CZECHGREATS

Winter is winnowing away and while there's been lots of theatre-going and park-walking, we've also been checking items off the ol' to-do list, which seems to sprout another few inches every time we pick it up.

- Get hole in rear of red pants stitched up

- Bathe the dog

- Write reference letters for students
- Make Czech travel plans for family visiting this Spring

- Get winter coats dry-cleaned
- Have taxes prepared

Etc. Etc. Etc.

A post I wrote a couple of years ago detailed some CZECHACHES - minor annoyances involved with living in the Czech Republic. Today, I want to highlight CZECHGREATS, or things that make life here pleasant. These are the sorts of things I'd miss should we move.

First off, art being at your fingertips all the time, everywhere, is a CZECHGREAT. On the weekends we'll scan the internet for something to do and there are always more art exhbitions than we have time to see, from vintage photography to performance art to contemporary sculpture and more. Below was a retrospective of Olbram Zoubek at Prague Castle a couple of years ago.

It's a snap to hop on a train, bus or bike and access nature within minutes of Prague proper. Being able to live in the city yet easily spend a morning hiking before popping back into Prague for dinner is a CZECHGREAT. Just don't climb and then get stuck on a pile of logs like our pup.

There is an abundance of starožitnictví (antique shops) and bazaars in this town, and they're very reasonable. Finding a set of old Czechoslovakian crystal goblets or yellowing 1970s film posters is surely a CZECHGREAT, whatwith the history and mystery attached. (And said items help one de-IKEA-fy) one's home. This is our favorite, in Prague 2.

Another CZECHGREAT is the wealth of opportunity to learn about history, sociology, conflict and more. Below, my feet are poised on the edge of a WWII memorial in Plzen after visiting the General George Patton Museum there. It's true that museums exist everywhere, but the Czechs do an extraordinarily good job of providing lectures, exhibits, tours and more to the public. I know more about Bohemian King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV than I ever thought I would!

For those with a sweet tooth, a CZECHGREAT is the gaiety surrounding desserts. Coming from diet-obsessed America where people are swearing off anything with sugar in favor of Paleo this or Whole30 that, it's lovely to sit in a cukrárna (sweet shop) and have a slab of carrot cake or ice cream with warm strawberries. Food culture is quite different here.

I could write heaps more about CZECHGREATS, but I really should get the floor swept as dustbunnies are pooling in the corners. Perhaps you have more to add?

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Frantiskovy Lazne in February

Reasons to go to the charming little Czech spa town of Františkovy Lázně in drab February:

1) Goethe, Beethoven and Franz Joseph the First were all regular guests to the mineral baths and spa treatments here - and you'll be able to follow in their footsteps without the Spring/Summer tourists.

2) There's a big aquatic center called the Aquaforum where you can easily while away 4 warm, relaxing hours for about 200kc (120kc more for the sauna, too).

From www.frantiskovylazne.cz

3) Someone yarn-bombed lampposts and flower planters in the center, and it looks like they're wearing sweaters.

4) You can "take the waters," i.e. drink the highly carbonated mineral spring water from fountains scattered around town. The taste is vile but it's supposed to be very healthy; you can get rid of that Winter cold.

5) The chilly evening temperatures will cause you to seek refuge somewhere warm and you may stumble upon a gem like the Country Saloon Bažina, an "American" country bar. The night we went, a band played Kenny Rogers and Alan Jackson in Czech! (They need to ditch the flag on the left, though.)

6) There are numerous parks, and many hotels offer Nordic walking tours through them with all the retirees (who are basically the only other people in the town besides you).

7) The grand 19th century architecture is striking - no matter what time of year you come.

8) You might quietly spot a celebrity in a cafe. We saw Czech comedian/actor Lukáš Pavlasek while we were eating this afternoon snack.

9) There are a number of peaceful spots to pop into, such as the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Olga.

10) It's just a lovely cure for the long Winter doldrums.

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Czech culture learning materials

As a teacher, I'm constantly compiling materials for lessons, so I thought, why not gather some materials that I've used for learning about the culture here in the Czech Republic?

Anyone can jump on Amazon and search for books on Czech customs and culture. The list I've got here is comprised of things that have helped me understand the dark humor, the lean toward egalitarianism, the penchant for house-slippers, in a more holistic manner.

Of course, the best thing you can possibly do to better grasp Czech norms is spend time with actual natives (and you should make every effort to!); these items are only meant to be supplemental.

Things that have helped me understand Czech culture*
*And please do recommend more

1. Films. Ask your Czech friends for some suggestions. I've been directed toward, which are all comical yet disconcerting at the same time:

From "Closely Observed Trains"

• Pupendo - about the difficulty of family life under Communism in the 1980s

• Closely Observed Trains - a coming-of-age story set during WWII in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, based on a novel

• Firemen's Ball - satire about Eastern European Communism, centered around a village's bumbling fire department

2. Literature, of course! (Sorry, Kafka, for not listing you.)

From the "Unbearable Lightness of Being" film adaptation, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Juliette Binoche. 

The book is better.

• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Placed in 1968 during the Prague Spring, this philosophical book about the tangled existence of four broken people is one of the most transformative things I've ever read, and I'm not exactly sure why. 

• The Little Town Where Time Stood Still by Bohumil Hrabal (also the author of "Closely Observed Trains). The story of a zany and delightful young brewer's wife in rural Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, and how political change impacts her village.

• No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima. Set in modern Prague, a divorced dentist must confront her family's Stalinist past whilst managing her difficult teen daughter, ex-husband and new love. It provides a frank picture of current drug culture in the city city, too.

• Now that we're becoming parents, I've enjoyed perusing bookshops for Czech children's books, which I'm beginning to be able to read: Here's a list.

3. Theatre. I still can't understand theatre in Czech, but here are some good foreigner-friendly bets:

I couldn't find a theatre gif, so here is Tom Hulce as a young Mozart in Czech director Milos Forman's award-winning film "Amadeus"

• English performances of Jara Cimrman plays at the Žižkovské divadlo in Prague 3. Cimrman is a fictional playwright who "wrote" many of this country's most famous comedies, most of which are set in the early 1900s. They are side-splitting hilarious!

• Drama and opera with the Czech National Theatre. A number of performances have English subtitles, and you will be blown away by the quality of theatre here for the price. I can't recommend Czech theatre highly enough.

4. Hiking. I've written about it many times on this blog - from a visiting parent hike to a hike where we found odd things. 

I love it because it gets us out of Prague and into various villages and landscapes; this country and culture is so much more than its capitol city. It forces us to use our Czech language more, too.

Are you an expat who has other tricks for learning about the local culture? Or are you a Czech who has suggestions for doing so? I'm always looking to learn more, so - again - please do share materials and ideas!

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25 years of lasky (love)

A love poem translated by *Václav JZ Pinkava:

The sort of love that results in 25 years of togetherness is extraordinary, and we were able to celebrate  it recently at our friends' quarter-century anniversary. As this couple (whom I've crassly given the pseudonym "TyVoles" on this blog - sorry, guys!) is a pair of world travelers, I thought the aforementioned poem fit nicely.

Our couple also has enormous senses of humour, so the day started off with Mr. surprising Mrs. with a Czech comedian performing a mock marriage ceremony in front of family and friends at a Prague restaurant.

 Afterward, we crossed the street to the Rotunda Nalezení sv. Kříže where our couple had a proper vow renewal. Being from the 11th century, that rotunda has likely seen many happy pairs consecrate their marriages.

Then of course, what would a ceremonious anniversary be without a party with copious food and drink? My favorite is the traditional Czech wedding food Šunka plněná křenovou šlehačkou - ham rolls with horseradish cream, and BW and I ate our weight in it. And somehow the evening ended with BW taking home an entire tub of leftover tlačenka (headcheese) and onion in vinegar.

Much more importantly than food, though, we always love seeing the TyVole family and their friends, and with some minimal Czech language skills now, we could even chat a bit with the grandmas.

So cheers to "heart(s) with dewed pearls a-beading" and all of the beautiful things that come with long-term commitment through the many changes that life brings. We raise a glass to our lovely friends.

*Mr. Pinkava has translated many Czech poems at http://www.vzjp.cz

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Czech things that intimidate me

I used to throw the hammer in college and have broken up my share of high school brawls. However, there are a few things that I'm too big a wimp to sample whilst living in the Czech Republic. Here's what and why:

- Slevomat.cz

This is the Czech version of U.S. sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. The content - discounts on body waxing and rotating sushi - doesn't intimidate me, but the vernacular does; it's all in Czech. I'm at the point now where I can understand conversations on the tram and can speak like a toddler, but don't feel confident purchasing an item or service with fine print I can't properly understand. Even if it means 25 percent off a round of laser tag.

- Tlacenka

I.e. headcheese in a a viscous gelatin. I think of brains as zombie food. I just can't.

- Ambivalence toward nudity

This is an item I wish I was more relaxed about. I admire this body-positive, non-sexualised consideration of the human figure au naturale. It's normal to see little ones frolicking in a fountain sans clothing on a hot summer day, or a woman breastfeeding her child in a cafe, or elderly people sunbathing in their gardens in their skivvies. On a recent trip to the Krkonosse Mountains, I even ran into a hiking group with their tops (but not bras) off. I wish I felt that ease. Below is Jan Saudek, a Czech artist famous for photography featuring nudes.

By Karolína Černá - FilmCZ.Info

- Mliko

I don't think a glass full of beer foam with just a smidgeon of liquid at the bottom is a hugely popular thing - but it's still a thing. Perhaps it's an elixir of youth; I've mostly seen older gentlemen order it. Even so, I'd sooner go thirsty than gulp a foamy substance.

*Last 3 photos via Wikimedia Commons

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