As a teacher, I was naturally tasked with keeping a journal of our polar expedition.
Chapter 1 - The Birth of a Great Project
The idea to conquer the North Pole was proposed last year by Magistrate Filip Janouch, that is, me. When I presented it at our meeting of the Highomistice Temperate Theatre Group, everyone was enthusiastic about the proposal. But no one wanted to join the expedition. In the end, a few brave souls were found: the head of the group, Magistrate Iva Vrátilová, her son, lighting technician for music productions Tadeáš Vrátil, singer-songwriter Antonín Hošek, late-arrival controller Tobiáš Kouřím, hair-donor Kateřina Benešová, fashion trendsetter Dominik Hašek, experienced geographer and jack-of-all-trades Matyáš Kytlic, press spokesperson and hunter Tatiana Chalupníková, connector of Anglo-Saxon and Czech linguistics Audrey Řehořová, nihilist and troublemaker Kamil Braik, and last but not least, minority representative David Lukáš.
The departure date was set for April 22, 2023. In the morning, we practiced a bit on the ice floes of the Vltava near the National Theatre, and at 2 p.m. we were already flying from the second runway of Václav Havel Airport heading north.
We were seen off by Kouřím’s mother, Jolana, with her group, who that very day led her own expedition south as the group’s leader.
On the way to the northernmost school of our Erasmus+ project, nothing unusual happened, so I will just list the chapter titles.
Chapter 2 - A Surprise on the plane, or bread with cheese
Chapter 3 - A festive stopover in Amsterdam
Chapter 4 - Řehořová still sniffles
Chapter 5 - Will we return?
Chapter 6 - The simulant got drops for her nose.
Chapter 7 - The appearance of the Portuguese
Chapter 8 - There’s cheese in the bread again…
Chapter 9 - A festive welcome for luggage at Trondheim airport
Chapter 10 - The chief has a hole in her suitcase
Chapter 11 - Kytlic found a complaint form at midnight at the closed airport
Chapter 12 - Luggage complaint submitted
Chapter 13 - Where will we sleep?
Chapter 14 - Luggage complaint resolved
Chapter 15 - We won’t be sleeping.
Chapter 16 - We fell asleep in the luggage racks
Chapter 17 - Expedition to the gas station for a baguette
Chapter 18 - Finally, the train arrived
Chapter 19 - Picturesque views of Norwegian fjords
Chapter 20 - Hašek hasn’t closed his mouth for 300 km
Lukáš: "True, it's dragging on. Guys, I don't know what’s wrong with me, but I’d turn around and head back. To us. Home. To Mejto. To our school. Damn, I’m so homesick!"
Janouch: "And here it is! The melancholy!"
From this moment, the expedition was accompanied by a song from an unnamed theatre play, by an unnamed giant of Czech history.
Polární noc
má zvláštní moc
každého přepadne smutek
Němec i Brit
křesťan i žid
každý by nejradši utek
Ba i ti šikovní Žaponci
se silami jsou na konci
Jen jeden z národů neskoná
hrůzy severu slavně překoná
Tam kde hy, tam kde hy,
tam kde hynou vlci
Tam kde hy, tam kde hy,
tam kde hynou vlci
Tam kde hy, tam kde hy,
tam kde hynou sobi
Čech se přizpůsobí
Čech se přizpůsobí
Chapter 21 - Finally Mo i Rana
Chapter 22 - The northern lights
The last days have been full of misfortune. The chief has a pain in her neck, and so do I. Long nights we stare at the sky, where the clouds swirl, while people from the tops of Šumava send us colorful pictures of the night sky. At first, we managed to ward off the troubles with songs for bad weather, but now it seems they’re losing their effectiveness. Whenever I start humming along, one of the friends trips me.
Chapter 23 - Hašek hasn’t shut up for three days and Braik joins In
The chief correctly concluded that such nonstop debates were weakening us, and for the following days, she issued a list of approved topics for conversation.
Tuesday: The Importance of Frost in Classical Music.
Wednesday: The Winter Beauty of Siberian Seclusions.
Thursday: Ice Skating Experiences.
Friday: Frost – The Best Grandpa.
As you can see, there’s plenty to talk about. Interestingly, in our usually talkative group, since the release of these topics, there has mostly been silence. Only once, when the chief fell asleep, Hašek and Braik, accompanied by Kouřím, gathered under one blanket and told each other stories about a chicken and an egg, gender income inequality, the ruin of Czech education, and many other noble topics.
Chapter 24 - We ate reindeers
