Czechmatediary

One of my dear readers was very kind and sent me her  recipe for POTATO DUMPLINGS. The are more dense than the regular bread dumplings but equally delicious. I love them both but I know some Czechs prefer those way over the bread dumplings.

CZ: Jedna moc hodna ctenarka se s nami podelila o jeji domaci recept na bramborove knedliky a vyresila tak naprostou ZAHADU, jakou mouku na tento recept pouzit: smichejte farinu/semolinu a wondru!

PS: Recept na houskove knedliky muzete najit zde.

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Once there lived a mother goat with her seven kids. Before she left to find food, she told them, “Don’t open the door until you hear my song: “Children, children, open up the door.” One day the wolf heard the song. He ran to the door and sang it. The kids knew it wasn’t their mother and did not open the door. ” Our mother has a very soft, gentle voice,” they said to the wolf. The angry wolf ran to the smith and told him. “File my tongue down so that I have a softer voice!” The smith  did as the wolf wished.

The next day the wolf sang the song to the kids again, but now with a softer voice. “Our mother has a softer, more gentle voice,” said the goatlings and once again didn’t open the door. The wolf was very angry this time. When he came to the smith again, he said: “Make my voice even softer or I will eat you up!”

On the third day the wolf came to the door and sang in a beautiful soft voice. THe kids thought it was their mother and opened the door. But instead of their mommy, they saw the hungry wolf. He jumped in and ate six kids. the smallest of them hid in the clock and the wolf did not find him. When the mother goat came home and her hidden kid told her everything, she ran after the wolf. [continue reading…]

Expo 2010, a traditional exposition of international fairs held since 1851, is being held in Shanghai, China this year. It started just a couple of days ago (May 1st) and it ends on Halloween – October 31st. This year’s World Expo theme is “Better city – better life“, making it the most expensive exposition in the history of world’s fairs. It was also built on the largest world’s fair site ever at 5.28 square km.

More than 190 countries together with about 50 international organizations have registered to participate in the Shanghai World Expo and more than 100 million visitors are expected to visit it during these upcoming months. [continue reading…]

Calendar for May is done! Don’t miss out on Houby Days Festival in Cedar Rapids or Nebraska Czechs festival in Lincoln. Also, if you haven’t seen a Czech movie called “A little piece of heaven” rent a little plane on May 12th and fly to Washington DC – a piece of cake.

CZ: Je tu kalendar na kveten a s nim veleznamy Houby Festival, nebo Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln festival. Jestli jste jeste nevideli film zvany “Kousek nebe”, 12. kvetna nasednete do privatniho jetu, smer ceska ambasada ve Washingtonu.

1. Cedar Rapids, IA

What: Houby Days festival

When: May 15

2. New York, NY (Czech Center)

What: “Kriess” concert (performs European music of 13th to 15th century)

When: May 6

3. Astoria, NY (Bohemian Hall)

What: 1910 Costume Ball (100th anniversary of Bohemian Hall)

When: May 1

4. Lincoln, NE

What: Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln Festival

When: May 2 [continue reading…]

Slavonice is a quaint little town of 2,500 inhabitants, just a few miles away from the Austrian border. Normally quite the quiet place, the town is now buzzing with excitement since the Slavonice choir was chosen to compete at the international music festival in Canada.

More of this exciting news (and how you can help) can be found here (click here).

CZ: Slavonice je malinke mestecko lezici na hranicich Moravy a Rakouska, ktere obyva kolem 2500 obyvatel. Normalne tu panuje pokoj a klid, ale v posledni dobe tu panuje naprosta vzrusuici atmosfera. Slavovnicky detsky sbor byl totiz vybran, ze bude reprezentovat Ceskou Republiku na Mezinarodnim hudebnim festivalu v Kanade.

Vice si o teto vzrusujici zprave prectete v blogu Zuzany Kulhankove (kliknete zde).

Also, here is a neat YouTube video which introduces the kids choir as well as the town of Slavonice:
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It has been 25 years since the most beautiful railway station in Central Europe was shamelessly destroyed by the Czech communist government. The Tesnovske station (formerly called Denisova station) was replaced by a horrendous highway which now runs right through Wenceslas Square – the heart of the historical center of Prague (see image below). How could the communists be so insensitive? Well, the railway station was not as productive as the very functional planned freeway – that is why. It fits perfectly with the communist ideology. “The communists considered historical buildings to be a backsliding architectural style. Such structures were symbols of bourgeoisie and the communists hated them,” explains Zdenek Lukes, the architectural historian. [continue reading…]

The Czech city of Frantiskovy Lazne has the wittiest meteorologists. Read this board which is hanging off of the Bismark observation tower.

-translation follows

CZ: Jak se zda, tak Frantiskovy Lazne maji velmi vtipne meteorology. Prectete si nasledujici nastenku, ktera je povesena hned vedle jakehosi vseznameho lana.
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Many of us , Czechs and Slovaks living in the US, have been on a desperate hunt for Czech/Slovak groceries. Some were more successful than others so  I got the idea to ask around and here is what my friends (thanks you guys!!) and I put together.

PS: I read through your great comments and added most of the new goodies in (highlighted in red).

CZ: Vetsina z nas, Cechu a Slovaku zijicich v USA, ma ten samy problem. Jsme totiz na nekonecnem honu po ceskych. (nebo alespon podobne chutnajicich) potravinach Nekteri jedinci byli uspesnejsi nez zoufajici vetsina a tak jsem dostala napad optat se v okoli. Toto je list, ktery jsme vytvorily s mymi kamaradkami (diky holky!!).

PS: Procetla jsem vase vzacne komenty a vetsinu novych vecicek jsem k listu pridala – jsou zvyraznene cervene

1. Trader Joe’s

• Trader Joe’s Yogurt cups  (vanila & Cream yogurt) – tastes just like “Pribinacek“
• Trader Joe’s rolls – Czech “rohliky“ (warm them up in the toaster oven)
• Czech beers –  Broucek, Starobrno, Krusovice, Staropramen
• “Slivovitz” (green bottle) – tastes the same as the Czech Slivovice
• Meringues (Trader Joe’s brand) – Czech “pusinky”
• TJ Potato chips – taste like the ones from the Czech Fair (chutnaji jako ty z poute: premastene a preslanene..vyborne!!)
• Mineral water – taste just like the one in Czech
• Melta (barley coffee-like beverage) – Pero brand is made in Switzerland, it’s very good [continue reading…]

A 53-year-old Czech-born tennis celebrity Martina Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since the disease was diagnosed early the prognosis to a completer recovery is excellent. “I cried when I found out about this. It knocked me on my ass, really. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it’s completely out of my hands.”

The nine-time Wimbledon champion was fortunately diagnosed with a non-invasive form of cancer, called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which was confined to the milk ducts. Navratilova had a lumpectomy and will start 6 weeks of radiation therapy in May. “It was the best-case scenario you could imagine for detecting breast cancer,” says Dr Mindy Nagle, Martina’s ob gyn as well as her best friend. [continue reading…]