Last week people in Prague gathered to watch an amazing spectacle - a re-enactment of the First Defenestration of Prague which took place 590 years ago. Fathers took their kids to Troja Zoo for a Father’s Day celebration and why are so many people watching the progress of snails in their gardens? Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarová.
Visitors to this country are occasionally alarmed by the sound of sirens –which nobody else appears to be aware of. The explanation for this is simple. On the first Wednesday of every month at precisely 12 midday sirens are tested across the country to make sure that they are in good working order. In order to distinguish between a real emergency and the test runs there are two different sound patterns – a monotonous sound for the test and a wailing siren for real emergencies. Ever since the end of the war Czechs have only ever heard wailing sirens in the event of floods, and they are so used to the siren test that they simply go about their business without paying the slightest attention to the noise. This week though an incident in the Plzeň region in western Bohemia showed that maybe the locals have become just a little too blaze about the siren tests. By some technical error sirens in the region went off with a wailing sound - for the prescribed three minutes – and nobody paid any attention. People knew it was the first Wednesday of the month and simply ignored the warning. There is some consolation in the knowledge that town mayors across the region did put a call through to ask if it was for real.
While people in western Bohemia are carefree enough to ignore the sound of a siren, elsewhere -in areas that have been repeatedly hit by floods this summer- they are wondering how to develop an effective early warning system. Following widespread criticism of meteorologists for failing to predict the heavy rains that set off flash floods, some villagers have reportedly turned to age-old wisdoms to avert disaster. Some are said to be keeping a close eye on the progress of snails in their gardens – since our forefathers believed that when snails start going up trees and shrubs – they are responding to high levels of ground water and there is an imminent danger of floods. It is of course advisable to monitor more than one snail since some may be more adventurous than others.
A Czech tourist in Romania learnt the hard way that it is not wise to wander off on your own in the mountains. According to the Romanian internet daily Romanian Times the Czech hiker was attacked by a bear late in the evening while descending into Caraiman Valley, only a few hundred meters away from the Sinaia mountain resort where he was staying. The daily says he was enormously lucky – some locals who were close by came to his rescue and managed to chase the bear away. The man, who is now in hospital, escaped with concussion and a dislocated shoulder.
Photo: CTK
Last Friday hundreds of locals and visitors to Prague were treated to an amazing spectacle –courtesy of the Prague 2 town hall which organized on Prague’s Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square) - a re-enactment of the First Defenestration of Prague which took place 590 years ago and marked the beginning of the Hussite wars. On July 30th, 1419 an enflamed mob led by Jan Želivský stormed the New Town Hall demanding release of all Hussite prisoners. The councillors refused and were thrown out of the town hall windows by the enraged petitioners – an event that coined the word “defenestrace” or defenestration. The first ever reconstruction of this famous event in the country’s history was undertaken by actors and stuntmen in period dress and the crowd roared its approval as the first man sailed out of the window onto a mattress bolstered by a pile of straw. Amid calls of “give us another one” the actors sent two more out the window, each defenestration accompanied by cheers and loud applause. “That should show those in power what a bad end they can come to” the actor impersonating Jan Želivský yelled from the window to the great delight of the crowd below. The defenestration was accompanied by historic festivities on the one-time horse market – with singing, dancing and live music, not forgetting refreshments such as bread baked in a replica 15th century oven, mead, and roast pork and gingerbread and various sweetmeats of the time.
Photo: CTK
Father’s Day is usually celebrated in June, but Prague’s Troja Zoo holds its own celebration on August 2nd. In cooperation with the association Gender Studies it annually holds a fathers-and-children event intended to help fathers bond with their offspring and encourage them to play a more active role in their children’s upbringing. Held last weekend, the event offered a variety of competitions for fathers and children –among them a chance for fathers to test their father-skills in “babysitting” someone else’s offspring. Nine fathers were asked to team up with a child not their own and ensure their cooperation in making a paper costume for one of the animals, drawing them or producing a clay model. The jury assessed how well the grown-up communicated with the child and how good he was at getting them involved in a certain task. Clearly practice makes perfect – because the winner – Petr Veselý – has four daughters of his own. His only serious problem was preventing his “contest” offspring from repeatedly running off and taking a dive into a nearby pool. You are probably wondering why the zoo holds Fathers’ Day on August 2dn – that is because the patron of the event is an ostrich called “Taťulda” or Daddy – who serves as an example of a model parent. Male ostriches spend two months hatching the eggs and take an active part in caring for their offspring for several months after they are hatched. I’m sure many human mums find that admirable.
