Project in Turnov

The group arrived in Turnov, a small town in the northern Czech region of Cesky Raj, which means Bohemian Paradise, on Tuesday. We're working with a local environmental office to analyze a freeway project in the region. The freeway has been in the works for many years now, aiming to connect a direct route through the country. The proposed route will cut through a scenic valley with many little towns and preserved forested hillsides on either side. The local residents have been protesting the project with signatures but some political pressure that thinks the freeway will help develop the industry and economy of the region are pushing for this valley route over a more southern option. The office we're working with is a little bias being located in the northern area, but seem to have some good arguments why the southern route is less impactful. So we're setting out to figure out what our role for the project should be, exploring the proposed options. The first day we went on a driving tour and hiked up to many overlooks (I had mistakenly worn a skirt and flip flops thinking we would mostly be in the car and not having other dry clean clothes after doing laundry in the bathtub). Ben was very helpful taking pictures of Julie and I falling down one of the steep slopes and laughing. On one of the trails, we all bought bas of cherries from a woman that had a table set up. After munching half of them and going on a long warm trail, Julie discovered little maggot-like worms that had either hatched or crawled out of the cherries in the warm plastic bag. We were a little tramatized and unappetized for the rest of the day.

Yesterday we spent way too much time in the office trying to organize the project and were practically brawling across the table in the afternoon over how to go about our analysis. Yes, the group is becoming more like sibblings with immaturity on he rise and occasional yelling matches. Today we have some smaller groups armed with maps and are exploring pieces of the proposed freeway routes. It's hard to believe we only have a few more days until the end of the organized Czech trip. We will leave Turnov on the 29th. From there, Ceci, Ben, and Jeff are heading back to Prague and then back to PA. Ken and Julie have a honeymoon route through Austria, Switzerland, Spain, etc. planned. Mike and Brian are also exploring Europe for another three weeks. I'll be on my own headed to Denmark first to eco-geek out at a couple more ecovillages and centers for alternative technology.

Hope all is well on that end and feel free to send some emails (nicole.a.stern@gmail.com is the most frequently checked).

- Nicole