Magazine
Czechs elect the book of the year in the Big Read, three Czech singers wow Russia and -have you ever seen snails race? The snail racing tradition in this country dates back to 1901! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
Close to 200 veterans met at the 21st international vintage cars' rally in Terezin last weekend. The oldest veteran there an old Skoda model dating back to 1925 which boasted a maximum speed of 80 kms per hour. Another favourite was a fire engine dating back to 1928. Although the engine is no longer in active service it looks very well preserved for its age - having got two expensive facelifts -one in 1968 and another just six years ago. The fireman who drove it looked just as good - he was a lot younger but was dressed up in a 1920 fireman's dress for the event. The rally is organized annually by the Veteran Car Club Velemin which was established in 1979 and has 120 members from across Europe.
Not everyone is into vintage cars- many teenagers prefer to be seen in a Mercedes. One such joy rider gave the police quite a chase down the D8 highway going at 190 km per hour. When the car whizzed past a speed-meter it appeared to be empty. The police gave chase and when they finally forced the car to a halt they found a twelve year old behind the wheel. He'd covered 150 kms without being stopped -most of it at over 150 km per hour. The Mercedes was his father's car which he'd taken for a spin when his parents forbid him to ride his bike until his marks had improved!
Do you like asparagus dishes? In that case one festival you should not miss is the asparagus festival in Ivancice near Brno. In the 18th and 19th centuries Ivancice was renowned for its delicious asparagus and delivered it to the emperor's table in Vienna. Ivancice was awarded the title of "chief court supplier of asparagus" and remains proud of it to this day. Although its asparagus growing days are over -and Prague Castle chefs have to look elsewhere- Ivancice still maintains one "symbolic" field of asparagus -from which it harvests about 8kgs of the vegetable every year. And they hold an annual asparagus festival in mid- May. This year the towns inhabitants bought and consumed three tons of asparagus in two days - preparing an endless variety of dishes with it -including a dish called asparagus fingers.
Bob Divilek from the town of Zlin can perform an incredible feat - this 58 year old muscle and fitness pro who weighs 74 kg and measures 171 cms can "fold himself" into a plastic box measuring 40 x 46 x 58 cm. Bob -known as the snake man has performed this feat all over Europe and has invitations from as far as Las Vegas. Bob keeps himself in shape with daily weight lifting and stretching exercises and sticks to a low-sugar and low fat diet. He says the secret of fitting inside a small space is the right breathing technique! Whatever you do don't try it.
Czechs are voting in elections which should determine the most popular book of 2003 in the Czech Republic. The event underway is in fact a Czech version of Britain's Big Read -in which The Lord of the Rings - triumphed as the most popular book of the year in Britain. At present some 50 thousand Czechs have joined in the game and there are still 200 books in the running. The selection should be restricted to a hundred in June, and 50 in September. The Big Read Contest includes all genres and its organizers expect at least 100 thousand readers to join in. You can cast your vote at www. mojekniha.cz or at one of the 450 libraries which are taking part in the project. Among the authors in the running are Karel Capek, Oto Pavel, Bozena Nemcova and Milan Kundera, to name just a few.
Have you ever seen snails race? You could have if you'd gone to the Kinski gardens in Prague last weekend. The first snail race was allegedly organized there by baron Herrmann in 1901 and I am afraid to say that the snails have not broken any records over the years. Twenty snails - wearing different sports gear took part in the 100 millimetre sprint and the winning snail covered it in nine minutes. Of the three tracks the 400 mm run proved the hardest - all the snails just went their different ways and the organizers had to give up after twenty minutes. Nevetheless Skippi got the gold for effort even if he failed to make it to the finishing line. The snail with the bluest blood was Carlos XVIII -who moves slowly but with dignity. Throughout the race coaches yelled encouragement, directions and helped the snails along by spraying them with water. At least one possible reason why some of the snails retreated into their shells and refused to budge -in the middle of the race. Skippi proved to be the overall winner and his coach was presented with a medal and a snail figurine to remember the occasion by.
