My Thoughts on the Czech Republic

Full of grey walls with nothing to do but wait, airports and airplanes can provide ample time for reflection. The most recent stint of flights lead towards my home outside Seattle, Washington. Heading towards the home of my childhood I decided to reflect upon the place that had been my home for the past six weeks - the Czech Republic. A few thoughts...

The bar set for a foreigner's ability to speak Czech is incredibly low.

     Despite the fact it took miracle or memorization for me to manage an entire sentence I was told by several people I spoke Czech "well" (once I even got a "beautifully"). Here is the argument I got on my first visit to the Czech Republic on why few Czech people expect foreigners to know anything: There are about 12 million native Czech speakers. Nearly all of these 12 million are found within the Czech Republic. Throwing in those who speak Slovak, which is a closely related language, the number of people who can be communicated with rises to 19-20 million. Meanwhile, there are 375 million native English speakers plus another 500 million (or more depending on the source) second language English speakers. Nearly 1 billion people who can speak English around the world! With such a small percentage of the world population speaking Czech why bother? Most Czech people below the age of 35 or so speak at least some English anyway.  

     If I, or anyone else, would like to become fluent in Czech we are going to have to insist upon using the language. Not forcing myself to get out and talk more in Czech is something I regret.

Local food is not a niche market; it is just what you do.

     In the United States we have something called the 100 Mile Diet. The goal of this diet is to get all food from within 100 miles of wherever you are living. The Czech Republic is 270 miles across. The 100 Mile Diet encompasses nearly the whole country. As long as food is produced within the Czech Republic, it is local. 

     More even than this is the ease of access from producers to consumers. Thick, freshly baked bread (called chleba) is a key piece of many Czech meals. Bakeries can be found all over Czech towns which supply bread directly to shoppers or to the local shops. Sliced, packaged bread like we tend to eat most in the US is only for making toasted sandwiches on occasion. Milk vending machines can be found in many of the larger towns and cities. Farmers supply the milk to the machines, consumers can insert a few coins and their bottles to get fresh milk. According to Radio Prague "milkomats" have actually increased dairy usage in the Czech Republic since they were installed in 2010. Hunting is also greatly supported across the Czech Republic. Fields and forests across the country have small huts on stilts that hunters can hide in to shoot deer, pheasant, and boar.

If vegetarian, you will be missing out on the vast majority of Czech food. If vegan or gluten free, you may starve. 

     The United States is really good at catering to a wide variety of diets. Specialty grocery stores exist for cuisines, diets, and lifestyles. Even large supermarkets have specialty sections. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic seems to have only recently come to terms with vegetarianism. The entire diet of the Czech Republic is based upon bread and meat. While there is a lot of day to day variation the overall trend for meals is as follows. Breakfast most days was fresh chleba with butter and either jam, ham, or cheese. Lunch was often leftovers from previous dinners or more of the same from breakfast (minus jam) with mustard and horseradish. Dinner in the Czech Republic is generally two courses. The first a light soup, the second some form roast meat with potatoes or dumplings.  

If you don't know them, don't smile.

     I had some trouble with this. In the United States we tend to smile and say hello to just about everyone we pass in the street. Particularly if eye contact is made. In the Czech Republic unless you know the person, or are doing business with the person, rarely is anything said. The lack of smiling sometimes made me feel even more closed off than the language barrier.
    I brought this cultural difference up with a friend I met towards the end of my stay. She actually agreed with me. Though it is not the generally accepted thing to do she said she tends to smile at those she makes eye contact with. And you know what? They often smile back at her.

I would return to the Czech Republic in a heart beat. Everyone I met was incredibly kind and eager to share with me a piece of the place they call home. My six weeks were filled with a variety of new foods, words, and experiences. I burned my throat on the local alcoholic specialty slivovice. I was the first American woman to visit an old ranch in the Czech countryside. I went to my first hockey game, skinned my first pheasant, and shot my first shotgun. I can't wait to see what surprises the Czech Republic has saved when next I visit. 

Last Day in the Czech Republic

January 27th, 2014 was a wonderful day. It was my last full day in the place that had been my home for six weeks as well as mine and Tom's sixteen month anniversary. Sixteen months is a bit odd to celebrate but we weren't together for our one year, thirteenth and fourteenth month, and forgot about month 15. So, this one was going to be special!

First, we made bread. 

While the bread dough was rising we built a kick ass blanket fort! (Sorry about the weird gaps. Panorama program really didn't like these pictures and I was too lazy to fix it). To enter it we stepped from the chair over the blankets onto the step ladder. Then we descended like we were entering a submarine. After properly admiring our work we watched Star Wars Episode IV in the fort. Twenty minutes into the movie the bread was ready so we had a tasty snack break. Home made bread is so good! 

Once the movie was over there was an interlude of putting the blankets away and walking the dog.


Then it was dumpling making, playing games on the Wii Fit, eating gulash with dumplings, and playing board games with the family. 

All in all, a very fun day. 

Slovakia - Small Town Sites

With just one weekend in Slovakia, Saturday was our big day to drive around and see a few sites. Our two biggest stops, Kl'acký waterfall and Strečno Castle, took up much of the morning and early afternoon but we still had a few stops in mind for the rest of the day. 

 

First, Slovenský Betlehem. A large wooden monument created for a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Religion is another difference between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the 2011 census 45% of Czechs did not declare a religion with another 34% stating non-religious. Roman Catholicism was third at 10%. The steady decline of religion over the last century has made the Czech Republic one of the least religious countries in the world. Meanwhile, in Slovakia, 62% of the population listed themselves as Roman Catholic for the 2011 census.     

 The center of the piece houses a nativity scene being watched over by an angel. All around it are representations of Slovakian life - a church, forestry, making of wine and beer, baking. Carvings of many Slovakian castles line the top. My favorite scene though was a boy being pulled out of a tree by a dog. 

Our last stop being heading back to the hotel was the small town of Čičmany. Čičmany has made its mark by the unique way of painting the houses. The practice of using lime to not only preserve but also decorate a house is approximately 200 years old.  

The local museum, pictured above, works hard to preserve the whole cultural history of Čičmany. In it one can find the details of traditional daily living, clothing, and holidays. 

As with many small towns who have found themselves on the tourist circuit Čičmany uses its quirk to the best advantage. Many of the painted houses along the main street are now small hotels or houses for rent. It would be a unique place to stay for a day or two. Or perhaps over a holiday to see some of the traditional festivities in action.  

Slovakia - Castle Walls and Waterfalls

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have shared much of their history in the last century but they remain distinct identities. The more mountainous terrain of Slovakia led to an historically pastoral lifestyle while Czech Republic was, and still is agricultural. This distinction is small but it still shows. When driving through Slovakia I noticed many small shops and stands selling "ovci syr" (sheep cheese). Sheep cheese is not uncommon in the Czech republic but I have only seen it in the store. Meanwhile in the alcoholic beverage department the Czechs have the edge in beer while Slovaks favor wine. However, both of them create a throat-burning fruit based alcohol called slivovice (sleeve-o-veets-eh).

This past weekend Tom and I took some time to explore these cultural differences. First, the hills! Tom had knee surgery mid-December so he has been itching to get out. Slovakia gave us the chance to stretch our legs a bit as we hiked the four kilometers to Kl'acký Vodopád (Kl'acký Waterfall).  

Testing his knee on a wet mossy log over a creek. We looked for a potentially less hazardous way but couldn't find a place where we could guarantee dry feet. I had my waterproof boots but Tom was in normal shoes.

Yay hiking!

One of the coolest parts of the whole weekend was finding bear prints in the snow! Tom and I saw plenty of scat this summer in the North Cascades but prints were a first!

There were fox prints too!

Kl'acký Vodopád. Pretty small right now in the middle of winter. Though this has been a mild winter so perhaps it is bigger than normal. 

Slovakia is quite a pretty country. 

We got back to the car refreshed and ready for a day of further adventuring! Next stop was Strečno Castle. Slovakia is covered in castles. Some are little more than artistic piles of rubble while others look like something fresh out of a fairytale. Strečno is somewhere in between though it favors the rubble classification by a few notches. Most of its walls are still visible and the main building/tower is whole but its last major renovation was in 1689. 

Turns out the castle only officially takes visitors from April through October but a little fence doesn't deter us. It isn't trespassing if you stay outside the fence right?

Or if you enter the property because there is a break in the fence between some buildings?

Well, we got in but this is a touristy peasant village thing with the castle still looming above us. So, we went back around the fence and off in to the woods. 

Many thanks to the local Slovaks and intrepid tourists before us for creating paths up to the castle. 

It was great to explore the castle grounds but I have to say the view was the best part. We spent quite a bit of time on the castle bluff taking pictures of the medieval building behind us and the beautiful town below us. 

I have many more thoughts to share on Slovakia and pictures of the sights we saw but I think this is a good start. 

My first hockey game!

Last week Tom and I went out with some of his old friends. One friend and I got to talking about sports. He couldn't believe I had never been to a hockey game. I ran down the four most popular sports in the US: American football, baseball, soccer, basketball. Him: "Where is hockey?" Me: "I have no idea I only know those first four." Ice hockey is far and away the most popular sport in the Czech Republic. It was then decided we were going to the next home game. (My apologies in advance for the low quality of the images. Turns out I don§t know how to take pictures when things move.) 

Prostějov Hawks skating onto the rink. It was Prostějov versus "Brno's crap team" (Brno has two teams).  

It was great fun to watch! Unfortunately Prostějov did not do very well. Tom's friend said it was like watching pond hockey. You know, the neighborhood kids playing outside. Prostějov lost 3-1 with Brno scoring their third point when Prostejov had six players on the ice versus Brno's three. That was embarrassing. But I got to practice my Czech swear words! 

My lovely escorts and cultural interpreters

Tom and I. I had the hardest time taking this picture. The beer was starting to get to me...

End of the game. The fireworks are from Prostějov's super fans. The whole game they were chanting and singing on behalf of the home team. When finished shaking hands the Prostějov players went over to wave and clap for them as a thank you for the support. 

Day Trips and Camera Clicks

Running errands has taken Tom and I to some of the bigger cities in the Czech Republic including Prague and Olomouc. Then on the sunny days in Prostějov we have been visiting some of the local sites. Here is a spattering of images and anecdotes from where we have been. 

 Tom had to go to Prague to get a Chilean student visa. The embassy sent him an email the day before stating "We await your arrival at 10am tomorrow." No scheduling. That was it. He had to get his visa the next day. That meant we had to leave the house by 6am. After three hours of driving to get to Prague then trying to find our way through morning commute and construction we were buzzed in to the embassy with a little time to spare at 9:45. And then we sat for nearly three hours, with no other people, waiting for the Consul to give us the time of day. 

 The embassy was a bit of a frustrating start to our time in Prague but it was a nice day to go out and see a few sites. I saw most of the big sites when I visited for a few days last year but Tom showed me a few smaller ones I had missed including this padlock covered bridge. All around the world there are places where couples affix locks to represent their love. This particular one can be found in the Malá Strana District of Prague. 

Not terribly exciting but I ground some meat for the first time...

The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic. A UNESCO World Heritage Site for its representation of "Central European baroque artistic expression." After various plagues columns were sometimes erected in cities to thank God for their survival and help protect them against plague in the future. Protection came from depicting some of the saints that thwart sickness. This particular column isn't dedicated to the plague but it was probably influenced by it.  

Reservoir and local castle in Prostejov. The castle is so tall and skinny!

Silliness at a local park/garden...

More silliness...

Leafy clumps in the tree, kind of difficult to see here, are mistletoe! It grows wild all over the Czech Republic. Sometimes when mistletoe is particularly prevalent it looks a bit like the trees are still green.

Peek-A-Boo!

A milk machine! Local farmers deliver milk into the machine. Consumers can bring a bottle or buy one there. A liter of fresh milk costs less than $1!  Fresh milk for us and more money goes back to the farmers.

Milk milk milk

Skinning a Pheasant - A photo essay

Some family friends stopped by yesterday and in a nice gesture brought a pheasant! 

A lady pheasant!

So today Tom and I learned the fine art of skinning a pheasant. 

With particular thanks to a lovely Brit's YouTube video

Chop off the wings and pull out the tail...

Remove the legs...

If done right, the legs come off with the tendons attached. 

Like this!

That was the leg Tom did. Beautifully done. The leg I was responsible for gave me some troubles. I cut it in the wrong spot so instead of coming off and pulling tendons with it I cut the skin while leaving muscles attached. My attempt to pull dislocated the thigh and nearly pulled the leg off the bird. When re-cut the leg come off with tendons as it was supposed to. Sorry pheasant...

Next, chop off the head...

 Some of the poor girl's last meal fell out...

Cut a slice in the skin above the breast and "peel it off like an overcoat" 

-British Man From YouTube

Cut of the last few pesky tail feathers...

Small slice below the rib cage then dig fingers in to get the gooey bits

Rinse and cook...

Dobrou chuť!

Good taste!