PLES

This past weekend I received an invite to a ball in the Czech Republic, a phenomenon called a PLES. Even now, I'm still not 100% sure what a PLES actually is but from what I gather it is some sort of formal dance - sometimes with a masquerade theme - that can be thrown by whole cities/towns or by individual families. And they're congruous with an American's vision of high school prom, only with a slightly older crowd and far more mullets.

It should be known that I have an overactive imagination. With this in mind, my thoughts on PLES looked something very like a Venetian Carnevale masquerade ball, but set in a medieval Prague castle.

This couldn't have been further from the truth.

The PLES actually took place on the far, FAR outskirts of the Czech Republic in a village called Zamberk - almost Poland.


See the sign that says 'Polsko 198km'? Not kidding about Poland.

The actual journey to Zamberk was... interesting, for lack of a better word. Anyone who's taken a train through rural eastern Europe can understand this. The whole ride took about 3.5 hours, which of course was peppered with about 4 TRAIN SWITCHES. Lovely. Train steps are steep, and I seriously chalk it up to divine intervention that I didn't trip and die on the mad rush down each time.

Oh, and train restrooms? Those consist of a literal hole in the train to which the toilet empties onto the track.

Time after time again, the Czech people astonish me with their grasp on basic modern sanitation.

So we arrive in Zamberk to a mixture of rain and snow, miles of dirty muddy roads, and a 30 minute walk to the guest house we were allowed to stay at, courtesy of a friend. This walk was not something I was thrilled with. I do have to say though, that the actual village was so quaint - something out of the beginning scenes of Beauty and the Beast where the French villagers dance around celebrating basic day to day life.

The guesthouse exceeded expectations honestly and I was more than psyched to finally be able to relax.


So freaking cute - I would have loved to be here in the winter with the fireplace and sauna going.


Also came complete with a super huge, super cuddly hunting dog who had no idea what I was saying to him, but responded appropriately by knocking me down and licking me to death :)


Isolation as far as the eye can see.

Due to the fact that we literally had less than 2 hours to get ready for a formal event, the getting ready process consisted of a panicked frenzy involving three girls competing for one bathroom. And there was a lot of corsetting involved - which, fyi, sucks.




The dance itself was a little hillbilly, complete with a polka band. I kid you not. There were a lot of horrific outfits - hair dyed unnatural colors to match dresses so ugly they didn't even make the 80s bridesmaid cut. Mullets and etnies sneakers paired with ill-fitting plaid suitcoats. A LOT of dirty dancing to ABBA.


Note the firetruck red hair and dress.

The worst was the girl who set up the whole excursion and her boyfriend who were probably the most gruesome out of this whole spectacle by being exceptionally cheap to the point where decisions were made over 4 Kc. This translates to less than $0.20 in American money. Just a little comparison so you can see how RIDICULOUS these people were.


The gruesome twosome.

Above all, it WAS fun though. Ashley and I both looked fabulous but then again it's hard not to in a sea of mullets and post commie bridal fashion.