Czechmatediary

“If you help us find terrorists good things will happen for you…” That is pretty much the summary of the treaty that the USA signed with eight, USA-friendly states, Czech Republic included. Once all the American safety requirements are completed - which should be as early as October of this year - the Czech tourists will not need a visa to travel to the US. The traveling permission will be given out via the electronic system called the ESTA. (more…)

Did you know that prices of some food items in the Czech Republic went up 20 - 30% since the beginning of the year? That’s outrageous! I thought we had it bad here in the United States with the ever-climbing gas prices. The magazine Radio Praha digs deeper to find the cause of this Czech groceries crises (click here)…

CZ: Vite, ze vetsina ceskych potravnin je od pocatku tohoto roku o 20 - 30% drazsi? Kolik ted vubec stoji Fidorka? 50 kourn, nebo i vic?? Ja tady v Americe placu nad cenami mistniho benzinu, zatimco v Cechach to maji mnohem horsi. Nad duvody teto potravinarske krize se pozastavuje magazin Radia Prahy (kliknete zde).

Source: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103977

The 70-year old Oscar-winning Czech director Jiri Menzel is going to be a first-time father. How is it possible, you ask? No, it’s not a miracle story like what happened to Abraham and Sarah; it’s just that his wife is 40 years younger then him. The 30-year old Olga Menzelova-Kelymanova claims that baby wasn’t planned, she never really wanted to have children, but “(this) baby didn’t ask for anyone’s permission, it just came“. She also told to the interviewing magazine Blesk that she was not planning on giving up her carrier once the baby comes an that she would definitely be using babysitting services on a regular basis. What other Czech male celebrities became fathers in their bachelor days (60+) ? (more…)

Summer is almost here so let’s get ready for it! Besides Bublanina, Ovocne knedliky (Fruit Dumplings) are definitely the signature Czech (and Slovak) summer dish. Dumplings in general are eaten by a variety of cultures ranging from the Armenians, Chinese and Jamaicans to the Dutch, Irish and of course the Eastern Europeans. They can taste sweet or savory - both equally good choices. The Ovocne knedliky belong to the sweet-tasting dumpling family as they are filled with fruit. One can stuff them with any kind of fruit imaginable; if you want to you use kiwis, go for it (although I am not sure about the taste)! The strawberry dumplings are the best though and that is what am I presenting to you today. (more…)

There is a big difference between the Czech police versus the ones in the United States. I just wish I would have known it earlier – much earlier. That way I wouldn’t have to go through yet another embarrassing experience. Let me explain. About 2 years after I had come to the US I finely got my driving license and purchased a used Ford Tempo from about 1912 – I mean,a really old car. But I was happy as a clam, aimlessly driving around the block for days, feeling like a queen. One of the main reasons why I bought the car was so I could get myself to school every day. One of my classes during that time was held in the evening so I had to drive home after dark. As I was leaving the school campus one of those days all of a sudden a campus police car appeared in my rear-view mirror. (more…)

Hi to all friends of CMD,

I want to wish you all a happy Mother’s Day weekend! That’s a great thing about the United States - you get to really celebrate moms! Many of you know that we, the Czechs, have Mother’s Day as well but for some reason it seems to be the least celebrated holiday ever. It gets overpowered by the Children’s Day which is held on June 1st. I used to love Children’s Day though…

Every 2 years the EU commission assesses the situation of those countries of EU which in the future are planning to use the Euro currency system. The criteria range anywhere from the proper rate of inflation, share quotations to the rate of interest and other financial measurements. The Czech Republic for example does not fulfill the required inflation rate (in 12 months the IR = 4.4% with the EU limit being as low as 3.2%). Besides the CR other European countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Sweden, were going through a similar scrutinizing investigation. (more…)

I was listing through the magazines the other day and found a a small article on Paulina (really “Pavlina”) Porizkova, the 80’s hottest model ever, and the fact that she is currently featured on one of the worst shows ever - the America’s Next Top Model. As I was reading the article, I thought to myself:”Hmmm, she would fit into my Famous Czechs/Slovaks category!” and decided to put her in the CMD Hall of Fame.

CZ: Tak jsem si pred nedavnem v cekarne prohlizela magaziny a natrefila jsem na kratoucky clanek o Pavline Porizkove (pracuje ted na dosti trapne reality show America’s Next Top Model). Jelikoz byla v 80tych letech jednou z nejpopularnejsich modelek na svete, rozhodla jsem se ji za tento modelovy “ulet” udelit pardon a zaradit ji na list Znamych Cechu a Slovaku zijicich v zahranici:

Paulina was born in Prostejov (former Czechoslovakia) in 1965. Three years later her parents emigrated to Sweden, leaving 3-year old Pavlina behind. For 4 years it was Pavlina’ grandmother who took care of her until her parents finally managed to bring her over to Sweden. (more…)

I am really starting to think that without Czechs people would be still living in caves. True, I may be a little biased since I am Czech myself, but still…Here is yet another proof: It turned out that the all-mighty Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi wrote yet another opera which had been missing for quite some time. (more…)

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is going to be famous. The biggest known forgery painter Daniele Donde is planing to build a museum of False Art there. Similar museums are currently located only in Moscow ans Switzerland. Donde  himself is an interesting case: he never studied art, his falsification skills were learned from people that used used to sell his father fake art - without his father’s knowledge. Donde explains:”I gave those crooks a choice, either I was going to call the police on them or they will teach me how to paint like they do.” (more…)