Czechmatediary

The newest addition to the Czechmate Diary store has just arrived! This time it is a 11-oz coffee mug with a silhouette painting of the Prague Castle, viewed from the Charles Bridge (hence the antique lamp on the left of the picture). Each mug is drawn by me personally, so if you would like a slight changes in the writing below (like “Prague” or “Praga” instead of “Praha” or something like that) it can be done.

Each mug costs only $12.99 (plus $5.00 for shipping*). As usual, the Czechmate Diary email subscribers get a 10% discount.

If you would like to purchase any of these items please contact me here (click here). Thank you!

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• NO all-you-can-eat buffets (Getting fat!!! Hello!!)

• Quality of bread
• Daily exercise consists of more than just pressing your foot on a gas pedal
• Architecture has much more personality
• Public transportation is not used just by homeless people and ex-cons
• Fruit and vegetables taste REAL (not like the weird, tasteless, waxy-looking stuff that is available in the conventional US grocery stores)

• Not everyone is suing everyone for everything
• Burty ( type of kielbasa)
• Universal public acceptance of beauty of Svickova and Vepro, Knedlo, Zelo
• Visiting another country doesn’t actually take 10 hours of flying

FOR PART I CLICK HERE

Do you have anything to add?? Leave a comment!

• All-you-can-eat buffets (I still can’t believe it!!)
• cheap clothing (love Target)
• People’s positive attitude
• Bridal/baby showers
• Option of going to school until you are 100 years old
• Free water and bread and butter in restaurants
• Food to go (dogie bags)
• Free soda refills
• Widespread use of deodorants
• Teachers at school actually build you up rather than tear you down

What would you add? How would your top 10 list look like?

If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

Wasn’t Alenka’s story just so thrilling? Not only did we get a great read out of her but she also pointed to a couple of articles which pinpoint a similar situation: an adventurous escape of a Czech family but this time IN A BALLOON!!!!

• Here is the article in the People’s magazine (click here)
• Here is a similar story that happened in Germany (click here)

CZ: Nebyl Alencin pribeh neuveritelne napinavy? Nejen ze nam popsala svuj dobrodruzny utek z CSSR, ale take mi poslala link na dva dalsi clanky, ktere popisuji utek jedne ceske rodiny jineho razu: tentokrat….V BALONU!!! (kliknete zde)

Zde je podobna story, tentokrat ale o vychodo-nemecke rodine (kliknete zde).

A reader of mine pointed out a very good article about the First Slovak Republic, which was a puppet country existing throughout the WWII as an ally of Nazi Germany. If you are part Slovak as I am (my grandfather was Slovak), you may be interested in reading it….AND it is only 1, 287 words long! [continue reading…]

I am sorry but I just had to post this photo. It gives me goosebumps  and brings tears into my eyes every time I look at it! Why the goosebumps? It’s just a thrill for me to watch a running horse (I can’t even imagine the thrill of actually riding a horse! I would probably get a heart attack from it). Why those tears? My mind longs and aches to go back there, to actually physically experience the beauty of a Czech spring: the numberless dandelions everywhere , the smell of a fresh grass and freshly blossomed flowers, and of course the newly awakened Czech forest…

Now let me introduce you to Dorian, an exquisite black horse owned by one of my dear Czech friends.

CZ: Omlouvam se, ale musela jsem vam tuto fotku proste ukazat. Neni nadherna? Nejen ze z ni mam husi kuzi, ale take se mi trosku zamlhuji oci slzami. Vzbouzi ve mne vzpominky a pocity z detsvti (mladi), kdy jsme v Cechach na louce pletli vence z  pampelisek, slunili se na cerstve jarni travicce a prochazeli se probouzejicim se lesem.

Seznamte se s Dorianem, krasnym cernym konickem, jehoz majitelkou je jedna moje velmi dobra ceska kamaradka.

I have got an absolutely amazing Easter post for you!!! It is written by one of the CMD readers, Lenka, who grew up in a country so she experienced the REAL DEAL Czech Easter. Her story is very entertaining as well as educational – the perfect combination :0) Thank you so much, Lenka!

CZ: Mam pro vas naprosto uzasnou velikonocni povidku!! Napsala ji Lenka, verna cternarka CMD a opravdu moc se ji to povedlo. Lenka vyrostla na venkove, coz znamena, ze jejich Velikonoce nebyly ani o trosicku osizene. Nejen ze je jeji esej zabavna, ale hodne se toho take naucite. Tak mockrat dekujeme, Lenko!

Traditional Czech Easter – the way I remember

by Lenka

I have been living in the US for the last 12 years and I have learned to appreciate Easter here.  However, now as I have children I miss our Easter more each year.
I grew up in a city in Northern Bohemia, but I think of myself as a country girl.  We have spent every holiday, break and weekend with my grandparents in the country.  So I have mixed memories of Easter.  Easter was celebrated different in the country then in the city.  For me, the Easter in the country was more sincere, more about the tradition, even if it got crazy.  Our grandfather would gather young weeping willow branches in February or March each year to let them cure for weeks before he would weave it into pomlazka.  Why use young branches?  By whipping the girls on Easter day you would transfer the youth, the health and the flexibility from the young cured branches into the girls (of all ages of course ☺ ) We would later decorate the pomlazka with colorful ribbons of streamers. [continue reading…]

Easter is just around the corner so I wanted to put you in the mood:

• If you are not familiar with the Czech Easter traditions, read a wholesome and educational article on the My Czech Republic blog (click here).
• If you are not into educating yourself today and would just like to read my personal story about Czech Easter click here
• If you don’t feel like reading at all and would rather mindlessly browse through some cool pictures of traditional Czech eggs which are called Kraslice look down here: [continue reading…]

I HAVE GOT AN INCREDIBLE DEAL FOR YOU! Imagine you could experience the Czech Republic all at once! I am now offering a cute basket full of need-to-have items from the Czech Republic and for a great price!

The package contains 6 items:

• 1 CD of Czech folk music called Na ceskem posviceni (original price $19.99)
• 1 unisex hand-made hat with a button of the Czech flag (original price $24.99)
• 1 piece of hand-made Bohemian (and Swarovski) crystal necklace called Vintage Heart (original price $24.99)
• 1 box of yummy Czech tea (apricot flavor) (o.p. $5.oo)
• 1 traditional CS waffle called Tatranka (o.p. $2.00)
• 1 traditional Czech chocolate-filled candy called Lentilky (o.p. $2.00)

Total price of all of these items is $79.99 but you can have them for ONLY $39.99 (plus $5.00 for shipping and handling)!!!

If you like what you see please don’t hesitate to contact me (click here)because I don’t have very many of these complete packages left.