tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52221137739706575692024-03-13T12:53:53.332-07:00Czech Republic not-so-well-knownMartahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-17183234046331097922023-07-01T14:49:00.018-07:002023-07-01T14:54:06.848-07:00PROČ POTŘEBUJEME MALÉ JAZYKOVÉ OBORY?<p> <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b>PROČ BY SE ČESKÝ STÁT RUŠENÍM MALÝCH JAZYKOVÝCH OBORŮ STŘELIL DO NOHY?</b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">No... ne zrovna střelil do nohy, ale kus paty by si uřízl.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Chcete expandovat na nový trh? Podporujte malé jazyky na filozofických fakultách.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Stal se některý váš příbuzný obětí zločinu? Podporujte malé jazyky na filozofických fakultách😊</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">To trochu přeháním 😊 ale hned vysvětlím, jak to myslím. Každému je jasné, že malé jazyky jako nizozemština, finština, slovinština apod. nejsou zrovna základní kámen české ekonomiky. Ale já bych řekla, že jsou okap. Chrání budovu před vodou – před závislostí na několika velkých zemích. Asi nemusím vysvětlovat, že mít investice na mnoha různých místech je bezpečnější než mít jednu-dvě velké investice.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">S Nizozemím, Dánskem, Estonskem a dalšími podobnými zeměmi sice spolupracujeme méně než s Čínou nebo Velkou Británií, ale má to dvě velké výhody: taková spolupráce je jednoduchá a poměrně bezpečná.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Jsem absolventka brněnské anglistiky a baltistiky (s litevštinou a lotyštinou pracuji 17 let), a tak Vám o obchodní spolupráci neřeknu nic z pohledu ekonoma a podnikatele. Ale hodně toho vím z pohledu experta na malé jazyky.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Jednoduše řečeno – my absolventi malých jazykových oborů jsme často jedním z článků řetězce, který vede k obchodní spolupráci a výhodným zakázkám. Často článkem neviditelným. Zaměstnanci, co pak na zakázkách pracují, o nás vůbec nevědí.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Představte si, že jste majitel menší firmy a chcete začít exportovat do Lotyšska. Ale potřebujete někoho, kdo by Vám přeložil dokumenty a řekl vám, jaké to je – jednat s Lotyši. Zkoušíte to anglicky, ale trochu to dře. Jakým jazykem s nimi mluvit? Na co si dát pozor?</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Nejspíš napíšete 1) na lotyšskou ambasádu nebo 2) do agentury CzechTrade.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">1) Ambasáda vás rovnou odkáže na katedru lotyštiny na pražské nebo brněnské univerzitě. Vedoucí katedry pak váš e-mail přepošle těm studentům a absolventům, o kterých ví, že ten který jazyk umí opravdu dobře, mají komunikační schopnosti a trochu se zajímají o obchod.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> V tom je nezastupitelná role malých kateder – nikde jinde nemají takový přehled o tom, kdo s těmi jazyky pracuje a co jsou jeho slabé a silné stránky. Můj bývalý vedoucí katedry třeba ví, že mě může doporučovat na složité překlady a práci s filmaři, ale rozhodně ne na diplomatické a reprezentativní záležitosti 😂<br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">2) A v agentuře CzechTrade se vás ujmou třeba tři lidi, z nichž jeden je absolvent toho oboru. Nebo se s absolventy oboru soukromě poradí, než vám pošle tipy a rady (jak vím z vlastní zkušenosti; já taky funguju jako taková neformální poradkyně CzechTrade 😄 ).</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Znalci malých jazyků často v oboru pracují jen částečně (u mě asi 70 % tvoří překlady z litevštiny a lotyštiny a 30 % z angličtiny). Nebo pár let ano, pár let ne. Proto se špatně hodnotí, jestli "pracují v oboru". Jenže pro českou ekonomiku je důležité, aby <b>byli K DISPOZICI, KDYŽ JE TO POTŘEBA.</b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Nejvíc to bylo vidět, když Litva a potom Lotyšsko vypsaly tendr na výrobce nových vlaků pro své dráhy. Škodovka potřebovala, aby někdo rychle přeložil dokumentaci k veřejným zakázkám.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Litevskou dokumentaci překládal kolega baltista. Lotyšské dokumentace se ujala jedna Lotyška žijící v Brně, já – absolventka brněnské baltistiky - a jedna absolventka pražské baltistiky. Spolupracovaly jsme s tátou, který je drážní inženýr. Díky tomu Škodovka přesně a včas pochopila, co po ní Lotyšské dráhy chtějí, a mohla předložit dobrou nabídku.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Šlo o výrobu mnoha vlakových souprav celkem za 6 miliard korun: <br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><a href="https://www.denik.cz/ekonomika/obri-zakazka-skoda-doda-do-lotysska-elektricke-jednotky-za-sest-miliard-20190730.html?fbclid=IwAR39AC-X1d02AbmiQ3qV0dZjHMiJ5bJJCYXWisucmm2Jc8X2ruRxA37wbrY">https://www.denik.cz/ekonomika/obri-zakazka-skoda-doda-do-lotysska-elektricke-jednotky-za-sest-miliard-20190730.html?fbclid=IwAR39AC-X1d02AbmiQ3qV0dZjHMiJ5bJJCYXWisucmm2Jc8X2ruRxA37wbrY</a><br /></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><br /></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Ta výroba vlaků pro Lotyšsko pořád běží. To znamená, že díky dvěma absolventkám filozofických fakult mají stovky lidí práci nejmíň na 4 roky.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Další příklad? Když jsem tuhle petici sdílela ve FB skupinách, okamžitě jsem dostala zprávu od jednoho litevského podnikatele: „Vy jste česká odbornice na litevštinu? Tak to je super, já bych si v ČR chtěl zadat ve třech továrnách výrobu pro svou firmu, ale radši bych, aby to pomáhal dojednat nějaký odborník.“</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Ani nevíte, kolikrát jsem tohle zažila. "Jé, vy jste odbornice na litevštinu a lotyštinu? Já bych potřeboval/-a..."</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A nejde jenom o ekonomiku. U malých jazyků je nedostatek soudních a policejních tlumočníků a překladatelů, takže ti stávající jsou přepracovaní a mají dlouhé termíny odevzdání. Kdyby jich bylo víc, soudům a policii by všechno netrvalo tak strašně dlouho.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Poslední dobou se navíc objevuje víc a víc případů kyberkriminality. Zločinci z několika evropských států si založí webové stránky a obírají lidi prostřednictvím internetu. Takové případy musí řešit třeba sedm malých států zároveň... a už chápete, kam tím mířím: je potřeba spousta odborníků na to prostředí a na ty jazyky, co přeloží všechny ty mezinárodní zatykače a protokoly z výslechu.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Mimochodem, to se pořád píše o strojových překladačích a jak překladatele nahradí umělá inteligence... Jenže málokomu dochází, že soudní překlad může stokrát přeložit umělá inteligence – ručit za něj stejně musí člověk. Nikdo neví, jestli překlad pomocí umělé inteligence bude dokonalý, a jestli ano, tak kdy. Když umělá inteligence přeloží „odvolat se můžete do 30 dnů od vydání rozsudku“ jako „odvolat se můžete do 30 dnů od předání rozsudku“ a vy se kvůli tomu odvoláte pozdě, tak umělou inteligenci k odpovědnosti nepopoženete.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Zkrátka a dobře - podpora malých jazyků by mohla znamenat míň čekání a frustrace.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Často jsem slyšela argument, že 1) není potřeba, aby se tyhle jazyky učily na univerzitách. Že by stačily kurzy a jazykové školy. <br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Nebo že by 2) stačilo využívat imigranty z dotyčných zemí, kteří umí česky, lidi ze smíšených rodin nebo lidi, co se ten jazyk naučili při pracovním pobytu v té zemi.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">1) U některých profesí by to určitě šlo. Ale ukažte mi podrobný a realistický business plán těch jazykových kurzů a pak se můžeme bavit. Zatím ho nikdo nevymyslel.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">2) A těch imigrantů, lidí ze smíšených rodin a lidí, co se jazyk naučili z jiného důvodu – těch tu prostě není dost. Možná jich někdy dost bude, ale spoléhat se na to nedá.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Co tím vším chci říct? Je to prosté, milý Watsone. Rušení malých jazykových oborů není dobré ekonomické řešení.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Je výhodné pro fakulty, ale ne pro český stát. Vypadá to, že se tím ušetří – ale ve skutečnosti se tím připravíme o zakázky a zkomplikujeme si soudnictví.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><u>Dobré ekonomické řešení</u></b> by bylo:</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b>podpora praktických předmětů na fakultách</b> (což třeba FF MU už dělá)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b>lepší komunikace mezi obchodníky a fakultami, mezi humanitními a přírodovědnými obory</b> (prostě se navzájem potřebujeme)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b>lepší informovanost</b> ve společnosti i na fakultách</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">a <b>lepší zacházení se soudními překladateli ze strany státu</b>.</div></div><p></p>Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-81883051935042630852016-01-24T04:28:00.001-08:002016-02-07T10:23:03.599-08:00Views of common Czech placesHi everyone,<br />
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you have probably seen some pictures of famous places in the Czech Republic. Prague, Kutná Hora, Karlovy Vary, Český Krumlov...<br />
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But what tourism websites don't show you are random views. The common streets, the small town squares, the fields, the hills. The real face of the country.<br />
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So, some time ago, I decided to start taking pictures of common places and share them with you :-)<br />
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All of these towns and villages have much more beautiful and representative buildings, but this time, I focused on the less-known ones.<br />
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I'm including brief notes of where the pictures were taken.<br />
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<b>Bohemia</b> is basically the Western part of CzR where Prague is, <b>Moravia</b> the Eastern part where Brno is.<br />
<b>Bohemian-Moravian Highlands</b> are in-between the two.<br />
(There's also <b>Silesia</b>, the North-Eastern part of CzR, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures from there.)<br />
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And if you were wondering why there are almost no people in the pictures, it's not because there are no people in the Czech Republic :-)<br />
It's because I waited for people to walk away, so that it wouldn't be awkward for them to appear in some stranger's pictures.<br />
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Suburban area of Brno (Jundrov): <br />
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University campus, offices and shopping centre in Brno:<br />
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Brno, a few streets away from the historical centre:<br />
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Brno, the water reservoir (artificial lake):<br />
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Buchlovice, a village in South Moravia:<br />
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Uherské Hradiště, a town in South Moravia:<br />
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Kroměříž, a town in East Moravia:<br />
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Prague, suburban area (Horní Počernice):<br />
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Prague, suburban area (Klánovice):<br />
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Potštejn, East Bohemia:<br />
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Jihlava, Bohemian-Moravian Highlands:<br />
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Lysice, Central to South Moravia:<br />
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Moravský Krumlov, South Moravia:<br />
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Tišnov, Bohemian-Moravian Highlands - South Moravia:<br />
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Bučovice, South Moravia:<br />
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Český Brod, Central Bohemia (not far from Prague):<br />
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Dačice, South Bohemia meets South Moravia:<br />
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Vsetín, North-East Moravia:<br />
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Veltrusy, Central Bohemia:<br />
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Náměšť nad Oslavou, where the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands meet South Moravia:<br />
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Chotěboř, Bohemian-Moravian Highlands: </div>
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Railway station in Chotěboř:<br />
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Railway station in Zbečno, Central Bohemia:<br />
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Railway station in Kyjov, South Moravia:<br />
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Old tree alley in Veltrusy, Central Bohemia:<br />
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First slopes of mountains called Jeseníky, North Moravia:<br />
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Where the hilly region near Buchlovice meets the lowlands of the river Dyje, South Moravia:<br />
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Central Bohemia meets Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, village of Čestín, not far from Kutná Hora:<br />
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Countryside surrounding the river Berounka, Central Bohemia:<br />
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North Bohemia:<br />
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The fields of Central Bohemia and Bohemian-Moravian Highlands usually look something like this:<br />
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A pond (old artificial lake) in South Bohemia: </div>
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<br />Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-39115031240376036762015-12-06T10:37:00.000-08:002016-01-24T07:25:07.192-08:00Good TV show and music videos<i>Hi everyone,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>thanks for visiting my blog! :-)</i><br />
<br />
<i>I wrote this article in the autumn of 2015 but since then, I've discovered that it isn't 100% true. We DO produce good music, books and films :-) only I didn't know about them. And we stage theatre comedies well :-)</i><br />
<br />
<i>But otherwise, the article is good. So I decided not to delete it. Here goes:</i><br />
<br />
I just wanted to share my joy because we (well, Czechs) have finally created something worth presenting abroad!<br />
The last couple of years, it had looked like our taste and creativity is almost gone, and I was unhappy that I'm not a composer or a film director.<br />
But this autumn, there was a brand new series on TV that I think is quite good - it's called <b>Labyrint</b> (no need to translate, I think :-)<br />
It's directed by the brilliant <b>Jiří Strach</b>. His name translates as "George Fear" but he's said to be very kind-hearted, actors love working with him. The series is a mystery / thriller and takes place in the city I now live in - <b>Brno</b>!<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno</a><br />
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I've watched quite a lot of mysteries and whodunnits - Czech, British, French, Austrian, German, American and Canadian - and still can say this one is interesting and unusual. And yesterday I found out that several other countries are buying the show. I was so proud!<br />
If anyone who speaks Czech was interested, it's accessible online:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCme8fh8iREvK1W11A_MNqeQ/videos">http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCme8fh8iREvK1W11A_MNqeQ/videos</a><br />
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And today, the band called <b>Divokej Bill</b> ("Wild Bill", from the town of Úvaly, not far from Prague) posted their new music video on Facebook. It's called <b>Koně</b> ("Horses").<br />
I used to know two of the members personally - one of them sang in the same children's choir as me and another had the same violin teacher as me. So I'm always happy to see them alive and well and producing good music.<br />
I'm guessing some scenes were filmed in Romania. I like their lyrics because their vocabulary is rich. They play with old sayings and proverbs and know how to combine them with expressions common people use today.<br />
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Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't allow me to insert the video, so here's just the link:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th7BM84Z5HY&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th7BM84Z5HY&feature=youtu.be</a><br />
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<b>Lyrics translation:</b><br />
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<i>The horses shied</i><br />
<i>They're galloping like mad</i><br />
<i>We're only fall asleep at the dawn</i><br />
<i>I told you so</i><br />
<i>The horses shied</i><br />
<i>They're galloping like mad</i><br />
<i>So don't act like it's beneath you</i><br />
<i>Start getting used to it</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>In the motor of my machine</i><br />
<i>Goblins are dancing</i><br />
<i>In short, they shied</i><br />
<i>I told you so</i><br />
<i>As they're ranting</i><br />
<i>They're whispering in my ear</i><br />
<i>"Hold on to us, don't fall</i><br />
<i>Or you'll soon find out..."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Ref.:</i><br />
<i>There's mist crawling towards the village like a snake</i><br />
<i>Your eyes are slowly closing</i><br />
<i>They want to go to sleep</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>My black horses</i><br />
<i>Never get exhausted</i><br />
<i>When we ride together</i><br />
<i>Everyone wakes up and starts to have fun</i><br />
<i>Up and down</i><br />
<i>Go pistons in the rhythm of rock-n-roll</i><br />
<i>I grab the handlebars</i><br />
<i>And you, horses, giddy-up!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Ref.:</i><br />
<i>There's mist crawling towards the village like a snake</i><br />
<i>Your eyes are slowly closing</i><br />
<i>They want to go to sleep</i><br />
<i>The eleventh of January</i><br />
<i>Or November</i><br />
<i>We're not stopping, we're going on</i><br />
<i>Mr. Psychopath!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>But nowhere it's written</i><br />
<i>That we're written off</i><br />
<i>If the road is full of potholes</i><br />
<i>We'll just use another trick</i><br />
<i>And get lost in the labyrinth </i><br />
<i>Don't give up!</i><br />
(literally, <i>"don't throw your rifle in the rye field"</i> - that's one of the sayings I mentioned)<br />
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<b>Note</b>: January 11th and November 11th are no special dates in the Czech Republic. I'd say they chose them because they consist of numerals 1.<br />
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Speaking of Divokej Bill, I can't forget to mention their most famous song <b>Znamení</b> ("Signal", "Sign"). It's a symbolistic song meant to remind us of Jan Palach, the student that set himself on fire and died, as a protest against the arrival of Soviet tanks in 1968.<br />
We never belonged to the Soviet Union, but in the 1960's, the Communist party in Czechoslovakia got quite free-spirited and introduced some reforms that made life much more bearable. The leadership of the USSR didn't like that so it sent tanks and soldiers as a "friendly" reminder from the USSR not to get too carried away with the reforms. They didn't shoot anyone, but were here "just in case".<br />
The regime got much more oppressive after that. Also for the people in the USSR itself. The 1970's were a pretty depressing period of time. Everything was grey or dark brown. I wasn't born yet but you could still feel the remnants of that atmosphere in the 1980's.<br />
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Palach's protest took place in 1969 on Václavské náměstí, a huge square in the centre of Prague, that's now usually packed with tourists, as you can see in the video. Towards the end, if you look closely, you'll see that the young man has a can of petrol / gasoline.<br />
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The lyrics consist almost entirely of old sayings and phrases.<br />
They play on the fact that there's a children's game where one child searches for something and the others direct him by saying <i>samá voda</i> ("all water", meaning "you're nowhere near the hiding place"), <i>přihořívá</i> ("starting to burn", meaning "you're getting close") and <i>hoří!</i> ("burning!")<br />
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<i>Dávám ti znamení, ať zase víš, kam jít </i>- I'm giving you a signal so that you know again where to go<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A ty dáváš mi znamení, ať vím, kam jít </i> - And you are giving me a signal so that I know where to go<i><br /></i><br />
...<br />
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<i>Piju to tvoje zlý víno </i>- Drinking that evil wine of yours<br />
<i>Samá voda, je to samá voda!</i> - It's all water!<br />
<i>(trošku přihořívá) </i>- (starting to burn a bit)<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>Ale kosa na kámen narazí - </i>But the scythe will hit the stone (something will get stopped suddenly)<br />
<i>Kosa na kámen, to tě zamrazí -</i> Scythe to the stone, that sends shivers down your spine<br />
<i>Kosa na kámen je tvý svědomí černý</i> - Like scythe to the stone is your black conscience<br />
... <br />
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<i>Jako kosa na kámen je znamení </i>- Like scythe to the stone is the signal<br />
<i>Ať víš, kam jít, že křídla máš poraněný </i>- So that you know where to go, and that your wings are injured<i><br /></i><br />
...<br />
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<i>Piju to tvoje zlý víno </i>- Drinking that evil wine of yours<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Samá voda, je to samá voda! </i>- It's all water!<br />
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<i>A to se může stát </i>- And it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>To víš, že se to může stát </i>- Of course it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Že i ty se začneš kácet </i>- That even you will start falling<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>Máš tisíc důvodů skočit </i>- You have a thousand reasons to jump<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A to se může stát </i>- And it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>To víš, že se to může stát -</i> Of course it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Že i ty se začneš kácet </i>- That even you will start falling<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>Dál piju to tvoje zlý víno </i>- I keep drinking that evil wine of yours<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Samá voda, je to samá voda! </i>- It's all water!<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A tu nezapálíš </i>- And you can't set fire in water<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A to se může stát </i>- And it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Že i ty se začneš kácet </i>- That even you will start falling down<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>A protože máš tisíc důvodů skočit </i>- And because you have a thousand reasons to jump<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A to se může stát </i>- And it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>...</i><br />
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<i>A protože máš tisíc důvodů skočit </i>- And because you have a thousand reasons to jump<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A to se může stát </i>- And it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Ty vole, to se může stát </i>- Dude, it can happen<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Že i ty se začneš kácet </i>- That even you will start falling down<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>A máš tisíc důvodů skočit </i>- And you have a thousand reasons to jump<i><br /></i><br />
<i>A všechno votočit </i>- And turn everything around<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Napořád </i>- Forever<br />
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If you want an all-time favourite, both for many Czechs and also music enthusiasts abroad, I recommend this spine-chilling folkrock ballad by band<b> Čechomor</b>.<br />
It's in a dialect similar to Slovak, because it comes from the eastern parts of the CzR. The music there has been influenced by Hungary. That means, it's emotional, wild and the plot ends tragically:<br />
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(Some of the mountains in the video aren't Czech)<br />
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<i>Mezi horami - Among mountains</i><br />
<i>Lipka zelená - There's a little green linden-tree growing</i><br />
<i>Zabili Janka, Janíčka, Janka - </i><i>John, our Johnny's been killed</i><br />
<i>Miesto jeleňa - By mistake, instead of a deer</i><br />
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<i>Keď ho zabili - When they killed him</i><br />
<i>Zamordovali - When they murdered him</i><br />
<i>Na jeho hrobě, na jeho hrobě kříž postavili - They built a cross on his grave</i><br />
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<i>Ej, křížu, křížu ukřižovaný - Oy, you cross, you crucified</i><br />
<i>Zde leží Janík, Janíček, Janík - Here's where John, Johnny's lying</i><br />
<i>Zamordovaný - Murdered</i><br />
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<i>Tu šla Anička - Here's where Annie went</i><br />
<i>Plakat Janíčka - To weep for her Johnny</i><br />
<i>Hneď na hrob padla - She fell on his grave</i><br />
<i>A viac nevstala - And never got up</i><br />
<i>Dobrá Anička - Good girl</i><br />
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Optimistic, isn't it? :-)<br />
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If you were wondering what mountains have to do with Johnny and Annie - well, nothing. That's how Czech folk songs often begin: first, nature; then, people.<br />
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On another note: recently, a friend recommended a great soundtrack by Czech composer <b>Jan Jirásek</b>. If you like Yann Tiersen, you might enjoy it:<br />
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Me and my family, we are fans of the Hungarian band <b>Misztrál</b>. (pronounced as "Miss - trah - l")<br />
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The language is different but the music sounds like it might also be Czech. Partly, because it's composed for a language with the stress on the first syllable, just like Czech; partly, as I said, because Czech music has been influenced by Hungarian.<br />
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There's a Czech saying "Every Czech is a musician." That's no longer true but we still love music. People define themselves by what kind of music they listen to. I've heard Hungarians are very proud of their music, too. If you listen to Misztrál, you'll understand why :-)<br />
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These are some of Misztrál's songs. Don't be misled by the calm beginnings - the endings are pretty hot-blooded :-)<br />
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<br />Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-92056551859031252732015-06-17T07:33:00.000-07:002015-10-01T17:08:28.863-07:00Some issues I came across; some answers to questions I was asked<b>Migrants - </b>I'm not pro- or anti-immigration, my view is basically... well, let's put it this way: that everyone has the right to have their needs understood. Everyone's a human being. Even those of us who think they're a beetle. (Franz Kafka lived in Prague :-D )<br />
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorphosis#Lost_in_translation<br />
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But I'd like to offer an explanation, sort of an insight as to what it's like for us Czechs, to be suddenly facing a wave of immigrants.<br />
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As the HBO video with John Oliver says, "millions of migrants seeking asylum in Europe are facing racism and red tape". That's totally true.<br />
I'd just like to add that they're also facing compassion. It's not like all 10,5 millions Czechs are racists.<br />
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Can you see it? "Millions of migrants... 10,5 millions of Czechs". There is a real possibility that the total number of refugees in Europe will become higher than the number of Czechs. They will be dispersed all over Europe, of course, but the knowledge still is a bit scary. Plus, the Czech Republic is quite heavily populated (134 inhabitants per square km), plus some regions are uninhabitable (too steep mountain slopes), and it's been like this for centuries. Since early childhood, we learn to embrace the subconscious notion that we can't afford to waste space. (See the About Central and Eastern Europe article.)<br />
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I think physically, there IS space and possibly even jobs for tens of thousands of immigrants, but because this notion has been with us for ages, it's difficult to get rid of it.<br />
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Before you judge us, please realize that Central Europe has no experience with massive immigration whatsoever.<br />
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Bureaucracy is the way we deal with everything, and it's worked for Czech and most European problems. (I'm not defending bureaucracy, I hate it myself, this is just the way it is.) But the problem is, it's slow. We have a love-hate relationship with slow, and I suspect we enjoy it, in a way, because slow means solid. We need time to get used to something. We rarely have crises; even the financial crisis in 2009 didn't hit us very hard. We don't have natural catastrophes; only the occassional flood, and we are used to them, like you get used to a family member.<br />
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Some Native American nations had two chiefs: a Times of Peace chief and a Wartime Chief. And the problem is, Europe's had lots of great Times of Peace chiefs, but no War Chiefs, for the last 60 years. The last true Wartime Chief was probably Winston Churchill. And he didn't do well in times of peace. It's the same, only the other way round, with Times of Peace chiefs: they are excellent administrators, but lousy troubleshooters. They take time to decide, and they don't like sudden crises. Those who did have left for the U.S. or Canada or Australia.<br />
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If you are American or Canadian or Australian, please realize that in a way, Europe's given its troubleshooters to you.<br />
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The solid administrative Times of Peace attitude doesn't work for problems that come from far away. We don't know what to think, what to do. We still don't understand why people would want to live in the Czech Republic. I mean just 30 years ago, nobody did. And most of the migrants really don't want to stay here; they'd never heard of the Czech Republic and want to go to Germany. (This information comes from a guy who talked to a lot of them.) I think anyone would feel a bit offended if they were forced to provide shelter for a person who doesn't even want to know their name.<br />
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Would the U.S. give the Green Card to someone who says "I've never heard of a country called the United States of America, I'm just on my way to Japan."?<br />
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My point is: before you judge us, try to understand us. I mean, you wouldn't judge a Saharan country for not knowing how to deal with snowstorms.<br />
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We're a peaceful nation. But if other nations keep presenting us as radical, we will become that. It's like with children: if you keep telling a child how bright it is, it will grow up to be a self-confident and intelligent person. And if you keep telling it how stupid it is, it really will grow more and more stupid.<br />
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I hope we can learn how to treat the refugees. In a calm, unbiased, practical yet friendly way. With time. Or better, fast.<br />
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<b>Poverty</b> - I heard that some people in Malta thought that the CzR is a poor country. I couldn't believe my ears. The society I live in definitely seems more like a consumer society than a poverty-stricken society.<br />
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Want an example? The title of the film "Slumdog Millionaire" had to be translated as something like "Millionaire from a Hut" because until recently, we'd had no word for "slum". Now we have, and guess what it is? Yep, you're right - "slum". There's no Czech word because there are no slums here.<br />
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Another example? University education is free here.<br />
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Also, we don't have the thinking of poor people. We have sense of cleanliness and order, and we always make the effort to repair our houses, wash the stairs, plant beautiful flowers.<br />
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<b>Relationship with Slovakia</b> - Some people in Latvia asked me about a supposed border dispute with Slovakia. That was Slovakia with Hungary, not us. I don't know what Slovaks would say, but I'd say our relationship with Slovakia is good.<br />
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The last time we had aggressive foreign policy was 700 years ago. Since then, it's been more like "live and let live", and our position is mostly "please leave us alone". We're not very pro-European because we hate the idea of people who've never been to the CzR telling us what to do, and we love our currency called "koruna" ("crown"), but we're not anti-European either.<br />
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A popular question with non-Czechs is "<b>Are Czech and Slovak mutually intelligible?</b>" You might get conflicting answers to this. The most truthful answer would probably be "Yep, totally. But it takes a bit of effort to get used to the other language, therefore if you have no experience with it, you might not understand the other language spoken." The inhabitants of eastern parts of the CzR understand Slovak without problems because local dialects are similar to Slovak, and there are many Slovaks living or studying in Brno.<br />
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When we were one country, there was a lot of Slovak spoken on the Czech TV and vice versa, so everybody understood the other language almost without realizing it's the other language. Slovak books were translated to Czech and vice versa, but sometimes they were also available in the original language and people would buy them, too. If a Slovak actor was hired to act in a Czech-language film, they might or might not be asked to speak Czech.<br />
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Here's a nice example of a 1978 Czech-language film where one of the actresses speaks Slovak. I read the script - the character was supposed to be Czech but because they found a perfect Slovak actress for the part, they let her speak Slovak and nobody seems to notice, let alone mind that she speaks a different langauge. (see 1:20) <br />
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Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-26889649501078173282015-06-14T10:05:00.001-07:002015-06-17T02:59:34.652-07:00Ploskovice - a white jewel full of contrasts<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b>Description: Beautiful, fairy-tale-like chateau with unusual history and interiors.</b><br />
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<b>Themes: </b>Chateau, chateau garden, colonnade, Baroque, artificial caves "grottas", films, fairy-tales, peacocks.<br />
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<b>Distance from a city:</b> 100 km to the North from Prague.<br />
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It's close to Děčín, Liberec and Ústí nad Labem, and a manageable distance from Plzeň. But if you live in Ostrava, Brno or České Budějovice, it's virtually inaccessible unless you're prepared to spend a night in Prague or 6-8 hours travelling there and back.<br />
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<b>Transport, level of difficulty, orientation:</b> There is a parking lot right next to the entrance gate to the chateau area. You can find a train or a coach at <b>www.idos.cz</b>, the journey from Prague takes about 1,5 hours. If you go by coach, it's very easy - it stops right in front of the entrance gate.<br />
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If you go by train, you'll need to change trains in Lovosice. Fortunately, that is very easy - the local train waits for the express from Prague. It's usually painted yellow-orange-green and leaves from the 3rd platform. Follow the time when on the train, and about a minute before getting off in Ploskovice, have a look at the displays and if a sign saying "zastavíme" doesn't appear, find a red button "zastávka na znamení" (="request stop"), which is usually situated at all the inner doors, and press it. After getting off, stand facing the railway station in Ploskovice and take the road to the left. Be careful and keep really close to the left side of it, one after another, don't form groups. The road is quite busy. After some 400 metres, you'll reach a right turn, with an alley.<br />
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Take it and it will lead you straight to the village. Follow the signs saying "zámek" (unfortunately, they look totally different every time and sometimes they're a bit hidden behind bushes)<br />
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until you see a pub. The entrance gate is further on, across the street from the pub.<br />
Unfortunately, it looks like the regional administration is thinking about cancelling the Ploskovice train stop. There are protests against it, but who knows how it will end. Be sure to consult <b>www.idos.cz</b> before you set out.<br />
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If you use a coach or go by car, the trip is extremely easy. If you go by train, be prepared for some 4 or 5 km of walking (including the chateau and its park).<br />
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<b>Time required:</b> If you go from Prague, about 7 hours.<br />
The guided tour of the chateau takes about 70 minutes, if you buy a ticket to the grottas - artificial caves below the chateau. Which I recommend you do. Then about 3 hours of walking, taking pictures, having a lunch...<br />
The journey by coach or train takes 1,5 hour there + 1,5 hour back. You can leave at about 9 a.m. and return at 5-6 p.m.</div>
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<b>Price: </b>Journey from Prague + entrance fee + souvenirs = 300-400 CZK</div>
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<b>Suitability for handicapped people:</b> Very low. Except for those on wheelchairs, if they don't mind missing the second floor, because there's still a lot to see in the chateau garden, the artificial caves and the first floor that are accessible.</div>
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<b>Suitability for children: </b>Except the fact that there isn't much walking, low. Unless your kids are interested in history or art. But if they've seen the chateau in a film, they might enjoy it - plus, the guided tours try to make the hour as interesting for kids as possible - for example, they ask them to play a clock-counting game (the emperor who lived here collected clocks). And there are various special events for kids regularly - see the chateau's website.<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Facilities: </b>Toilets for free are in a detached building, close to the entrance gate to the area. For such a famous chateau, they aren't exactly fancy, but they're clean. And it looks like they're being renovated, so who knows, perhaps they'll be extremely fancy when you get there :-)</div>
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<b>There is no café or restaurant in the chateau and the ticket office only opens twice an hour for 5 minutes. </b>Be sure to take something to eat and drink with you. There is a restaurant across the street from the entrance gate, with good Czech meals for reasonable prices. The menu's just in Czech, though.<br />
The ticket office staff are nice and helpful and you can buy various souvenirs.</div>
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<b>Languages:</b> You'll always get by with simple English. If you don't want to spend too much money, go on a Czech-language tour and borrow the same text printed in a foreign language for 10 CZK. They also offer foreign language tours for twice the price.</div>
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<b>Pronunciation, meaning:</b> "Ploskovitseh", and the name comes from the word "ploský"="flat". </div>
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<b>Website:</b> <a href="http://www.zamek-ploskovice.cz/">www.zamek-ploskovice.cz</a><br />
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<i>My Latvian friend and me went to the chateau of Ploskovice yesterday.</i> She'd wanted to go there for 5 years! So I was really scared that it won't be as perfect as she'd expected. But it was!<br />
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Ploskovice isn't an easy topic because sooo much about this chateau is beautiful, unusual or interesting. So it's hard to choose what to focus on.<br />
Well... what about telling you about the ONE thing that ISN'T unusual about it :-) It's the chateau garden. It's nice, but - yeah, that's it.<br />
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Now for the <strong>unusual stuff</strong>:<br />
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Let's take the <strong>peacocks</strong> first.Why peacocks, you ask? Because many Czech chateaus keep peacocks in their gardens - as a reminder that local aristocrats kept them - and Ploskovice is no exception. But it IS an exception as to the high number of the peacocks. And that day, also as to the way they behaved.<br />
There was a wedding taking place, and the wedding guests were asked to shout out several times. I don't know why - perhaps for some photos. And every time they shouted, the peacocks started to screech, too!<br />
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Also, they had obviously decided to show themselves to us in all various positions and situations:<br />
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And that isn't where the unusual stuff ends. If you notice the <strong>layout of the area</strong>, you realize it's a Christian cross. I don't think that was the intention, but it somehow came out that the chateau is the short horizontal line, and crossing it is a long vertical line that is a <strong>water-pipe system</strong>. You can't see all of it, as it's under the ground, and some of the fountains or ponds have been converted into something else. Like this one - into a flower-bed:<br />
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But there really is a water-pipe system, starting with this fountain:<br />
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then going below the chateau through the artificial caves in the cellar, making for its damp air. The Italian countess that had the chateau built wanted such caves, because she intended to use Ploskovice as a summer residence. She liked the "grottas" she knew from her home coutry. They seem a bit out of place here, though, because the CzR isn't as warm as Italy. But the day we visited Ploskovice was extremely hot, so we were grateful to the countess :-)<br />
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The iron gate below the chateau is the entrance to the grottas.<br />
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Then there is another fountain:<br />
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and the whole system ends with a pond.<br />
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Remember the <strong>contrasts </strong>I mentioned in the name of this article? Oh, there's lots of them. Here we go:<br />
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First, the <strong>countryside</strong> Ploskovice is situated in. It's a geographic region called "České středohoří" (which means "Bohemian Central-Mountainous-Area"). It takes up a big part of the region north of Prague. It looks like <strong>lowlands</strong> with fields, with the occassional <strong>mountain</strong> sticking out of them. They used to be volcanoes (inactive now) and some of them still have the "caps" on top reminding us that these mountains came to be when something decided to come out from the middle of the Earth.<br />
You can see one of these mountains with "caps" in the background here:<br />
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I'm used to lowlands, highlands and mountains, so this countryside still seems very unusual to me. But imagine - to live in a lowland where you can climb a mountain and have a wonderful view of the country below, whenever you feel like it - isn't that grand?<br />
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Also, the fact that an <strong>Austrian emperor</strong> lived there and a Hollywood film was filmed there - but when you arrive by train, it looks like you arrived in the <strong>Land of Nobody</strong>. The railway station looks exactly what I remember railway stations looked like in the 1980's, and there's almost nothing to be seen far and wide.<br />
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Then, the chateau itself and its architecture. But perhaps it's better if I just show you the pictures. Suffice it to say that <strong>no other chateau in the CzR looks similar to Ploskovice</strong>. And that it was built in 1680's. The Baroque style. The shape of the chateau is a simple <strong>cube</strong>,<br />
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but the details are full of <strong>curves</strong> and emotions.<br />
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<br />
Another contrast is the <strong>interior</strong>. Judging by the exterior - with its statues with dramatic expressions - you'd guess that the interior would be dramatic, too. Well, it's not. Much of the furniture is the exact opposite - simple, white, cozy, geometric Classicism.<br />
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But there still are some very <strong>unusual objects</strong> inside. I made notes of them:<br />
<br />
- a chandelier that weighs 30 kg<br />
- a 1810 wastebasket<br />
- portraits of the 18th century Europe's ugliest married couple<br />
- a fake aquarium<br />
- a fine china teapot that's made to look like it's made of wood, and a wooden chandelier that's made to look like it's made of fine china<br />
- perfume bottles that held perfume made of cinnamon. I can't imagine smelling like cinnamon - I'd be afraid somebody would eat me!<br />
- a toilet made to look like two large books<br />
- a picture of the coronation ceremony of an Austrian emperor, where they ate huge cakes made into shapes of various specific castles<br />
- a clock on the ceiling that goes anti-clock-wise. You can see it in a mirror on the floor (where it apparently goes clock-wise)<br />
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But I personally think the most extreme and unusual thing about Ploskovice is its <strong>history</strong>. Listen:<br />
<br />
In 12th centrury, there was a fortress that belonged to an order of knights in Prague. It being 100 kilometres from Prague (which was a 3-day journey then), the order took no interest in it. They would mortgage it every time they needed money - and then they lost it when they couldn't pay the mortgage, so the place changed hands frequently.<br />
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One of its infamous owners was Adam Ploskovský, who was notorious for his cruelty towards the village folk. There was an uprising against him in 1496 and the villagers nearly killed him. They chose another aristocrat to work for. His name was Dalibor of Kozojedy ("village where they eat goats"), but he was executed for stealing from his brother. Funny thing is, the stuff he was supposed to have stolen was cattle... a cattle eater indeed! If you're familiar with Prague, there's a tower where he was imprisoned before execution, and it's named after him. It's right behind the Prague Castle and it's called "Daliborka". By the way, he became famous and was idealized the 19th century, and Bedřich Smetana, a Czech composer, wrote an opera about him.<br />
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In the 17th century, Ploskovice got lucky and started its journey to fame. An Italian countess and her German husband bought it. He lived in Germany mostly, while she thought Ploskovice might be a nice place for a summer residence. So she built it in a style that would remind her of Italy - and then burned all the invoices and bills and documents and everything, so that her husband wouldn't know exactly what it cost her! There were no bank accounts then for him to know how much exactly she took from it.<br />
Unfortunately, this means that we don't know who built the chateau, or where the materials came from, etc. etc. Historians can only guess. They like that sort of work.<br />
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Then Ploskovice changed hands frequently again, and the owners were more and more high-up in the society. Finally, the emperor himself used it... to die.<br />
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His name was Ferdinand, it was in the 1848 and he abdicated due to poor health and retired to Ploskovice. He gave his throne to Franz Joseph I. (uncle of Franz Ferdinand d'Este who I told you about in <strong>Konopiště</strong>), saying: "The most important thing is: be nice!"<br />
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You can see many details in Ploskovice that will remind you that it was sort of an emperor's hospital. It has no thresholds, for example, so that the bed with the emperor (which has cylinders attached to it) could be rolled through any door to the top of the arcades, where the emperor would enjoy the fresh air and view of the countryside.<br />
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Guess what the chateau was when Czechoslovakia became an independent republic in 1918?<br />
A summer residence for diplomats.<br />
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And guess what it was during the Second World War?<br />
A school for young Nazis and a shooting range. They painted all walls white (their favourite colour, obviously).<br />
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Later, it became popular in the film industry, because... let's face it, it's extremely photogenic. Some people wait 20 years to be discovered as actors, Mrs. Ploskovice waited 300... but she made it!<br />
She acted in the Oscar-winning Amadeus, the Three Musketeers series by BBC, and numerous video clips and Czech fairy-tales.<br />
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<i>Princ a Večernice (1978), starring Libuše Šafránková, Juraj Ďurdiak and Ploskovice</i><br />
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So you see: Prague knights, angry villagers, Italian countess, a dying emperor, diplomats, young Nazis, a Czech opera, a BBC series and a Hollywood film... Ploskovice certainly is a lady with a colourful past!<br />
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But now she's simply a history lesson and a wedding host. I think that's for the best. Lots of children and young people visit her, and she can have some fun, as well as peace and quiet. No extremes and contrasts anymore.<br />
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But for us, the contrasts didn't end with this... The weather was nice and windless all the time. But when I got home, my father who follows a special railway website told me that about 30 minutes after we left, a storm came there and a tree fell on the tracks! Thank God we left in time!Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-58444366191325134912015-03-04T16:30:00.001-08:002016-01-24T02:37:25.023-08:00What's close to the Czech heart?We probably won't strike you as the most emotional of nations, and yet there are some things we ARE very fond of and emotional about. Only we don't express it very easily. And we only realize ourselves when someone says something negative about them and we find ourselves not agreeing with that.<br />
<br />
Here goes:<br />
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<b>Beer (and wine, and Kofola)</b> This is the stereotypical one that's actually true. We love our beer. It's cheap and good and almost every town has its brewery. 120 years ago, my town had 7,000 inhabitants, 80 pubs and inns and all of them had their own breweries. Imagine?<br />
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I myself am not exactly an alcoholic drink lover, and yet have a beer or a glass of wine from time to time. For the taste, not for the alcohol. Did you know that the word "Budweiser" is Czech? It's the German name for the town of České Budějovice.<br />
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But few non-Czechs know that it's not just beer with us. We have several wine-making regions, too, where you can insult beer till your throat gets sore and nobody will mind, but say one word against their wine and you'll get punched in the face. Even when visiting the Trója Chateau in Prague, you'll see some vineyards. We don't make enough wine to export, but still are proud of it. Ask your Czech friends to recommend a Moravian wine.<br />
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And even fewer non-Czechs know that we have our own version of Coca Cola, called Kofola, that contains licorice and less sugar than Coke. It isn't a general thing like with beer and wine, but many Czechs drink it and love it.<br />
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<b>Film fairy-tales.</b> Have you watched Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella (<i>Tři oříšky pro Popelku</i>, 1973)? If not, I recommend you do. It's one of the rare cases where Czechs were able to communicate to the world what they feel strongly about.<br />
Together with this, there goes a certain fondness for the leading actress, Libuše Šafránková. She's in her 60's now but still kind, beautiful, playful and graceful. And a decent person. Some people say they like her sister, Miroslava Šafránková, more - she's kind, beautiful, graceful and decent, too :-) Watching film fairy-tales and liking the Šafránková sisters is very much a Czech thing.<br />
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But there are heaps and heaps of other film fairy-tales to choose from. I'm not sure about the numbers but I'd hazard a guess that there've been at least 5 film fairy-tales made every year since 1968. And almost everyone watches them at Christmas.<br />
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The plots are very specific - in fact, a Czech film fairy-tale is a
specific genre that's difficult to describe. They don't have many
supernatural
elements, they're more like romantic-poetic-adventurous comedies. Some of them lean
more towards romantic, some towards adventurous, some towards comedy.<br />
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If you understand some Czech or have someone to translate for you, here are the most famous ones:<br />
<br />
<i>Pyšná princezna</i> (a beautiful romantic film, which holds the record of being the film that the biggest number of Czechs saw in cinemas)<br />
<i>Byl jednou jeden král</i> (sort of a serious, deep comedy)<br />
<i>Hrátky s čertem</i> (comedy)<br />
<i>Princezna se zlatou hvězdou</i> (romantic, comedy)<br />
<i>Šíleně smutná princezna</i> (romantic, comedy)<br />
<i>Princ Bajaja</i> (romantic and adventurous - by the same author as Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella) <br />
<i>Zlatovláska</i> (romantic and adventurous)<br />
<i>Jak se budí princezny</i> (romantic and adventurous)<br />
<i>Princ a večernice</i> (romantic and adventurous)<br />
<i>Třetí princ</i> (adventurous, dark)<br />
<i>S čerty nejsou žerty</i> (adventurous, comedy)<br />
<i>Lotrando a Zubejda</i> (comedy)<br />
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<b>Charity.</b> I've read somewhere that Czechs give more money to charity organizations every year than Poles, and I mean more - not just in relation to the number of inhabitants. When you realize that there are 10,5 millions of Czechs and 38,5 millions of Poles, this is actually quite impressive.<br />
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My personal theory is that fairy-tales and charity donations are what makes up for the lack of religion in the CzR. Poles are Catholic, so they don't need any fairy-tales or charity donations to fulfil their need of order and hope.<br />
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<b>Saturnin.</b> There was a popular poll "Book of my Heart" a couple of years ago. And this book won. It's a humourous novel, written during WWII by Zdeněk Jirotka, who isn't very well-known as a writer but will live forever in this brilliant book. It's been translated to English but unfortunately, most of its charm is in the Czech language. (As I wrote in "Understanding Czechs" - "Being friendly", it's all about words with us.)<br />
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But I think you could very well enjoy the miniseries that was made in 1994 and is pretty close to the book. It was also shortened to a film, but when you don't know the book, the film is hard to understand because there are some things left out. So I recommend the minisieries.<br />
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What is the book about?<br />
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A 30-year-old guy in the 1930's who works in an office and isn't exactly what you'd call imaginative or adventurous. But one day, on a whim, he hires a servant who is the exact opposite of him. This servant's name is Saturnin and his hobby is persuading everyone that his master is a lion- and crocodile-hunter who lives on a houseboat. Then he actually <i>makes</i> him move to a houseboat.<br />
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Most of the book takes place during a summer holiday where the young guy, his grandpa, his extremely annoying aunt who only speaks in proverbs (and is actually a prototype of an annoying woman now), her son, Saturnin, and a beautiful girl get stuck in a house in mountains that's been cut off from the rest of the world by a flood. But rest assured that Saturnin will make sure nobody is bored...<br />
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<b>Some 1930's personalities.</b> Our first President T.G. Masaryk and writer Karel Čapek - not everyone likes them, but most Czechs admit they were brilliant.<br />
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Whatever famous Czech you may have learned about abroad - Božena Němcová, Václav Havel, Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera, Jaroslav Hašek and his Švejk - please realize that those are perceived as famous Czechs by non-Czechs. They have a huge place in our history, but Masaryk and Čapek (whose brother coined the word "robot", by the way) - these are the ones at the core of Czech identity itself.<br />
The 1930's are perceived as a sort of a Golden Age of Czechs - perhaps subconsciously now, but probably more and more expressed as such in future.<br />
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<b>Alfons Mucha's Art Nouveau posters.</b> It's not like we love them to pieces, but they're everywhere and we get offended when it turns out someone doesn't know Alfons Mucha was Czech.<br />
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<b>History: Middle Ages, castles and chateaus.</b> Most Czechs have a weird love-hate relationship with history. They're convinced that learning about it is boring, and yet are willing to listen to 80-minute guided tours of castles and chateaus. And when a foreigner visits their town, they suddenly turn into experts on its history. I'm not exactly a historian, and still know that the town I grew up in was given the official town status in 1134.<br />
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Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 860 -1620 were the years of our glory - we had Reformation before Martin Luther, we were the first country in the world to have a Protestant king, the whole of Bible was translated to Czech before it was to English, Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire for some time, Charles University (1348) was the first university east of Germany to be founded, etc. etc.<br />
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Now, after 350 years of having other countries telling us what to do, this is obviously something to remember. We love our battle re-enactments, "mediaeval" markets and workshops, castles, archery, fencing, historical costumes, mediaeval music...<br />
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Some Germans say that CzR nowadays isn't big on modern art, architecture or science, but it's good for learning about history from. I'm afraid they're right.<br />
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<b>Hiking & canoeing (& swimming), mountains & forests. </b>At an English lesson that was to be the last one for the teacher before going back to the U.S., we asked her what she's looking forward to seeing again. She said: diversity. People are much more similar to each other in the CzR than in the U.S., and she likes it, but she's a bit tired of it.<br />
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"You Czechs are all white and if I ask you to go hiking with me in a forest next Saturday, you will all react in the same way." And she was right! At the moment when she was saying "hiking with me in a forest", I realized we ALL had exactly the SAME expression on our faces! "Yeah, OK, let's go!" I felt like we were brainwashed!<br />
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Nobody forced us to like hiking and canoeing, but we still do. I only have a vague idea why this is so. I don't know whether you've heard about the Canadian author Ernest Thompson Seton, but he was the one to influence our Boy Scout movement by his books about Canadian nature and First Nations people.<br />
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And because Boy Scouts were pretty big here in the 1930's and even more so during the Communist era (though secretly and under different names), this was something that influenced us.<br />
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Why especially during the Communist era? Because learning how to hike in forests and generally how to survive and live in harmony with nature (how to cooperate, help others, now the names of all kinds of plants and animals, save someone from drowning etc.) was one of the few apolitical things you could do and feel free in.<br />
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Also, Czech forests are safe. There are only lynxes and wolves in two mountain ranges and they're afraid of people. The forests are usually small - in several hours' walk, you always reach a village. And there are no swamps in them. Hence the subconscious feeling that forests are friendly, and we don't understand why forests are portrayed as mysterious and dangerous in British whodunnits like Midsomer Murders or New Tricks.<br />
Take the Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella - such a big part of it takes place in a forest!<br />
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And also, hiking in a forest is the best thing you can do for your health. Walking is the most natural movement for the human body, breathing in oxygen is good for cancer prevention, and the aerosol trees produce contains anti-oxidants. And if you live in a busy city, the silence is great. I can guarantee that if you venture a 5 km walk in a forest, you'll feel like ten times happier and healthier the next day.<br />
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And last but not least... <b>Jára Cimrman</b>. This Czech genius won the BBC poll that took place in many EU countries: "Who was the greatest Czech / German / French / Italian / whatever?" The French voted for Napoleon, Brits for Winston Churchill, etc. etc.<br />
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We voted for the guy who advised Eiffel on the shape of his tower, discovered a Yetti in the Arctic, invented absolute rhyme, bikini and dynamite ten minutes after Alfred Nobel, found out you can't make gold by making tobacco smoke react with water, wrote a seven-hour operetta and the "Conquest of North Pole" play I mentioned here in "Understanding Czechs". And has streets named after him all over the CzR.<br />
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But the same BBC that organized the poll cancelled its result in the CzR because guess what... Jára Cimrman never lived! BBC had this weird notion that a fictitious character can't be considered a greatest person in a nation's history. Our response is: Who the bloody hell cares! Jára Cimrman was the greatest Czech in history, and that's it!<br />
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<b>Czech humour.</b> Not able to describe it, come and see for yourselves :-)<br />
It's best illustrated by Jára Cimrman and the fact that there is the event <b>"Total eclipse of the Sun in the Czech Republic in the year 2081"</b> created on Facebook, and 55,000 people are planning to attend!<br />
And those who declined the invitation are commenting "Sorry, but that's the day the Czech astronauts are returning from Mars, I'm probably going to welcome them instead" or "Unfortunately it's on Sunday and I'll just be returning from my night shift".Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-2945642461097712172015-02-28T14:10:00.000-08:002016-01-24T02:55:43.749-08:00Understanding Czechs<b>Improvisation, hobbies and clubs</b><br />
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Several expats have asked me, how come Czech economy is quite stable and we generally do well, when we're not the most hard-working of nations, almost everything is closed on weekends, and due to the bureaucracy it takes forever to arrange something?<br />
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Unfortunately, I'm not sure.<br />
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One of the reasons could be the <b>advantage of the position in the centre of Europe</b>.<br />
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Or the fact that we're quite <b>good at telling what is most important at the moment</b>, and when we realize something is an emergency we're willing to sacrifice our favourite <b>"pohoda"</b> (relaxed atmosphere) and start acting very quickly and effectively.<br />
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And actually, some administrative stuff has become quite simple and effective these last years. Thank God for that.<br />
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Also, we're very good at <b>improvisation</b>. The Socialist regime has taught us not to rely on authorities and find alternate ways to arrange or produce something that needs to be arranged or produced. If the only available car repair service is overworked and your turn will come in 3 months, it's better to fix the car yourselves. Perhaps you'll need to call two of your friends and travel to two different towns to get the spare parts. It's going to be hard, but also exciting and you'll learn to rely on yourself as well as on your friends.<br />
It's not 100% like that anymore because we have excellent services now, but until recently, when a woman was getting married she automatically expected her husband to know how to decorate walls, how to fix the toilet, the cooker, everything. And if he didn't know how, he was expected to call his friends and discuss it with them.<br />
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You can see the remains of this system in the laws on <b>individual entrepeneurs</b> that are actually quite loose (if you don't reach certain sum per year, it's very easy to be e.g. a translator, a potter, to make extra money knitting sweaters etc.) And there are various part-time jobs you can do while studying, jobs you can do from your home, etc. If you're lucky and want this sort of lifestyle, you can have two 1/3-time jobs and also work from home as an entrepeneur. We're actually a really weeeeiiird combination of strictness and freedom :-)<br />
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And because the number of possibilities what to do with your life was extremely limited in 1948-1990 (I remember the world being much, much simpler and smaller then, and also much less colourful). Life was pretty much predictable, and so many people found refuge in <b>hobbies</b>.<br />
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Here, the possibilities were much greater. Bird-watching, hiking, biking (and tinkering with bikes), train-spotting, sewing, gardening, amateur acting, football, local history... There were excellent books published on various styles of weaving, historical gingerbread baking, on how to recognize specific kinds of birds in nature, how to repair your bike etc. etc. They were written by scholars and specialists, and still perfectly understandable to "common folk". This way, many people became specialists in fields they didn't study, and passed it on to their children.<br />
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This blog actually exists thanks in part to my father, who earns his living as a railway car technology specialist, but because he needed something to do in his free time and he couldn't travel, he started studying the excellent books on languages and linguistics published in those times. He was also asked to enrol in a course of Tibetan language, because a tibetology professor was sacked from university for his not-enough-Communist opinions, and needed a job. So my father visited a course on Tibetan language for 13 years, and thus helped the professor survive. After the revolution, the professor became a famous and respected authority on Tibet, deservedly.<br />
That's why my father knew so much about languages and passed it on to us, and all three of us are now translators, translating books and films for the Czech Television.<br />
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We Czechs still make <b>less distinction between jobs and free-time activities</b> than some other nations. I don't mean we work from home during weekends (although of course some people's jobs require that), but with many people, it's like: "I'm interested in the subject, so I simply spend a lot of time with it, and I'm lucky I got a job in that field. My friends at work are the same way, too, and we spend a lot of time chatting about the subject."<br />
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Also, it sometimes happens that people have a job with an IT company or so but they're crazy about their hobby, and they spend so much time with it and form a <b>club</b> together with their friends, then start organizing regular events, then create a webpage... and then find out they can actually get a job in that particular field, or found a company of their own.<br />
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There's a great many official and unofficial clubs related to various hobbies and activities, and they're doing a world of good for local communities. I admire them for going public with their achievements - local history clubs publish articles and organize guided tours, film enthusiasts organize public film evenings, railway enthusiasts collect money for 10 years to re-open a local historical railway etc. etc. I think it's clubs like this that keep the Czech society alive and well.<br />
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If you're an expat and need to make Czech friends, I recommend you try finding a club of people with the same hobby you have. Be it archery, hot-air balloons, battle re-enactment, entomology or Monty Python silly walks - I guarantee there's a club that will accept you and invite you to their events.<br />
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<b>Information</b><br />
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I don't think we even realize it ourselves, but our culture is based on the concept of GIVING AND RECEIVING INFORMATION.<br />
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It's like an iceberg - most of the time, you only see the tip and don't realize that it's everywhere beneath your ship, but if you're foreign and meeting some Czechs for the first time, you'll probably feel like a Titanic.<br />
You'll get showered by questions asking not about your feelings, impressions or thoughts, but about facts. Where are you from? Why have you come to the CzR? What's the capital of your country? Does it have any mountains? Where do you work? What did you study? What music do you listen to?<br />
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And then you'll get showered by information. These and these cafés are the best to go to; these and these places are the most interesting to visit; these and these Czech products are worth taking home with you.<br />
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This is where many non-Czechs decide whether they like Czechs or not. Some will interpret this as interest in themselves and conclude that Czechs are friendly. Some will find it too nosy. Some will find it emotionless, overwhelming or lacking in purpose. But for us, it's neither of these. It's simply the way we function.<br />
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Unlike most other education systems, ours is based on memorizing immense amounts of data. Since the age of 6, we're taught to receive, memorize and exchange information, information and more information. Until recently, "intelligent" had been widely understood as "having excellent memory". This way, information has become the keystone of our society.<br />
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No wonder we excel in areas that require processing heaps of terms, dates and names, like medicine, law, history, biology and chemistry (we gave the world genetics and soft contact lenses). And no wonder Czech Wikipedia is so large for such a small country. We love hiking and biking in foreign countries because it gives us the opportunity of first-hand experience with the places whose exotic names were forced down our throats at school.<br />
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When you ask a Czech about Africa, he'll probably have a tendency to get nervous and then start shooting: the Nile, Victoria Falls, Rwanda, Burundi, Antananarivo, Cameroun, Ghana, Timbouktou, Chad, Addis Abeba, Kenya, Kilimanjaro, Oranje, Johannesburg, Niger, Mali, Senegal... and then apologize he doesn't know more. Placing lots of names on a blind map, that's how we were taught geography.<br />
We had to know every country's capital by heart at the age of 13. I still have the reflex: Chile... Santiago de Chile! Nepal... Kathmandu! Indonesia... Jakarta! Thailand... Bangkok! Mongolia... Ulanbatar!<br />
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Of course when we chat with friends, we tell stories, make jokes, express support and give advice like anyone else. But underneath that... there's the one to rule them all and in the darkness bind them: INFORMATION EXCHANGE. We were sort of taught it's even more important than people, and it takes some growing up to realize this isn't true.<br />
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The only things that are above information exchange is expressing interest in your well-being, jokes and film quotes. <i>That's </i>the one where we're being friendly.<br />
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Coming to terms with this concept pretty much determines how you'll feel speaking to Czechs. <br />
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So next time Czechs will shower you with questions or facts, remember... we're not being friendly or nosy, we're just being ourselves... <br />
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<b>Being interested in the well-being of others + joking + quoting = Being friendly</b><br />
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We're not the ones to say "Love you" at the end of every conversation. If you don't want to make your Czech friends feel awkward, don't tell them that - say this only to your immediate family.<br />
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We're not very good at expressing respect, either - but you're welcome to try :-)<br />
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But definitely try expressing interest in the well-being of others. That's what most of our polite phrases say:<br />
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<i>Měj se!</i> = Take care! By this, we mean something like "May your next few days be without unpleasant events!"<br />
<i>Hezký večer / den / víkend!</i> = Have a nice day / evening / weekend!<br />
<i>Ať se daří!</i> = May your next few days be successful and without unplesant events or failures!<br />
<i>Se srdečným pozdravem...</i> = With a nice, sincere greeting... (i.e. Regards... Yours...)<br />
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You can see that the words "nice" and "pleasant" are the all-time favourites :-)<br />
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It's not uncommon for passengers on a train to try and be nice to the conductor by saying "Have you had a long, hard day?" "The passengers are so unpleasant today, aren't they?" Allowing someone to complain or show they're stressed out is considered to be very polite and nice.<br />
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When you come back to work after an illness, be it only a couple of days' cold, expect everyone to ask you "How are you feeling?" or "Are you feeling better?" <br />
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Want to make everyone laugh in an awkward situation? Want to cheer up your friend? Tell a joke or quote a Czech film.<br />
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Anecdotes are very popular here, funny things that happened to someone you know are even better, and film quotes are the best. That's because our culture is very words-oriented. We aim to nail it by finding the perfect funny line to describe the situation. People who can express themselves well are deeply respected. If you can't express yourself well, use someone else's words = quote a film :-)<br />
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I don't know what is this type of humour called. Perhaps "absurd". It's allusions to reeaaallly weird and funny scenes in films.<br />
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Here's an example:<br />
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Someone mentions your alcohol problems, and someone else tries to defend you but manages to mention your broken marriage in the process.<br />
You say, a bit sarcastically: "Thank you, chief, for standing up for me." (For Czech speakers: "<i>Děkuju ti, náčelníku, že ses mě zastal.</i>")<br />
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This is an allusion to a theatre play called "Conquest of the North Pole", where the Czechs trying to reach the North Pole suffer from depression and one of them tries to cheer them up by dressing up as a penguin.<br />
But they're so exhausted and confused that one of them shoots the "penguin" in the "wing" with a rifle. The guy inside the penguin suit gets mad, obviously, and starts yelling "it's me, you moron, penguins live in the <i>Antarctica</i>, not here!" And the leader of the expedition argues "when you're so exhausted, do you think about zoology? I didn't realize it was you, myself, let alone such a simpleton as this guy!" And "this guy" proves that he IS a simpleton by saying sincerely "Thanks, chief, for standing up for me."<br />
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Makes no sense?<br />
That's the whole point...<br />
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We call these wry, funny sentences and film quotes <i>hlášky. </i>The translation would probably be "lines".<br />
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If you speak some Czech and like the idea of film quotes, I recommend a book called <i>Neber úplatky, nebo se z toho zblázníš - aneb Hlášky z českých filmů</i>. If you want to make your home in the CzR, becoming familiar with the lines mentioned in this book is the ultimate tool to achieve that :-) Here are the films that are most popular sources of quotes - and also very good, so I can also recommend them for mere entertainment purposes :-)<br />
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Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše (1939)<br />
Limonádový Joe (1964)<br />
Jáchyme, hoď ho do stroje (1974)<br />
Na samotě u lesa (1976)<br />
Marečku, podejte mi pero (1976)<br />
Kulový blesk (1978)<br />
Postřižiny (1980)<br />
Vrchní, prchni (1980)<br />
S tebou mě baví svět (1982)<br />
Slavnosti sněženek (1983)<br />
Vesničko má, středisková (1985)<br />
Dobytí severního pólu (filmed theatre play) <br />
Dědictví aneb Kurvahošigutntag (1992)<br />
Lotrando a Zubejda (fairy-tale, 1996)<br />
Pelíšky (1999)<br />
Samotáři (2000)<br />
<br />
If you want a "crash course" in quotes, just watch Limonádový Joe, Jáchyme, hoď ho do stroje, Marečku, podejte mi pero, Vesničko má, středisková, Dobytí severního pólu and Pelíšky.<br />
<br />
It's not a coincidence that most of these films were written by Zdeněk Svěrák and Ladislav Smoljak (two of the people behind the Oscar-winning Kolya, by the way) - IMHO these two are the key to the Czech soul.Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-65944396631439275182014-09-21T05:34:00.003-07:002015-06-17T06:42:38.405-07:00About Central and Eastern Europe<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Central Europe - </b>Has a Czech person hurt you and you want a revenge?
Call them Eastern European and watch them get furious.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">The thing with Central vs. Eastern Europe is:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We're taught at school that the Czech
Republic is in Central Europe. And then we grow up and find ourselves being
called Eastern Europeans by foreigners, much to our unpleasant surprise.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I confess to getting furious at being called
Eastern European, too. Not just because it places us in the same box with
Russians and Belorussians who we have very little in common with - but also
simply because of geography. Look at the map of Europe - the Czech Republic is
right in the centre.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And I simply relate more to Bavaria, Austria,
Slovakia and Hungary than to Belarus. Austria and Hungary felt like
"related" countries, while all the Belorussians and Ukrainians I've
met seemed like strangers. Some of them very nice, but - different.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Not mentioning that many foreigners think Eastern
Europe to include countries like Romania which we have nothing in common with
at all - except the fact that some Czechs emmigrated there in the 19th century
and it also had Communist regime. Really, anything you can think of -
countryside, religion, language, architecture, folklore, history -
everything's different there. If you based the term "Eastern Europe"
on the shared Communist history (which is just 40 years out of 2000), then you
might as well claim that Cuba is in East Asia because it's Communist just like
North Korea, or that USA is in Australia because it's a democratic continent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The time period when we "shared
something" with Romania and Russia was simply too short and forceful to create a cultural region.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Btw, some people seem to think we were part
of the Soviet Union. We were not. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">I was thinking about this a lot, and came to
the conclusion that this "CzR-not-being-in-Eastern-Europe" thing
isn't just my impression.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">I mean, what DO we have in common with
Russia, Ukraine or Belarus? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1) The fact that the Cyrillic alphabet was
invented on our territory (but we've been using the Latin alphabet instead for
1000 years now).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">2) The 20 years a small part of Ukraine was
part of Czechoslovakia.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">3) The 40 years we had to learn Russian at
school (mostly doing very poorly, I'm afraid) and the 23 years Soviet tanks
were here (which wouldn't exactly be "having something in common"
anyway, not mentioning that some of the soldiers were actually Uzbek, Georgian
and whatnot).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">4) The 80 years in the 19th century when some
Czech and Slovak national revivalists were interested in Russian culture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">5) Some traits like impatience or fondness
for swear words. (But Italians and Brits are known for swearing a lot, too.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">6) The shared origin of languages. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Can't think of anything more.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And even the languages aren't mutually
intelligible. We're only able to understand Slovak after some practice (it's
like for a British person learning to understand the English spoken in
Louisiana), also Polish and Croatian to some small extent, but not Eastern
Slavic languages. That's because there's been a long and heavy German influence
on Czech. If you know Russian, don't expect Czech to sound anything like it -
to me, the sound of Czech is more like a cross between Scottish English and
Italian, rather than Russian. There are also heaps of words that look similar
in Russian and Polish and Czech but mean something different, even opposite.
Perhaps I'll make them into a separate article here. Just one example: I
remember when I got my credit card PIN code by post in Latvia, and beneath it,
it was written "Please remember this PIN code" in several languages.
I thought the Russian version was telling me to forget the PIN!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">And as to the Slavic heritage... I read
somewhere that Czech genes are in average about 30% Celtic, 30% Slavic, 30%
Germanic, and then some Jewish, Hungarian, Caucasian etc. My father's cousin
had his DNA tests done, and it turned out that the person with the most similar
DNA is Irish.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And as to our popular legend about Father Czech who was Southern
Slavic by origin and came to this territory in search for a new home... turns
out there <i>is </i>a mediaeval chronicle telling a story about a Father Czech
- who was Celtic and came from France.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">And what is it we share with eastern parts of
Germany, Austria, Slovakia or Hungary?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1) Beer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">2) The whole history, basically. Many Czech
noblemen took Bavarian or Saxon wives, part of Austria belonged to us in Middle
Ages, we in turn belonged to Austria for 400 years, and Slovakia and Hungary
were part of the same state (Austro-Hungarian Empire).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">3) Catholic influence.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">4) Music. The folk music in the western parts
of CzR is similar to German, while in the eastern parts it's basically
Hungarian.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">5) Stress on the first syllable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">6) Looks. People in these countries simply
don't look like foreigners to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">7) Architecture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">8) Climate.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">9) The kind of bureaucracy that came from
Austro-Hungarian Empire (and which I very happily didn't miss while living in
Latvia, where most things are arranged simply and effectively). The feeling
that offices must open early in the morning, that official language must be
less intelligible than the "common" language, that there must be a
language board deciding what is correct and what is not. We sometimes call
these things "courtesy of Mr. Emperor".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">10) History of small industry. Numerous
factories, but mostly small ones.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">11) No sense of... largeness. "Why make
something big when it can be small." Food is packed in small packages.
You'll find very few skyscrapers in Prague, Vienna, Bratislava or Budapest. The
motorways are only as broad as really necessary. Old houses and farms are
smaller than in Northern Germany or Poland. Basically, anything that seems on
too large a scale - be it long military parades, loud speech, long limousines,
city parts consisting of high-rise buildings - looks unimportant to us, like
"created by a megalomaniac just showing off". I think it's because the
density of inhabitation has been high for quite some time now, so we're used to
the fact that we can't afford to waste space or disturb other people. We tend
to be loud, but not very loud.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;">Are you asking yourself "Why is she telling us all this?"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I actually have two points - one is that the
Czech country is in the centre of Europe and therefore it's had many
influences. Various tribes came and stayed, merchants and soldiers from various
countries (even France or Sweden) kept crossing it, staying and/or making
babies. So IMO it can't be described simply as "Slavic" or
"Celtic". Nor as "Eastern European". The only term I feel
describes us is "Central European" because it's based on geography,
history and culture - things that constitute our identity - rather than on
genetics or language or 20th century events.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The second point is that European history is
long and complex and it's created many cultural regions. There are regions many
non-Europeans don't know about.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Just like U.S. isn't just the East Coast, the
South, the West and California, but there are regions like the Appalachians or
New England; just like Canada consists of the Pacific Coast, the Maritimes,
Quebec, Nunavut etc.; just like Africa is so diverse that there are countries
with more than 100 languages spoken; just like there isn't one Chinese
language; there isn't just Southern, Western, Northern and Eastern Europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">If
you, say, create four affiliates of your company based on this simplified
four-fold division of Europe, there will always be inconsistencies and
difficulties. For example, the region that I consider to be Eastern Europe
(Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) isn't homogenous at all - it's divided into many
smaller cultural regions, too, as Ukraine has been very proudly trying to prove
these past months.</span><br />
<br />
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<b>Description: Chateau with unusual objects of daily use, unique chateau garden, in a beautiful countryside.</b></div>
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<b>Themes: </b>Chateau, chateau garden, colonnade, Renaissance, Baroque, weapons
collection, chateau chapel, Chinese art, Japanese armour.</div>
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<b>Distance from a city:</b> About 50 km to the North-West from Brno, about 200 km to the South-East from Prague. </div>
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<b>Transport, level of difficulty, orientation:</b> This trip is best for situations when you want to visit a
beautiful old place but aren't able to walk far, or don’t feel well, or
the weather isn't very good. It doesn’t involve much walking and the
orientation is simple.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can get here by train and coach. Use <b>www.idos.cz</b> to find out which train and coach to take (see the article <b>Travelling by train</b> here). Trains run every hour, coaches every hour or every two hours. Go by train to Skalice nad Svitavou, then use the bridge over the platforms to get outside the railway station. (If it happened that you needed to stay in this railway station for some time, the ticket office and the waiting room with vending machines are behind an inconspicuous-looking door with a "Vestibul" sign.)</div>
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The bus stop is on the opposite side of the road from the railway station, and your line number is 257. Don't be misled if the coach is very small. The transport company has started to use small vehicles for less frequented lines. Say "Lysice" to the driver (pronounced "Lissitseh") and the ticket machine will show you the price. It was 20 CZK when we went there. See what the driver does - some drivers are very particular about handing the tickets to the passengers themselves, some, on the other hand, are very particular about the passenger taking the tickets from the machines themselves. So just wait a second or two and if he doesn't give you the ticket, take it yourselves.</div>
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Your best bet is to sit on the right-hand side of the coach because then you can see the white signs saying which village you're entering. Wait for the sign "Lysice" but if the coach stops immediately after that, don't get off - there're several stops in the town and the first one (called "Lysice, škola") is too far from the chateau. The coach stops there sometimes, sometimes not. Wait for it to go downhill to what obviously is the town's centre. The name of the stop is "Lysice, pohostinství".</div>
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You can see the chateau steeple from the bus stop. Just follow the stream that runs across the town.</div>
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Beware, the entrance to the chateau can be easily missed - the front building probably used to be a stable and looks quite ordinary. Look for a broad gate with a small, but important-looking sign. If you peek through the gate and can see the chateau - well, here you are.</div>
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There are several tours possible in the chateau - the first one, as usual, is in the representation part, with all sorts of salons, a dining room, the armoury and the chapel. The second one is in the gentry's bedrooms.</div>
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<b>Don’t go here on a Saturday!</b> – the website says the chateau
is usually booked for weddings on Saturdays.</div>
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<b>Time required:</b> If you go from Brno, it's an easy afternoon trip - it requires about 5-7 hours, depending on how long you want to walk in the garden. If you go from Prague, it's a one-day trip.</div>
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<b>Suitability for handicapped people:</b> Good. The mentally handicapped needn't go to the chateau interiors tour and still enjoy the interesting gardens;<b> those on wheelchairs can go to the chateau interiors tour because there's a lift for wheelchairs - </b>quite a rarity when it comes to Czech chateaus. I've heard some chateaus organize tours for the visually impaired, too, but I forgot to ask whether this is the case with Lysice.</div>
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<b>Suitability for children: </b>say, 40% :-)<b> </b>The chateau tour is shorter than in other chateaus, only 45-50 min., and the rooms are small so there's something new to look at all the time. Plus, there are some interesting objects of daily use, as I mentioned, so the tour isn't very boring. But - still, it's a chateau tour where they're supposed to be quiet and walk slowly. The garden is suitable for children, though, with its many levels and mysterious corners to explore.<b></b></div>
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<b>Facilities: </b>Prepare a 5 CZK coin for the toilet. (If you don't have one with you, the slot-machine that lets you in also accepts 1 and 2 CZK coins :-) ).<b> </b>The ticket office is spacious. If there're more people you're supposed to form a queue that goes from the right to the left (along the counter). There're benches everywhere.<b> </b><br />
There isn't a restaurant in the chateau, only a nice café where you can sip coffee and eat a cake in the chateau courtyard. There are some restaurants in the town but I can't promise they'll be open Sunday evening.</div>
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You can buy postcards and booklets in the ticket office, plus there is a souvenir shop in the entrance to the garden. </div>
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<b>Languages:</b> The chateau is too off-the-beaten-track to offer interiors tours in foreign languages. But it has a recorded "Audio guide" in English in every room. Arrange in the ticket office for such tour.</div>
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<b>Website:</b> www.zameklysice.cz</div>
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<i><b>I’d known about the existence of Lysice for a long time</b></i> from pictures in various chateaus
lists, and also from a TV series (if anyone was interested, it’s the series
Četnické humoresky, episode 4-Beáta). It looked like a small manor house with a
long and narrow garden. I’d wanted to visit it for a long time, thinking it’d
be a small, cute place. Well... I was proved wrong.</div>
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First of all, it isn’t in a village as I thought - Lysice is
a town. Or rather, Lysice <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> a town
because the word is perceived as plural form in Czech. Furthermore, the chateau
is quite impressive with its tall white walls, two courtyards and four gardens.
And the aristocratic families that occupied it were apparently far from being
narrow-minded regional gentry. One of them founded the first children’s
hospital in the eastern part of the country, another one– countess von
Eschenbach – gained fame as a poet in Austria, another one was a naval officer
who travelled around the world.</div>
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We were, of course, shown the chateau interiors by a guide,
as is the usual practice in the CzR. My sister had the great idea that I could
make notes of the most interesting things the guide told and showed us. Here’s
what I scribbled down:</div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>colourful, but not too striking, tasteful
interiors</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Doric, Ionic and Corinthian pillars</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>gold and silver ceiling</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Eschenbach: Ode to a Cigarette (a poem written
in praise of cigarettes... by a non-smoker :-) )</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>chateau theatre, burned down, the biggest
collection of costumes in the area, used also by theatres in Vienna</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Classicist salon</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>beginning of the 19th century – local landlord founded
a factory for making wires, nails and screws. Went bankrupt later, turned into
a lace factory, still working</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>„husband whistle“ (This requires an explanation. The lady of the manor didn’t
share a bedroom with her husband – he had his own bedroom upstairs, connected
with her bedroom by a staircase. This staircase was so narrow that the lady, in
her broad 18th century skirts, wouldn’t fit in. So, whenever she felt like
meeting her husband, she blew into a special pipe in the wall that worked similarly to an organ pipe. Her husband heard the whistle and came down the stairs. (She also had a similar
pipe-whistle-whatever for calling her servant girl.) Imagine the quarrells back then? „What's the matter with you, darling? I
whistled for you yesterday, but you didn’t come!“</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Captain’s bridge in library</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Japanese armour and sword, Chinese aquarium</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>13th century sword, Prussian helmets, sword with
the blade of saw-fish</div>
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I must confess Lysice instantly captured my heart and made
it to my TOP FIVE chateaus list. Not just because of the unusual objects listed
above but also because of (in no particular order) the very nice and helpful staff, not-crowdedness,
Renaissance elements (yep, Renaissance is my favourite style!) and white colour
(yep again, white is my favourite colour when it comes to chateaus! :-) ). And
being amazingly photogenic, and having several terrace gardens, a colonnade –
the only chateau colonnade in the CzR on the top of which you can walk! I
understood the garden area is unique in several ways – the colonnade, the
preservation of Renaissance terrace gardens system, and the way the moat is made
into a pond and incorporated into it.</div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>Another reason is probably the fact that I hadn’t been able
to travel anywhere for most of this year. Try spending many months in an
industrial area in Prague and/or in the centre of Brno, then go to Lysice. I
almost cried when I smelt the fresh air, saw the giant red apples on the trees,
the neat Moravian villages, the birthday wishes on village noticeboards. And
the ultimate Czech countryside here! – the hills chequered with small green
meadows, small yellow fields, apple-tree alleys, dark forests and red roofs of
villages. And the tiny modern coach going fast on narrow winding roads, with a
sign saying „Free Wi-fi Area“ and with an electronic display showing the names
of stops, while the driver is discussing this year’s wine crop with the
passengers in the local dialect. Apparently, the taste’s not going to be good because it’s been
raining too much.</div>
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But what am I going on for? Seventeen pictures are worth a
thousand words. Especially when it comes to Lysice. Me and my sister
nearly ran out of camera batteries, and we had two to spare!</div>
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On our way to the chateau. This is a local flower shop, a distillery and a blacksmith's.</div>
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The moat made into a decorative pond. The two white stains in the centre are swans.<br />
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The lowest of the terrace gardens used to be a kitchen garden. It still has bee-hives (the small shed in the background)...<br />
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... and apart from the usual decorative flowers, it still grows apples and lettuce.<br />
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Some of the intriguing corners I mentioned...<br />
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Statues of dwarves with various tools and instruments. The first one from the right is holding a scythe.<br />
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A 17th century sign on the wall of <i>Sala Terrena</i> which I understood to be a summer pavillion and a greenhouse. I think it's in German.<br />
And... yes, the chateau being less popular with tourists, parts of it are still not reconstructed. But in this case, it serves to make it more mysterious.<br />
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The colonnade on top of which you can walk.<br />
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And some views from the top of it.<br />
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Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-45559095347606785172014-07-13T13:33:00.000-07:002014-09-21T05:43:38.627-07:00VOCABULARY of some English and Czech terms<span style="font-size: small;">This vocabulary is meant chiefly for people educated outside Europe because, among other things, it explains some aspects of European architecture. But anyone who's interested is welcome to read it, of course :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Castle x chateau</b> - Both are residences of local aristocracy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">A castle is a stone fortress built earlier than cca. 1530. A chateau was built after 1530, using bricks. Some chateaus are rebuilt castles. Some chateaus were rebuilt in the 19th century to be made to look like castles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">There are hundreds and hundreds of castles in the Czech Republic - I heard that according to the Guiness Book of Records, the Czech Republic is the most castle-dense country in the world. But I'm not sure about that - it's quite possible that the authorities counted even castles that just consist of one wall nowadays. Honestly, most castles are in ruins.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This is an example of a castle:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uzz3qDeWduk/U8JZ5syhC6I/AAAAAAAAAH8/UeNMXG140Xo/s1600/Rab%C3%AD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uzz3qDeWduk/U8JZ5syhC6I/AAAAAAAAAH8/UeNMXG140Xo/s1600/Rab%C3%AD.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The number of chateaus is much smaller - about 120. Most of them have beautiful gardens and parks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">They make for good one-day trip destinations, because it's sort of an unwritten rule in the CzR that chateaus should be made accessible to the public. That's why most of them are furnished with historical furniture and there are guided tours that tell you all about it - how the aristocracy lived, any connections with other European countries' history, and any funny or scary events that might have happened here - be they true or not :-) This way, you can learn about a 18th century mirror that makes you look younger, about a chateau painted red because there's a blood stain on the wall that wouldn't come off (from a man a local landlord murdered), and about a nobleman that was buried alive.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">That's why even privately-owned chateaus - by the descendants of the original owners, who got them back from the state (after they were confiscated by the Communists) are mostly like this. If the owners live in them, they only occupy one wing and make the rest accessible to the public. Or, they make them into culture centres or hotels. Chateaus not open for the public are an anomaly here. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Here's a chateau:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lQxvScaDTQ/U8Jas2bHDwI/AAAAAAAAAIE/rBv07QH0GPY/s1600/Milotice+z%C3%A1mek+zezadu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lQxvScaDTQ/U8Jas2bHDwI/AAAAAAAAAIE/rBv07QH0GPY/s1600/Milotice+z%C3%A1mek+zezadu.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pond (or <i>rybník</i> in Czech) - </b>something between a water reservoir and a natural
lake. More precisely, it's a water reservoir built in the 16th, 17th or 18th
century.<b> </b>Its purpose was to hold water and to grow fish (Czech <i>ryby</i>,
hence the name).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">They're often of rectangular shape but
because they've been around for some 400 years, they have old trees growing on
their banks and fit into the countryside perfectly. And so most foreign
visitors mistake them for natural lakes. There are hundreds of them, while
natural lakes are much less numerous - there is just a couple of them in the
mountains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xXW61TvU0U/VB7FYkvjrXI/AAAAAAAAAOs/O_eSM1vBX9M/s1600/P1200999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xXW61TvU0U/VB7FYkvjrXI/AAAAAAAAAOs/O_eSM1vBX9M/s1600/P1200999.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Renaissance</b> - The first style in clothing, architecture, music and art that came after Middle Ages (the last style of which was Gothic).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In my country, it was dominant roughly from 1530 to 1630.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Its key word is considered to be "harmony". No extremes. That's why it doesn't make the impression of trying to reach the sky (as the previous Gothic style does - even the clothing with its tall hats), nor to express dramatic emotions (as its successor, Baroque style, does). In architecture, it's more of a style of worldly buildings - like town houses and chateaus. Only a few churches are built in Renaissance style. Although - there are exceptions to every rule:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-14yBwmgehFQ/U8bLwnMu2xI/AAAAAAAAAIU/g2sgnltAp18/s1600/%C4%8Cesky+Brod+%C4%8Cehijas+Bralju+baznica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-14yBwmgehFQ/U8bLwnMu2xI/AAAAAAAAAIU/g2sgnltAp18/s1600/%C4%8Cesky+Brod+%C4%8Cehijas+Bralju+baznica.jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">As to Renaissance chateaus, you'll find them in more remote and less rich areas. That's because they're the oldest ones. Wherever the region was rich, the aristocracy had the money to re-build their Renaissance residence in whatever style was popular at a later time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you want to recognize Renaissance buildings as you walk, you can go for the top parts of them - they're usually divided into small "steps" or "waves": </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b9KPfu1iFNg/U8bOSVbfAoI/AAAAAAAAAIg/fadE3Qrzk3c/s1600/IMG_1508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b9KPfu1iFNg/U8bOSVbfAoI/AAAAAAAAAIg/fadE3Qrzk3c/s1600/IMG_1508.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmjogHne6Pg/U8bSE1mrNkI/AAAAAAAAAJI/sEcRrQPRDCQ/s1600/%25C4%258Cerven%25C3%25A1+lhota1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmjogHne6Pg/U8bSE1mrNkI/AAAAAAAAAJI/sEcRrQPRDCQ/s1600/%25C4%258Cerven%25C3%25A1+lhota1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UM6eYDyYv74/U8bR2-jvrCI/AAAAAAAAAJA/OZfzUIfiflw/s1600/P1210042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UM6eYDyYv74/U8bR2-jvrCI/AAAAAAAAAJA/OZfzUIfiflw/s1600/P1210042.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">or the buildings are painted with the typical sgraffiti called <i>psaníčka</i> (letters, envelopes):</span><br />
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Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-80292897275927118582014-07-12T14:10:00.000-07:002014-09-21T05:36:07.979-07:00Konopiště - the Hemp Field, which is anything but a hemp field<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Description: </b>Castle with chateau interiors.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Residence of the last-but-one heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne - Franz Ferdinand d'Este.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He was assassinated in 1914. This event started the First World War.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Museums, weapons and hunting trophies, bird sanctuary, gardens, park, greenhouses, forest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Themes: </b>History (Middle Ages and late 19th - early 20th century), architecture, romance, nature, animals, roses, souvenirs from Asia, Africa and the Americas, hunting, diplomacy, Catholicism, early 20th century technology.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Distance from a city</b>: 50 km to the south from Prague</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Transport, difficulty:</b> There are about two trains an hour from Praha hlavní nádraží and one coach an hour from Praha ÚAN Florenc.
The local coach station and railway station are in the nearby town of
Benešov, about 2,5 km from the castle. The walk / bike ride is mostly
through a park-like forest with minimum elevation. <b>For cars:</b> the parking lot is just a couple of hundred metres from the castle. <b>On the spot:</b> There is a small electric train (20 CZK / ticket) that criss-crosses the grounds and also goes to the town and the railway station, but it only goes about 5 times per day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, all in all, not a demanding trip. (Unless, like me, you make the mistake of trying to run uphill with asthma, drinking coffee and forgetting to drink water on a hot day, plus switching from English to Czech to Russian to Latvian every two sentences - then you might actuallly end up quite exhausted.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Time required: </b>If you go from Prague, the slow train (<i>osobní vlak</i>) takes about an hour, an express (<i>rychlík</i>) about 30 minutes. The coaches take 50 minutes to get here. The advantage of this place is that you can spend any amount of time here: from 1,5 hour dedicated to the castle interiors and terrace gardens to a full day spent in the castle's parks and forests, visiting the rose garden, the greenhouses, the shooting range, the birds of prey sanctuary, the St.George (<i>Sv. Jiří</i>) likenesses musem, the motorcycle museum, and sitting in the nice restaurant...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Suitability for children</b>: 60%. Small children might get bored during the one-hour lecture by the guide inside the castle, but on the other hand, the interior is more interesting to children than most other Czech castles and chateaus's interiors. The castle grounds are more suitable for adults (park, statues, rose garden, museums, greenhouses), but as it is possible to find something behind every corner and there're also fountains, a live bear and peacocks, there's not much danger of the children getting desperate for an ice-cream every 20 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Facilities</b>: Very good. This is a castle I admire for its taste in facilities. There are park benches, maps and orientation signs everywhere and all shops are situated in the castle's yard. Toilets, two small, but sufficient souvenir shops, two small cafés and a very nice (and inexpensive) restaurant. All of this made to fit the historical athmosphere. The only problem is the size of the ticket office - it's too small for a relatively famous place. If you're going here on a warm summer Saturday or Sunday, be prepared to spend about 10 minutes waiting to buy the tickets. (Perhaps this seems like a short time after all, but in most Czech chateaus and castles, you don't have to wait at all.) And send just one person to buy the tickets if you don't want the rest of the group to get lost in a 6-people-crowd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Language</b>: No problem communicating in English, if you keep it simple. The restaurant's menu is translated to several languages. The castle interior can be toured with a German, English, French or Russian-speaking guide. But as I haven't discovered any system in the times when the foreign language tours start, it's better to book one ahead. Or to go on a Czech tour and borrow an audio guide with earphones for 50 CZK.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Web page</b>: www.zamek-konopiste.cz</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pronunciation, meaning</b>: Benešov is pronounced "Benneshof" and probably denoted a place that belonged to a guy called Beneš - which is an old diminutive form of Benedikt. Konopiště is pronounced "Konnopishtyeh". IMHO it used to mean "hemp field" or "place where hemp is processed" (note the similarity to the word "cannabis" :-) ) Jamaica flag owners, don't expect anything exciting here - historically, hemp was used to make ropes and ointments. Although I did meet a guy that was totally high on the way back - but that was in a DVD shop in Prague.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I'm starting this story with "So, we went by train to..." as promised!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, me, my Latvian friend and my Estonian friend got on a train in Praha hlavní nádraží and started the journey by getting... delayed. Yeah, there was a powerful electric storm yesterday and lots of railway thingamajigs got damaged, so our train had to wait for another train that was waiting for another train. That just lasted 15 minutes, though, and we weren't in a hurry, so we kept chatting happily in our four languages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The journey by train was enjoyable especially for me because I realized that there actually are beautiful sceneries in my region - Central Bohemia. I live in a flat countryside east of Prague that basically consists of fields, poplar alleys and more fields, but once you travel south of Prague, you see hills, streams and thick forests. I'd happily forgotten that because the demon called All-Places-in-the-World-Are-Interesting-Except-Mine had gotten at me. And yet, these are the parts where Czech summer holidays are spent, the parts that continue with the picturesque Southern Bohemia rolling hills and the parts where Josef Lada, painter and children's books author, lived 100 years ago!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2R8kUOICA4U/U8GPLEpIL7I/AAAAAAAAAG8/QOpSW7so8Sg/s1600/Josef+Lada+Vodn%25C3%25ADk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2R8kUOICA4U/U8GPLEpIL7I/AAAAAAAAAG8/QOpSW7so8Sg/s1600/Josef+Lada+Vodn%25C3%25ADk.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the towns we passed actually used some characters from his books in decoration of the railway station.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ79Pc9DC1g/U8GQ0IygMcI/AAAAAAAAAHE/y0e3Yz_wXmw/s1600/N%C3%A1dra%C5%BE%C3%AD+Mnichovice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ79Pc9DC1g/U8GQ0IygMcI/AAAAAAAAAHE/y0e3Yz_wXmw/s1600/N%C3%A1dra%C5%BE%C3%AD+Mnichovice.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">We got off in <b>Benešov u Prahy</b> (literally "Benešov at Prague"). If you, too, go by train or coach, your best bet is to follow a colour line of the Czech Tourists Club. You can find the yellow one if you step outside the railway station (or the coach station, which is right next to it) and stand with your back turned against the railway tracks. Then it's on your left hand side, just a couple of metres from the railway station. It goes together with the sign "Konopiště (zám.) 2 km."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jn8BN-ZoH4M/U8GUdb9H5bI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Lewe8OYkwNk/s1600/%C5%BDlut%C3%A1+zna%C4%8Dka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jn8BN-ZoH4M/U8GUdb9H5bI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Lewe8OYkwNk/s1600/%C5%BDlut%C3%A1+zna%C4%8Dka.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a mark you find every 200 metres, more or less. It takes keen eyes and sometimes a bit of looking for, but it's reliable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Here, it's mostly painted on lamp posts and road sign posts, and it goes together with the red mark. When they separate, you're supposed to follow the red one. It goes through a lovely suburb with villas and gardens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3WM9SByo9Q/U8GXEKknnJI/AAAAAAAAAHc/K2WqobG9SM4/s1600/%C5%BDlut%C3%A1+a+%C4%8Derven%C3%A1+zna%C4%8Dka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3WM9SByo9Q/U8GXEKknnJI/AAAAAAAAAHc/K2WqobG9SM4/s1600/%C5%BDlut%C3%A1+a+%C4%8Derven%C3%A1+zna%C4%8Dka.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tu155mlYOoE/U8baeoAzKRI/AAAAAAAAAJU/47jhuCr3cHo/s1600/P1210336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tu155mlYOoE/U8baeoAzKRI/AAAAAAAAAJU/47jhuCr3cHo/s1600/P1210336.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry when it leads you into a suspicious-looking alley that ends with a wall - it wasn't put there by white meat hunters. It actually leads to a narrow gap in the wall that ends with a zebra crossing across a busy road, then a stone gate and a forest path that will take you straight to the castle.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WB5AXvSgx4/U8bdJqw4zVI/AAAAAAAAAJw/vIPQGVlm4RE/s1600/P1210292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WB5AXvSgx4/U8bdJqw4zVI/AAAAAAAAAJw/vIPQGVlm4RE/s1600/P1210292.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When walking in the forest, you'll see a house painted white, with deer antlers on the wall, on your left-hand side. Whenever you see deer antlers on a house in the CzR, you can be sure that it used to be (and probably still is) a forest-keeper's house, who was put there by local aristocracy to take care of the woods. In Czech, such a guy was called <i>hajný</i> and his house <i>hájovna</i>. You are free to confuse it with the words <i>myslivec</i> and <i>myslivna</i>, especially because Czechs confuse them, too, and <i>myslivna</i>s look just like <i>hájovna</i>s. There is one <i>myslivna</i> near the castle, too, only it's brown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I personally think that <i>hajný</i> took care of the forest in general, especially the trees, and <i>myslivec</i> was more of a game-keeper - he took care of the wild animals. Today, <i>myslivec</i> is basically any guy with a hunting license. And the word is a source of much fun to kids because it's derived (or sounds as if it's derived) from the word <i>myslet</i> - "to think". So, in Czech, a hunter could actually be a philosopher!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you think this is a useless lecture, the most famous owner of the castle, Franz Ferdinand d'Este, wouldn't agree with you!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hunting was one of his hobbies and at the same time, he managed to be an excellent diplomat, army officer, geographer and an expert at architecture, art, horticulture, history, navigation...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His <i>myslivec</i> took such good care of the wild animals in the forest attached to the castle, that they bred like crazy and hunting actually became a necessity. But Franz Ferdinand also hunted down three elephants in India and made himself a elephant leg umbrella stand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think that's also why he chose statues of a hunter and the Antic goddess of hunting to decorate the gardens.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TssRghnm3xk/U8bwDF26_4I/AAAAAAAAAKk/bWlZfWhB7e8/s1600/P1210314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TssRghnm3xk/U8bwDF26_4I/AAAAAAAAAKk/bWlZfWhB7e8/s1600/P1210314.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3QOEmc_jmc/U8bwP-LBN4I/AAAAAAAAAKs/DOsIw_mkZ4w/s1600/P1210333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3QOEmc_jmc/U8bwP-LBN4I/AAAAAAAAAKs/DOsIw_mkZ4w/s1600/P1210333.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Actually, hunting seemed to us like a topic that sticks to you and won't come off from the very beginning. You see, it wasn't our plan at first to go to Konopiště. We'd planned to go to a Northern Bohemian chateau called Ploskovice. But two days before, I found an announcement on its web page: "The chateau will be closed due to film shooting." I told this to my Estonian friend and we opened the Konopiště web page. When she saw the bear next to the web page name, she asked: "If there's film shooting going on in Ploskovice, is that why there's bear shooting going on in Konopiště?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No, there was no bear shooting. Although Franz Ferdinand had shot several and had them stuffed, and if you're getting married at Konopiště, you can take a picture of yourself that will make your friends think you married a bear. Plus, there's a live bear kept in the castle moat for the general enjoyment and photographment of the public.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHv6xsodSfk/U8bcqemtaXI/AAAAAAAAAJk/FMMe0wT1eYA/s1600/P1210316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHv6xsodSfk/U8bcqemtaXI/AAAAAAAAAJk/FMMe0wT1eYA/s1600/P1210316.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This bear is Asian. I remember when my class went here on a school trip in 1990 or 1991 and the castle looked different from what you see now - after the 40 years of Communist rule, it had all four D's: dilapidated, deserted, dark brown-grey and depressing - the bear was a European brown bear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want three things to remember about this castle? OK, here are the things that make the castle different from other Czech castles:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) its shape and its towers. If you know French castles it will seem like a perfectly ordinary castle - that's because it was built with French castles in mind.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8vJBl5chrg/U8btcvFi2CI/AAAAAAAAAKA/L_vpJjtonww/s1600/P1210293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8vJBl5chrg/U8btcvFi2CI/AAAAAAAAAKA/L_vpJjtonww/s1600/P1210293.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently, the high number of tall round towers made it easier to defend the castle. There is no other castle like this in the CzR.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) There's no tall rock or a village nearby. Having visited some other Czech castles, you'll know that a castle is usually either situated on top of a tall rock, or it has a village or a town around. This one has neither. There had been a village called - guess what - Konopiště, but when Franz Ferdinand learned that he's going to become the Austro-Hungarian emperor, he made the castle into a luxurious representative residence, destroyed the village and had the villagers move to Benešov. The smell of the village brewery, pig-sties and stables was apparently unfit to be smelt in an emperor's salon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Are you wondering why make a Czech castle that's hidden in a forest the main residence of the Austrian emperor?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, that's how thoughtful Franz Ferdinand was. He'd bought this castle when he was very young, and started to reconstruct it. But then he met Žofie Chotková (Sophie Chotek in German), a daughter of a Czech squire, and fell in love with her.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wq1RwmZc7ec/U8bt67ly95I/AAAAAAAAAKI/9wcw7OKM1Sc/s1600/P1210304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wq1RwmZc7ec/U8bt67ly95I/AAAAAAAAAKI/9wcw7OKM1Sc/s1600/P1210304.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She didn't have much property or social standing and that's why it took several years to persuade Franz Ferdinand's uncle, the emperor, to allow them to get married. Still, there was much hidden opposition to this marriage in Vienna's aristocratic circles. And that's why Franz Ferdinand decided to move to Konopiště where they could live quietly, far from Vienna's gossips.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They had a very happy marriage, three children and... they died together. An assassin killed them in 1914 in Bosnya's Sarayevo, far from their home.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AekC5rsAgDU/U8buS5JlvtI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/cbl8_9QAsPI/s1600/P1210312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AekC5rsAgDU/U8buS5JlvtI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/cbl8_9QAsPI/s1600/P1210312.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That was meant as a protest against Austria-Hungary claiming Bosnya for themselves in 1908. Funny thing is (or, rather, tragicomic), that Franz Ferdinand was actually the one royal family member who was very much against claiming Bosnya and faced many problems in diplomatic circles because of his views.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3) This is the only castle in the CzR that used to have a sea ship on a pond!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure whether this is its anchor or the place where they tied it to the ring with a rope. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6_JqLMXXIY/U8bukHuBm-I/AAAAAAAAAKY/KV_XIWNbOL8/s1600/P1210332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6_JqLMXXIY/U8bukHuBm-I/AAAAAAAAAKY/KV_XIWNbOL8/s1600/P1210332.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of Franz Ferdinand's sons was interested in navigation and wanted to become a naval officer. And because the Czech country doesn't have a sea, but Austria did, Franz Ferdinand took one of the Austrian sea ships and put it on the small lake near the castle, so his son might practise.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Can you see no water in the picture? Right, the lake has been emptied recently. How do you empty a lake, you're asking? Simple - it's not an actual lake, it's<i> rybník</i>.</span> (See the <a href="http://czech-republic-not-so-well-known.blogspot.cz/2014/07/vocabulary-explanations-of-some-english.html">Vocabulary</a>.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This made for an interesting end of the trip for us because neither my Latvian nor my Estonian friend are used to lakes that can be emptied just by lifting a dam. Their countries have heaps of beautiful natural lakes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(Actually, you can see a wooden dam in the first picture of this post. It's the thing in the lower left-hand corner.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I made lots of beautiful pictures. But I'll just post enough to keep you in suspense as to what's in store for you :-)</span><br />
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<br />Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222113773970657569.post-40800036710740357912014-06-30T15:07:00.001-07:002014-09-21T05:30:18.766-07:00Travelling by train<br />
Many of my posts will start with something like "So, we went by train to..."<br />
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Well, what do you expect from a daughter of a guy who studied locomotive and train car technology at university... "Thou shalt not travel by coach or drive a car" was sort of the 11th commandment in my family.<br />
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It's not as limiting as it might seem because, believe it or not, Czech Republic has the densest net of railways in relation to number of inhabitants in the world. And, believe it or not, most of them are still active.<br />
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If you talk to some Czechs, they will probably complain about the company that runs some 98% of the sevices: České dráhy, "Czech Railways". This is one of our national sports - apart from ice hockey, football and chatting in pubs. Personally, I'm just into ice hockey. Because while it's true that services used to be pretty bad in 1990's, it's also equally true that in the past few years, the Czech Railways seem to be doing a good job. So - don't be afraid to travel by train. It offers a wide range of experiences: from hyper-modern (well, it's not TGV or Shinkanzen, but who needs them, anyway - you would cross the Czech Republic in two hours in them)<br />
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moderately modern<br />
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old (some very nice, some too lacking in hydraulics to be comfortable)<br />
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to historical.<br />
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Your best bet for planning a journey - not only by train - is www.idos.cz. It can be switched to English in the lower right-hand corner, and then you just enter the name of the towns from and to which you want to go. Switch to "Trains" or "Buses" under "Timetables", or choose a combination of the two.<br />
When the service is found, it also shows the distance in kilometres and the price. If you don't have a discount card, the first price listed is for you. Whenever you're sure you'll go back the same way on the same or the next day, ask for a return ticket because it automatically comes with a discount. It's "zpáteční lístek" in Czech. Also, two people can ask for a group ticket because it comes with a discount, too - "skupinový lístek". The more people travel together, the bigger discount they get. It's "skupinový lístek pro 2, 3, 4 osoby / pro 5, 6, 7.... osob".<br />
If you click on the number of the train or coach in idos.cz (it's on the right hand side and usually looks like "727257 205" or "Os 4722" or "EC 153" or "R 869"), a list of the stops, times of arrival and distances in kilometres appear.<br />
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Here are some abbreviations you could need explanations for:<br />
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ž(el). st. - železniční stanice - railway station<br />
IDS JMK - Integrated Transport System of the South Moravian Region<br />
ROPID - Integrated public transport of the Prague region<br />
MHD - any Municipal Public Transport (=trams, buses, trolleybuses, metro)<br />
Os - osobní vlak - a slow train, passenger train, commuter train<br />
Sp - spěšný vlak - a train that goes faster than a passenger train and stops in fewer towns, but isn't an express<br />
R - rychlík - an express<br />
Ex - expres - also an express :-)<br />
EC, IC - EuroCity, InterCity - inter-state expresses, usually with modern and comfortable interiors (the ticket price is the same)<br />
SC - SuperCity - super-fast and super-modern trains (the ticket price is higher)<br />
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And here are some of the words you could need to understand in trains and railway stations:<br />
Cílová stanice - destination <br />
Přes - via <br />
Nástupiště - platform<br />
Kolej - track<br />
(The timetables in railway stations usually list the platform first and the track second. Basically, only the platform number is important to know.)<br />
Zpoždění - delay<br />
Vlak nejede - This train isn't going today.<br />
Náhradní doprava - substitute transport. This means that the passengers buy their tickets as usual, only they will board a bus standing in front of the railway station building. It stops at all the railway stations the train was supposed to stop at, only of course it takes the roads, not the railway tracks.Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362065248525268996noreply@blogger.com0