About

Hi, my name is Tanja (you can reach me on Facebook here) and I am the creator of this blog. I have been living in the United States since 1998 and for about past 2 years I have had an itch to be helpful to society. I thought about going back to school and becoming a nurse – but I hate blood; I thought about getting a teaching credential – but I hate brats; I even thought about becoming a firewoman – but I am terribly scared of heights. And fire for that matter. Then, one evening I had a revelation: CZECHMATE DIARY! THAT’S IT! If you want to read more about my life c lick here , otherwise here it is in a nutshell:

Czechmate diary is created specifically for two reasons:

1. to connect and re-connect the Czechs and Slovaks with their Bohemian roots

2. to conquer the world via Bohemian influences

What will it do for you:

1. it will entertain you

2. it will educate you

3.it will feed you – Czech style (i.e. recipes)

4. it will find you a Czech buddy to chat with

Ahoj,

jmenuji se Tana a jsem tvurcem tohoto blogu. Ziji v US jiz od roku 1998 a jiz dlouhou dobu jsem mela nutkani, ze bych mela byt te nasi spolecnosti nejak uzitecna. Ale jak? Premyslela jsem o zdravotnictvi, ale ja nesnasim krev; premyslela jsem o oboru ucitelskem – bohuzela ale nesnasim zlobive haranty. Nebo ze bych byla pozarnikem (nebo tedy pozarnici, pardon)? Ja se ale bojim vysek a vlastne ohne taky…..A pak jsem na to prisla! No preci Czechmate diary! Cesi vsude na svete, at ziji kde ziji, si skrze Czechmate diary budou moci uchovat jejich rodne koreny a kulturni dedictvi. Jestlize se chcete dozvedet vice o mem zivote, kliknete zde.

{ 122 comments… read them below or add one }

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Ethan April 4, 2011 at 2:55 am: Ahojte,
Zajimalo by mi jestli je v Portlandu hodne Cechu? Pomalu zapominam cestinu a nelibi se mi to
Diky!
Barberode June 8, 2011 at 5:29 pm: Ahoj USA, stravil jsem v USA temer 1.5 roku, pred tim jsem zil 15 let stridave v Rakousku a v Bavorsku, jelikoz pochazim ze Slezka, ktere patrilo dlouhou dobu Nemecku, na rozdil od CR, Nemecko si sve byvale obcany chrani a dokonce jim priznava obcanstvi (po nemeckych predcich) Tyto zeme jsou nam velmi mentalne a kulturne blizko, takze zivot tam byl velmi pohodlny a clovek tam ani moc neztrada, jako treba v USA. Ma zkusenost s USA nebyla dost pozitivni, abych tam chtel zustat dele, tech 1.5 roku jsem stravil pracovne v Minneapolisu/Minnesota, no a mohu rici totalni kulturni ulet, zima, nuda a nic, lidi tam nemeli moc prehled o ostatnim svete, nevim ale pro dnesni Evropany je USA dobre tak na zkusenou, nenasel jsem duvod proc tam zustat dele. Ted ziji uz 6 rokem v australske Melbourne, kde je take dost pocetna ceska komunita a zivot je tu o hodne bliz k Evrope nez v USA, mnoho imigrantu je vlastne z Evropy, takze mesto ma smiseny raz, ale hodne pripomina evropske mesta, tranvaje, parky, architectura, ulice, cesty, restaurace vetsinou italske a hodne evropskych, lide hodne cestuji a maji prehled a hlavne prilezitosti tu jsou vetsi nez v USA, hlavne pro dobre vzdelane Evropany a platy lepsi take. Pocasi je podobne jako v Calofornii a Melbourne je mekkou kucharu a dobreho jidla. Clovek tu najde kazdou kulturu kterou chce, takze neni az tak izolovan jako v USA a na zivot je Australie o hodne lepsi nez USA, uz jenom z pohledu soc. a zdravotniho zajisteni, pro zajimavost, Australie ma dohodu z EU, take z CR o duchodovem zabezpeceni obcanu, takze cesky obcan pracujici v Australii po navratu do CR dostane stejny duchod jako by pracoval celou tu dobu v CR a to plati i pro Nemecko, Rakousko atd. coz USA urcite nema. Ono se totiz mnoho Evropanu z Australie stehuje do duchodu zpet do Evropy i s penezi co tu vydelaji, aby si v rodne evropske zemi uzili duchodu. Takze zdravim z Australie do USA!
Vlastimil June 9, 2011 at 3:46 pm: Barberode, je mi lito, ze jsi musel trpet v Minneapolisu, tam me ani par volu nedostane…. Jinak bych se nekdy do Australie chtel podivat , muze to byt zajimave. Jinak co se tyce duchodu , samozrejme v USA je jiny system nez v Evrope, ale me to netrapi, ja bud umru v praci anebo vyhraju loterii. Jinak mam 401K, setrim a nekupuju na dluh, a dolace se kupi a kupi a az budu stary a nahodou neumru, tak me uspory na nejaky ten patek vydrzi… Jinak to jde z kopce na celem svete a my vam budeme ukazovat cestu
Patrik July 15, 2011 at 11:14 am: Ja ziji teprve asi 7 mesicu v San Franciscu a musim rict, ze se mi tu hodne libi. Predtim jsem zil 3 roky v Singapuru (a 1 rok v Praze) a musim rict, ze San Francisco z posledne jmenovanych mest mi zatim vyhovuje nejvic (byt pocasi neni uplne ono) jedine lepsi misto na zivot mne prislo Brno (kde sem zil 5 let) ale bohuzel pracovne na tom Brno neni tak dobre.
Tak uvidim jak to pujde dal.
jinak by tady v SanFran mela byt docela komunita Cechu, ale zatim sem nemel moc casu se do toho ponorit (prace prace prace)
Tanja July 15, 2011 at 2:30 pm: Ahoj Patriku, tak Brno se rovna SF? No, to se tam musim jednou vypravit. Jeste jsem v Brne nebyla
Ano, mas pravdu v SF je velka ceska komunita, bud se muzes zaregistrovat emailem zde a ja nejake kontakty mam anebo muzes jit take na meetup.com a najit si tam skupinu v SF. Hodne stesti v hledani tveho vysneneho mesta.
Linda Kazdova November 4, 2011 at 9:31 pm: Ahoj, to jsem se nasmala Ja v San Franciscu ziji a v Brne jsem byla, ale uplne stejne mi to teda nepripada Jinak jsem se divala, ale zadny cesky meet up jsem v SF nenasla…nevite, jestli neco existuje? Krome vyhlaseneho Cafe Prague samozrejme….diky za skvely blog!!
Tanja November 4, 2011 at 10:00 pm: Ahoj Lindo! Diky!
No v SF prave nemaji organizatora (tedy taky toho, kdo by za meetupy zaplatil), takze vsichni cekaji, kdo se zlomi a to fee zaplati. Kdybych byla tebou, tak se tam stejne zapisu, prohlidnu si cleny a ty kteri se ti zamlouvaji bych zkontaktovala privatni zpravou (pres meetup). Hodne stesti!
Marketa November 8, 2011 at 5:27 pm: Ahoj,
Tvuj blog je fakt super ! BRAVO a jen tak dal. Ja jsem zila 7 let v New Yorku a posledni dva roky ziji s manzelem v Coloradu, kde take sidli vetsina me rodiny z tatovo strany, ktera sem emigrovala za komunismu.
Zila sem nekolik let take ve Spanelsku a Nemecku, ale musim rict, ze staty mi vyhovuji zatim nejvice. Colorado je fajn, trochu se mi styska po New Yorku, ale nemuzu si stezovat. Je tu spousta Cechu, takze hodne Ceskych hospudek a prez leto nekolik slezine Cechu a Slovaku.
Ja sama sem zalozila malou home based bakery, kde prodavam jak US tak Ceske pecivo … tenhle tyden budu zkouset rohliky, tak uvidime jak to pujde Jeste jsem je nikdy nedelala.
Takze vsem Cechum AHOJ !
Marketa
Carol Fairlie-Dolezalova November 23, 2011 at 11:28 am: I found your site, looking for a good Houskove Knedliky recipe, since we are on our last bag of Vitana mix.
Thank you for starting this Blog! Although I am American, my husband, Jirka is from Karlovy Vary. He also likes the comments on the blog.
Quick question, do you every use Semolina (krupice) flour in your recipe?
Julia December 5, 2011 at 10:35 pm: I came across your blog when looking for Czech recipes to make for the Christmas season. I lived in Prague for a semester in university, and since I can’t currently swing a trip back I can make some delicious food for the holiday season to hold me over. I’m so happy to have found this site, and hope that it will also help improve my limited Czech reading comprehension.
Bara December 6, 2011 at 7:56 am: Ceske obcanstvi. Proslecha se, ze snad 2013 by nam, kdo po 1991 nabyl jineho obcansvi, melo byt “vraceno”, tedy ze bychom mohli dostata cesky pas. Zkousela jsem googlovat nejake zpravy o tomto rozhodnuti, ale bez uspechu. Vi nekdo neco vice? dekuji
Marika December 6, 2011 at 10:26 am: For all you ducklingz desperately wanting to visit, but can’t put up the dollahz …
…get on Expedia on Dec 8th and buy a ticket to Europe for $230 USD only ( you must travel between April and July and buy Dec 8th) Hope this makes some of you very happy. Even if yu get a ticket to say London or Frankfurt it’s only a stroll to Prague, right?
Pro ty kteri Anglicky nerozumi – Expedia ma letenky na prodej 8meho Prosince za $230 USD ( letet musite mezi Dubnem a Cervencem)
Pac a pusu!
Vlastimil December 7, 2011 at 8:26 am: Bara, na co potrebujes ceske obcanstvi??
Bara December 7, 2011 at 1:24 pm: @Vlastimil
no treba uz jen z principu, ze jsem se tam narodila a nemam obcanstvi mi pripada absurdni…. vyrostla a vystudovala jsem tam, je tam moje rodina a mozna se budu chtit vratit tam zit…
Tanja December 7, 2011 at 9:53 pm: Ahoj Mariko, to je super zprava, mas ten presny link? Dik!
Tanja December 9, 2011 at 1:54 pm: Mariko, I still don’t see any such special. Where exactly on Expedia do you see it?
Kate December 13, 2011 at 7:34 am: My grandfather was born in Slovakia and so I grew up listening to his stories about his culture. My husband’s grandmother was Czech Republic so he grew up also hearing stories and eating Czech food. When I found this site it made me really happy because I can learn more about where my family came from! Thank you!
Tanja December 13, 2011 at 1:25 pm: Hi Kate! My grandpa was from Slovakia too so maybe we are related I am glad I can bring a piece of home to you even though you live many thousands of miles away
Paula (Pavla) December 29, 2011 at 8:56 pm: Hello Czechs & Czech Fans! Tanya (where are you located?) — what a truly wonderful thing you are doing! I found your site totally by accident when looking for the words to “My Tri Kralove….” The video is just fabulous and brought tears to my eyes…… I was born in Germany – My parents were post WW2 Political Refugees who had to flee the Communists circa 1947-48. When I was 3 we moved to London. In London there was a huge Czech community and because our parents thought the Iron Curtain would fall much more quickly than it did we went to Czech School (Ceska Skola) every Saturday and learned geography, history, culture etc. so that we would meld easily into Czech society when we returned. We recited “byti, obycej, bystri, bylina, kobyla, byk – a babyka” until could say it in our sleep!!!!!!! and had Vanocni, Svatek Matek, Masarykoveho Narozeniny, 28th Rijna Programs etc. etc. (later in San Francisco also) Unfortunately we all know how long it took for the Iron Curtain to fall, and I have not been able to go to Czech Republic. When I was 14 we moved to San Francisco where the Czech Community centered around Sokol. I met my husband (not Czech) and we traveled all over the US and settled in the Puget Sound Region when he retired from the US Navy in the 80′s. There doesn’t seem to be a Czech population here although I am very fortunate to have found a lady my age who is from Plzen where my father was from. We have a chance to “kecat Cesky” – remember things Czech, and I have someone to share my Czech memories with. I was raised speaking, reading, writing Czech, and singing Ceske Narodni Pisnicky, Koledy, etc. I have recently started reading some of my mothers’ books. I keep the Slovnik at hand – and don’t feel too bad when I can’t remember a ‘slovicko’ — I have to work at remembering English words sometimes too! My mother is long gone, and I feel that a huge part of who I am is in limbo….. I am very pleased that this forum exists and will follow up often. When my husband retires in March our hope is to travel in our fifth wheel and see some Czech communities. There are a lot of them, but especially in West, Texas they have really kept Czech tradition alive. It amazes me! God Bless you all — thank you for your input(s)…. I value a forum like this very much….. Nazdar! Preju vsem Stastnej Novej Rok 2012! Pavla
Jitka February 25, 2012 at 6:31 pm: Going to try ROHLIKY! Thanks for the packaged to dry east conversion, pretty much impossible to find “wet east” in New Mexico. Any Czechs living down here?
Tanja February 25, 2012 at 9:38 pm: Myslim, ze te potesime Jitko Mrkni na: http://czechmex.wordpress.com/acerca-de/
Hodne stesti s rohliky!
Barbora March 21, 2012 at 3:31 pm: Dobrý den, sháním kamarádku pro svou maminku, která je momentálně v San Franciscu. Pokud někdo máte známé či příbuzné v SF, kteří by měli zájem se s ní seznámit, prosím dejte vědět Děkuji, B.