A drunk driver falls asleep in the middle of a cross-road, people in Brno are meeting a tiger being walked on a leash –and there’s a scramble for weddings on October 10th. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
Illustrative photo: CTK
Drinking and driving is one of the most frequent transgressions on Czech roads, but it rarely happens that someone is so drunk they fall asleep behind the wheel while driving. Police in the town of Břeclav were called to such a case this week when a very drunk thirty-one-year-old driver fell asleep in the middle of a crossroad with cars honking on every side. When the police arrived they found him snoring behind the wheel oblivious of what was going on around him and the car stank of alcohol. A test showed that he had a blood alcohol content of 4 permille– enough to knock out a horse.
A survey of eating habits in the European Union indicates that while Czechs have embraced a healthier diet in recent years they are still lagging behind most of their European neighbours. Only one in two Czechs take a break to have lunch at work –unlike people in Western Europe where
Photo: Byron Solomon / Stock.XCHNG
75 percent of respondents said they have lunch daily. As to what they eat – Czechs have a passion for thick soups and still eat what others would call heavy meals taking vegetables only as a side-dish, and only sometimes. While people in Belgium, France or the Scandinavian states generally drink mineral water with their lunch Czechs are still into soft drinks or beer. On the other hand, an increasing number of Czechs have got into the habit of having breakfast –only one fifth of respondents said they never ate breakfast on a work day. In France, Italy or Belgium the number of people who skip breakfast is reportedly twice as high. And another vast improvement is that –besides their beloved roast pork – Czechs are now eating a lot of poultry and increasingly more fish. In the past it was generally either beef or pork in heavy cream and butter sauces. Despite the improvement dieticians say there is one more important change people in this country need to make – put smaller portions on their plates.
Petr Šíma
Chicken may be healthy, but it was game that Czech cook Petr Šíma put his money on when pitting his skills against the best of them in the land of goulash. He won second place at a goulash contest in Hungary, after laboring over the stove for four hours to produce 15 litres of tender meat and mouthwatering gravy. The meat and ingredients were brought from the Czech Republic – along with an interpreter since all communication at the contest was in Hungarian. The contestants came from all parts of the world – but, not surprisingly it was a Hungarian who took first prize – after all, despite the fact that it is often wrongly attributed to the Czech Republic, goulash is essentially a Hungarian dish.
The inhabitants of Brno’s Komárov district have the rare pleasure of meeting a tiger out on a walk. This unexpected sight is to be seen thanks to the arrival of a circus in the vicinity. The tiger’s trainer –and
Photo: CTK
the head of the circus Jaromír Joo – says that all his animals are tame enough to be walked on a leash, but only Taiga is so comfortable having people around her that he can risk taking her out without a muzzle. The walkabout with the tiger serves primarily for publicity, but Mr. Joo says he wants to let people know that it is possible to establish a relationship of trust with wild animals. Taiga lets people pet her and take pictures with her in the street. However she commands respect and there are always four circus employees in the background waiting to take action should she decide to show her strength.
Hospitals, churches and registry offices are gearing up for a busy day on 10.10.2010. Hundreds of engaged couples and pregnant mothers want to tie the knot or give birth to their baby on that particular day after a numerologist predicted it would secure good fortune and happiness. Couples who marry on October 10th of this year should find life-long happiness with their partner and children born on that day are expected to be clever and charismatic and go far in life. The numerologist also said it was a good time to sign business deals and buy new things. Given the fact that it is a Sunday, businesspeople would have to make special arrangements, but it should take women no effort at all to head for the nearest shopping mall and spend all their money.
Photo: CTK
Several dozen Czechs – between the age of two and sixty-eight - turned up for a mood-boosting concert at Žofín palace in which complete amateurs were invited to take part in Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. People brought a variety of musical instruments and gave it their best go, following it up with a drummers show that raised the roof. The event was organized by the Original Rhythm Team to show people how much pleasure and optimism they could get from music –even on an amateur level.
