Czechmatediary

President Woodrow Wilson may not be  the most famous president on the domestic soil but he is a celebrity in the Czech Republic. The main Prague station together with some parks and streets was named after him and now a new statue of him was unveiled in Vrchlicke Sady in Prague (the original statue from 1924 was taken down by the Nazis). The unveiling ceremony was attended by the highest Czech state officials such as the president Vaclav Klaus, the former president Vaclav Havel (it was also his 75th birthday on that day). The former secretary of state Madaleine Albright was also present.

Why such fame? Wilson was considered the foster father of Czechoslovakia for championing (together with T.G. Masaryk) its independence after World War I. The Czechs lost their independence to the Habsburg Empire in 1620 in the infamous Battle of White Mountain. For the next 300 years we were ruled  by the Austrian Monarchy until the end of World War I. [continue reading…]

Prachovske skaly

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Costco is now selling plums but the problem is that it sells about 200 of them in a box so you have to consume them quickly before they go bad. One way to get rid of them is to make a delicious Czech plum cake. It is very easy and makes a great and unique entertainment food since most Americans don’t know such cake.

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It’s history time! What made Czechs who they are now? Last time we reviewed the unfortunate and quite brutal Prague defenestration, today we are going to go back and look at the very beginning of the Czech nation.

(The following summary is taken from Benjamin Kuras’ book called Events that made Czechs who they are now)

1. THE ARRIVAL OF THE CZECHS

The first Czechs came to the middle of today’s Czech Republic in about 6th century.

2. KING SAMO’S EMPIRE

Samo was a Frankish merchant who was the first ruler of the Slavs. He created Samo’s Empire which lasted for 35 years (623 – 658) but it falls apart after his death when about 35 of Samo’s sons try to steal everything in the orphaned empire for themselves. [continue reading…]

You have got to see this! This is a map of Europe according to Americans...TOO FUNNY!!! I have posted something similar in the past, so if you like this map make sure you check out the other one (click here).

Also, the creator of the map (Bulgarian-born, London-based designer Yanko Tsvetkov) made similar maps such as Map of Europe according to France, Map of Europe according to Itally…so be sure to check those out too.

CZ: Na tohle se musite podivat. Je to mapa Evropy, ale jak ji vidi Americane…FAKT SRANDA!!! Jestlize se vam mapa zalibila, urcite se podivejte jeste na jednu podobnou mapu, kterou jsem postovala pred dvema lety (kliknete zde).

I drew yet another motif of Prague, this time it is the picture of Charles Bridge during sunrise.

There is only 1 original and can be yours for the usual price of my other drawings, which is $39.99 (plus $3.00 for shipping).

There is also more exciting jewelry to chose from, so if you have a hard time finding a nice and one-of-a-kind present, here are some ideas.

ORIENTAL BLUE

This exotic earring/bracelet set is one of my favorites. The earrings are quite long  which makes them stand out. The simple bracelet accentuates the exotic vibe but can be worn by itself with any outfit.
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English language is easy to learn as far as speaking goes but, boy oh boy, the written part of it is not so easy anymore. There is the spelling and then the sentence order that is sometimes completely different from the one in the Czech language. If I have to name my least favorite English word to spell it would have to be:

NEIGHBORHOOD

Why not just ‘nejbrhud’??? ;)) (That’s written in a Czech phonetics) [continue reading…]

Recently my hubby and I went to a Russian restaurant to celebrate our friend’s birthday. I was looking forward to it because I knew that some of the menu items will be similar to Czech food that I love so much. The restaurant was very nice, the food was also very yummy (although quite pricey), but the service was AWFUL! It was so bad that I have relieve to myself and write a post about it.

Actually, I take it back, the Russian bus-girls were very nice but the waiters were just out of this world rude. Let me tell you what actually happened and how it happened to spoil my idea of our Slavic ‘brotherhood’.

There was about 10 of us at the table and when we were deciding on what to order, one girl in the group asked the waiter what was good on the menu. A pretty common question right? [continue reading…]

Are you ready to compete and win a prize? The rules are simple: watch the following YouTube video and write down in the comment section what movies are these quotes taken out of. There are a total of 23 movie titles you should come up with.

The winner will get a framed picture of the Prague castle (see the attached image). The picture itself is a copy of the original pencil drawing, which is also available  for sale.

CZ: Jste pripraveni soutezit o cenu? Jestli ano, podivejte se na nasledujici video nejlepsich filmovych hlasek z ceske kinematografie. Na videu je ukazano celkem 23 filmu. Jestlize si myslite, ze muzete prijit na vsech 23 filmovych nazvu, napiste je do komentu a ja je ohodnotim, nebot mam pri sobe tahak :).

A co ze vyhrajete za cenu? Zaramovany obrazek Prazskeho Hradu (viz. foto). Obrazek je kopie originalu, ktery je take k mani.