information on czech republic for evs volunteers

INFORMATION
ON CZECH REPUBLIC
FOR EVS VOLUNTEERS
Czech Republic
Dear volunteers,
De
We, Franziska and Katrin, are proud to
pre
present you this “EVS Survival Guide”,
wh
which will hopefully be helpful to you
dur
during your EVS. We are two volunteers
from Germany who spent one year in
Katrin Freundorfer
the C
Czech Republic from September 2009
Art-Director
to Augu
August 2010. When we arrived here in
aautumn 2009
200 we didn’t know so much about this
cou
d it
i took quite a while until we discocountry and
vere
vered all its hidden beauties and treasures. Because
Franziska Koch
Chief Editor
of that,
tha we decided during our on-arrival-training to
make a booklet
b
for all the EVS volunteers coming to
the Czech Republic,
Republic which should
sh
help them get along at the beginning. In
January at our mid-term seminar we started to work on it and built up a team
of volunteers who contributed. We didn’t want to create a fact-book or travel
guide, but a mosaic of different personal experiences. Our team supported us
in many different ways – some wrote articles while others sent us pictures,
took part in our survey or shared recipes and ideas. The two of us coordinated the whole work and wrote many spam e-mails to other volunteers. We
hope that you like this booklet and that some of our special tips will help you
overcome any difficult periods during your EVS. Enjoy your year and enjoy
the Czech Republic!
Ahoj a hezkou Evropskou dobrovolnou službu,
Katrin and Franziska
3
Czech Republic
C ONTENT S
Czech Republic
4
Travelling
Foreword
Contents
Facts
• Basic knowledge
• History
• Holidays
• Religion
• School and education
3
4
7
7
8
19
20
22
Language
• Basics
• Reading in Czech
24
24
26
Food
• Typical Czech food
• Being vegetarian
27
27
28
Culture
• Films
• Music
• Literature
30
30
32
33
Czech, Czech, Czech
• Going on trips
• Living in a beautifully
weird country
• What you can see
and experience...
35
35
37
40
Travelling in general
Cities
• Prague
• Brno
• Ostrava
• Plzeň
• Olomouc
41
43
43
49
51
53
57
Public transportation,
tips for travelling
60
Czech Republic
C ONTENT S
Impressum
Surviving EVS
Help
• I am bored!
• I am broke!
• I am hungry!
63
63
66
67
How to
• Present your country
• Give a conversation class
71
73
EVS
• Rights and FAQ
• EVS charter
76
77
Impressum
Thanks
Editorial
82
83
This publication was prepared by
two European volunteers, Katrin
Freundorfer and Franziska Koch,
with the help of many other
volunteers working in the Czech
Republic in 2009/2010. It was
prepared for the Czech National
Agency of the EU programme
YOUTH using all kinds of publicly
accessible information to simplify
the stay of EVS volunteers coming
to do their voluntary service in the
Czech Republic.
Address of the Czech National
Agency YOUTH:
ČNA Mládež,
Na Poříčí 4, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Telephone: +420 224 872 280 or
+420 224 872 281 (EVS)
Fax: +420 224 872 280
E-mail: [email protected]
5
Czech Republic
General information
on the
Czech Republic
e Czech Republic
The Heart of Europe! Th
a.
and, Slovakia and Austri
neighbours Germany, Pol
6
14 FACTS
1. The Czech capital: Praha –
Prague
2. Area: 78,864 km2
Czech Republic
It is divided into 14 autonomous counties called
kraje:
3. Population: 10,230,060 (1.3.2001)
4. Population density:
129.7 inhabitants/km2
5. Total population growth:
- 2.5 persons per 1,000 inhabitants
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CoA_CZ_regions.png
The three original lands of the Czech Kingdom are
represented on the national seal by three crests:
a lion with two tails representing Bohemia (Čechy,
the western part of the Czech Republic), a red-and-white chequered eagle representing Moravia (Morava, the eastern part), and a black eagle bearing
a silver crescent representing Silesia (Slezsko, the
northeast).
The following important rivers have their sources in and cross the Czech Republic: Labe, Vltava,
Morava, Odra (flows into the Baltic Sea).
Artificial lakes – dams and reservoirs are often
found along the rivers and are used for power-stations, as drinking-water reservoirs, or for recreational
purposes and irrigation.
6. Population in Prague: 1,169,106
(1. 3. 2001)
7. Distance: north-south:
278 km; east-west 493 km
8. Time zone: Central European
Time (C.E.T.)
9. International access code:
+420 (from most countries
00420)
10. Currency: koruna (Kč) –
Czech crown (CZK)
11. Political system: parliamentary
democracy; Václav Klaus,
president (since 2008)
12. 1918 – separation of
Czechoslovakia from
Austro-Hungarian Empire
13. 1945 – end of World War II
14. 1989 – end of Communism
(Velvet Revolution)
7
Czech Republic
History... History...
When you go to a new country, you should always research the history of
the place, because without knowing its roots, you will hardly understand
the nature and culture of its people today. But you can’t just look at the
history of the Czech Republic, because this state, as you might already
know, has only existed since 1993. So there is not only one, but several
“histories” united in the contemporary Czech territory with its historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Here is a short overview of
some basic facts to equip you with a historical survival kit for your stay
in the Czech lands.
Early history (6th−9th century)
At first it might be interesting to know that no part of today’s area of the Czech
Republic ever belonged to the ancient Roman Empire. This is surprising, considering that so many European countries, as well as the neighbouring states
of Germany and Austria, belonged to it.
As the Czechs are a Slavic people, their first ancestors, the first Slavs, came
to this land in the 6th century. In the 9th century a powerful empire came
to be: The Great Moravian Empire which covered above all the territory of
today’s Moravia and Slovakia.
The most important event for today’s Czech culture was the arrival of the
two Christian missionaries Cyril and Methodius, who didn’t come from
Rome but from Constantinople. That’s why they brought with them the Eastern Slavonic liturgy.
They also codified the standard Slavic language, the forerunner of the contemporary Czech, Slovak, Polish and Russian languages, for which they invented a new alphabet. This alphabet later developed into the Cyrillic script,
which is presently used by more than 200 million people mainly living in
Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus and Bulgaria. But after the death of Cyril and
Methodius and at the end of the Great Moravian Empire, the western Latin
Church and culture returned to these regions.
So if you wonder why the eastern Slavic languages like Russian, and the
western Slavic ones like Czech, have different scripts, this is the reason.
Nevertheless these two cultural pioneers are honoured until today; there
is a Czech state holiday on July 5th that is, according to legend, the day of
their arrival.
So if you come from a country in Eastern Europe where Cyrillic writing is
used, you might pity the early end of this script in your present host land. But
EVS participants – including me – are probably quite glad that they don’t have
to learn, in addition to the already very demanding Czech language, a new
alphabet...
8
Czech Republic
Přemyslid dynasty (9th−13th century)
At the beginning of the 10th century, the centre of power in the area of the
present Czech state began to move from Moravia westwards, towards Bohemia – where it has stayed until today. In Prague, the Přemyslid dynasty began
to build Prague Castle already in the 9th century. At the time, Prague was
beginning to develop into one of the biggest Czech cities, where the most important events took place. The connection between the capital and the history
of the country is therefore uniquely strong.
The best known personality of this time is Přemyslid Duke Wenceslas (in
Czech: Václav). He made many efforts to Christianize his country and therefore, among other reasons, he was killed by his brother Boleslav the Cruel. As
this happened on September 28th, 929 (or 935) in Stará Boleslav, we celebrate
the “Day of Czech Statehood” on September 28th. Wenceslas, who became
a martyr for his faith, was canonized as Svatý Václav (Saint Wenceslas) and
the town of Stará Boleslav became the most important place of pilgrimage in
the Czech Republic. Also, Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square), one of the
biggest squares in Prague, was named in commemoration of Sv. Václav, along
with a big equestrian statue of him at the upper end of the square. But Svatý
Václav also shows up often in everyday life: his statue is on the 20 CZK coin.
Even though Svatý Václav was not a king (as the rulers of the Czech lands did
not receive the heritable title of “king” until 1198), he is adored as the patron
saint of the Czech nation.
Another important change was the unification of Bohemia and Moravia
in 1031. Later Moravia was called the “Margraviate of Moravia” and formed,
together with the “Kingdom of Bohemia” and the “Dukedom of Silesia”, the
historic Czech lands. During this dynasty, from the 12th century on, Germans
began to settle in the Czech borderlands as well as in the bigger cities. With
the murder of the last Přemyslid king in 1306, this great dynasty finally ended
their reign over the Czech lands.
The Luxembourg dynasty in the 14th century
By marrying a sister of the last Přemyslid king, a member of the Luxembourg
dynasty came to the Bohemian throne in 1310. Their child, Charles IV (in
Czech: Karel IV.), led the kingdom of Bohemia and the whole Czech nation
into its greatest period. As Bohemian king, Charles IV was crowned Emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome in 1355, thereby making Prague the imperial capital. At that time Prague became one of the biggest and most densely
populated cities in all of Europe. Prague was the intellectual and cultural centre of the Occident – a position confirmed by the title of “Golden City”. Important buildings and monuments were created at that time. Once Prague’s bishopric had been changed to an archbishopric, Charles IV started the rebuilding
of the already existing St. Vitus church within the Prague Castle complex into
a Gothic cathedral. Furthermore, Charles University was founded as the first
9
Czech Republic
university north of the Alps, and the Charles Bridge, one of the oldest stone
bridges in Europe, was built. On the 2005 television show “Největší Čech”
(The Greatest Czech), Charles IV was deemed the greatest Czech in history.
Hussite movement in the 15th century
Starting in 1402, Jan Hus, a catholic priest and rector of Charles University,
spoke out against misconduct within the Catholic Church on such issues as
wealth, corruption and hierarchical tendencies. His speeches were the origin
of a reformation movement about 100 years before Martin Luther. Hus not
only played an important role concerning religion, but also strongly influenced other cultural fields. As Charles IV had already codified some basics
of the modern German language, Jan Hus worked out the basics of modern
Czech. If you, as a foreign volunteer, are upset about those strange signs over
some letters of the Czech alphabet – the acute accent (in Czech: čárka) as in
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý and the caron (in Czech: háček) as in č, ě, ř, š, ž – that’s the fault
of Jan Hus! But after learning some Czech you will realise that they are really
helpful and harmonize pronunciation and orthography.
Another important event influenced by Jan Hus was the Decree of Kutná
Hora in 1409, in which the Bohemian king gave Hus and the Czech students
control over Charles University. This made many of the German professors
and students leave Prague, and they founded a new university in Leipzig.
Hus, however, was declared a heretic because of his reformatory teachings.
He was invited to explain his opinion at the Council of Constance. There, in
spite of having been promised free passage, Jan Hus was burned at the stake
on July 6th, 1415, which has been seen as a great injustice by many Czechs
even today. Hus’s followers became known as the “Hussites”, who started a religious – as much as a nationalist and social – rebellion in Bohemia, called the
“Hussite Wars”. The Hussite forces, under the military leadership of General
Jan Žižka, survived five “crusades” ordered by the Pope and the Holy Roman
Emperor. The most famous fight was the Battle of Vítkov in Prague; the importance of these events can be seen by the fact that this hill was chosen in
the 20th century as the site for a national memorial, which commemorates
modern Czechoslovak and Czech statehood and this connection. In front
of the building, an equestrian statue shows Jan Žižka. In 1434, however, the
Hussites were finally defeated. Some years later, in 1458, Bohemia had the
first non-Catholic king in all of Europe: George of Poděbrady (in Czech: Jiří
z Poděbrad).
Finally, in 1485, the religious conciliation of Kutná Hora brought everlasting “freedom of belief ” to the Czech lands (compared with other territories,
quite an early achievement). Only this “eternity” didn’t last long, as the coming history will show...
Today this significant period in Czech history is commemorated by a public holiday on July 6th, the “Day of the Burning of Jan Hus”.
10
In 1526 another long era of Czech history begins, the reign of the Austrian
Habsburg dynasty, which lasted until the end of the monarchy in 1918. The
third Habsburg king and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Rudolf II, moved with the whole royal court from Vienna to Prague in 1583. Prague, as the
imperial residence and the Bohemian capital, which had suffered a decline
after the ravages of the Hussite Wars, once more became a centre of social and
cultural life in Central Europe.
The Thirty Years’ War and the Battle of White Mountain
Under Rudolf ’s successor, who, by the way, went back with the court to
Vienna, the historical religious problems erupted again. With the second,
best-known Prague defenestration in 1618, when two imperial nobles
were thrown out of the windows of Prague Castle, the Thirty Years’ War
g
(1618–1648) broke out. The reasons for this protest were both religious
and
political. On one hand, there was
the religious difference between the
mostly protestant Bohemians and
the catholic Habsburgs. On the other
hand, people were discontent with
the already one-century-long hegemony of a foreign dynasty. In the
decisive Battle of White Mountain
(in Czech: Bílá hora) near Prague in
1620, the protestant Bohemian Estates were defeated by the so-called
Catholic League of the Holy Roman
Jan Hus memorial in Prague’s Old Town Square
Empire. The following 200 years after the Battle of White Mountain are
called “temno”, i.e. “the darkness”, in Czech history. Directly after the battle,
a great number of Czech noblemen were executed, and, in general, the better
part of the protestant Czech-speaking upper class, including the intellectual
John Amos Comenius (today on the 200 CZK banknote), fled the country.
The Bohemian Estates were disempowered so that the power was even more
centralised in the hands of the Habsburgs. Catholicism was declared the official faith and all protestants were suppressed. German became the second
official language, but as the intellectual Czech elite had emigrated, it virtually
replaced the Czech language.
So – besides the huge destruction of the Thirty Years’ War that the other
countries also had to suffer – the Battle of White Mountain is the biggest
catastrophe in the history of Bohemia and Moravia, as the Czechs, due to
the resulting forced re-catholicisation and Germanisation, almost lost their
national identity.
11
Czech Republic
The Habsburg dynasty (1526–1918)
The Czech National Revival in the 19th century
Czech Republic
During the two centuries of “temno”, only a few important historical events
took place in the Czech lands. Influenced by the French Revolution (1789),
the Czechs began to feel like a “late nation”, i.e. a people without their own
national state. This led to the Czech National Revival in the 19th century. This
cultural and political movement revived the Czech language, culture and national identity. So, after the long period in which there were neither grand literature nor newspapers published in Czech, academics like Josef Dobrovský
and Josef Jungmann wrote great works about the grammar and vocabulary of
the Czech language. Motivated by this movement, ordinary people started to
take pride in their own language and to speak it instead of German. This development can still be seen in today’s Czech language, as those leading linguists
started again from the basis of the standard Czech used in the 17th century.
They did not include the evolution of the spoken language in the centuries
afterwards. This is why con- temporary Czech features quite a big difference
between its written and spoken components. [So when you’re learning new
Czech words used by your Czech friends, ask them which linguistic style
they’re actually using, spisovná čeština (standard Czech) OR obecná čeština
(common Czech) – slang.]
Looking in your purse or wallet,
you can get to know another famous
person belonging to that movement
– František Palacký, pictured on the
current 1000-crown note. Palacký
was a historian and politician, known
especially for his seminal work “The
History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia”. (So he is my
biggest idol ;-) And finally, a number
of monuments in Prague arose from
National Theatre in Prague
that period. The National Theatre and
National Museum were built during
time Many sites were renamed u
this time.
using national symbols, such as the Prague Bridge or Stone Bridge becoming the Charles Bridge and the Horse Market becoming Wenceslas Square.
The development of Czech statehood until World War I (1914–1918)
Over the course of a bit more than one century, Czech statehood had been
marked by several changes. After the Czech lands had been a part of the Holy
Roman Empire since the Middle Ages, the last Holy Roman Emperor laid
down his crown in 1806, forced by the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
He could, however, stay Emperor of the Austrian Empire. In 1866 the Austrians lost the Battle of Hradec Králové (in Eastern Bohemia) against Pru-
12
Czech Republic
ssia. The Habsburgs had to accept the Prussian hegemony over Germany and
therefore they concentrated on Eastern Europe. They eventually transformed
their empire into Austria- Hungary, which, as a so-called Dual Monarchy,
united two independent states under one rule. In that state the Czech lands
again belonged to the Austrian part (Slovakia, in contrast, was ruled by Hungary). And through all these empires the Habsburg Emperor was at the same
time King of Bohemia.
World War I and the founding of Czechoslovakia
During World War I the Bohemian lion had to fight one last time for the
Austrian double-headed eagle. As in all the preceding wars, Czech men were
soldiers in the Austrian army. But, in fact, many Czechs and Slovaks also
served in the Entente troops, forming the Czechoslovak legions. One of their
units gained a victory over the bigger and better-equipped Austrian forces
in the Battle of Zborov (today in the
Ukraine) in 1917, which was, although militarily unimportant, a milestone for Czechoslovak patriotism.
In the meantime, under the leadership of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Czech and Slovak politicians in
exile tried to convince the Entente
powers (the enemies of AustriaHungary) of the right of the Czechs
and Slovaks to build their own indeStatue of Tomáš Garrigue
pendent state. Supported by France,
Masaryk near Prague Castle
Great Britain and the USA at the end
of the First World War, when the
ll
d they
h finally
ll achieved
hi d their
h i
whole Austro-Hungarian Empire had collapsed,
aim: On October 28th, 1918, the “Československá republika” (ČSR), the Czechoslovak Republic, was proclaimed in Prague. This date is to this day a state
holiday in the Czech Republic.
The First Republic (1918–1939)
You might ask yourself why there was a Czechoslovak Republic, as both
Czechs and Slovaks today have their own independent states. First of all, it is
important to note that the Czechs and the Slovaks are two nations, both with
their own language and culture. (However, the Czech and Slovak cultures and
languages are very similar. They can usually understand each other quite easily without having to study the other’s language.) The establishment of a single
state in 1918 was pushed, above all, for political reasons. Seen in a bigger
European context, the Entente powers hoped, according to the concept of
the “cordon sanitaire”, that the more powerful states in Eastern Europe would
13
Czech Republic
contain the influence of both Russian bolshevism and Germany. Concerning
home affairs, the Slovaks had been dominated by the Hungarian upper class
for a long time and therefore wouldn’t have been able to found a new state on
their own at the time. The Czechs, on the other hand, feared the quite strong
German minority in their lands and were glad to join together with the Slovaks. The state consisted of the historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia and
Silesia (part of today’s Czech Republic), and Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus
(also known as Carpathian Ruthenia) in the east of the country.
The newly established state had 14 million inhabitants. About 51% of them
were Czechs, 15% Slovaks, 23% Germans, 5% Hungarians and 3% Ruthenians. So, in fact, there were more Germans than Slovaks living in the first
Czechoslovak Republic. And, of course, it was a multi-ethnic state – similar
to the Austro- Hungarian Empire before it. The new capital was Prague, and it
was from there that most of the political issues were decided. The Slovaks, the
smaller and less industrially developed nation, felt disrespected and longed
for more autonomy than Czech centralism provided.
The constitution defined Czechoslovakia as a democratic republic headed
by an elected president. From 1918 to 1935 this president was the philosopher
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. He is, together with Charles IV and František Palacký, considered one of the three fathers of the Czech nation and today he is
pictured on the 5000-crown banknote. (So you, as poor volunteers, probably
won’t get to see him much ;-)
The end of the First Republic and World War II (1938–1945)
After Nazi Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler succeeded in 1938 to annex Austria, his next ambition was the incorporation of the mainly German-inhabited
Czech border regions, the Sudetenland. According to the so-called appeasement policy, the Western powers Great Britain and France thought that by
conceding to Hitler’s “last demand”, they could avoid a new big war in Europe.
So, with the Munich Agreement, they allowed Nazi Germany to annex the
Sudetenland. As there were only German, Italian, British and French representatives at this conference, and no Czechoslovaks, in the Czech and Slovak
republics this treaty is also known as the Munich Dictate.
But, of course, this was not Hitler’s “last demand”. Threatening the country
with war, he forced the defenceless Czechoslovak government to surrender
and on March 15th, 1939, German troops entered the rest of the Czech lands,
meeting no resistance. The so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
was built as a part of Greater Germany; Slovakia became a German satellite
state, which meant it was not occupied, but was dominated by Nazi Germany.
So the Czech lands already came under German rule half a year before the
first shot of World War II had been fired; the Czechoslovak army did not fight
in the war, but nevertheless the time of the Protectorate was one of the worst
times in Czech history. During the war the Czech economy was exploited
14
Czech Republic
to produce ammunition for the German army. But the long-term aim of the
Nazis was to destroy the Czech nation and to “Germanize” the country. Brave Czechs formed resistance and fought against the occupants or organised
student demonstrations. The most important event of this resistance was the
assassination of Reichsprotektor and SS-hardliner Reinhard Heydrich in Prague in 1942. To exact revenge, some hundreds of people were executed and
the village of Lidice, only a few kilometres from Prague, was completely burnt
down; all of the inhabitants were killed or transported to concentration camps
– one of the most well-known and cruel reprisals of the war.
Like other countries in Europe, the Czech lands also suffered the Holocaust; most of the Jewish population, but also Czechs as well as Roma and Sinti, were killed or deported to concentration camps such as Terezín or camps
in Poland.
But finally, in 1945, Bohemia and Moravia were liberated by Allied troops.
May 8th is still celebrated today as a state holiday, the “Day of Victory”.
Cold War era (1945–1989)
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was mainly re-established in its pre-1938
borders (except for Carpathian Ruthenia in the very east, which was ceded to
the USSR). Edvard Beneš, who had been the second Czechoslovak president
between 1935 and 1938 and had led
the government- in-exile during the
war, was allowed to resume his position as the head of state. His name
is also connected with the Beneš
decrees, which, among other things,
laid the groundwork for the expulsion of about 2.6 million Germans,
who lived primarily in the Sudetenland. Many Hungarians were also
expelled from the country. So, after
the Czech culture had been enriched
Memorial to the murdered children of Lidice
for several centuries by a multiethnic
society of Czechs, Germans and Jews
ki – within
ithi a ffew years th
– the most recent being mostly German-speaking
the
Czech population became one of the ethnically purest in the world because of
the Holocaust and the Beneš decrees.
As Czechoslovakia was largely liberated by Soviet troops, the Soviet influence was strong in the post-war period. So, with aid from Moscow, the
communists seized power in a coup d’etat in 1948. Czechoslovakia became
a people’s republic and Klement Gottwald, as the first “workers’ president”,
replaced Edvard Beneš. Later the name of the state was changed to Československá socialistická republika (ČSSR), the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
15
Czech Republic
The country’s new leaders created a system following the Soviet model and
the ideal of Stalinism. Although other political groups were officially allowed
to exist, the only real political force was the Communist party. The legal system was subordinated to political ends and opposition to the government
was prevented by the state security (in Czech, Státní bezpečnost, abbreviated
StB). Show trials of party leaders accused of being enemies of the system were
held in the 1950s and many politicians and academics were imprisoned or
executed.
A centrally planned economy was established by collectivizing agriculture and eliminating almost all private property. By means of uniform mass
organizations dominated by “the party”, the communists tried to politicize
all areas of life, including education, culture, the sciences and leisure time.
Concerning foreign policy, Czechoslovakia became a part of the Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc, being a member in the military alliance of the Warsaw Pact and in the economic community of the Comecon. In the late 1960s,
intellectuals and party leaders, above all the Slovak communist Alexander
Dubček, tried in the so-called Prague Spring (in Czech: Pražské jaro) to
reform the communist system; that means they didn’t want to abolish communism, but create “socialism with a human face” by giving more political,
civil and economic freedom. The USSR, however, did not agree with this
lib- Russian tanks in Prague eralisation; it feared that the reforms would
spread to the other communist countries and compromise the Soviet hegemony in the Eastern Bloc. According to the Brezhnev Doctrine, which
said that only the Soviet Union is allowed to define the exact direction of
communism, Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on August 21th,
1968. Afterwards the country remained occupied until 1990. Gustáv Husák
replaced Alexander Dubček as the head of the Communist party and rescinded all the reforms. The next two decades, mainly with Gustáv Husák
as the head of the party and of the state, are known as the “normalisation”.
This period was characterised by the restoration of the conditions of the
Russian tanks in Prague
16
Czech Republic
time before the Prague Spring and the subsequent preservation of this new
status quo. Many who had supported the reforms lost their jobs and most
citizens their interest in politics. It was a time of resignation and stagnation.
A few brave people, however, led by the dissident playwright Václav Havel,
continued to oppose the regime, for example by publishing Charter 77 in
1977. This petition called on the government to respect human rights and
to allow more freedom. “Charter 77” then also became the name of a civil
rights movement.
As the Eastern Bloc regimes were weakening at the end of the 1980s,
Czechs and Slovaks were encouraged to go out into the streets and win their
freedom. These events and demonstrations are known as the Velvet Revolution (in Czech: Sametová revoluce) of 1989 – “velvet” because it was a non-violent overthrow of the authoritarian government. It began on November
17th, when the police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague.
This provocative intervention of the security forces triggered a series of mass
demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of protesters and a general strike. The Civic Forum (in Czech: Občanské fórum) was founded to unify
the opposition in one organisation.
Within a few weeks the whole communist system collapsed; the government resigned and at the end of the
year 1989, Václav Havel was elected
president of the new democratic republic of Czechoslovakia. Nowadays November 17th is celebrated as
a state holiday, called the “Day of the
Fight for Freedom and Democracy”.
Flag of the Czech Republic
Since the Velvet Revolution, only
two decades have passed, and many
d the
h communist period.
d Therefore
f
Czechs still remember these events and
it
is probable that people will talk to you about it. I was, for example, surprised
that the Czechs don’t just say “under communism”, but they use the expression
“totalita” (in English: totality). That means that they consider Czechoslovak
communism a totalitarian dictatorship. Historians as well say that this system, next to the Soviet Union’s, was one of the most hard-line regimes in the
Eastern Bloc.
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic since 1993
The new government inherited big problems from forty years of communist
rule. Many reforms concerning political and economic issues were necessary.
They showed that the political conditions and economic realities of the new
competitive capitalism were different for the two parts of the country. It was
17
Czech Republic
1993 – dissolution
of Czechoslovakia and founding
of the Czech Republic
1989 – Velvet Revolution
1968 – Prague Spring
and Soviet invasion
1938/39 – Munich
Agreement and
Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia
=> German occupation
1948 – communist
coup d’etat
1918 – founding of the
Czechoslovak Republic
19th century – Czech
National Revival
1620 – defeat of the protestant Bohemian Estates
in the Battle of White Mountain => era of
“the darkness” for the Czech nation
1618 – Prague defenestration, Thirty Years’ War
1526 – beginning of the reign of
the Austrian Habsburg dynasty
(until 1918)
1415 – burning of the Church reformer
Jan Hus => Hussite Wars
14th century – Luxembourgeois
Charles IV is Bohemian king and
Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire
929 – death of the Přemyslid
duke Saint Wenceslas
9th century – Great Moravian
Empire; Christian missionaries
Cyril and Methodius; founding
of Prague Castle
6th century – arrival of the first Slavs
18
for this reason that the Czechoslovak
state was split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic on January 1st, 1993, although the majority
of both Czechs and Slovaks did not
want a separation. It is, however, remarkable that this division was again
a peaceful evolution in Czech history.
in contrast to the violent collapse of
the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. On
January 1st, the “Day of the Restoration of the Independent Czech State”
is celebrated.
Václav Havel was re-elected as
the first president of the Czech Republic, succeeded by Václav Klaus
in 2003. Like most former Eastern
Bloc countries, the Czech Republic
also joined the western alliances. It
became a member of NATO in 1999
and a member of the European Union in 2004.
So, after this short trip through
Czech history, I hope that some
things are clearer to you, and that
you will understand why some
things are as they are here in the
Czech Republic. If you are not interested in history, just look forward
to the many state holidays created
thanks to these important historical
events. But if you are a history freak
(like me :-), then you can use this
free time to learn many things about
this great country, to visit museums
and exhibitions, to walk through the
sites of certain historic events, to ask
your Czech friends about their own
experiences, and much more... or
also to make new Czech history on
your own! ;-)
Chrištoph Mauerer, Praha
1.1.
New Year’s Day /
Independent Czech State
March, April
Easter Monday
Velikonoční pondělí
1.5.
Labour Day / May Day
Svátek práce
8.5.
Liberation Day
Den vítězstvi
5.7.
Slavic Apostles St. Cyril
and Methodius
Den slovanských věrozvěstů
Cyrila a Metoděje
6.7.
Jan Hus Day
Den upálení mistra Jana
Husa
28.9.
St. Wenceslas Day/Day
of Czech Statehood
Den české státnosti
28.10.
Independent
Czechoslovak State Day
Den vzniku samostatného
československého státu (1918)
17.11.
Students Struggle
for Freedom and
Democracy Day
Den boje za svobodu
a demokracii (1939, 1989)
24.12.
Christmas Eve
Štědrý den
25.12.
Christmas Day
1. svátek vánoční
26.12.
St. Stephen’s Day
2. svátek vánoční
Czech Republic
Holidays in the Czech Republic
Nový rok
19
Czech Republic
Religion
First of all, we can state that the Czech population is mainly atheistic. It is
even one of the least religious countries in the whole world, as shown in the
last population census in 2001, when 59% of Czechs declared themselves as
non-believers. Most of the believers are members of one of the Christian
Churches. The biggest Church is the Roman Catholic Church, with 26.8%
of the population as catholics. Only 2.5% are protestants. There was quite
a large Jewish community in the Czech lands, but it was almost totally annihilated during the Holocaust. Today there are only a few thousand Jews living
in the Czech Republic. As there are in general very few foreigners living in
the Czech Republic, other religious communities are quite small, such as Buddhists, Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses (together with some other groups
amounting to about 3%).
These numbers are quite surprising, especially when you compare the
Czech Republic with its neighbours, for example with Poland. The unpopularity of religious communities has much to do with history (see also the article
about history). The communist dictatorship in the last century is especially important in this context. As the
communist ideology is atheistic to the
core, it was one of the long-term aims
of the regime to eliminate any kind
of faith. Believers were persecuted
in many ways and persecution mainly affected Catholics, because they
constituted the majority. Dissident
priests weren’t allowed to practice. In
1950 all monasteries were closed and
Window in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague
all the monks and nuns were arrested.
Therefore, thousands of priests and
members of religious orders had to spend quite some time in prison. One
priest told me that he eventually had to go into exile in Italy and another
Father had been imprisoned for several years without seeing any sunlight. Of
course, not every believer suffered such treatment, but quite many of them
did. Also, compared with other members of the former Eastern Bloc, there
were few countries where the church was so strongly oppressed. The effects of
this anti-religious policy can also be seen in the statistics: In 1950, some 94%
of the population were still believers, whereas by 1991 this number had been
cut in half. But also after the Velvet Revolution, when there was finally religious freedom, the number of believers continued to de-crease. This means
that there are probably deeper reasons for this situation.
20
Window in the synagogue in Plzeň
Czech Republic
Source: statistics about religious communities in the Czech Republic
R
(in Czech):
http://www.czso.cz/csu/2003edicniplan.nsf/o/4110-03--obyvatelstvo_hlasici_
se_k_jednotlivym_cirkvim_a_nabozenskym_spolecnostem
These reasons might be found in the past, looking at the Hussite movement
and its suppression in the Middle Ages as well as the defeat at the Battle of
White Mountain in 1620 with its subsequent forced re-catholicisation by the
Catholic Church, which was the state Church of the foreign occupying power,
Austria.
This might have provoked something like a latent distrust against institutionalised religious communities or religion itself in the Czech national consciousness.
However, it is striking that Moravia, a region where the Hussites had few
supporters in the Middle Ages, has still today the biggest number of practising
Catholics in the Czech lands.
Most of the protestants are organized in two special Churches which don’t
exist in other countries: One is the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (in
Czech: Českobratrská církev evangelická), a united Church founded in 1918,
seeing itself in the tradition of the Hussite era. The other one is the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (in Czech: Církev československá husitská), also founded
after World War I. As the name already shows, it strongly refers to Jan Hus,
but at the time of its foundation it was also meant to be a national Church, like
the Anglican Church in England.
Anyway, in case you are religious, don’t worry, you will be able to find a community which you can join. There are in general few believers in the Czech
Republic, but those who are also really identify with their faith. These communities are quite active and lively and you can have some great experiences
there during your EVS!
Chrištoph Mauerer, Praha
21
Czech Republic
School and Education
Czech pupils – like probably everywhere in the world – often complain that
they have too much work. But indeed, they do have to follow all the subjects
until their “maturita” (final examination, certificate) and can not choose to
drop some of them. There is one thing, however, that they can choose: In
fifth grade the question is whether German or English should become their
first foreign language. In the past 15 years English has grown more and more
popular as English kindergartens and language activities in elementary school
arise, but German is also still quite important compared to other languages.
Education is compulsory for 9 progressive grades, starting with elementary
school at the age of six. However, many parents decide that their children
should attend pre-school education in mateřská škola.
Franziska Koch, Plzeň
22
Speciální škola
Education
for
handicapped
children
and youth,
preparation
for their
integration
into social
life.
Czech Republic
The following graphic shows the different types of schools in the Czech
education system.
Mateřská škola (školka): Kids from 3 to 6 years of age
Základní škola
Primary school is usually attended for 9 years. The best pupils can
already apply for entrance into a “gymnázium”, after 5th or 7th grade,
or finish primary school and enter a different school after the 9th
grade.
1. stupeň – Základní škola
first level of primary school (grades 1–5)
2. stupeň – Základní škola
second level of primary school (grades 6–9), more specialised
In order to continue education after základní škola, pupils have to take entrance
examinations for “gymnázium” or “odborná škola” (Vocational School). Pupils can
apply to several schools at the same time.
Gymnázium (4, 5 or 6 years)
ends with the “maturita”, the final exam, which allows you to continue
your education at university.
Střední odborné školy (4-year vocational schools)
Technical schools for construction, engineering, electrical engineering
and so on. The certificate is most of the time like the maturita.
In order to enter a university or a college, pupils need to have a maturita and
pass the entrance examination offered by each university individually. Pupils can
take 3 entrance examinations per year and there is no examination fee. It is not
uncommon that students with an excellent maturita don’t pass this examination.
Colleges and universities (vysoké školy a univerzity)
In 1990, 3-year bachelor’s studies were introduced. Master’s studies take two
additional years and you receive one of the following titles: Magister – Mgr.,
Engineer – Ing., or Doctor – MUDr. Of course, PhD studies also exist.
Higher vocational education (vyšší odborné školy)
An alternative to university studies, created in 1995. Study programmes take
3 or 5 years with a specialised final exam.
23
Czech Republic
Czech Basics –
Kolik jazyků znáš,
tolikrát jsi člověkem..
Volunteers
practicing Ř
You are as many times a person
as the number of languages you speak.
From the beginning, it is very important to know how to pronounce Czech
words. Usually you speak the letters like they are written. But in order to make
that more clear, I will explain to you what the letters sound like.
Pronunciation
Vowels (a, e, i/y, o, u) have a long and a short version in Czech. When they are
long, they are written like this: “á, é, í, ý, ó, ú/ů”. When you speak, you should
clearly differentiate between long and short vowels. Otherwise, it is possible that
Czech people will not understand you because by pronouncing it incorrectly it
is possible that you change the meaning of the word you want to say. You maybe
wonder why “y” should be a vowel in Czech – it is a sound similar to “i”. Ask
Czech people to tell you about the small difference between “y” and “i”.
Now I offer you some examples:
c: zz in pizza
č: ch in cheap – there should be a sound like “t” in the beginning
ch: is considered one letter (!), like the German ch sound, not like the ch in
change
s: s in sausage
š: sh in shark
z: z in zoo
ž: like the French j in jalousie or the second g in the French garage, “soft”
version of š
h: usually pronounced clearly, at the end of a word it sounds like ch
e: sounds like a in “and”, same goes for é
ě: je, e.g. pět is pronounced pjet
ď, ť, ň: dj, tj, nj
r: difficult for some people; don’t speak it back in the throat but with your
tongue right behind your teeth. You may have heard it before from people
from Russia.
ř: even harder; it’s the sound of r like I just described but immediately afterwards you speak sh (like in shark), pronounced together, in one short sound.
24
Polite greeting
Polite goodbye
For saying “hi” and
“bye” to friends
Yes/No
Ano/Ne
I don’t understand.
Nerozumím.
se me!
Promiň!/Promiňte! Excu
(to friends/strangers)
y.
Sorr
Pardon.
Thank you. (informal/
Děkuju/Děkuji.
for mal)
Please.
Prosím.
Where? Who? When?
Kde? Kdo? Kdy?
How? What? Howk?
Jak? Co? Koli
much/many?
And, or, also/too
A, nebo, taky
My name is …
Jmenuju se …
Czech Republic
EXAMPLES
Dobrý den!
Na shledanou!
Ahoj/čau/nazdar
te?
Jak se jmenuješ/jmenuje
ds/strangers)
What’s your name? (to frien
Nemluvím česky.
I don’t speak Czech.
couzsky / španělsky
Mluvím anglicky / fran
.
ecky
/ něm
/ Spanish /
I speak English / French
German.
?
Mluvíš/mluvíte anglicky
rangers) English?
Do you speak (to friends/st
aží / na náměstí /
Jak se dostanu ... na nádr
do centra / … ?
station /
How do I get to … the train
square /
center / … ?
šest, sedm, osm,
Jedna, dva, tři, čtyři, pět,
devět, deset.
Numbers one to ten.
For German-speakers: v is never an f-sound, but is always like the v in very;
sch consists of two sounds: s and ch as described in this list. The German sch
is the equivalent of the Czech š.
In General
Look up the conjugation of the verbs být (to be) and mít (to have). These verbs are
used really often. For every verb form there are pronouns like já (I), ty (you) and so
on. But you usually leave them out. Czech people know (similar to the French or
German language) which grammatical person is meant because of the ending of
the verb. Apart from that, there are other differences between Czech and English.
For example, every noun has a gender. You also have to pay attention to the cases
of nouns and adjectives. That is, every noun has many different endings. For example, there is a difference in writing the word “friend” (kamarád) if you use it with
various prepositions, depending on the different cases (like nominative, accusative, dative): “I am speaking about my friend” (Mluvím o kamarádu) or“I will do
that with my friend” (Budu to dělat s kamarádem).
In order to learn Czech, it is really necessary to
Ho
have a textbook that teaches you grammar slowly.
do you w
fe
p
ro
But do not worry – everyday conversation is
nuncia el your
almost tion of ř is?
repetitive. Greetings and phrases you use in
perfect:
30%
a shop, for example, are always the same. So you
okay: 1
8
funny: 5 %
do not have to know perfect Czech grammar in
(volunte 2%
order to survive in everyday situations.
er vote
s)
Almuth Böhme, Lanškroun
25
Czech Republic
Reading in Czech
L
earning a new language is not an easy
task and is sometimes rather frustrating. For someone who is not familiar
with Slavic languages, the lack of vowels
makes words difficult to pronounce and
all the grammar rules and their exceptionss
sometimes made me mad…
Anett is dreaming
of fairytales...
Therefore, I tried different textbooks, hoensible,
ping to find the right one for me: comprehensible,
sy way to understand and learn the
well structured, interesting, offering an easy
complicated Czech language in a motivating way. Some books have promising
titles like “Fast and Easy Czech”, but either the books are full of tables and focused on grammar or they just give you some useful phrases which may help
in the very beginning but later you need something more.
For that reason I started my own search for interesting but not too complicated texts: 1. making notes of all the strange words I found in everyday life;
2. downloading the menus of my favourite restaurants from the Internet; and
3. (the most important) buying children’s books. So, right now I have a little
collection of fairytales and stories with the little mole (“krtek”) – and these
books really helped me get started reading Czech texts. The advantages of
reading fairytales are: 1. sometimes you already know the plot of the story;
2. even if you don’t, you often get helpful pictures; and 3. the stories are usually
short – and books for children often make use of a less complicated language
(although some of the vocabulary might not be very useful in everyday life
– e.g. služebnictvo = domestic staff, čarodějnice = witch, trpaslík = dwarf, or
dračí krev = dragon’s blood).
Meanwhile, I am trying to read my first adult book of short stories by Jan
Neruda. So, you see, it’s possible – do not hesitate, get started :-).
Anett Stemmer, Plzeň
26
Czech Republic
Czech
h Food
d
Meat, dumplings, pivo … don’t they sound Czech?
Indeed these are very common foods in the Czech Republic, but there are
many other things that are unusual for me. I’m working in a kindergarten and
eat there every day. The meals (soup + main dish) are great, very inexpensive
and quite good. They cook very healthily, with a lot of vegetables and potatoes. For me it was a bit strange to get to eat soup every day, as I’m not used
to that. In addition, there are many different kinds of meat with sauce and
a side-dish. Usually you have to order the side dish extra, so you can choose …
Guláš is also very common here, and for a snack you can eat utopenec,
a sausage macerated in vinegar with onion and pepper. Going to the supermarket is the same for me here as at home; I can find everything. One thing
I didn’t know before was the “rohlík”, a kind of very cheap crescent roll.
About drinks, the most common is pivo (beer). I never really liked it, but
since I have been here in the Czech Republic I drink it quite often. It’s normal
to drink beer when you have your lunch, sit in a café, or relax in the evening.
And it’s so cheap! But there’s not onlyy beer,
iyou can also find Kofola (it’s a bit simiDo y
lar to Coke, but not really; it’s more
beer is ou think Czec
be
h
y
spicy, less fizzy and less sweet). Not
ou can tter than the
get in y
beer
everybody likes it, but you should
Yes, abso our countr
y?
lu
try it! Slivovice, Becherovka, Fernet
No, not tely: 65%
a
… these are all Czech spirits; BecheI don’t k t all: 15%
n
rovka is very herbal while Slivovice is
(volunte ow: 20%
er vote
s)
rather clear and very strong.
Susanne Sterrer, Praha
27
Czech Republic
Being vegetarian in the Czech Republic
But you eat chicken, right?
In the restaurant next to our office works a nice girl with a big smile and
a tattoo instead of eyebrows. Since my colleagues and I go there every day
for lunch, I know her quite well. And she knows me. I am her problematic
customer. All my colleagues are easy customers; they just choose one of the
four daily entrees on offer. Not me. The answer to the question of what I will
have is always: “něco bez masa” – something without meat. And then she has
to start thinking, figuring out which one of the four meals, which of course all
contain meat, is most suitable for being transformed into a vegetarian meal.
And I have to say, she’s getting better and better at it!
In the beginning I got, for example, the typical Czech meal, dumplings with
meat and sauce, and I would then give the meat to my neighbour.
Or I got some risotto with only a very little bit of meat. Besides, ham and
bacon don’t count. They often come with or in rice, eggs and potatoes, so be
careful.
It took a long time until she understood that I’m satisfied with just some potatoes and vegetables. From
the Czechs’ point of view, a meal isn’t a real meal without meat. Lucky me – I always pay less for my lunch!
And of course there is always the alternative called
smažený sýr – fried cheese. I ate it once and I liked
it. The second time it was OK. The third time it was
already, well, heavy. And now I hate it.
I often wonder if there are any vegetarians in the
Czech Republic – but there are. One of my colleagues,
for example, is, but she eats nothing besides a few seeds or plants, so she doesn’t count.
I was very happy to find out that my mentor’s sister was vegetarian when I was invited there for lunch.
When I arrived, she asked me, “Are you vegetarian?”
Wiebkes says: “Cook for yourself”
“Yes,” I answered. “Okay, but you eat chicken, right?”
“Ehm, no,” I said. “Oh, I do.” In the end, I got some
broccoli with cheese instead, which was really delicious.
In fact, it isn’t a real problem to eat vegetarian. Fruit and vegetables are very
cheap – just cook for yourself! You can buy everything you need, thanks to
Tesco and Kaufland.
In the bigger cities, like Prague, Brno and Ostrava, there are also vegetarian
restaurants. You can find a list of them on www.happycow.net. But for all the
vegan people: be prepared to explain exactly what “vegan” means!
Wiebke Hinterlang, Karviná
28
Czech Republic
Cheesy – a greasy smile
from
smažený sýr
Always an option: smažený sýr
Svíčková (sirloin of beef), vepřo-knedlo-zelo (roast pork with dumplings and
sauerkraut) or guláš (goulash); this is what Czech cuisine is famous for and
what you always find in restaurants with Czech specialties. But what can you
do if all these delicacies just make you shiver because you are not a friend of
meat and bones but prefer vegetables and grains on your plate?
Especially in smaller towns and villages in the Czech Republic, being vegetarian can be somewhat complicated. Although the Czech term “vegetariánský” exists and you sometimes even find “bezmasé jídlo” (meals without
meat) on the menu, many people (especially waiters and cooks in normal
restaurants) draw a strong line of distinction between such strange eating habits and that of “normální” people. One vegetarian dish you can find nearly
everywhere is “smažený sýr” (fried cheese), usually with “hranolky” (French
fries) and tatarská omačka (a kind of mayonnaise dip commonly called tartar
sauce). Often this is the only non-meat food available, so you become fed up
with it sooner or later.
Sometimes you also find different kinds of fried vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower) – dishes with non-fried vegetables are rarely to be found. You
should also be ready for surprises, as “bezmasé jídlo” may sometimes contain
ham or bacon though the main component of the meal might not be meat.
Certainly, there are positive surprises, too. When I told my family and friends that I was planning to go to the Czech Republic for one year, people
predicted my starving to death if I decided to stayy
eň,
vegetarian. However, upon coming to Plzeň,
What
I found different delicious and inexpensive
your op is
vegetarian restaurants. Even my “normálinion
o
I would n Czech Food
ní” colleagues like to go there for lunch
?
rather c
oo
and have become part-time vegetarians.
eatable k myself : 44%
:
3
Only from time to time they refuse to
7
%
“yumm
y
go there by exclaiming: “Sorry, but today
(volunte “ : 19%
er vote
I need some meat!”
s)
Anett Stemmer, Plzeň
29
Czech Republic
FILMS
Can you name three Czech films? Maybe not, but if I tell you that “One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Three Nuts for Cinderella”, and “Kolja” were made
by Czech directors, you will probably recognize at least one of them! The
two most important and world renowned Czech directors are Miloš Forman
and Jiří Menzel. Forman has made films such as “Larry Flint”, “Hair”, “Goya’s Ghosts” and “Amadeus”, and received an Oscar for “One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest”. Menzel’s most famous film is “Closely Watched Trains” (Ostře
sledované vlaky).
During the time of the communist regime, the production of propaganda
films was promoted and critical films censored, whichslowed down the film
industry immensely. Puppet films by J. Trnka and cartoons by K. Zeman and
J. Švankmajer, however, are examples of successful productions from that time.
To escape censorship or persecution, many directors emigrated in the
1960s, especially after the invasion of Soviet troops in 1968. Among them were
Forman and Menzel, along with J. Jireš, V. Chytilová, J. Němec, E. Schorm
and F. Vláčil. They were all producing movies that were somehow related to
the current system or took a critical approach towards the Soviet occupation.
Their movies were prohibited in the Czech Republic, but two of them – “Closely Watched Trains” (Ostře sledované vlaky) by Menzel and “The Shop on
Main Street (Obchod na korze) by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos – later received
Oscars. Other successful films from that time are “Hoří, má panenko” (The
Firemen’s Ball) by Miloš Forman, “Spalovač mrtvol” (The Cremator) by Juraj
Herz, and “Skřivánci na niti” (Larks on a String) by Jiří Menzel.
If you feel like watching something, that is easier to understand, especially
when watching the original version, why don’t you try some of the famous
Czech children’s films from the 1970s and 1980s?
30
Some newer Czech films
worth watching are:
Výchova dívek v Čechách
(1997) by Petr Koliha, a Czech
film on romance, growing up
and literature; Báječná léta
pod psa (1997) by Petr Nikolaev Musíme si pomáhat
(2000) by Jan Hřebejk, tells the
story of a couple which hides
a Jewish friend from the Nazis;
From Subway with Love/Román pro ženy – a movie based
on the best-seller by Michal
Viewegh. It’s a trip to modern
Prague and the life of a girl in
her twenties. A movie not only
for women :-)!
There are, for example, “Pan Tau”
(Mister Tau), “Lucie – postrach ulice”(Lucie – Terror of the Street), and
Létající Čestmír (Flying Čestmír).
Then there are the Czech fairy tales
filmed by Václav Vorlíček. They are
famous all over the world; maybe you
have already seen some of them in
the past. Why not try to watch them
in Czech? Here are some titles: “Princ
a Večernice”, “Dívka na koštěti”, and
“Jak se budí princezny”. And the most
famous one is probably “Three Nuts
for Cinderella” (Tři oříšky pro Popelku). Another insider tip: Every evening “večerníček” is on TV; these are
children’s bedtime stories, for example
adventures from “Bob a Bobek” (cartoon with two white rabbits), “Maxipes
Fík”, “Krtek the Mole”, or “Pat a Mat”
(two handymen, without dialogue).
You can also watch them on YouTube.
Czech Republic
Important organisations:
Barrandov Studios in Prague:
Since the 1990s the studios
are famous for American film
productions, such as “Mission
Impossible” and “Triple X” –
Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze (Film and TV School of the
Academy of Performing Arts in
Prague) Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (kviff.com),
Children’s Film Festival in Zlín,
“Days of European Film” and
“Febiofest” film festivals in Prague, “Summer Film School” in
Uherské Hradiště.
If you love going to the cinema, but your Czech is not so
good yet, don’t worry; films
are usually shown in cinemas
in the original version with
Czech subtitles. So you can
easily watch films from your
home country, or American
and English films, of course. If
you want to get to know Czech
cinema, and Czech films, however, you will have to learn
some Czech. :-)
VOLUNTEERS’ TIPPS:
• “All that Glitters” (Mlč
eti zlato)
• Movies by Jan Švankma
jer
• I have seen a weird mov
ie called
“Skřítek” – it’s without dialo
gue
and contains interesting
Czech humour;
you should watch it! And
watch
“Pat a Mat” – it’s so funn
y!
• “Kolja” – a quiet film that
is set
in 1989 during the Velvet
Revolution.
The movie won an Oscar.
• Účastníci zájezdu – a com
edy by Jiří
Vejdělek, 2006
• Želary, Pelíšky, Tmavom
odrý svět,
and films by Miloš Form
an
and Jiří Menzel
• You should watch “Več
erníček”
at least once, to get to know
it
(ČT 1, daily at 18:45 or 18:5
0, I think :-)
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Czech Republic
„Co Čech, to muzikant” –
“Who is Czech, is a musician” says an old Czech proverb.
And there are world-famous composers of Czech origin:
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884): “Vltava”
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): works like the 9th Symphony – “From the
New World” (Novosvětská), “Slavonic Dances” (Slovanské tance), and the
opera Rusalka
Leoš Janáček (1854−1928): composed beautiful music, was influenced by
Czech folk music and became famous with the opening night of the opera
“Její pastorkyňa” at the National Theatre in Prague There are many more,
but I don’t want to bore you with
too much history of music. What
is interesting, however, is that rock
music during the time of socialism
became really important, as it was
often connected to a political orientation. Therefore, the rock band
“Plastic People of the Universe” was
even arrested, and this was one of
the reasons which lead to the creation of the movement Charter 77.
Okay, enough about history.
What about Czech music today?
You should definitely get to know
Radůza or Zuzana Navarová, who
often produced albums together
with the band KOA. A famous pop
band with a Czech singer, Markéta Irglová, is “The Frames”. Then
there are an incredible number of
Czech bands which are very successful and famous at the regional
or local level; they often have concerts at festivals or in clubs. They
produce all types of good music:
Alternative, Rock, Metal, Ska, Indie, Jazz … whatever you like, you
can find pretty much any style! Get
some inspiration by looking up the
following bands!
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Czech Republic
Exploring Czech literature
If you like to read, you will probably want to read work by Czech authors
to learn more about the culture and history of the country in which you are
going to spend one year. Whether you will read in Czech or use translations,
Czech literature is wonderful to explore.
Let’s start with some German-speaking writers. The most famous, though
not the easiest to read, is probably the German- Jewish writer Franz Kafka
with his critical and tragic look at the absurdities of modern society. But,
next to Kafka, there are other German-speaking writers who grew up in the
Czech Republic and spent their lives between the Czech Republic, Austria
and Germany.
Some examples are Franz Werfel, Max Brod, and Egon Erwin Kirsch. Rainer Maria Rilke is another, who was born in Bohemia and wrote poems and
novels. Otfried Preußler wrote famous children’s books (The Little Witch, The
Robber Hotzenplotz) and spent his childhood in the Czech Republic. Adalbert Stifter, who wrote Biedermeier novels, is also of Czech origin. Others like
Ota Filip, Jiří Gruša, Pavel Kohout, and Libuše Moníková were born in the
Czech Republic but emigrated to Germany during the Cold War era, stayed
there, and started to write in German.
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Czech Republic
Good Soldier Švejk (Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války) is a famous, satirical, mischievous novel by Jaroslav Hašek. Švejk is a typical Pražák
(a person from Prague) who hustles through life and is always up to jokes and
tricks. During the First World War he has to serve as a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army, but he tries his best to duck out of it. Another author from
the 20th century is Karel Čapek (Povětroň, Obyčejný život), whose books are
nice and not too difficult to read.
Next is a writer who was influenced by Kafka and who has been writing in
French since 1993. Milan Kundera’s books, many of which have been translated into multiple languages, commonly deal with problems of identity in the
modern world. He was one of the writers who emigrated to France during the
Cold War in order to continue to be able to write without being censored or
banned by the communist Czech state.
Literature from that time is quite interesting. As writers were restricted by
the imposition of a communist state ideology, there existed three types of literature during the “Normalisation” period (from 1968 to 1989):
First, official literature, characteristically published by state-owned publishing houses, was used for the promotion of the communist ideology. Second, Samizdat literature, which was written in the underground, was strongly influenced by Charter 77 and published privately or only through typed
copies. Important authors who stayed in the Czech Republic during this period were Ludvík Vaculík, Jan Vladislav, and Václav Havel.
Third, exile literature by authors who emigrated, such as Jan Čep, Milada
Součková, Ivan Blatný, Arnošt Lustig, Egon Hostovský and Josef Škvorecký,
was often translated and successfully established foreign readership.
What is the Czech Republic without its fairy tales? Karel Jaromír Erben
and Božena Němcová are two of the writers who collected and wrote many
fantastic stories, creating a treasure-trove of Czech fairy tales.
If you need more literary inspiration, here is a list of the most famous post-war writers and examples of their work:
• Tereza Boučková: Indian Race (Indiánský běh)
• Ladislav Fuks: The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol), Mister Theodor Mundstock (Pan Theodor Mundstock)
• Václav Havel: Letters to Olga (Dopisy Olze), dramas like Audience
• Pavel Kohout: Where the Dog is Buried (Kde je zakopán pes)
• Jiří Kratochvil: Singing in the Middle of the Nights (Uprostřed nocí zpěv)
• Iva Pekárková: Truck Stop Rainbows
• Jan Skácel: The Eleventh White Horse (Jedenáctý bílý kůň)
• Josef Škvorecký: A Great Season (Prima sezóna), Cowards (Zbabělci)
• Jáchym Topol: Sister (Sestra), Angel Exit (Anděl Exit)
Franziska Koch, Plzeň
34
Czech Republic
Going on trips
35
Czech Republic
It is Friday evening, the weekend is beginning, and the station in Prague is
crowded with people who want to go for a trip. You can observe the “come
and go” of the tourists arriving for a weekend in Prague and the Czechs going
in the other direction – out of Prague and into nature.
Can it really be something typically Czech, to go for a trip? Is that anything
special?
Yes, it is.
Because this way of going for a trip doesn’t start at the station, holding
a super-cheap railway ticket in the hand, but rather begins in one of the outdoor-shops. You can find them on every corner, with names like “Hudy” and
“Rock Point” or “Rejoice” and “Český ráj”. The answer to the question of how
these shops survive without the struggle of competition is easy. The Czechs
need to buy in these outdoor shops; it is something like a normal daily product for them. Aside from hiking boots and an outdoor-shirt, an important
detail for a trip is the trousers. On the one hand they are practical. In three
places the fabric is reinforced: on the knees and on the backside. On the other
hand they look so fashionable, in red, yellow or black, mainly plaid. Don’t
miss joining this trend if you want to adapt to the Czech culture ;-).
Then follows the preparation of the food they take with them. For sure, on
the way there has to be some “hospoda” where they can have lunch. But the
Czechs fill their rucksacks with enough food in case someone who forgot his
lunch wants to join them without going hungry. And everybody can eat until
their full. So if it is picnic time, just sit down (no matter where, your trousers
are prepared for every kind of seat or ground) and have a look in the rucksack:
First there is a bag full of “rohlíky”, the cheapest form of bread. To this one
adds spread cheese, or cottage cheese and a sausage. Don’t forget the knife,
a good old “Swiss army” knife, essential for every trip. Furthermore the bag
hides vegetables and fruits – tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots, right next to
the apples and bananas. Everything seems quite common until you discover
the sweets; the beloved “Tatranky”, a Czech wafer treat, cannot be missing.
And finally, the big surprise is a “koláč”, a home-made pastry. So you’ll have
enough energy for some more kilometres of walking.
There is only one thing missing. Would you like to find out what?
“Hele, nemáme pivo!”
In the end, one of the “hospodas” in a small village has to help with a cold,
fresh beer. And then the picture of a typical – stereotypical – Czech trip is
complete. Be prepared: to go for a trip really means hiking several kilometres,
otherwise having lunch would just be silly ;-) So find some Czech friends and
go for a trip. You won’t regret experiencing the Czech “Jedeme na výlet”!
Almut Klose, Praha
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Czech Republic
Living in a beautifully weird country
Trempování, hermelín, hospody – they all sounded so Czech to me
Once again, nobody in town. Plzeň seems empty. My student friends who like
to practise their German and teach me some Czech are not in town and even
in my panelák (concrete tower-block) the usual noise of children’s music and
people’s voices is gone. Most of the stores, boutiques and shops are closed, too.
Come on, guys, it is noon on Saturday, where are you? How am I supposed to
get to know the Czech ways and lifestyle if nobody is here? I decide to find out
where the Czechs have gone for the weekend.
A few weeks later, I am also leaving town; it’s my first time “trempování”: The small train – with only one wagon – slowly weaves its way downhill
into the next valley. It reminds me of the tram in Plzeň or Prague (which
has only two wagons). The rails run parallel to the river, and beautiful scenery with rocks and old forest trees passes by the window. The tiny dots in
the countryside, which look like toy houses, are “chatas” (weekend cottages)
built from wood, with very steep roofs. Passing through a small train station,
a woman waves out of her living room window at the train, although nobody
got on. The people in the wagon seem to know each other and are making
jokes which I don’t understand. They are probably talking about trempování.
I asked some of my co-workers, who explained to me that spending the weekend outside of town, under the sky in nature or at a weekend house, is very
popular. People work in the garden, pick mushrooms, go rafting, fishing or
canoeing, or go climbing or hiking through the forest and in the mountains …
Most people are also really attached to the place where they grew up, so it’s no
surprise that most of the students go back home for the weekend.
Around the next bend I see bigger weekend cottages, and I understand that
the term “chalupa”, though it literally means “hut”, is often used to refer to
a complete little holiday house with a big garden, a fireplace to sit in front
of after cross-country skiing in winter, and a bicycle shed or a place for the
fishing equipment. Trempování sounds like summer, it sounds like birds and
rustling leaves, like a guitar and singing. It feels like calmness and peace far
from traffic and noise after a long day of walking, hiking or other sports activities, and it smells like “táborák” (a campfire).
But besides being in nature, Czechs also like to spend time and feel “v pohodě” in a hospoda (pub, bar) having a beer. A hospoda is an “institution” which
isn’t missing in any single village … and it is the typical place to have beer.
To get the next Czech experience, I go with a friend to a hospoda on Americká Street in Plzeň. It is below ground; hot air and the smell of beer and
old cellar hit my nose when I walk downstairs. The place is crammed with
people, young and old, having beers and lively conversation. There is beer
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Czech Republic
on all the tables, and on some also small snacks like nakládaný hermelín
(“pickled camembert”). The centuries-old beer-making tradition in the Czech
Republic is the reason behind the really delicious Czech beer, and there are
an unbelievable number of different brands, the most well known of which
are probably Pilsner Urquell (from Plzeň), Budvar (from České Budějovice),
Staropramen (from Prague), and Krušovice (from Krušovice). Czech people
follow the tradition and can usually have quite a number of beers without
their having any effect on them. But soon I found out that going out to a hospoda doesn’t mean going out for a party – no Spanish fiesta nor ir de marcha.
Going to the hospoda is not about dancing, but about socialising. You might
go to the disco afterwards, but when you have a beer you don’t necessarily
need to dance (although a volunteer from Ostrava told me that dancing in
pubs is common there).
After walking down to the end of the cellar we come to realise that there
is no free table. No problem! In the Czech Republic it’s common to sit with
other people if there is no other table free. “Je tu volno?” “Ano.” And there
we are, sharing a table with some Czech people. Time to get into some interesting conversation with Czech people? Well, I don’t expect them to start
talking to me as for Czechs it is completely normal to sit with strangers for
hours at the same table, each group only talking among themselves. The
only thing to always say is “Na shledanou” when leaving. But if they don’t
talk to us, why don’t we talk to them?
I have to admit, I like this mentality
of going out for beers and having good
talks. However, what I don’t like is the
constant pressure to also have beer, or
if I am invited to a party to always have
drinks. So I try to keep my glass full
when I don’t feel like drinking.
As most Czech people live in a panelák, I share the experience. It has been
quite okay. Most of my neighbours are
quiet, and when I thought someone had
stolen my bike it turned out they had
A panelák in autumn
just put it into the common bike store-room, to which nobody in my flat had
ba though, and with it also a key to the
a key
key. Eventually I got my bike back,
store-room.
Across the street, a concrete apartment block is painted orange – uh, not
my favourite colour, but why do they also add green, yellow, and blue? That
is just too much! Three painters with their work clothes full of paint splatters
are crossing the street. They are on break and are going A panelák in autumn
to the small potraviny on the corner for a svačina (snack). They get some roh-
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líky which they eat without cutting them
open; they just put their cheese and ham
on top of it. When I see this, it looks like
another piece of the puzzle the Czech Republic is to me.
But don’t think you ended up in
a country full of beer-drinkers, nature-freaks and other crazy people. Although
… I did once see a group of seniors having a shot of slivovice in the cinema.
They took their silver bottle and small
cups out of their pockets just before the
film started, which I considered a little
bit crazy. However, the Czech Republic is
a lot more. For me, the Czech Republic
is also the land of puppets and marionettes and theatre. Maybe I am biased
because I stayed in Plzeň, and even lived
in a street named after the famous puppeteer Josef Skupa, who created Spejbl and
Hurvínek. But there is also the famous
playwright Václav Havel, who used his
absurdist plays to protest against the communist regime and to talk about human identity, and who then became the
first president of the Republic. Actually
he became a president with many, many
fans and supporters, one people talk
about a lot. At a students party, one boy,
for example, couldn’t stop talking about
Havel and claimed that he had written
a book of liberty. And if the Czech Republic is not the country of puppeteers and
theatres, then it is for sure the country of
fairytales! Just look at the high number of
fairytale movies that have been produced,
and just recently there was “Dešt’ová víla”
(The Rain Fairy) in the cinemas. What
is the Czech Republic for you? Well, you
have one year to find out, and I am sure
it will take about that long to really get to
know this fascinating country!
Franziska Koch, Plzeň
traditional puppet theatre
How do Czechs spend thei
r free time?
Volunteers impressions
:
• They are most often in
nature: hiking,
travelling, going somewh
ere by bike.
• They spend their free time
in pubs. :-)
• Usually they go to a pub
and sit there
drinking their beers with
out any other
movement.
• Czech people like to spen
d their free
time outside of cities ... in
nature on
a víkend trip or at their cotta
ge.
• Drinking beer, eating kned
líky and
relaxing at their cottage!
• Sports are very popular:
in summertime
riding a bicycle and goin
g hiking; in
wintertime going cross-co
untry
skiing, downhill skiing and
playing
hockey.
39
Czech
Czec
Cz
ech
h Republic
What you can see and experience ...
 People with formal clothes going to a ball
 People wearing sports and outdoor clothes
(especially the brand “Rejoice” with its plaid pants)
 People, especially young people, in skater clothes
 Girls, about every second girl, with their nails done,
nails with flowers, nails with dragons, nails with colourful little stars
 Dogs, families with dogs, old people with dogs, children with dogs
 Roma people singing with their guitars in the streets around Tylova
 People carrying zelí and vegetables home from the market in big bags
 Pupils calling their teachers “Mrs./Mr. teacher” (paní učitelko/
pane učiteli)
 Orange letter-boxes
 Getting a number at the post office and hoping in vain for an
English-speaking person at the counter
 The cute Czech words and their endings, like Lena which becomes “Leno”,
koníčky, šuplíky, do toho
 Roast pork with dumplings and cabbage (knedlo-vepřo-zelo)
 The classical Sunday lunch, svíčková (beef tenderloin with a great sauce
and cranberries), garlic soup (česnečka), palačinky, medovník,
and tatranky
 Chlebíčky for svačina (Czech snack), blueberry dumplings swimming
in butter with poppy seeds, ovocné knedlíky with quark on top of them
 Herna bars with darts, billiards and gambling machines
 Cultural heritage
 The legendary city of Prague
 The Czech enthusiasm for ice-hockey
 Modesty and humour, down-to-earth mentality, people greeting each
other, theatre, open-air cinemas, festivals
... by Franziska Koch
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Czech Republic
Travelling in the Czech Republic
photo by Friedemann Wulff-Woesten
41
Czech Republic
“The World is a book, and those who do
not travel read only a page.”
Saint Augustine
I think there is no better possibility for travelling than during your EVS …
You live in a new country, you will start to speak the native language, and you
have many free weekends and holidays to explore everything the country has
to offer. And, above all, you have the great luck to be not just in any country,
but in the Czech Republic!
Usually you need to spend a lot of money on travelling, but in the Czech
Republic public transport is always affordable. The train connections are usually very good and if this is not the case then you will always find a connecting
coach. What is also good to know is that you get a 50% reduction on the
normal train ticket price as soon as you travel with two or more people. You
justhave to buy the ticket together and then the fun can start. And, honestly,
who likes travelling alone? I am sure that most of the time you will profit from
this special offer!
From Prague you can reach any city in the country without any problems,
because most of the buses, coaches, and trains start from here. But also from
smaller places you will find your way for sure.
Not only within the Czech Republic, but also internationally, you will
find great options! With Student Agency buses, for example, you can
travel from Prague to Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and many more European cities for less than 35€ – round-trip!
To make your trips easier, I will list here some good and very useful websites:
www.idos.cz – For finding connections of trains and buses in general
www.dpp.cz – Public transport in Prague
www.studentagency.cz – Bus connections in the Czech Republic and abroad
http://www.autostop.cz – Car-sharing
http://www.cd.cz – Czech Railways (ČD – České dráhy)
Vanessa Hofeditz, Praha
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Czech Republic
PRAGUE ...
... such a big, interesting, colourful, historical, cultural, and diverse city. How
could we write an article about Prague without leaving out some important
things? We can tell you that we tried hard, but we probably failed. There is
never enough space to describe Prague. You just have to visit this city yourself. Here are just some tips for places we volunteers liked and information
we found useful.
43
Getting to know the city: In the footsteps of David Černý
Czech Republic
A popular meeting point in Prague is in Václavské náměstí in front of the
statue of St. Wenceslas. That’s where we will start our tour. We hope that you
chose a sunny day because you will spend some time outside now.
Walk down Václavské náměstí and enjoy the liveliness of this square. Take
the second road to the left, it is called Štěpánská. Enter the Lucerna passage,
which is on the right side of the street, on your right-hand side. Walk through
this famous passage. Right in front of and above of you, you will see the first
artwork of our tour. It is called “Horse”. Does it remind you of something?
Now let’s go on to the next stop. Continue walking through the Lucerna
passage until you reach the street at the Václavské náměstí tram stop. Cross
the street and enter the next passage of Cinema Světozor. If you need some
refreshment you can buy a very good ice cream in this passage. The passage
leads to a very quiet and beautiful garden. Stop and listen: Can you hear the
birds? It is a good place for a little break – with or without your ice-cream –
relaxing on a bench.
After this short rest, we continue our walk towards the main road – Národní Street. Follow this road until you get to the big Tesco shopping centre
and then turn to the right into the street Na Perštýně. We are not far from
the next Černý artwork, but it is a bit hidden; it’s just for people in-the-know.
Go to the corner of Husova Street and Betlémské náměstí. Take a look at the
beautiful Prague sky and then you will catch sight of the next object. It’s the
“Hanging Out” sculpture. Don’t be scared, he is just hanging out, not trying
to kill himself or you.
Our walk will now lead you through the old town of Prague. Go along, following Husova Street and from there follow the crowds of tourists and cross
the Charles Bridge with them. Enjoy the great views of the Vltava and the skyline of Prague Castle. When you have reached Malá Strana, turn right. Follow
the signs to the Kafka Museum. In the yard of the museum you can admire
another funny piece by Černý. It is called “Peeing Men”. This is a very special
fountain. Try it out by sending a text message to the phone number which is
written on the sculpture. The peeingmen will react ...
Last but not least, the final stop on this walk will be in Kampa Park. To get
there, you have to go back towards the Charles Bridge and then follow the
Na Kampě Street next to the Vltava. You will reach the small, green Kampa
Park. There you can discover three big, black, strange-looking babies – another Černý masterpiece.
After having seen four sculptures by Černý, you can probably understand
why some people love him and some people hate him. So what about you?
Off the beaten track: Leaving the hustle and bustle
If the sun is shining and you want to take a walk away from the hustle of the
city centre, then choose Vyšehrad – the other old castle site in Prague. Walk
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around there and enjoy the special views of Prague and the Vltava. It is special
because it is not crowded by tourists, but mostly Czech people, who like to go
for their Sunday walk at Vyšehrad. Don’t miss the church bells. Every hour,
melodies by Smetana are played by the church bells. You don’t necessarily
need to go inside the church, but if you want, it is open until 5 PM and you
have to pay a small entrance fee ... Anyways, next to the church is a really quiet
and peaceful place, a well-known old Prague graveyard. Some famous people
are buried there, like Dvořák and Čapek.
Another place to enjoy Prague off the tourist tracks is Letná Park. Situated
to the north of the city centre, it is easy to reach. Just climb the stairs at the
end of Pařížská Street which lead to the park. This is the place where a huge
monument of Stalin was built and after some years dismantled. Nowadays
a metronome shows the rhythm of time. It was created by David Černý (see:
“In the footsteps of David Černý”). Here you can get a nice view of Prague
and, especially during sunset, you can take beautiful pictures. When the summer comes and it is still warm in the evening, a beer garden is a good place
to spend some time with friends. Next to the Vltava you will find quite a few
beer gardens with a nice atmosphere.
And in autumn, when it is already getting a bit cold and the leaves are
changing colour, take some time to visit one of the Vltava islands, relaxing
on a bench, watching the dogs playing, reading a book and feeling how time
passes.
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We recommend:
Cozy tearooms and cafés: Where to warm up:
• Dobrá čajovna (Václavské náměstí 14, 110 00 Praha 1): A very nice tea house
with a cosy, oriental atmosphere. If you go toa čajovna you should have a lot of
time. It is a good place for deep and meaningful talks. A little tip: You should
try the tea “čaj, čaj, čaj”: it tastes delicious and there might be a little surprise
along with it.
• Café Medúza (Belgická 17, 120 00 Praha 2): A great café with an interesting
mixture of old and new. The interior looks like the set of an old black-and-white movie, but the guests are mainly young people and they play great, alternative music.
• Kavárna v Sedmém nebi (Zborovská 124/68, 150 00 Praha 5):
The name Café in Seventh Heaven is well chosen. It is a verynice student café with a great atmosphere and wonderful
coffee. It provides free Wi-Fi, so you can also go there alone to
surf the web. You should try out the place upstairs.
Good food, good times:
Nostalgia at
Cafe Medúza
You can find an endless number of good restaurants in the capital of the Czech Republic! For every taste, every budget and
every time of the day, it is possible to find the perfect place.
The best way to find out about the greatest restaurants is to
ask the locals! Usually the best ones are hidden and a bit away
from the tourist routes ... but it’s always worth going for it! :-)
For Vegetarians:
F
V t i
• Lehká hlava (Boršov 2, Praha 1): Very small and nice atmosphere in a cute
location in the Old Town close to the Charles Bridge. For evenings, I would
recommend making reservations, because it is always crowded. Prices for main
dishes are around 130 Kč.
• Maitrea (Týnská ulička 6, Praha 1): It has the same great food as Lehká hlava,
is a bit bigger and is very close to Staroměstské náměstí.
Typical Czech food:
• U Parlamentu (Valentinská 8, Praha 1): Typical Czech pub atmosphere, with
great beer and typical Czech meals. Guláš for only 99 Kč! :-)
Cheap and good lunch menus in the centre (during working days):
• Hybernia (Hybernská 7, Praha 1): Mostly a choice of 6 different meals. Very
good food and central location. Meal prices around 100 Kč.
• Potrefená husa (Dlážděná 1003, Praha 1): Very nice and modern atmosphere,
fast and good food! Prices around 100 Kč.
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• Republika (Na Poříčí 12, Praha 1): In the evening, a live-jazz restaurant;
during lunchtime, affordable for everybody! You getsoup, a main dish and
dessert for only 99 Kč!
Party in Prague!
• Cross Club (Plynární 23, Praha 7): An alternative, non-standard club playing
different styles of music, like drum-n-base or world music, on different floors.
You’ll feel like you’re in another world!
• Palác Akropolis (Kubelíkova 27, Praha 3): If you are searching for a cultural
event, have a look at the programme of Palác Akropolis. You’ll find music,
theatre and art projects as far as your eye can see.
• Lucerna Music Bar (Vodičkova 36, Praha 1): Perfect place to visit if you like
80s and 90s video-parties. It’s in the very centre of Prague, full of different people (sometimes some strange ones) and good for singing and dancing all night.
• Rock Café (Národní 20, Praha 1): Ideal for enjoying a few beers in a relaxed
rock-music atmosphere before crossing the road to Vagon.
• Vagon (Národní 25, Praha 1): Simple but nice location with a stage in the
front. You’ll get to hear a live concert nearly every day, entry is inexpensive and
local pop and rock bands play there!
• Popo Cafe Petl (Italská 18, Praha 2): There are several Popo Cafe Petl bars
in Prague, but the best is definitely the café-bar in Italská Street. Casual atmosphere, great for sitting and having a drink, as well as for dancing to an
excellent mix of music.
• Roxy (Dlouhá 731/33, Praha 1): A nice and very big location where you can
find different DJ-parties, concerts and even sometheatre events. Just check the
programme!
oss Club
Halloween at Cr
Dancing queen
s Suse,
Going out without drinking “pivo”?
Dani and Julia
47
Czech Republic
FESTIVALS IN PRAGUE
One-World Festival:
“Jeden svět”
Prague takes part. About 100 films
are shown concerning several
subjects concerning human rights.
If you buy a festival pass, you have
the possibility of watching many
films for a low price.
www.jedensvet.cz
March
Febio Festival
An international film festival, but
there are more than films. A music
programme with popular Czech
bands belongs to the Febiofest.
www.febiofest.cz
March/April
Khamoro
A big festival of Roma culture.
For one week there are concerts in
different places with Roma music
bands from all over Europe.
www.khamoro.cz
May
Prague Spring
A festival mostly for classical
music. Many internationally famous
musicians come to Prague, like
the clarinettist Goira Feidmann.
The festival has a long tradition,
since it has been held for more
than 50 years. It starts on the 12th
of May, the day Bedřich Smetana
died, and lasts until the 4th of June.
www.festival.cz
May/June
Fringe Festival
This festival, which was founded
in Scotland, invites many artists
and theatre groups from all over
the world to present their plays in
different theatres in Prague. It is
often nonverbal theatre, so there are
no problems with the language. ;-)
www.praguefringe.com
May/June
Klose, Finja
r you by Almut
was prepared fo e wish you a nice stay! :-)
ue
ag
Pr
r
fo
e
id
.W
l gu
trin Freundorfer
This mini trave
Hofeditz and Ka
Schlake, Vanessa
48
Czech Republic
A weekend in BRNO
49
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It‘s Friday evening and we are on our way to the centre of the city to start the
weekend with some beer in the pub “U modré růže”, close to Moravské náměstí (Kounicova 2). It’s the best place in the city to enjoy a big variety of beers
for very little money! We are discussing our plans for tonight. Do we want
to go to an alternative concert at “Fléda” (Štefánikova 24) or dancing to DJ-music at “2Faces”(Biskupská 1), “Bastila” (Dominikánská 15 ) or the “Caribic
Music Club”(Běhounská 22)? Better not go to “Mandarin” (Jakubské náměstí 6) during the weekend – the ERASMUS parties are every Wednesday! We
choose “Bastila” because the entry is only 30 Kč on weekends ...
It‘s already 3 AM when we leave the club, but there is still time for a “smažený sýr” (fried cheese on bread with some vegetables for 25 Kč) at Hlavní
nádraží from one of the four Asian takeaways (open non-stop!). We take the
night bus, which runs every half an hour the whole night (even to our place,
30 minutes away from the centre)!
The plans for Saturday: first, sleeping late! The daily lunch menu at “Černá
Hora” (right on náměstí Svobody, the main square) is quite cheap and our visitors
want to eat something typically Czech. So let‘s start the day with lunch there!
After a walk through the city centre, up to Petrov Church and the castle of
Špilberk, our city tour ends at Česká, the main street in the centre and connecting point for the “šalina” (a Brno-Czech word for tram).
To get some rest we go to Lužánky Park (Tram 6, station Pionýrská) with
its beautiful, big and really old trees. It‘s only 4 PM, so what about getting
active? How about bowling? At Makovského náměstí (10 minutes away from
Česká, bus 34, 36 or 29) you pay 200 Kč to bowl for one hour. We are still a bit
tired because of yesterday’s party, so we want to do something relaxing this
evening. That’s why we decide to go to one of the many čajovnas (tearooms)
in Brno. Our favourite one is at Dominikánské náměstí 4, where you can also
smoke shisha. The day finally ends in a lovely hidden vinotéka (wine bar) with
a glass of wine for only 18 Kč (Gorkého 30).
We spend nearly all of Sunday at the přehrada, a reservoir north-west of
Brno; the landscape is really beautiful there. It takes about four hours to walk
around and see this area. After two hours of walking (starting point: tram station Přístaviště, no.1, 3 or 11) we reach the first bridge to get to the other side. You
can already see Hrad Veveří, a gothic castle which we want to visit. Later in the
afternoon we return to the tram station and go back to the centre. Our favourite
café is called Spolek (Orlí 22). You can have a nice breakfast, lunch or dinner
there, as well as a cup of coffee with a piece of cake or a pancake. It‘s also possible
to read English and German newspapers and to use the free Wi-Fi spot there.
After such a weekend it’s necessary to do some sports, e.g. at “Fitness3000”,
a fitness centre on Malinovského náměstí, or to go swimming in Brno’s biggest
swimming pool, “Kometa” (Sportovní 4).
Enjoy the weekend and enjoy Brno!
Susanne Jacobi, Silvia Kunz and Daniela Schuppener
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Industrial chic
in OSTRAVA
51
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Home of Radegast
In this article I will speak about the magnificent city of Ostrava, not Nošovice,
as some might have expected.
Ostrava is not only the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the
administrative centre of the Moravian-Silesian Region, it is also home to
a wonderful group of people proudly bearing the name Ostraváci. They have
their own calendar, different from the grey worlds all around us. The days of
the week are Stodolní days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and
non-Stodolní days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). For those unfortunate
folks who still do not know what Stodolní is, I can say it is the heart of the city.
It is a combination of the big Stodolní Street and the little adjacent streets with
their countless bars, cafés and restaurants, and the street vendors who claim
to be making the best burgers in the entire world. I eagerly believe them when
changing my location from one bar
to another at around 3 AM.
And, of course, there are no typical four seasons; the Ostraváci divide their year into the “ples” (from
the Czech for “ball”) season, which
for most also means the downhill
and cross-country skiing season;
then there is the hiking season,
smoothly arriving at the biking and
rock-climbing seasons, and all of
these are spiced up with volleyball,
squash, roller-hockey, etc.
“plesy” there is aa large
large vvariety of those: the hunters’ ball, the
Speaking of “plesy”,
water-sports ball, and even a firemen’s ball. To learn more about the last,
please watch Miloš Forman’s The Firemen’s Ball from 1963.
To get a better understanding of how this species functions, it is highly
recommended to visit them in their natural habitat.
P.S. Radegast is a beer brewed in the Moravian- Silesian region, and is very
famous in Ostrava.
Maryna Khorunzha, Ostrava
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PLZEŇ – more than Pilsner Urquell
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lzeň is probably best known for its beer, and the famous brewing style which
has its origins here. So, if you’re after some beer tourism, you can do the
guided tour through the brewery with the included tasting of non-pasteurised
beer. Afterwards, you can taste beer from the small microbreweries (U rytíře
Lochoty, Purkmistr or Groll) in comparison to the big industrial brewery.
Although beer is certainly a very important part of the city’s traditions,
there’s still a lot more to be seen in Plzeň. You can go for a walk in the beautiful
Old Town and gaze at all the amazingly painted and beautifully decorated old
buildings (especially the city council building is worth taking a look at) and
the beautiful green zone around náměstí Republiky. You can climb up hundreds of stairs to get to the top of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral if you want to
get a view of the whole city. However, one of the most interesting sights – Plzeň’s underground passages – cannot be seen from there. Underneath the city
there’s a system of tunnels which were gradually dug by the city’s inhabitants
from its very first years. Only a small part is accessible today and you have to
take a guided tour to go there, but it’s still something worth seeing.
By the way, did you know that Europe’s second largest synagogue is situated
in Plzeň? You can find it just a few metres from the city’s main square. By paying
the entrance fee you also support the local Jewish community’s efforts to restore
the synagogue. So far this has been about the city, but when talking about Plzeň
one shouldn’t forget about the beautiful nature surrounding the city. For example, you can take a walk around the Bolevec Ponds at the northern edge of the
city or you can go swimming in the neighbouring Big Bolevec Pond. If you want
to go for a longer walk or a bicycle trip, you might also check out some of the
natural parks near Plzeň, like Horní Berounka or Nepomucko.
Jonas Walheim, Plzeň
Cafés and Pubs
In Plzeň there are abundant choices
for places to drink something in
a nice atmosphere. Free Wi-Fi is
available in almost all cafés.
If you feel like relaxing, the
“CrossCafe” (Anglické nábřeží 1)
at the top of the biggest building in
Plzeň is a good place, because there you can also sit on the balcony
which goes around the tower and
gives you a great view of Plzeň. If
you like the “CrossCafe”, I have
good news for you: there are six of
them in town. Another one is also
in the centre at Solní 21.
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Another nice coffee house is the “Street Café” (Klatovská 14), which has
a cute terrace open in summer.
You have a choice there between coffee, tea, shakes, cakes and sandwiches
in a modern- style café.
A café which is a little bit different can be found in Prokopova 17. Disabled
people serve and work there and offer you a wide choice of really good food
and drinks.
If you feel like having fair-trade tea, cola, or coffee, the café “Seraf ”(Rooseveltova 15) is the best option for you. They also have a small store where you
can buy tea, pretty candles, jewellery and more.
More tea, one might say a paradise of tea, in Plzeň is available at “Čajovna” (Sady Pětatřicátníků 29). In this Arabic-style tea room you can enjoy teas
from all over the world and relax on pillows.
What you should not miss is a visit to “The
Pub” (Prešovská 16 and Pražská 1). There you
can get the famous and really good “Pilsner
Urquell”. If you have never tried it, sample the
traditional hermelín cheese.
The best and most special thing they offer is
that you can draw your beer yourself at your table.
The amount that you draw and drink is displayed on big screens. This all leads to a big
contest in which the “The Pub” (there are “The
Pubs” in other cities, such as Prague) that has
the greatest consumption is the winner.
“Anděl” (Bezručova 5 and 7) is a nice combination of club and café. You enter into the café,
but there is a second area in the back.
In the café you can sit and talk, but when you
feel like dancing, just switch to the club and
end the night there.
If you want to get funky and have cocktails, it
is best to go to the “Funky Monkey” (Dřevěná).
They have a big selection for everyone’s taste.
Restaurants
If you are hungry and want to eat some real traditional
diti l Czech
Cz h food,
f d then
th
a couple of good choices are “U Salzmannů” (Pražská 8) or “U Mansfelda”
(Dřevěná 9). There is a menu available in English and German.
“Anděl” (Bezručova) and “Slunečnice” (Jungmannova 4) are perfect for
vegetarians. While “Anděl” serves no meat at all, but rather delicious falafel,
“Slunečnice” is a self-service restaurant at lunch time with a large variety of
inexpensive but delicious side dishes, fish, tofu and meat.
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Another vegetarian restaurant is “Vegetka” (Americká 13), which is a canteen with fast and inexpensive vegetarian food, also recommended for non-vegetarians! If you feel like eating Spanish food, go to “El Cid” (Křižíkovy sady 1). A good pizzeria is “Pizzeria Gargano” in the street nám. T. G.
Masaryka 545.
Clubs
When you want to party, the most famous clubs are “Anděl”, “Mefisto”
(Goethova 2) and “Ph+” (Martinská 1). On weekends and on Wednesdays,
all of Plzeň is out to celebrate and DJs create a fun atmosphere. Do you want
to enjoy live music? At “Divadlo pod lampou” (Havířská11) and the “Buena
Vista Club” (Kollárova 20), there are many good options.
Cinemas
There are two big cinemas in Plzeň where you can find normal, mainstream
films: Cinema City (Radčická 2) and CineStar in the Olympia shopping centre, which is a little bit far from the town centre. Most movies are shown in the
original language with Czech subtitles.
If you want to see European or international films, the cinema “Beseda”
will be of interest to you.
Information
A great page to find a wealth of information about concerts, movies and other
things going on in Plzeň is http://www.zurnalmag.cz. Žurnál is a magazine
that lists all the cultural events for the next month. Now you have some good
hints for enjoying your time in Plzeň. :-)
Lena Rimbach, Plzeň
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OLOMOUC
mouci,
ás v Olo l city
v
e
m
á
Vít
tifu
st beau
the mo ech Republic!
z
C
e
in th
57
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kay, if you like large cities, Prague is nice as well, but there isn’t anything
comparable to the charm of this lovely little baroque town. You can easily
walk across the centre of the city in about half an hour. The heart of the city
is Horní náměstí with its town hall and 32-metre-high Holy Trinity Column,
which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The astronomical
clock on the side of the town hall chimes just once a day. So if you want to
see the wonderful socialistic figures in action you should be there at exactly
12 o’clock. Olomouc has many interesting churches which you should take
a look at! And if you are visiting the Church of Saint Maurice (Svatý Mořic),
you should climb the 200 stairs up the tower and enjoy the view (unfortunately closed in the winter months).
Olomouc seems small, but with its 100,000 inhabitants it isn’t a provincial town any more. And because 20,000 of these 100,000 inhabitants are
students, it is definitely never boring! There are more than a hundred little
cafés, pubs and restaurants in Olomouc. The café “Mahler”(Horní náměstí
11) is mentioned as being the café of the city, but if you want to eat tasty
homemade cakes and drink very good milkshakes, you should go to “Café
87”. It is located next to the Museum of Modern Art (Denisova 47), which
hosts temporary exhibitions. For real epicures I would recommend the teahouse “Kratochvíle” (Sokolská 36). But, attention! You should have a lot of
time, because onceyou have entered this place, you won’t be able to leave it
anytime soon. Pozor! Danger of addiction! Not only for volunteers, but for
everybody. So if you would like to go with more than one person, you had
better make a reservation.
When planning your evening, you have several possibilities: If you want
to dance, you can visit one of the clubs – I like the club“15 minut”(Biskupské nám. 1) best. If you want to hear some extraordinary music, you should
see what is happening at “Jazzclub” (Sokolská 48). Don’t forget to check the
blackboard in the “Konvikt” (Univerzitní 3). It is a building just for students
in the middle of the city and there are often festivals, concerts, exhibitions
… For a calm evening you can go to the cinema “Metropol”(Sokolská 25); it
has a program that changes daily, where you can find not really the newest,
but always very interesting films. Many are in English. If you want to get a bit
more culture you can visit one of the three theatres in Olomouc. The best for
foreigners is “Moravské divadlo” on Horní náměstí. They often have ballets
or modern dance performances there, so you don’t need to know a word of
Czech.
For dinner you can go to the “Hanácká hospoda” (Dolní náměstí 38).
There you can eat typical Czech food from the region around Olomouc.
They also have menus in English and German. Please read them! The
translations are very cute! A real special tip is the restaurant “Apetit”. It is on
the 18th floor of the tower next to the main train station. Good view, good
food, good price!
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But, if you are fed up with Czech food, there are, of course, other options.
For example, the Irish pub “The Crack” (Mlýnská 4) is a smoky place to drink
your beer at night, but during the day you can eat great Nepalese food there.
From 11 AM to 2 PM Monday to Friday, they offer an all-you-can-eat lunch
buffet for 100 Kč.
And now, some special insider information for anybody who wants to stay
here for a longer time:
If you need to take a language course, go visit the university. Try to find
the faculty of philosophy and explain to them that you are a volunteer and
don’t receive a lot of money. If you are lucky, you will be allowed to attend the
ERASMUS course for free.
If you get the feeling that you have enjoyed too much good Czech food and
you want to do something for your health, you can also attend sport courses
at the university. You pay 500 Kč for one semester and can visit any courses
you want! More information on this can be found at http://www.upol.cz/ fakulty/zarizeni-a-sluzby/akademik-sportcentrum.
Now you feel like visiting Olomouc, but some of your questions have not
been answered? I have to tell you I am sorry, as I wasn’t able to write down
everything I love about this city. But maybe you will find some other useful information here: http://www.olomouc-tourism.cz/?lang=2. I wish you
a wonderful stay and you will see – you will fall in love with Olomouc as well!
Magdalena Prinzler, Olomouc
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ust a few final words on travelling: After introducing all these towns to you,
I am sure we will have made your feet itch and you are probably already
making the first plans! But what if in a few months you have visited all these
towns, and you still can’t get enough of this country? There are still many
more things to discover, which we were not able to introduce in detail. Small
towns with historic centres, strongholds and castles, historical sites, and spas
like Karlovy Vary. Just ask Czech people or read the pages of the Czech tourist
information website.
You should also discover the beautiful nature in the Czech Republic; it has
everything from mountains, valleys, caves, waterfalls and lakes, to forests and
wildlife. There are wild animals such as wolves, wildcats, lynx, great bustards
and grouse living in the bigger protected natural reserves. The scenery is often
untouched and unique and there are a few beautiful natural reserves in the
Czech Republic which can be discovered, for example, by bike.
Czech people love to go on active sports and outdoor holidays, and they
usually spend a lot of time outside. Canoeing, fishing, hiking, rafting – there
are offers for almost everything, so just make friends and try something new!
Nature reserves & beautiful landscapes:
Bílé Karpaty, Křivoklátsko (UNESCO biosphere reserve), Kokořín region,
Český kras, Český ráj, Blaník, Pálava, Třeboňsko, Krkonoše, Šumava National Park, České Švýcarsko, Podyjí, Jizerské hory. While not a nature reserve,
a nice landscape can be found around Třeboň with its fishpond system.
Caves: Koněpruské jeskyně, Punkevní jeskyně …
Links for outdoor holidays:
http://www.ckklic.cz
Cestovní kancelář Klíč – rafting, canoeing all over the country
http://www.sport-s.cz
Rents material and organizes tours to Český Krumlov and elsewhere
http://www.odyseatour.cz
Rents material, offers tours, transportation and courses, located in České
Budějovice
http://www.vodak-sport.cz
Located in Brno/Prague/Olomouc/Ostrava/Bratislava
List of World Heritage:
1992: Historic Centre of Prague
1992: Historic Centre of Český Krumlov
1992: Historic Centre of Telč
1994: Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk in Zelená Hora, Moravia
1995: Kutná Hora: Historic Town Centre with the Church of St. Barbora and
the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec
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1996: Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
1998: Holašovice Historic Village Reservation
1998: Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž
1999: Litomyšl Castle
2000: Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
2001: Tugendhat Villa in Brno
Tip: As buses can get quite full at the weekends, buy a ticket in advance at the
bus station or online.
You should by your train ticket at the railway station or on the train (but it’s
20–30 Kč more expensive if it was possible to buy it at the station).
How to get a discount from České dráhy!
In-karta, 25% discount, in the past called Karta Z (www.inkarta.cz)
• It is cheaper to buy one if you take (or plan to take) at least two (longer)
journeys;
• To get one, go to the train station with your ID, a passport photo and 330 Kč
if you are under the age of 26 (if you are older, it is more expensive).
• You will get a provisional In-karta immediately, and after 4 weeks you will
receive your permanent In-karta.
• In-karta gives you a discount of 25% on tickets for trains in first or second
class. Further reductions are available on seat reservations and multiple-day
tickets.
• It is valid for 3 years and costs 330 Kč for youth until the age of 26 (information from 2010).
• Important to know: During the summer months of July and August, you
don’t have to have an In-karta; you can get the discount just by showing your
ID Card, proving that you are under 26.
• There is also an In-karta Junior 50%, which offers you a 50% discount, costs
600 Kč and is only valid for one year (age restriction 15–26 years).
Group discount – “Skupinová sleva”
• Starting from 2 people, you are a group! The first and the second person get
a 25% discount, any others 50%.
• Return-ticket discount – “Zpáteční sleva (Z-S)”
• You get it automatically when buying a return ticket. The return must
be made before the end of the next day, and the reduction is 10%. So if
you intend to return the next day or earlier, always buy “i zpátky” (“and
back”).
Daily railway pass – “Síťová jízdenka ČD Net”
This pass is for all trains in the Czech Republic, is valid on all weekdays, and
costs 450 Kč (with In-karta or ISIC) or 600 Kč; also available for groups of up
to 5 people, up to 900 Kč.
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Weekly railway pass – “Týdenní síťová jízdenka ČD Net”
For all trains in the CR, valid on all weekdays, costs 940 Kč (with In-karta or
ISIC) or 1250 Kč.
Regional daily railway pass – “Síťová jízdenka RegioNet”
Valid in a certain region (e.g. Southern Moravia) for 2nd class on local trains
(Os) and semi-fast trains (Sp).
Cost: 150 Kč (group ticket, 2-5 travellers: 300 Kč; for fast trains (R), 440 Kč).
SONE+ weekend pass:
A cheap countrywide weekend railway pass for Saturdays and Sundays, for
2nd class.
SONE+ for local trains (Os) and semi-fast trains (Sp) costs 150 Kč; for all
trains, 450 Kč (R, Os, Sp).
Valid until 24:00, valid to the first train station after the border with Bavaria,
Austria, etc.
For a maximum of 5 people; only two may be older than 15 years.
If you buy it on the train, it costs an extra Kč 150!
SONE+DB weekend railway pass for Saturdays and Sundays; border areas in
Germany valid (250 Kč for Os and Sp, 550 Kč for R).
eshop.cd.cz – Czech Railways’ online ticket and reservation website is now
available in English.
If you go by train a lot, also get information on “kilometrická banka”.
Bavaria-Bohemia or Saxony-Bohemia ticket.
These tickets are valid in the respective regions, but they can only be bought
in Germany or online. Look on the bahn.de website for more information.
They are valid for one day on local trains in Bavaria and/or Bohemia. Single
ticket, 23€; group ticket, 33€.
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HELP! I am bored!
photo by Cigdem Cevrim
E
specially at the beginning of your EVS it can easily happen that you have
to spend a lot of time on your own. Maybe you don’t know many people
yet or you don’t have much work. So it might be the case that you feel bored. When I was reading up on the topic of boredom for our survival guide,
I found a nice quote from Earl Nightingale on the Internet: “You’ll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea.” We asked all our EVS colleagues
to give us some good ideas on how to fight boredom. Here we happily present
you all the great suggestions:
• Borrow a cookbook from the library and try out new things.
• Write an article about your EVS for your local newspaper at home. Or create
your own blog or homepage.
• Write a short announcement that you are looking for someone to speak
Czech with and that you would be willing to help that person with speaking
English/German, etc.; put this announcement on the notice boards in the
library/university/ cafés ...
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• You finally have all the time to read everything you ever wanted to read, to
watch all the films you ever wanted to watch, and to listen to new music! The
Internet is also a great resource!
• Use the time to think about your future! What are your goals and what can
you learn or do in order to reach them?
• Read the newspaper online everyday. You can find European news in 5 languages at www.eurotopics.net.
• What you need most and what will help the most is to learn Czech.
• Don’t hesitate at work to ask if they can help you meet people, or just go
exploring the city/town on your own.
• Try to get in touch with the local people, to engage in small-talk, to get to
know the new environment, the cafés, čajovnas, pubs.
• Go for a walk outside.
• Discover your town, the museums, go by tram to a quarter you don’t know,
check out the parks, and take your camera with you to take some good
photographs.
• Organize a meeting with the other volunteers in town.
• Try out a new sport, dance, or any other free-time activity that is offered. You
will also get to know new people there.
• Spend some time reading about Czech culture, get to know Czech films,
authors, books, and theatre.
• Search for a competition and try to win money or a big prize. You can look
for competitions in literature, music, art, photography, videos or anything
else by “Googling”
• Learn to juggle or to knit.
• Take part in TAMJDEM – a great opportunity to spend a special weekend
and to get to know new people (http://www.trochujinak.cz/en/tamjdemen/)
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Czech Republic
There are better options than becoming a busker. :-)
65
Czech Republic
HELP! I am broke!
As a volunteer you don’t get paid for your work. But from the EU you get
pocket money of about 95€ a month. This is not very much, especially if you
live in a big city like Prague. But you can make ends meet if you try not to
spend too much money. Here are some tips on how to save money – collected
from our EVS experts.
• If there is a university in your town, you can ask if you can get your lunch
there; it is usually cheaper than in other jídelnas.
• Try to cook at home instead of going to restaurants so often. Or prepare food
together with some people and divide the cost of the shopping.
• Write shopping lists so you don’t buy everything you see and like.
• Look for events or activities that are free – like film evenings at the Goethe
Institut or organized by the university international club (in Prague), or the
free guided tour of Prague. And especially when you like to go out at night,
you don’t have to spend so much money – if you go early, entry is free, and
the drinks – like beer – are quite cheap in the Czech Republic. ;-)
• If you think your money won’t be enough, start to write down how much
you spend. Then you’ll always have an overview of how much you have left
and what you spend the most money on.
• Don’t buy expensive clothes from big stores such as H&M or Zara, because they have higher prices here than, for example, in Germany, but from
smaller Czech shops or second-hand stores – you can find unique and pretty
things there.
• Always show your EURO 26 card and try to get discounts on entrance fees
and tickets.
• If you want to see a museum or a gallery, search online for whether they have
one day a month when entry is free.
• Borrow DVDs from friends and colleagues and organise film nights instead
of going to the movie theatre. Or buy DVDs for only 50 Kč at the train station or at other trafikas. They don’t come in plastic cases, but only in a paper
envelope, and are often in the original language with Czech subtitles.
• When you travel, try out “Couchsurfing” (www.couchsurfing.com) or find
out if you can stay with volunteers.
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Czech Republic
HELP! I am hungry !
ok ...
We help you co
...
sily ... healthily
... cheaply ... ea
67
Czech Republic
Breakfast – healthy porridge!
Ingredients for porridge:
Oat flakes (ovesné vločky)
;
– handful or 5 big spoons
d
water; raisins; nuts; shredde
r
coconut; flaxseed; sunflowe
seeds; sesame; cranberries
– dried, or any other
favourite dried or fresh
fruits; alternative: apple and
cinnamon or banana and
is
vanilla (then no sweetener
raisins
needed and maybe fewer
le syrup
and nuts); honey or map
What you do is:
before it is
er in a small pot and just
it gets
• Heat up a little bit of wat
good to stir it, otherwise
is
it
–
s
ake
fl
oat
the
boiling add
burned easily.
put them
e all the other things and
• In the meantime, prepar
r eat the porridge.
late
will
you
ch
whi
in
l
in the bow
and mix it all
and soft, add everything
• When the oatmeal is hot
.
ady
alre
ker
coo
the
off
turn
together – you can even
ier so that the apple
earl
bit
e
littl
a
it
do
le,
• If you add pieces of app
and warm.
has some time to get soft
or maple
bowl and add some honey
the
into
l
• Put the ready mea
.
ade
mal
syrup or even mar
easier to wash
the empty pot – it will be
• Pour some hot water on
it later.
n cold. Enjoy
is still acceptable even whe
• Eat when warm, but it
:-)
o
aczneg
eating / Dobrou chuť / Sm
Swetnik, Praha
Recipe provided by Anna
68
Czech Republic
B-QUARK’
POTATOES WITH ‘HER
rfect in the summer
super-cheap, easy and pe
You need:
ed Tvaroh),
cream cheese, in CR it’s call
potatoes, quark (similar to
salt
s,
herb
t
eren
diff
s,
led gherkin
1 onion, fresh chives, pick
What you do is:
d
• cook the potatoes unpeele
chives and the gherkins
the
on,
oni
the
cut
and
• wash
also add
quark together (you can
the
for
• mix all the ingredients
whatever
and
t
wan
you
r
teve
wha
,
some lemon, pepper, etc.
makes your quark tasty :))
• peel the potatoes
• enjoy your meal ! :)
Schlake, Praha
Recipe provided by Finja
69
Czech Republic
TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA
n’t be hungry after
A delicious meal you wo
tas, 4 huevos, 1 cebolla, sal,
5 patata
aceite de oliva
tiras muy fi
-Se cortan las patatas en
el aceite
echa
se
én
sart
na . En una
nas
con la
y se fríen las patatas junto
fuego lento).
cebo
c lla (30 min. aprox. a
huevos en
P otro lado se baten los
Por
u recipiente.
un
blandas
C ndo las patatas estén
Cua
o,
fueg
del
ran
reti
se
as,
rad
y d
y do
clan con los
r ndo el aceite y se mez
escurrie
Retiramos
S añade la sal (bastante)
huevos.Se
huevos con
los
de
cla
mez
la
é echamos
én,
el aceite y en la misma sart
ulo y dar la vuelta para que
círc
de
a
form
en
lar
ode
las patatas. Rem
se dore por los dos lados.
LA TORTILLA.
PRECAUCIÓN AL GIRAR
5 potatoes, 4 eggs, 1 onion,
salt, olive oil
oil into a pan and
ll strips. Put some olive
Cut the potatoes in sma
30 min. at low
out
(ab
on
oni
with the
fry the potatoes together
bowl. Once the
a
in
s
egg
ntime, beat the
drain
temperature). In the mea
take them off the stove,
wn,
bro
engold
and
potatoes are soft
the potatoes in the bowl.
and
s
egg
the
mix
and
the oil from the pan
Add salt.
into the same
and put the potato-egg mix
Drain the rest of the oil
ing it so it is
turn
fry,
it
let
and
le,
a circ
pan. Form the tortilla into
ing the tortiturn
n
whe
n
ntio
atte
s. Pay
golden-brown on both side
lla, as it can easily break.
Camacho Carrasquilla
Recipe provided by Jessica
70
Czech Republic
Present your country
71
Czech Republic
“Oh, my god! Tomorrow I have to present my country and my
EVS project!”
I think it is quite common that we volunteers, at one point or another, are
asked to give some kind of presentation: present your country, talk about European voluntary service, your project and things like that. If you aren’t asked,
why don’t you decide to put together a presentation anyway? It could be a kind
of mini-project, and more information about EVS is really important as it is
not very well-known in the Czech Republic.
Well, if the presentation is already tomorrow, you will probably have to do
some improvisation. But if you have more time, here is some advice on how
to prepare your presentation. And preparation is important, since most of the
time you are not going to be speaking in your mother tongue and maybe you
are also not used to speaking in front of a lot of people.
Your presentation should start with something that makes people listen:
Why not speak the welcoming words in your mother tongue and then afterwards translate? Or start with a song, a short video, a joke, or a funny story
about something that happened to you.
When preparing the presentation, keep in
mind, of course, whom you will be talking to.
Children, for example, need more interactive elements; maybe if the group is not too big, you can
include a typical game from your country.
Don’t forget to connect the introduction with
your presentation, and explain why you showed,
for example, this video. Then you can give an
overview of what you are going to talk about.
For example, if you are presenting your countA visual presentation is sometimes
ry you could first, after the introduction, show
more interesting and impressive
some pictures, to give a general impression of the
than a verbal one
country. Then you can talk about some facts, or
history. Aft
Afterwards
ca explain some holidays and important customs;
erwards you can
maybe you can prepare some food or drink to pass around for people to taste.
Then maybe you can talk about musicians, artists, and literature. If you have
time, include short examples, like a famous poem, song, or artwork. If you
are asked to make a really long presentation, it might also be interesting to
include a part about any cultural differences you discovered between your
country and the Czech Republic. But be careful and don’t compare the countries directly or use negative stereotypes which might offend your audience.
If you want to be really well-prepared, practice the presentation and give it to
a room-mate or friend. Like this, you will become more confident, know how
much time you need, and you can include any suggestions your friend makes.
Franziska Koch
72
Czech Republic
“What will we talk about today?”
Some ideas for conversation classes
If giving conversation classes to Czech people is part of your project, congratulations! You will have the great opportunity to learn a lot about the Czech
Republic, even if you don’t know much Czech, while at the same time having
a lot of fun. However, the first time or two will be hard! What if there is silence? What if people don’t want to speak about a topic, are bored or don’t like
me? Well, don’t worry too much; if you are well prepared and like talking,
nothing can go wrong.
For the first conversation class, I suggest you get to know the people and
introduce yourself. You can do that by using one of the games which is often used in EVS seminars: “getting-to-know-each-other bingo”. You prepare
a sheet of paper with different questions (20 or more) like: Do you have a dog?
Where did you grow up? What is your favourite hobby? Do you prefer beer or
wine? Have you ever been to England?. Each participant gets one of the sheets
and is supposed to fill it out by asking the other people. Whoever completes
it first, wins … the possibility of choosing a conversation topic for the next
class, perhaps?
Then you can write 3 questions on the board or on a sheet of paper. Everybody in the group should answer them, and they can talk about them as long
as they want. If someone always speaks too long, you can try to stop them
politely, when he or she pauses, by saying, “Thank you, that was interesting.
Now, how about you?” addressing the next person. The questions can be:
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Czech Republic
1. Where did you live for the longest period of time in your life? Tell us about it!
2. What is your favourite hobby?
3. How long have you studied English/ German … and why are you interested
in learning the language?
When somebody answers only very briefly, try to ask some detailed but not
personal questions. If a participant only says, “I have lived in Plzeň all my life,”
ask related questions: And how about your parents, do they also come from
Plzeň? Does your whole family life here? Encourage the other participants to
ask questions as well; it is, after all, a conversation class! During the first class
you can also ask the participants what they expect and what they would like
to learn or talk about. You could pass around a list with suggestions for topics.
Some common topics are:
• Food and Drinks – Let them create menus and everyone should pick a meal
from the menus made by the other participants.
• Free Time – You can talk about free-time topics over several hours, once
you find out what your participants are interested in. Maybe winter sports,
favourite films, favourite books, gardening, animals, hiking, dancing …
• Travelling
• Your Country – Share music or books you like, show pictures of food from
your country and explain what it is.
• Holidays – Like Christmas, Mikuláš, Easter, Carnival … bring, for example, a Christmas carol from your country and ask one of the participants
to bring one from the Czech Republic. This way you will learn a lot about
Czech customs.
• Transportation – Which means of transportation do you use? What is the
public transport like in your town? Is it possible to live without a car?
• Telephone Conversation – You can practise what to say on the phone; people
can act out different situations in pairs.
• Places To See in the Czech Republic
• Famous People from your Country and/or the Czech Republic – If your
group doesn’t speak much or if the participants are at very different levels,
you can try to use some of the following elements:
• Before speaking about a topic, make a big “Mind-Map” (see picture above)
in which you and the participants collect all the words that come to your
minds concerning the topic. This way, the participants who know more English can contribute, and those who know less will get the necessary vocabulary to speak about the topic.
• As an introduction, you can tell a joke (there are many on the Internet) or
play “Hangman”.
• Prepare small note-cards on which you write questions. Put them in a bag
or in a hat. The hat goes around and people pick questions which they can
answer or pass to someone else.
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Czech Republic
• Prepare small note-cards on which you write different terms. Participants
have to draw a card and explain it; the others have to guess – or let them ask
questions (similar to the game “Taboo”).
Finally, some great online resources:
• http://iteslj.org/questions A Project of The Internet TESL Journal with many,
many topics and lots of questions to ask in conversation class.
• http://esl.about.com
Free English conversation lesson plans focusing on popular culture, music, movies, etc. for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of English
learning in ESL /EFL classes as well as business English classes. Each lesson
provides an introduction, step by step teaching guidelines and printable student worksheets.
• http://www.eslgold.com/speaking/topics_conversation.html
More topics!
• http://www.german-way.com/forteachers- and-students.html
• Also check out the Goethe Institut online and the British Council.
So, now you have the necessary tools, and if you go to class with some
humour and a big smile, nothing can go wrong!
Franziska Koch, Plzeň
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Czech Republic
Rights and FAQs
76
Czech Republic
Before your EVS:
• Every volunteer has the right to attend a pre-departure training session in
his or her home country. Your sending organisation should help you arrange
it.
• Your sending, host or coordinating organisation needs to arrange your insurance with AXA.
• Before you start your project, you need to sign the Activity agreement. Read
everything carefully, because this is something very similar to a normal working contract and all the important issues concerning your EVS life (tasks,
money, accommodation …) should be mentioned. Your sending organisation needs to sign it as well, so they will help you check it.
Arrival and during your project:
• In your project there should always be a project coordinator who is responsible for you and who should help you with any work-related questions and
problems.
• A young local person, called a “mentor”, will help you with everything connected to your social life (showing you around the city, how the public
transportation works, helping you with possible personal problems …)
• Your host organisation should have arranged accommodation before your
arrival.
• You have the right to attend a language course, however, it is not specified
how long or intensive this course should be. You should try to arrange this
with your project coordinator according to your needs and the possibilities
of the host organisation.
• For each day you should get approximately 150 Kč for food, or be provided
food by your host organization. You have the right to get money for food for
each day of your EVS stay, including weekends and holidays.
• Monthly pocket money is 95€ in the Czech Republic.
• During your first weeks in EVS you should attend an on-arrival training
session where you will meet other EVS volunteers from all over Europe. The National Agency will send an invitation to you and your project
coordinator.
• After some months, approximately when half the project time is up, you will
attend a mid-term meeting.
Before the end of the project:
• Together with your host organisation you can create a Youthpass, a document that proves your tasks and achievements during your EVS project.
Back home:
• You should attend an evaluation seminar and share your experiences with
others.
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Czech Republic
In case you get into any trouble, try to solve everything first with the help
of your project leader and mentor. The next step would be to contact your
sending organisation, and if this does not help, then you should contact the
Czech National Agency.
This is just a summary of the most important things that came to my mind.
If you look on the next page you will find the EVS charter, which will give you
more information.
Vanessa Hofeditz, Prague
Y SERVICE CHARTER
EUROPEAN VOLUNTAR
is part of the ‘Youth
Service (EVS) Charter
The European Voluntary
s of EVS sende and highlights the role
in Action’ Programme Gui
main principles
the
and
ns
atio
anis
org
g
ding, host and coordinatin
n adheres to the
EVS. Each EVS organisatio
and quality standards of
Charter.
provisions set out in this
EVS partnership
coordinating oreen EVS sending, host,
A solid partnership betw
of every EVS activity. An
is
bas
the
is
r
ntee
volu
ganisations and the
file and the tasks
between the volunteer pro
adequate match-making
ed by all the partners
sign
is
nt
eme
agre
vity
has to be in place. An acti
activity.
before the beginning of the
paration and
is in charge of the pre
on
sati
ani
org
g
din
sen
er the EVS
• The
aft
and
ing
dur
re,
ers befo
support of the volunte
activities.
decent living and
has to ensure safe and
• The host organisation
ughout the entire activity
thro
r
ntee
volu
the
to
ons
working conditi
ic and taskadequate personal, linguist
period. It has to provide
on of a mentor for the
cati
tifi
iden
the
ng
udi
-related support, incl
volunteer.
role of faciliation (applicant) has the
• The coordinating organis
g administraerin
off
by
ject
pro
the
of
tating the implementation
enabling their
to all project partners and
tive and quality support
networking.
78
Czech Republic
red
EVS principles to be ensu
ning dimension,
onal and intercultural lear
• The non-formal educati
for the volunteer.
plan
g
nin
lear
a
of
on
through a clear definiti
of the non-profitthrough a clear definition
e service and
• The service dimension
l-tim
Ful
s.
task
r
ntee
volu
vities have
-making character and the
acti
the
ng
enti
lem
imp
nteer in
te any
stitu
the active role of the volu
sub
not
st
mu
es
viti
nteer acti
to be ensured. EVS volu
employment.
munity.
contact with the local com
• The benefit to and the
rs.
ntee
volu
the
for
rge
• EVS is free of cha
volunteers, the
on: when recruiting EVS
• Accessibility and Inclusi
bility of EVS for all
essi
acc
rall
ove
the
n
organisations maintai
up, religion,
judice related to ethnic gro
young people, without pre
ject targets vopro
the
If
n.
nio
opi
l
itica
sexual orientation or pol
capacity in proortunities, facilities and
lunteers with fewer opp
up have to be
owfoll
and
t
por
ation, sup
viding tailor-made prepar
in place.
volunteer
be ensured Support to the
EVS quality standards to
es, in particular in crisis
viti
acti
EVS
the
er
aft
• before, during and
t;
prevention and managemen permit, travel arrangements and all
dence
resi
,
visa
ce,
ran
insu
for
•
cedures;
the EVS administrative pro
EVS training
r’s participation in the
ntee
volu
the
ing
litat
g, mid-term
• by faci
nin
trai
val
arri
onning,
cycle (pre-departure trai
ion);
meeting and final evaluat
luation measures;
• by foreseeing proper eva
r has the right
up activity : every voluntee
• by encouraging a follow.
vity
acti
up
owfoll
a
ent
to plan and implem
Information
information on
right to receive complete
• All EVS partners have the
.
ects
all asp
the activity and agree on
e to be in place.
and publicity measures hav
• Visibility, dissemination
Recognition
ass.
entitled to receive a Youthp
• Each EVS volunteer is
79
Czech Republic
EVS VOLUNTEERS 2009/2010
80
81
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
We wish all future volunteers in the Czech Republic
a great time and many extraordinary experiences!
We would like to thank:
• The Czech National Agency for printing this booklet and being enthusiastic
about our ideas :-)
• Petr Syruček for his time and support
• Our host organizations who gave us the opportunity to realize our mini-project: Brücke/Most Foundation Prague (Katrin) and Totem Plzeň (Franziska)
• Finja Schlake for her help in convincing volunteers to write articles or send
pictures
• Our team of writers and photographers
• Skype, which made it possible to communicate between Prague and Plzeň
every Thursday morning
• All the people who supported us in any way
82
Tato publikace nemusí nutně vyjadřovat oficiální stanovisko Evropské
komise, členských států Evropské unie ani organizací spolupracujících
s evropskými institucemi.
This publication does not necessarily reflect the official opinion
of the European Commission, Member States of the European Union,
or organizations cooperating with European institutions.
Vydal:
Národní institut dětí a mládeže Ministerstva školství mládeže a tělovýchovy,
zařízení pro další vzdělávání pedagogických pracovníků a školské zařízení
pro zájmové vzdělávání
ČESKÁ NÁRODNÍ AGENTURA MLÁDEŽ
2012
Zodpovědný redaktor: Petr Syruček