Czechmatediary

The older I get the more crazy about traditions I get. And when I found this guy I had to order not one item but two. I am talking about these cute miniature houses that tell you wether it is going to rain or shine. I don’t know how they do it (it must be magic :)) but they work! If the girl is out of the house then it is going to be a nice weather. If the boy is out then it’s supposed to rain. I grew up with them and I bet you every other Czech did too. You just hang them on the outside of your house and let the magic work. [continue reading…]

Here is a nice little Easter game.If you hover over certain objects/people with your mouse they will make noises and/or move. It’s fun! Click here.

By the way, if you wonder what the bunnies are saying, one says “My butt hurts” and the other one says “What did you say?” 🙂

Happy Easter!!!

Pobavte se s jednoduchymi velikonocnimy hrami a zopakujte si velikonocni kalendar….vse v Cestine!!! Kliknete zde.

Vesele Velikonoce!!

http://tyyo.cz/velikonoce/#

With Easter being just around the corner, I found just that perfect crafty pre-Easter project for you. Let’s learn how to make Czech kraslice (decorated Easter Eggs)! Jana White from Crafts.helium.com will teach us the method step by step and the best thing is that you don’t need to buy any extra decorating tools.

Click here to see the step-by-step directions.

CZ: Za par tydnu tu bodou Velikonoce a jak jinak se na ne pripravit nez kurzem kresleni ceskych kraslic? Jana White z Crafts.helium.com nam ukaze postup  jejich vyroby krok za krokem a nejlepsi na tom je, ze k tomu nebudete potrebovat ani specialni nacini!

 Presny postup najdete zde.

Here is a great post from Jose Batistuta, a blogger for a local Czech on-line newspaper (my translation):

Jose Batistuta: ‘Every other Czech hates America although he has never been there. Their opinion is straight forward: America sucks! And that’s when I remembered that I also hate America and here is why: 

I hate America because it’s inhabited by beautiful, proactive and productive people, who tend to overflow with good humor, great inventiveness and – most of all – with a strong self-esteem. These people came from all over the world, they left behind their homes in order to give their children better life.

 I hate America because it was built on mistakes of Europe. It guarantees freedom to all.

 I hate America because I live in dingy one-bedroom apartment on a 5th floor of a commie building we call ‘panelak’, surrounded by neurotic neighbors, who complain about every step I make. When you ask an American why does he have a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom and 2 kitchen house surrounded by a edge-dissapearing pool and palm trees, he smiles and answers: Why not?

 I hate America, because it gave us many things that we cannot live without. Even the frickin’ Internet was invented there!

I hate America because it gave us Mc Donnalds – restaurants which serve unhealthy food. I hate America because every time I go by it’s crowded up to the roof, not by Americans but by Czechs.
[continue reading…]

We already know Czechs like their booze. They like it so much that they are number one beer drinkers in the whole world. And maybe that’s because they make the best beer in the world! Lately though their noses have been turning up a little higher, lusting after fancy imported distilled spirits.

My Czech friends have been getting into drinking this Irish whiskey called Tullamore. I did some research and last year the Czechs bought more than 850,000 liters of it! Rum and tequila imports are on the second and third place.

Why are they choosing international spirit brands in preference to the cheap traditional ones such as slivovice? I think because they are simply of a higher quality and they taste better. Or is it a social status move? I am not sure since I am not a very big drinker myself. But one of you guys may know the answer…

While whiskey, bourbon and tequila travel happily into the Czech Republic, the old faithful slivovice (plum brandy), hruskovice (pear brandy) and tresnovice (cherry brandy) are wanted abroad. In 2010 the exports reached $48 million! The popular destinations for Czech exports are Germany, Norway, Hungary and Lebanon. So it’s good to know that not only our beer is making a history but also good ol’ slivovice is creating itself a name in the world as well.

Source:

http://mobile.beveragedaily.com/Markets/Scotch-whisky-battles-bourbon-in-Czech-Republic

Krokety have always been a fancy kind of way of serving potatoes in the Czech Republic. If you go to the restaurant there you either get french fries or croquettes as a side dish. I have never seen them served here in the US but maybe that’s because I don’t know their correct name in English? Either way, I found this extra easy recipe for making them at home and can’t wait to try them.

CZ: Chybi vam v cizokrajne zemi krokety? Udelejte si je doma sami! Recept vypada velmi jednoduse:  [continue reading…]

Hello Tanja !

I´m greeting you from the Eternal City – ROME.

I have also two children – two small boys 🙂 and I teach them my native lingual Czech.

I didn’t think twice about to not teach them. For me it is natural to speak with them in my language. If I couldn’t use it I would be very sad so I made a good decision and we speak Czech at home, outside from home and also in front of other people who we know and also before strangers.When the the others are present I speak with both languages or I translate for them. [continue reading…]

One thing led to another and I have a great post for you to read. My blogging buddy Peter follows this blog called 52 weeks in Slovakia. This time the guy, Allan Stevo, wrote a post called “The Czech Republic – 20 years without a name”. Very interesting observations on the history of the country’s name as well as great explanation of confusing words such as Bohemia and Czechia (yes, it is an official term!). If you have a little bit of time, click on the link and submerge yourself into this great article.

CZ: Nevite, jestli se jmenu “Czechia” mate smat nebo je to vlastne oficialni termin? Jak Ceskou republiku v anglictine vlastne nazyvate? O tom a jeste o mnoha jinych vecech se zabyva Allan Stevo ve svem blogu “52 weeks in Slovakia” (kliknete zde). (Diky za typ Petre!).

This is an exciting news! Yet another Czech school is about to be born in the United States, this time in Georgia, Atlanta. However, they need to see your support in order for it to happen. Let them know you are interested!!

Check out their Facebook profile here or email Ivana at  ivana.skolaatlanta@seznam.cz 

Here is the letter from Ivana (in Czech): [continue reading…]