Andrea is a trainer of little mischief makers, the owner of a dog named Teeny, and a pilgrim who is considering one day going on her own from Brno to Santiago de Compostela. So far, she has “only” reached Jindřichův Hradec. 😊 When she is not exercising with her children or running in the woods with her border collie, she helps wherever it is needed. He cooperates with Světluška or Kont Bariéry. And she does it all with a smile and an incredible calmness that we could envy.
After the end of my short career as a rugby player 😊, I was asked by the sports director if I would like to help coach the babies. She said I coach the little ones at least once a week, and in the finals, I have my category.
The kids are super immediate. You learn so much from them. 😊 It's a lot of energy in a small package. At this age, they are still so unspoiled; they are no longer holding on to Mom's skirt, and puberty is far away. They're good to work with. Parents are usually the stumbling block. 😊
The shocking thing is the declining level of children's motor skills. Lots of little ones have no idea how to coordinate their bodies and jump with their feet, spin a jump rope, or throw a ball. The foundation is with the family.
I have many, but what always throws me off and happens repeatedly. 😄 You're explaining something, the kids are looking, eyes wide, mouths open, I ask, “Do you understand?” “Sure,” they nod, they get it. And then a voice comes from the crowd: “Did you know I have a hamster at home?” And that cracks me up. 😊
It's a ride that's not for everyone. It kicks you incredibly hard once you've done it, and it makes you ripe for a drink.
We have a kraut from working lines, so an ADHD dog. 😊 Her name is Teeny (that was the name of one of the dragonettes in How to Train Your Dragon). The dog gets far more exhausted by the mental training than the physical, so in the morning, my husband goes out for about 45 minutes, of which about 20 minutes is training different commands (obedience, tricks), and then the rest is flying with his dog buddy. During the day, he naps, walks, and in the evening, either a walk or frisbee training, puller, obedience, or a combination of all. Sheep herding is the absolute most, because that gets her done in half a day. But they're hard to find in the middle of Brno.
Me. 😊 Because I'm holding her back.
Teeny is a COVID puppy, she learned a lot of commands and tricks at home. And the dumbest one we could teach her is taking her socks off. So in the evening, sometimes when she's bored, she'll sneak around the apartment and try to “peel” the socks off our feet. 😊
Before the border collie, we had a parson russell terrier named Benny. The terrier figures everything out on his own because he just figures it out better than the owner. The Border is a whole different level. She wants to work and does it with great gusto and enthusiasm. So teaching her new things is not difficult because she wants to learn. But she learns just as quickly what we don't want her to learn, so you really need to be consistent in your training and in what you teach her, because then relearning something is a lot more difficult.
We take her everywhere with us, unless it's by air. I think the furthest she's been so far is in Croatia on Peljesac, but this year we're planning inland Tuscany, there are some beautiful, and not so famous, nature parks. It's my travel buddy. So 99% of our trips are with Teeny.
I have been working with foundations for more than 20 years. I was brought into it by my husband, who, from the beginning, prepared the graphics on the projects we work on with the foundations.
It's knowing that these foundations are needed. Just talking to someone who has a disability about what help is available from the government and the community is pretty miserable. Thanks to the foundations, a lot of people have at least a little bit easier lives, and for me, the collaboration makes sense. Because some of these stories are really cruel.
Each of the projects is different and unique in some way. In recent years, I think the project I've enjoyed the most is the Kids Paint for the Barriers Account. Children paint on different themes. The pictures are then part of a table, the foundation gets money from the sales, and the children feel good that they have helped someone with their picture. And it's their perception of the world and the problems and the processing that is so powerful and unique that not only I stare, but also the jury.
Certainly, there is always a way to help others, you just need to see it. And that help doesn't just have to be about people, it can be about conservation. You can always help on all fronts.
I fell for virtual long-distance walking a few years ago. 😊 Through various charity ones to private paid ones. I've done the Pacific trail, Appalachian trail, Ararora trail, and a cloud of others. When I reached the virtual Camino de Santiago for the second time, in drunken pride, my “skorosvagor” Petra suggested it was time to do it for real. And given that I often have similarly crazy ideas, I was thrilled. 😊
No preparation. 😊 We wanted to go the Czech St. James way, so we needed to go from Brno to Český Krumlov, and on the way, there is Dukovany, where we have a cottage. So the first march was about 50 km, and we went to Brno/Dukovany and dropped off at the cottage in the evening. And then, always, as there is a moment, we follow the other sections. The funniest bit was with the Želetava/Telč bourbon. 😊 We have this pilgrimage as a life commitment, if I finish it in two years or 20 years, it doesn't matter. Even the journey is a destination.
We haven't missed that much, but there is this beautiful valley between Jindřichův Hradec and Kunžak, which ends with a series of ponds where they keep beautiful spotted pigs in the forest. And one of them decided that he was tired of being behind the fence and went on a trip. Our border collie “sniffed, the pig sniffed” and so did we. And we were even wondering if the pig could swim, so that at the worst we would jump into the pond, when the pig decided that we weren't that interesting and disappeared into the woods.
No way. It broke some mental block and I have a lot of plans where to go now. I promised my daughter we'd do the Czech Trail, it's so trendy now. We've done the first bits of Mikulov/Jevišovka and Mikulov/Pavlovské vrchy (I hate “crowds”, we did that at sunrise). On the Czech Trail, I want to overcome another psychoblock and sleep outside, which is a preparation for the Fisherman Trail, for which we already have a deadline, spring 2026. 😊 And at the same time, we will all keep moving along the St. James Trail to Santiago. It didn't quite work out last year, but hopefully this fall we'll fly to France and pedal another bit between the vineyards.
I am, and I know this about myself, an overgrown child. I get excited about all kinds of crap and many times I nod before I think about it. For example, last year I ran the Aponi Dog race, an obstacle race with my dog, without training. My friend couldn't make it, and we didn't want to forfeit our entry fee. I thought I was gonna die, but my gosh, what an experience. 😊
If you're telling yourself you can't, bullshit, you still have at least 50% of the energy in you, so keep working. 😊
That's pretty obvious, 10,000 steps. 😊
Ing. Andrea Švábová
