In Magazine: why did many young Czechs roll up their trouser legs on a cold day? Czech travel agencies publish a list of the most amusing complaints made by their clients and, Czech fisheries produce a healthier breed of carp.
This week was a time of remembrance for the icon of the Velvet Revolution and the country’s first post communist president Vaclav Havel. Young people found their own special way of paying homage to the late president that he would surely have found amusing. They rolled up their trouser legs a few inches on the first anniversary of his death in remembrance of the day on which Mr. Havel was sworn in as the first post-communist head of state. Everything was perfect except his trouser legs appeared several inches too short, as if he were expecting “high water” as the people joked later. The incident was widely commented on and it later emerged that Mr. Havel’s trousers were not too short. He had lost a lot of weight in prison, from which he was released a few weeks earlier, and for fear that his trousers would fall down he pulled them way up to be on the safe side. Thousands of young people rolled up their trouser legs despite the cold in Prague on Tuesday as a mark of respect and the Facebook initiative allegedly spread to Poland where many young people did likewise. The organizers say they want to make it a tradition every year to remember the human face of the icon of democracy.
Photo: Jiří Němec
As every year, Czech travel agencies have published a list of the most amusing complaints made by their clients and, as every year, it makes excellent reading. For instance one tourist complained that he had not been warned the ocean would recede for miles during a high tide. A Czech visitor to Greece complained that the materials received from his tourist agency did not say from which side the sun would rise in the mornings. A family complained that the organized daily trips were scheduled too early meaning they had to miss pancakes for breakfast which the hotel kitchen made a half hour after their departure. Tourists to Egypt professed to be shocked by the bargaining taking place at open air markets saying it had completely ruined their holiday and one Czech complained that he had got into trouble with the authorities after walking into the hotel restaurant for lunch in his bathing suit. When the staff pointed out this was not permitted, he took the suit off right there and then. Others were put out by how fast the ice in their drinks melted and one client complained that the pavement did not go all the way to the sea leaving a long stretch of hot sand to cover on foot. “The food was disgusting and although we had to eat it all we want our money back,” one traveler complained and another claimed that the temperature in his hotel room had been a mere 16 degrees Celsius, sending a photo of thermometer showing 20.
Photo: CTK
As every Christmas, the vast majority of Czechs will soon sit down to the traditional Christmas dinner of fried carp and potato salad. It is one of the rare occasions when fish wins out over roast pork and dumplings and fish breeders have gone one better this Christmas: they are offering a breed of carp that contains a significantly higher level of omega 3 fatty acids that reduce cholesterol levels and fight heart disease. The superior carp is bred on a special diet and is the result of close cooperation with the Prague Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine. This new breed of carp is now available in four cities of the Czech Republic: Prague, České Budějovice, Vodňany and Blatná. The price is higher as compared to the traditional breed but clinical tests have confirmed its beneficial properties. There is just one hitch: those tested were pretty much on a carp diet for several months, while most Czechs see a carp on their dinner table once a year. Moreover specialists note that by frying the carp in breadcrumbs and eating it with a huge helping of mayonnaise-lathered potato salad Czechs are not likely to do much for their hearts or their stomachs.
Photo: Trashmade
With the economic crisis making itself felt many people have “clever” gifts rather than expensive ones. People who can no longer afford to pick gold and silver jewelry needn’t despair though. Young Czech designers are producing unique pieces from recycled materials that most of us can afford. Among the fun jewelry on the market are earrings in the shape of road signs, such as one-way street or no entry made from the real thing. There are necklaces and bracelets made out of old computer components, broaches in the shape of flowers from bits of wire and even creations from milk cartons. They are not likely to last more than one season but they are certain to draw attention!
Photo: Czech Television
Not many people today know it but originally the symbol of Christmas in this part of the world was not the ever-present Christmas tree: it was a nativity scene. Even so most Czech families have a nativity scene in the home at Christmas time from cheap ones made of cardboard to large, word-carved creations that are family heirlooms. There are exhibitions of nativity scenes around the country at this time of year and some people bake their own gingerbread nativity scenes at home. For some it has become a hobby and a bit of an obsession to create new ones every year. For instance Jaroslav Kosar puts nativity scenes in nutshells. He started ten years ago and has a big collection of increasingly sophisticated pieces. Work on one miniature lasts five hours and more with good eyesight and an inordinate amount of patience.
Photo: archive of ČRo 7 - Radio Prague
Environment activists are offering people special gift certificates as a suitable Christmas present. People can buy a symbolic small piece of land in need of protection. With a voluntary contribution they will help save a mountain meadow where wild orchids grow or a tiny stretch of nature in the city centre where birds nest or a nightingale sings. The idea has gained great popularity with environmentally conscious Czechs. Since the Make Space for Nature campaign was launched people have contributes to the purchase of 92 hectares of land with protected flora and fauna creating new nature reservations.
