - the course is long and straight with muddy water but is very well designed with very forgiving plastic bollards. Once again we had the parade of old folk sunbaking - however this time it was only old men in their y fronts lying all over the  tiered seating at the sides of the course smoking, drinking and watching the kids .... makes you wonder how it would be tolerated in NZ. Martin is thrilled to find that his photo is still up on the wall in the hostel hallway hall of fame - his last competition here in the C2 at the European champs.

Some of the kids investigated the swimming pool and spa facilities here while Dale and a few of the others took the black van on a wee trip to try and find a supermarket for snack food - the receptionist at the hotel sent them to a tiny village with two tiny shops, the one in the photo above is the biggest one, and a post office at which Deahna tried to post home some post cards - it was a mission which almost defeated her until 

Dale gave her some Zlotys (polish currency) and the lady smiled and finally agreed to give her a stamp On the other hand Dan and Luke nearly caused an international incident trying to buy some mizone and an icecream from Polands version of  Arkwright in 'Open all Hours' .... after the lady almost yelling at them and waving her arms around a fair bit they finally figured out there was a minimum purchase if they wanted to use their card so put both lots together and avoided John Key having to send someone to mend international relations. However they decided that it was actually really cheap and spent the next 10 minutes with their phones and currency converters working out how exactly how much cheaper than NZ it was. 

Back for tea at 6 which was miles better than what Martin and Pavel had led us to believe from their previous trips here, then up to video review and a team meeting to plan tomorrows training and site seeing excursion.