Bratislava - day five - Last day of EMAG2013

Sunday was a day of  more LEAP scheming, puzzles, more adventures around Bratislava and sadly, bittersweet goodbyes.

The LEAP crew met to talk about a few last minute ideas and strategies before. The passion and enthusiasm this group has is so fantastic, and I really am privileged to be part of it. We talked about what each of us are going to start by doing and what we are going to talk to our national Mensas about.

We then said goodbye to the wonderful Petr, who before he left attached a brain teaser to my clothes. So nice of him! :P

We made our way back through the city and stopped off to buy some souvenirs, send some postcards and have lunch. We then decided we were going to visit the castle at Bratislava. Well.. Lourens, Jessie and I learned why castles are built up on hills, and truly are impenetrable fortresses!! 

It seemed the dead ends, huge walls and lack of gates we could find would be definitely enough to deter an attacking army, let alone some plucky southern hemisphere tourists. We eventually found ourselves at the gate and walked through the castle, taking some great photos of the city as we went.

We then headed down across the bridge to the UFO tower where we met back up with Peter and Geoff for a snack and a look at the view from waaaay up on top of the tower. 

It was a great experience, and while here, I managed to solve the puzzle! 

Like at the end of our stay in Fort Worth, we had some very good signs (from the Cat Spirits no less) that although this part of the trip was over, we have a lot to look forward to.

We then headed back into town and Lourens, Jessie and I got some last minute shopping in before Jessie and I boarded the bus back to Vienna. There were several very, very sad goodbyes, both in Bratislava and Vienna knowing that although we will be meeting each other again someday, LEAP 2013 was over. I know we now need to work harder than ever to keep the LEAP team spirit going.

LEAP has been such a life changing experience for me. I feel now I have the confidence to take on further challenges to help Mensa New Zealand, and Mensas all over the world, to connect with their members. I believe this experience really has taught me the value of teamwork and getting other perspectives on ideas, and the people I have met through LEAP, both current and past participants, are definitely people whose perspectives I will actively seek. LEAP is amazing for Mensa, and Mensa should support this program in its entirety. Mensa needs LEAP.