Geocaching in Prague, Czech Republic. April 2015

In April my neighbor and I, with a handful of local friends, traveled to beautiful Prague of The Czech Republic. It was a city that captured my heart, soul, and mind. We were gathering for a Women's Conference, where old and new friends met, our hearts and souls were taught and touched, and we each left a bit "more" than we had arrived... a bit more loved, a bit more refreshed, a bit more inspired, a bit more changed yet also a bit more ourselves somehow. It was a truly wonderful weekend.

"Praha your soul is hidden beneath your pretty face of rock"

Twice we headed into the heart of the city to walk, explore, learn, and discover. The first place we wanted to head to cache was The Lennon Wall. My husband is a musician and it would have been down right wrong to have come this close and yet not have seen this beautiful wall of art. It stands testament that love conquers. It conquers restraint. It conquers fear.  It conquers intimidation. It conquers different understandings, different ideals...  It can conquer the law. The wall has been painted over numerous times by the city, yet within hours, somehow the beautiful graffiti just reappears again, beautifully stubborn- that belief in Love. ;)

(Standing somewhere near "the" drainpipe.)

Stephanie, Lynn, and I. 

We found three caches in the city that day. After The Lennon Wall we walked toward the water front where we admired the beautiful landmark bridges (Europe, no one does bridges quite like you. You steal a new piece of my heart at each one I see, touch, and walk upon).

The next cache we made our way to was GC189E5 Prague Bridges 1- Karluv Most. Let me just pause here to say I *love* with all my little pink heart caches that are either straight forward in their native tongue, or already appropriately translated into English. This cache was both. We carefully walked past two different muggles who were sketching/painting the river (a city of artists in many forms! Have I mention how this city has captured my soul??) and an older couple walking a dog who were not quite sure what to make of these silly tourists, and then found it! 

"Side of bridge, two holes, second on right". 

Straight forward. In English. I <3 you. Literally.  

The last cache we found was not too far from the hotel we stayed in. My first trackable had arrived in the mail just before we stepped on our plane, and as excited as I was to drop this little bird off, I somehow forgot her back at the hotel room. Realizing this upon returning to the hotel, my awesome partner in crime, Stephanie, offered and encouraged to get back out, walk a few blocks to a cache we hadn't hunted yet and see if we could drop her off. She's so sweet. Lynn stopped in a corner cafe where she bought some amazing wine, cheese, and candies and patiently let us have one more adventure. I really liked this cache. There's just something about seeing people's ingenuity in play that is so intriguing to me. Homemade caches with clever descriptions and clues always leave this cacher's heart in a warm, fuzzy place. This cache, Cajova, had the most interesting hint, "nesem vam noviny" which translated into "we bring you the newspaper". We spent 3/4 of our walk trying to envision what this could possibly mean or relate to and it wasn't until we arrived on sight- a single street of closed businesses with roladins securely fashioned down every business door- that we finally realized how it applied!  There was one personal mailbox, designed specifically to only receive newspapers with the word "Noviny" scripted along the outside, that discreetly announced the end to our searching! After waiting a few breathless moments for muggles to walk past us, we quickly located the bottle, signed the logs, and dropped sweet little bird on her first flight. Let me just say, there is something altogether exhilarating in a different sense when dropping your first trackable. Geocaching is exhilarating in many ways, the challenge of figuring out the puzzle, of locating the find without others knowing, then just knowing

 there is something special hidden right under the noses of so many ordinary people going about their ordinary days. But when you drop that trackable, and log it as "in the wild" and wait breathlessly to see who will pick it up and where they will choose to take that little piece of you... it just, I can't describe it. It's a mystery waiting to unveil itself before you, and it brings a little piece of your life into a little piece of the lives of others that unites you in a way that is respectfully intimate, and so incredibly special. I chose a bird for several symbolic reasons, and this little gal has since flown all over the Czech Republic, slowly making her way towards botanical gardens & other interesting and beautiful places through out Europe. There's just something about being given wings that lifts the soul, tips the chin upward, and breathes into the hope within us. Even in something as small as a little tin game piece, released into the world, completely dependent on the whims of others.. yet it still whispers, still beckons, still encourages, "There is much more yet to come darlin'. Oh, yes. Eyes up sweet one. Much more..."