Bratislava day three- Presentation day!

Friday was presentation day! It was an extremely full program with Isabella, Chair of the LEAP Committee speaking first at 9am, then me finishing up around 7.30pm. There were no breaks between our presentations, so it was a full schedule.

Isabella gave us a very warm introduction and we were joined by the members of ExComm before their meeting.

Lourens opened the LEAP presentations with another excellent discussion on Gifted Children. It's really interesting to hear international perspectives on this, and gave me some ideas for how we can expand our interactions with our gifted kids. It also made me very aware of the limitations for this group in New Zealand, and how important it is that we have a strong working relationships with other organisations such as the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children and Mary's Gifted Contacts. The trouble other Mensas are having in this area makes me very grateful for the contacts I have in these organisations, so I thank them very much for working with Mensa.

If you didn't know already, Mensa New Zealand has a Facebook group for parents of our Young Members, to try to help these families connect. Uptake has been slow so far, but we know it will be a valuable resource for parents and kids, so we're looking at promoting it more in the next few weeks. If you're interesting in joining, email me at young.members@mensa.org.nz.

Petr presented on the programs for Gifted Children in the Czech Republic, and every time I hear about it I am equally impressed. This time instead of merely sitting in stunned silence (I know- me, silent? it must be good right?) I was able to appreciate how this could have an immense benefit not only for Mensa members in New Zealand, but all children. This event is not only about logic and intelligence, but has an incredible social aspect through the regional and national finals. I really look forward to working with the LEAP teach and Czech Mensa to try to get Logical Olympics running in New Zealand. I will post the link here so you can look at what Logical Olympics has to offer.

Jessie gave her fantastic presentation on engaging isolated members. I love this, because in New Zealand, most of our members are isolated. I love the use of competitions in Mensa Australia and definitely think this is something we can pick up on in New Zealand. I look forward to seeing the other projects Jessie has in mind, because I think this is where Mensa needs to go to connect its members. I will definitely be staying in touch with Jessie.

For those of you who don't already know, Jessie set up the M<18 group on Facebook, which is international for Mensa members between 13 and 17. If you are a Mensa member of this age and want to join, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/MUnder18/?fref=ts

Peter Sells presented on different types of leadership, different types of power and the difference between managing and leading. His presentation always makes me reflect on my own style of leadership and how important it is to have good management AND good leadership in an organisation, and that they are two different things.

I like Geoff Russell's presentation, because little changes and little actions can make a big difference and I am a firm believer in that. I don't think we appreciate the difference small actions can make, and we definitely don't appreciate the small victories. More often than not I hear "Oh I put on an event and only four people came" and I think, four people?! Wow! You made a difference in the lives of four people that day! That might have been the most fun, engaging, exciting thing those four people did that week. I think today we are led to believe that the only events in our lives that matter are the giant ones; the massive displays of affection, the most enormous problems and the biggest gatherings of people in our lives. The only people whose lives are really like that, are fictional characters in books, movies and television. Live small, enjoy the small things and you will really begin to create momentum in your life and the lives of others.

And then there was me. I love giving this presentation and talking about Young Members and what this really means to me. I love it that we started Young Members as a way of getting to meet a few other members my age, but I really did not expect to have the impact it has had. I really need to say a big, big thank you to the Young Members of Mensa New Zealand, you guys really are my inspiration, and the more time I spend with you, the more inspired I am. Thank you so much.

I again introduced the idea of the Young Members group, and also importantly that our Young Members Coordinator position is a National Board position. This is different from pretty much every other Mensa in the world, so this really sets us apart as world leaders. Providing a link between the National Board and young people gives Mensa New Zealand an ever expanding hub of ideas and enthusiasm to help benefit the whole organisation. 

After our presentations we joined a whole lot of others for the City Lights Tour, which included drinks at a couple of Bratislavan pubs and bars.

It was great to get together with other Mensa members and chat and get to know one another. I had a really great night on this tour and ended up dancing the night away!

Bratislava day two

We started day two with breakfast in the hotel, a mix of continental and Bratislavan specialties like spicy sausages.

Our first meeting was with the organisers of the logical Olympics from Czech Mensa. This is an amazing initiative and we are looking at the ways we can implement Logical Olympics in our national Mensas. 

Logical Olympics is a competition for school aged children in the Czech Republic that 32,000 school children registered for last year. The aim of the competition is multiple rounds of logic and puzzle solving questions in 3 stages. 

The first stage is online, then 50 people from each age group are selected to the next stage held in person in each region. Then there is a national final held in either Parliament and now Prague Castle which attracts parents, supporters and media. The competition is fierce and winners receive great prizes.

It was amazing to hear how the Logical Olympics is run and it really sounds like something that Mensa New Zealand could be involved in participating in. Czech Mensa are looking at providing the facilities for running this internationally and we look forward to hearing more from them.

Next we retired to an Irish pub where we had a little fun,

but actually wanted to have a serious discussion about what we had learned so far. We talked about what information and initiatives we as LEAP participants had learned and what we want to keep discussing. 

I talked about Young Members and the kinds of initiatives we are looking at introducing. Being surrounded by such efficient and enthusiastic people is really infectious and the discussions were great.

Jessie and I decided to explode Eurovea, a big shopping complex near the banks of the Danube. It was nice and cool inside especially since the temperature was really heating up. 

We headed back to the hotel for a break from the heat, then went and met up with a few others for dinner. Bratislava has quite a strong restaurant and cafe culture so we were spoilt for choice. 

We knew we had a big day the next day, so an early night was definitely in order!

Bratislava day one

Day one in Bratislava was a blur of adventure and meeting new people.

I met up with Jessie in Vienna Airport and caught the bus from there to Bratislava. The east Austrian countryside is very flat and spotted with small villages and farms until you travel the 80 kilometers from Vienna to Bratislava.

Greeted by our awesome welcome party of LEAP participants at the bus stop, we made our way through the streets of Bratislava to our hotel. We're staying at the Hotel Saffron which is quite a nice hotel in an interesting part of town. The entrance to the hotel was through the gate to a hospital, so it was a little deceptive at first sight.

Once we were settled in we went and registered for EMAG, being held in a big conference venue in the middle of Bratislava. We ran into a few young people registering and talked to other Mensans while getting registration sorted. We collected tickets for the EMAG various events and went for a walk around Bratislava. 

It took a bit of a walk before we hit a beautiful part of town but it was worth it. With paved pedestrian streets filled with bars, restaurants and shops, this part of Bratislava is vibrant and buzzing with life. We ate lunch and people watched before heading back to the hotel and getting ready for the Icebreaker.

The Icebreaker was a great way to meet a lot of the people who are in town for EMAG. A bar in town played host to several hundred Mensans, who ate, drank and talked their way into the late hours of the night. It was great to meet people from all over Europe and all over the world who had made their way to EMAG.

It was great meet other Young Members and talk about the current events and initiatives groups are undertaking. This made me very excited for the days to come.

Vienna day 3 - Schönbrunn Palace

Lourens and I decided to take the day and explore Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn Palace is just outside of the city centre and was the Summer residence of the Hapsburg Royal Family during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.



http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en.html  
After a short tram ride and walk we ended up at the massive courtyard entrance to Schönbrunn. The sheer scale of the palace is so intimidating.  There were a lot of people visiting the palace and what looked like some choir and singing groups who must have been putting on performances there.

Lourens and I decided to go for a walk through the gardens and immediately found ourselves in an unmanicured part of the garden by sneaking through the hedge (a relatively common phenomenon with Mensans to want to end up where you're not supposed to be).

The gardens are beautiful and provided some shade in the heat of the day.

We then went to the gardens on the other side of the palace where a spectacular fountain of merpeople and seahorses is at the bottom of a hill. There are so many amazing marble sculptures. To the right of the fountain is the Tiergarten (Zoo) and the palace labyrinth. 

We then met up with Roeland and went on a tour through the main chambers in the palace. We weren't able to take any photos inside here which was a shame. It was interesting to note that all the paintings and the furniture in there were of the  royals who lived there at the time, Franz Joseph and his family, unlike other palaces where all the paintings are of relatives and ancestors who had gone before. It seemed more like the family home of the royals, albeit on an extremely large and decadent scale. The tour was only one floor of many, but it did give a wonderful insight into the lives of that family. 

After the tour we stopped for a snack and then after deciding not to go in the labyrinth and taking a lot of photos, Lourens and I went up the hill to check out the palace reservoir and buildings up the top. The view from the top was spectacular and was a great way to see some more of the city.

It was wonderful to spend time with the LEAP crew before heading to Bratislava. I'm off to meet Jessie at the airport in the morning and head to Bratislava by bus, so I'll update you all from there!

Vienna day 2 - meeting up with LEAPers!

Peter, Lourens and I were all in Vienna at the same time, so I played tour guide and took the guys to the Stephansdom, then Lourens and I walked the same trail through the Winter Palace and the museum quarter that I did the day before. I could walk the same route one hundred times and still find something new to see, Vienna is so complex and beautiful.

We then took a slightly different route and headed off towards the Parliament, Rathaus (City Hall) and the gardens in the area. The Parliament buildings are so spectacular with all the statues and white marble.

The Rathous is enormous and ornate and there was a film festival setting up in the gardens at the Rathaus, so it was great to walk through all the stalls.

We went through one of the gardens and ran into a Greek style temple.

We then adventured off to find the Opera House and met back up with Peter. The Opera house in Vienna is very beautiful and very famous. There were a lot of people dressed as Mozart promoting a Mozart concert in the city.

We went on a slightly errant tram adventure, and ended up at a warm memorial and fountain. The water from the fountain was piped in from the Alps.

After navigating the Ubahn we ended up back at the Stadtmitte. We met up with Tina and went out to dinner at a traditional Austrian restaurant. It was a great place to sit, eat and talk while enjoying Austrian food into the evening.

Beautiful Vienna!

A beautiful morning greeted us as we flew from Bangkok into Vienna.

 
Today was my first morning in the beautiful city of Vienna. People tried to warn me how amazing Vienna is, but I can't really believe what I saw.

Once I made my way from Vienna Airport to my friend Tina's house, we set off to the middle of this city, through the beautiful old buildings to St Stephan's Cathedral, right in the heart of Vienna.

 It was a beautiful day and was interesting entering a church to take photos when there was a service on, but the people in there looked as though they were used to it.

We then missioned through the city, through the palace, once the winter home of the Austrian Royal Family.

 

We walked past the Natural History Museum and the Art History Museum. Tina told me when these amazing buildings were built, they put the patron saints of the Arts on the Science museum and the Arts on the science museum by mistake. They then covered this up by saying how could they protect a building they can't see, so they had to be on the top of the other building. Nice.

In this photo, the Art History museum is on the left and the Museum of natural history is on the right. The art and architecture in this area of town is absolutely stunning and well worth having a close look. The attention to detail is magnificent.

We then went to the Museum Quartier and had a great meal in the sun looking out over the courtyard.

After this, as the temperature crept higher to 35 degrees Celsius, we decided a great option would be to hit the beach down at the Danube. 

This was a great choice! While extremely busy, there was plenty of room for everyone to swim and sunbathe. 

After tiring ourselves out with lots of hard work down by the water, we headed back into town and hit the gym. I like visiting other gyms, but this was pretty cool because of where it was located. It is in the old Gasometer, where huge bells were suspended in water and lifted depending on how much gas there was. This has since been turned into an apartment building, mall and gym complex, very cool.

So all up, a very full on and exciting day! I'm going to sleep well tonight and can't wait for tomorrow.

First stop, Bangkok!

Just thought I'd send a quick update from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok! My flight boards in just over an hour for Vienna. 

The airport here is really nice and surprisingly busy for this time of night. Good to take a break and stretch my legs before getting back on the plane. Looking forward to a bit more sleep though!!