In mid-May, we headed together to the Junglepark rope center in Brno. It was our second visit, but since I couldn't make it the first time, I was really looking forward to it. And it was worth it! We met at two o'clock near the Brno Exhibition Centre. I arrived by bike and almost on time; the others were already waiting, impatient to see where I was. Late arrivals are just my specialty. But since this time I was only about three minutes late, I was quickly forgiven, and we headed towards the Jungle café, where the local staff dressed us in climbing harnesses. We put on our helmets and gloves, listened to the basic instructions, and went for it.
The beginning of our Saturday adventure consisted of crossing the Svratka River. Nobody would want to fall into it; given the low water level, it would probably hurt quite a bit. Fortunately, we crossed the river almost like professionals and found ourselves in the Junglepark itself. Just climb the high stairs and we were at the start of the course, where we listened to a second training session on how to properly fasten the carabiners, and off we went.
Hurray for the trees!
We chose the basic course for beginners, which has over thirty attractions strung between mature deciduous trees. The goal of each attraction is to get from the first tree to the second, practically in any way possible. If you fall, the harness attached to the rope above you will catch you, so everything is quite safe, even if it might not look like it at first glance. For me personally (and very likely for the other team members as well), the zip lines were clearly the best, as they are fun without any effort. However, there are far more stations in Junglepark where you have to prove your strength, agility, and balance.
The worst part (and I agreed on this with Lucka) was overcoming the Jungle Park sign – each letter was suspended on two ropes, forming a kind of very wobbly footbridge. I didn't mind the instability and the different center of gravity for each letter as much as the fact that this attraction kept hitting my legs, so I ended up with a few bruises on my calves. The others weren't very fond of the hanging tubes or the station where you had to crawl through suspended hoops. Despite the significant effort and challenges, almost all of us eventually conquered the basic route. And we are not exactly professional athletes; this course is simply very cleverly built for almost everyone.
In addition to the basic course, Junglepark also has a course for children and Sher Khan's course for the strong, where three of the bravest from our team headed, led by our captain Roman. He sufficiently hyped up the other two daredevils, so they went into the harder course right after finishing the easier one, which most of us half-didn't understand and half-admired. We split into two groups – one provided ground support for the heroes, and the other moved back across the rope to the other bank to relax in hammocks (I chose this option too because of the persistent mosquitoes, so admiration also goes to those who stayed in ground support).
Everywhere is good, but best on the ground
When we all finally met on the ground on the right bank of the river, it was time to move to a restaurant for our company celebration. Before we left the rope center, two of our colleagues had already scouted the terrain, meaning they found out there was no reservation under our name at the restaurant we had booked. But that provided an opportunity for improvisation, so they set off to find luck elsewhere, more precisely in an establishment with a garden, because it was a truly beautiful day. And so, over good food and good drink, we celebrated a beautiful day together.
The real icing on the cake, however, came at the end in the form of a training company memory game, which features products from our range – from bottles to backpacks to suitcases. It's just a pity that we can only play such a memory game fully together, because others probably...
