After gathering together at school we all marched down to the Town Hall where a tall darkly-suited gentleman was waiting to receive us. He was the mayor of the town and the reception hall was beautifully bedecked with fine wooden furnishings. The mayor spoke very good English but he preferred to talk to the whole group in Czech. 
He talked a little about the town and about the project. After his welcome speech some of the Czech girls played some recorder pieces from the elevated section of the room. 
Outside it was raining; but this would be perfect for what was about to happen. We walked for a few minutes down to a small green area in the lower part of the town. The mayor had had three holes prepared for the planting of three new trees in commemoration of the Comenius project. This wasn't time for long speeches so we grabbed the three trees, birch, maple and hornbeam and placed them in the holes. The middle one was given a rather special present. Under its roots was placed a sealed bottle containing coins and messages from each of the partner countries. Perhaps when the tree keels over and dies in a couple of hundred years someone might find the bottle and investigate its contents.
So the mayor was thanked and he went back to his work and to a dry pair of shoes! The rest of us walked to the cinema where the musical performance would be taking place. There was first a rehearsal for the performers whilst the few non-performers wrestled with the hot drinks machine. Soon the performance was ready to start. The orchestra played Yellow Submarine and another Beatles tune. The Czechs gave dancing displays, belly dancing from the younger ones and something a little more classical from the older ones. The Slovak girls sang songs and one of them gave us a wonderful solo performance accompanied by her teacher on piano. The Finnish team also sang for us.
The morning was not over yet because it was time to visit the plastics moulding company, Isolit-Bravo. We were shown around the injection moulding department where we saw parts of Skoda cars being made. the highlight, however, was the white plastic highchair seat for young children which was something we could all relate to. They were being shoved into boxes with Ikea labels all over them. Interestingly, later we were to encounter some of these deployed for real in a couple of restaurants. Deep fat fryers bound for the Netherlands were also piled high.
In the assembly department we saw the fryers being packaged up. There were also some ingenious motorised wheelbarrows and many of the children got to give each other rides round the assembly and packaging area.
Lunch was in the factory canteen with some of the workers eating at the same time. We were made to feel very welcome and the lunch was very nice. Thank you Isolit-Bravo!
Back to school and a free afternoon. Some of us went shopping in the town whilst others just chilled, catching up with some of the uneaten cakes which had decorated the tables all week or grabbing some computer time. The weather was improving a little and the evening was drier.
Children went back to their hosts for a last night together whilst the adults met in the Black Bear for a goodbye meal.
So the mayor was thanked and he went back to his work and to a dry pair of shoes! The rest of us walked to the cinema where the musical performance would be taking place. There was first a rehearsal for the performers whilst the few non-performers wrestled with the hot drinks machine. Soon the performance was ready to start. The orchestra played Yellow Submarine and another Beatles tune. The Czechs gave dancing displays, belly dancing from the younger ones and something a little more classical from the older ones. The Slovak girls sang songs and one of them gave us a wonderful solo performance accompanied by her teacher on piano. The Finnish team also sang for us.The morning was not over yet because it was time to visit the plastics moulding company, Isolit-Bravo. We were shown around the injection moulding department where we saw parts of Skoda cars being made. the highlight, however, was the white plastic highchair seat for young children which was something we could all relate to. They were being shoved into boxes with Ikea labels all over them. Interestingly, later we were to encounter some of these deployed for real in a couple of restaurants. Deep fat fryers bound for the Netherlands were also piled high.
In the assembly department we saw the fryers being packaged up. There were also some ingenious motorised wheelbarrows and many of the children got to give each other rides round the assembly and packaging area.
Lunch was in the factory canteen with some of the workers eating at the same time. We were made to feel very welcome and the lunch was very nice. Thank you Isolit-Bravo!
Back to school and a free afternoon. Some of us went shopping in the town whilst others just chilled, catching up with some of the uneaten cakes which had decorated the tables all week or grabbing some computer time. The weather was improving a little and the evening was drier.
Children went back to their hosts for a last night together whilst the adults met in the Black Bear for a goodbye meal.