OPENING

DOORS

TO
OUTDOORS

BOOKLET WITH
NATIONAL
SPORTS AND
HEALTHY DISHES
 LATVIAN SPORT

FOX TAILS

Participants are divided into teams. Each participant

attaches a scarf or shawl to his/her trousers. This will
represent his/her tail. The tail should be easily
removable.

The first version of the game is played by two teams.

Each team in the game shall have its own territory or
„home”.

The task is to pull out as many tails of the opponents as possible while protecting their own.
The own tail cannot be touched by your hands. When the tail is pulled out, the opponent
brings it to their own territory/nest and leaves it there. Without a tail a participant cannot
continue a game. Those, who have no tail, return to the team’s „nest”. If there is a tail of the
opposing team, the participant can take it and continue the game. The game ends, when all the
members of one team are in their own territory without any tail.

Variations of the game could be:

1) Playing with more than 2 teams at the same time
2) Making couples, by tying 2 players of the same team together by their legs
3) Blindfolding (some) of the players
 LATVIAN LUNCH

COLD BEET SOUP

Ingredients for 35 people:

2,5 kg boiled beetroots, grated (pickled beets in the

jar is very good alternative)
6 large cucumbers
15 hard boiled eggs
10 boiled potatoes
1 kg boiled sausages
6 l kefir or buttermilk
2 lemons
Cold still water
Fresh dill
Scallion or chives
Salt and pepper

Grate the beets, if they are not grated. Peel potatoes and chop into bite sized pieces. Chop the
cucumbers, sausages, eggs, dill and scallion or chives. Pour the kefir or buttermilk and a little
bit of the cold still water into a large bowl or saucepan and add the chopped ingredients,
lemon juice and all the spices.
 SPLIT PEAS PORRIDGE

Ingredients for 35 people:

2 kg split peas
1,5 kg smoked meat or bacon
20 medium sized carrots
20 medium sized onions
4 whole garlic
Salt and pepper

Place peas in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak overnight. Put the peas in a
saucepan with the water and boil them slowly (low heat). Add some salt and pepper.
Meanwhile peel and chop carrots, half of the onions and the garlic. Put in the pan and cook
them. Chop the meat and the other half of onions and frythem in a frying pan. When the peas
and vegetables are tender, mix them together. The meat is served separately.
 CZECH DINNER

BRAMBORY NA LOUPACKU

Ingredients for 5 persons:

2 kg potatoes
1 pack of cottage cheese
125g butter
5 spoons of salt
Chives

Boil the potatoes with the skin (remove the skin afterwards if the potatoes are not new). Mix
the cottage cheese with the chives. Cut the butter in cubes. Serve on a plate with salt.

BUBLINA

Ingredients for 5 persons:

2 cups of flour
1,5 cups of milk
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of fruit
1 pack of pudding
Baking powder

Mix the flour (with baking powder), milk, sugar and eggs together. Roll it out and put it on a
tray (on baking paper). Bake 30 minutes on 180 °C. Afterwards decorate with the fruit and the
pudding.
 CZECH SPORT

LAGORY

The typical field for this game is shown on the picture. The blue line is the outer circle, the
red line the inner circle (you can use robes to create these circles). The size of the field
depends on the amount of players. The yellow dot on the picture represents the target of the
game (in our case this was a gummy dice on top of a bucket). Lastly, the game is played with
a ball (football, volleyball…). It is important to know that someone who is holding the ball in
the hand can not run with it.

The players divide in two teams (green dots and black dots). The green team starts as the
attacking team; they can not cross the blue line. The black team is the defending team; they
have to stay between the blue and the red line.

The green team has to try and hit the target with the ball, remember they can not cross the
blue line in an attempt to hit the target. The black team tries to block the ball with any body
part they want (hands, legs, head… it doesn’t matter).
The teams switch positions in the following cases (this means the defending team becomes
the attacking team and visa versa):
(They do this without interrupting the game! The change happens immediately without a
warning of the referee. The game continues without a break!)
1) The attacking team hits the target. This means they score a point.
2) The defending team manages to catch the ball between the red and the blue line. If
this happens they can try to hit a member of the attacking team. The attacking
team can run away from the blue circle (as far as you want) to avoid being hit.
IMPORTANT: catching the ball counts as a ‘hit’! so do not try to catch the ball

a. If the ball hits a person without touching the ground first, the teams have to
switch positions.

b. If the ball hits the ground before touching a player. The attacking team can
take the ball (remember not to run with the ball) and the positions stay the
same.

The game ends when a team scores for example 5 points.

 GURKA MURKA (Gert’s variant of baseball)

The field is represented in the picture by the red lines. The size of the field depends on the
amount of players. The blue line indicates the area for the striker. The yellow dot is where the
thrower stands. Furthermore you need a ball (preferably soft, the size depends on preferences)
and a bat for the striker.

The players divide into two teams: the attacking team (black) with the striker (blue) and the
defending team (green) with the thrower (yellow).

The attacking team:

The thrower throws the ball to the striker (the ball has to be thrown upwards and has to arrive
at the striker between the head and the knees so it is easier for him to hit the ball). Now there
are several options according to the success of the striker:
1) The striker hits the ball, and the ball falls on the ground in the red field but outside the
blue line. This is a true strike. The striker now has to run and try to reach the opposite
side of the field. While attempting to do so he has to stay in the red field but he
doesn’t have to run in a straight line. However he can’t stop running nor turn back.
IMPORTANT: if after a successful hit, the striker throws the bat outside the blue
field, he is ‘out’.
2) If the striker fails to hit the ball or the ball got hit outside the field, the striker has to
try again (up to 3 attempts). If he fails 3 times he is ‘out’.
Players who are ‘out’ are still playing the game. They have to stand somewhere next to the
bottom red line. When another player has a successful strike, they as well try to run to the
other side at the same time.

When players reach the other side of the field there are two options:
1) If they decide to stay there, they have to raise their hand. Then they have to wait
for the next turn, this means the next successful strike, to run back to the other side
(again only through the field).
2) If they want to run back already in the same turn, this is allowed.

In any case, a team scores only a point when a runner reaches the bottom red line again (in
one or two turns, it doesn’t matter).

The defending team:

After a successful strike the defending team tries to grab the ball as quickly as possible and
tries to hit any player of the other team running in the field (the defenders can run with the
ball or throw the ball). If any of the runners of the attacking team gets hit, the teams switch
positions. The defending team becomes the attacking team and visa versa.

If they are able to catch the ball before it hits the ground, the teams change positions as well.

The game ends after an agreed period of time or an agreed score.

 HUNGARIAN LUNCH

COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS

Ingredients (for 30 people):

4 kg cottage cheese
24 eggs
16 dl grits
16 tablespoon oil
32 tablespoon breadcrumbs
salt

Push the cottage cheese through a sieve and mix it with the eggs, grits and salt, and let it rest
for half a day. Then make small balls out of them with wet hands, boil them in salty water,
and then cover them in the breadcrumbs, which were toasted in oil before.

BEEF STEW

Ingredients (for 30 people):

6 kg shin of beef
6 big onion
6 green pepper
6 tomato
salt
6 tablespoon red pepper powder
ground pepper

Braise the chopped onions and stew the beef which were cut into cubes before. Then strew the
red pepper, salt and ground pepper on the meat. After that, pour so much water on it, so it
covers up the meat. Finally, put the green pepper and the tomatoes in the stew and cook them
until they’re soft.
 HUNGARIAN SPORT

MÉTA BALL

Equipment:

Méta racket
méta or tennis ball
Anything to indicate bases

Preparations:

Choose a judge to lead the game. We make two groups, one of them will strike the ball, the
other one will try to catch the ball (after a match they will swap roles). The catching team
chooses a player who will be the thrower. We put the bases in a big circle. There is also a base
for the thrower. The striking team stands in a row before the thrower, the catching team
scatters all around the place.

The game:

The aim of the groups will be to get more points than the other team. They get points for
different actions which depend on their roles:
The striking team strikes the ball one by one. Everyone has 3 choices to hit the ball. If they
miss all of them, they should walk to the first base. If the striking player hits the ball, but
thinks that it wasn’t a good hit, he can ask another throw, of course this counts as a miss. If
they succeed, they should run from base to base and try to run to the last base. In the
meantime the catcher team tries to catch the ball and return the ball to the thrower, who
always has to get at least one of his legs in his base. The thrower has to catch the ball, touch
the grand with the ball and yell: Stop! The player, who struck has to stop at a base before the
thrower yells stop. If they couldn’t stop at a base, they drop out. Next comes the following
striker with the same rules, etc. But after they strike, the other ones who were standing at
bases can continue to run to the last base. The striking team gets 1 point for each person
reaching the last base. If someone reaches the last base in the same round when he struck, the
team gets two points, or they can free one of their mates, who dropped out before. There’s
another rule for the strikers: if the ball flies to the wrong direction (picture above), every
striker who is at a base should walk back to the base where they were at the moment of
striking.

The catching team has to catch the ball and return it to the thrower as fast as possible, so the
striking team can’t run that far. They get points for each player who drops out from the
striking team. Also if they manage to catch the ball mid air, they get 1 point for it, and every
striker should walk back to the base, where he was at the moment of the strike.

The judge is always right. He counts the points, and decides if a striker managed to reach a
base or not. They can have people to help them, because it’s a bit hard to count and watch the
game.
 AUSTRIAN LUNCH

SPINATKNÖDEL

Ingredients (serves approximately 4 people):

300 g day-old bread (rolls or baguette) cut in cubes

200 ml milk
300 g spinach (deep-frozen, in leaves or sieved,
whatever you like best)
20 g butter
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
Salt, pepper, nutmeg to season
2 eggs
2 tablespoonful of flour
10 g bread crumbs

To serve: butter, finely grated parmesan

Preparation:

Cut the rolls into small cubes. Pour the milk over the bread and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
The bread should be softened but not dripping wet. Maybe you’ll have to add some more milk
to achieve this consistency.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the onions until tender. Then
remove from the heat.

Mix the onions with the bread, add the flour, the breadcrumbs and the spinach (defrosted of
course) and stir in the eggs. Finally season with salt, pepper and some nutmeg. Mix it all well;
it is easiest to do so with your hands. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.

If the dough is too wet to hold together, add some bread crumbs.
With wet hands, form Knödel (round dumplings) and cook 15 - 20 minutes in simmering
slightly salted water. Do not let the water boil. You can make Knödel in any size; just adjust
the cooking time accordingly.

Remove the Knödel and serve them sprinkled with grated parmesan and drizzle over some
melted butter. Mixed or green salads go perfectly with the Spinatknödel.
Guten Appetit!!! 

APFELSTRUDEL

Ingredients (for 1 Strudel, serves about 6-8 people):

Filo pastry (if this doesn’t exist in your country you can also
use strudel or puff pastry, but it usually is made with filo pastry),
2 sheets per Strudel
750 g apples
50 g caster sugar
Juice of a lemon
Cinnamon
50 g butter
100 g bread crumbs
optional: 50 g sultanas
50 g finely chopped nuts

To serve: In Austria we usually serve the Apfelstrudel still warm, with vanilla ice cream,
(warm) vanilla sauce, whipped cream or simply without any accompaniment – it’s all
delicious!

Preparation:

Peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut each quarter into thin slices. Toss them with the lemon
juice, the sugar and ground cinnamon (at this point you should also add the nuts and/or
sultanas if you chose to incorporate any). Set the oven at 180°C.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and fry till they are golden and
crispy. Mix them with your apple mix.

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper or a clean tea towel on a work surface. Cover with a sheet
of filo, brush it with a little melted butter or oil. Place the second filo sheet neatly on top.
Spread now your apple-breadcrumb-mixture in the middle.

Fold over the edges; brush some fat on the folded edges (to fix them). Picking up your kitchen
towel at the ends, slide the Strudel carefully onto the baking tray (covered with a sheet of
greaseproof paper) with the dough seam facing down. Brush on some water on top.

Bake for 30-45 minutes till the pastry is thoroughly crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

ENJOY! 
 AUSTRIAN SPORT

DODGE BALL

The shape of the field is shown on the picture (red lines). Furthermore you need one ball (e.g.
volleyball).

The players divide in two teams (black team and green team). All players except of the
captain go stand in their field. The captain has to stand on the opposite side of the field,
behind the enemy team.

The aim of the game is to hit players of the other team directly with the ball by throwing the
ball with the hands. This can be done by the field players or the captain. When a player gets
hit, he or she has to join the captain on the other side of the field.

The game ends when a team manages to hit all the players of the other team.

Some remarks:
- The referee starts the game by tossing the ball into the air. A player of each team can
try to push the ball to their team members (like in basketball).
- The captain and the other players out of the field can only hit members of the other
team while standing behind the backline. When standing behind the sidelines, a player
can only pass to a team member.
 - You can only grab a ball when it is in your area; otherwise you have to leave it for the
other team.
- When a player catches the ball, this doesn’t count as a hit.
- The captain can choose to join the field and become a normal player any time from the
moment a player has to join him behind the baseline.

Variations on the original game:

- Queen bee: almost the same as the original, but now one of the players is the queen
bee. If he/she gets hit, the game is over.
- Reversed game: all the players start outside the field, the captain starts inside the field.
The players now try to hit the captain of the opposing team. When they do so, they can
join their captain on the field. The game ends when all players are in the field. In this
variant you can also hit people from the sidelines.
- A last variation is also very similar to the original, but when a player is hit he doesn’t
join his captain but waits by the sideline. He or she can join the field again when one
of his team members catches a direct ball from the other team. The game ends when a
team doesn’t have any players left on the field.
 SLOVAKIAN LUNCH

FIRST SLOVAK SALAD WITH SHEEP CHEESE

Ingredients (34 persons):

2125 g sheep cheese

1700 g lettuce mix
850 g young spinach leafs
102 radishes
17 spring onion
17 handful of walnuts
17 tea spoon of chopped fresh chive

Topping:

Lemon sap from 9 of lemon,

34 soup spoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Procedure:
1. Clean and cut the lettuce
2. Add cutted radishes, spring onion and chive
3. Add lemon sap, olive oil, pepper and mix it
4. Add sheep cheese and decorate with walnuts
 SLOVAKIAN SPORT

RINGO

Playground (e.g. volleyball field):

- Field of 9x18 m
- The net should be 243 cm tall

Equipment:

- rings

Team:

A team consists of one, two or three players. Solo players play with one ring, couples and
triples with two.

Goal:

You need to throw the rings to the field of the other team. You score when they fail to catch a
ring and the ring falls on the ground. Every ring that falls is worth one point.

Gameplay:

Each team starts with one ring and they serve simultaneously the ring (the player that serves
has to stand behind the backline while serving, then he can move to the field again).

You can choose with which hand you catch the rings, but you must throw the circle with the
same hand as you catched the ring. You can not catch the ring with both hands, or by letting
the ring slip on your arm. In both cases it counts as a point for the other team. Once a ring is
catched you can not pass or move, you have to throw it to the other field.
When a rings falls on the ground, the ring has to be passed immediately below the net towards
the other team who will immediately serve the ring again. Meanwhile the game continues
with the other ring!

One set is played to 15 points

 BULGARIAN LUNCH

SHOPSKA SALATA

This is a traditional Bulgarian salad originated by the Shopi people of the Sofia region, and
hence the name shopska.
There are slight variations from family to family but the basic ingredients for this refreshing
salad, served year-round, are the same.

Makes 5 servings

Ingredients:
 4 tomatoes, chopped

 1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped

 4 green or red peppers, roasted or raw, chopped

 1 large yellow onion sliced,

or 3-4 green onions, chopped

 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 1/2 cup sunflower oil

 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

 Salt and black pepper

 1/2 cup Bulgarian cheese (feta cheese), crumble

Preparation:
1. Place tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion and parsley in a large bowl.

2. Place oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste in a screw-top jar. Cover and shake until
well blended.

3. Toss dressing with vegetables, turn into a serving bowl. Top with crumbled cheese.
Ready to serve.

Bon appétit!

BULGARIAN MOUSSAKA

Moussaka is a Bulgarian minced meat dish.

Makes 5 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 kg of minced meat (usually pork and
veal in Bulgaria)
1 kg of potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
Parsley, 1/3 cupful, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup of yoghurt
2 spoons of flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooking oil

Preparation:

1. Fry the onion and the minced meat in oil. The more fatty the meat is, the less oil you need.
When the meat is no longer red add the potatoes, tomatoes and parsley. Add salt and pepper
to taste.
2. Bake it in the oven at 180◦C for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Stir the eggs, the yoghurt and the flour together and pour it over the dish. Bake for 10 more
minutes. It's delicious with cold yoghurt on the side.

Enjoy!

BULGARIAN BANITZA

This is a traditional Bulgarian pastry.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

5 eggs
4-5 tbsp unsalted butter
50 ml olive oil
1 cup – 250 ml of plain yoghurt with baking soda – 1/3 teaspoon
1 pack ready to use filo dough sheets
1 cup crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

In a large bowl beat the eggs then add the yoghurt, crumble in all the feta cheese and stir the
olive oil. Don't over mix - cheese should be lumpy.
In a lightly greased baking tray put two sheets - one on top of the other, and sprinkle few
spoonfuls’ of the mixture that you would have prepared earlier. Then cover it with another
two filo sheets and repeat the same till you have used all the filo sheets and the filling
mixture.
Melt 4-5 tbsp of pure butter and sprinkle it over the top sheet.
Bake it for 30 min - until golden brown and crispy. When the banitza is ready, cover it with a
kitchen towel or cloth and let it rest.
 BULGARIAN GAME

GUARDS VS ROBBERS

The playfield is preferably an outdoor location with a lot of hiding places (e.g. forest). Agree
on beforehand the boundaries of the field, this depends on the number of players.

The players divide into two groups, the guards and the robbers. The guards start only with a
few players, the robbers form the biggest group (e.g. we played with 6 guards and 20
robbers).

When the game starts the guards have to close their eyes and the robbers have 1 min to run
away and hide. After a minute the guards can open their eyes and start to hunt for the robbers.
If they find a robber, they can try to catch him. To catch a robber a guard has to hold the hand
on a part of the body of the robber while saying “Guard time. You are now one of us, brother”
(or something like that). Of course the robber can still try to run away, and when the hand of
the guard loses contact with the body of the robber while still saying the sentence, the robber
is still free.

Important: it is not allowed to grab the robber with the hand; instead the hand has to be
´pushed´ against the body (e.g. you can hold a robber by pushing both hands against the
shoulders of the robber).

When a robber is caught, he can decide to die (exit the game) or join the guards.

The game adds when all robbers are gone or after an agreed amount of time.