Mailbox
This week: Czech exports to South Africa, railway museums in the Czech Republic, Radio Prague email newsletter. Listeners quoted: Clifford Riffel, South Africa; Edward Turnbull, England; Beverly Moss, United States.
In Mailbox today we start with a letter that came from as far as South Africa, from a Mr Clifford Riffel, who lives in Atlantis.
"My friendship with Radio Prague goes back to 1963. My first [QSL] card is dated 19.5. 1963. I am glad to have renewed that friendship this year."
We are glad to see our listeners coming back to us and we hope our programmes are much more colourful than 40 years ago. Mr Riffel asks these questions:
"Does the Czech Republic export any goods to South Africa? Do you produce any fruit for export?"
Let's start with the first question. I called up the export section of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and talked to Mr Vlastimil Samek who is responsible for bilateral relations with South Africa.
Mr Samek told me that besides car air-conditioning devices, light aircraft, electro motors, and other types of heavy machinery, such as machine tools, the Czech Republic exports beer, tyres, glass pearls, cans, razors and razor blades, parts and accessories for cars, lamps and light fittings and microscopes.
To answer the Mr Riffel's second question, I consulted the website of the Czech Agrarian Chamber and looked at the foreign trade fruit balance.
The balance of foreign trade of the Czech Republic of fresh, processed, dried fruit and nuts is negative. Import concerns mainly tropical and dry fruits, but also temperate-zone fruit. Most of the fruit is imported from Italy, Greece, Spain, Hungary and Poland. The Czech Republic exports mostly fresh and frozen pitted fruits and berries, cider apples and fruit juices. Czech exports goes to Germany, Austria and Slovakia.
Edward Turnbull from Northumberland, England sent us a postcard with a picture of George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson, the pioneers of the locomotive and railways. His question is related to the topic:
"Does the Czech Republic have a railway museum?"
This country has a great history of railway transport. In the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the first horse-drawn railway in Europe was built between the Austrian city of Linz and Ceske Budejovice in South Bohemia. The first steam-engine-drawn trains in continental Europe shuttled between the Austrian capital Vienna and the town of Breclav, in the east of what is now the Czech Republic.
As far as railway museums are concerned, there are several of them around the Czech Republic, but they are mostly very small and some of them are run by railway enthusiasts. One is in the town of Luzna u Rakovnika in Central Bohemia, another in the village of Sudomer near Mlada Boleslav (where the Skoda cars are produced), yet another in the village of Zlonice near Litomerice, in Zubrnice near Usti nad Labem in North Bohemia and one in the town of Jaromer in East Bohemia. And we mustn't forget the Museum of the Horse-Drawn Railway in Ceske Budejovice in South Bohemia.
A small railway museum should soon be built in the village of Korenov near Tanvald in the north of the Czech Republic and there have been plans to establish one at Prague's Masarykovo Station. I apologise to all those that I have left out.
And finally, Beverly Moss from somewhere in the United States writes:
"About a year ago I discovered my mother's parents and her oldest sister were born in "Czechoslovakia" - as opposed to Ireland as I had been allowed to believe for more than 50 years!
"I found all your programs very, very helpful - The ABC of Czech especially! The topics were extremely helpful, the vocabulary indispensable, and the sense of humour delightful!
"I have signed up for the Radio Prague email newsletter to help me understand my family roots even more and perhaps help me find a way to learn where my mother's parents were born in then Czechoslovakia. I only know from the U.S. Census of 1930 that they emigrated here in 1918, a rather significant year in terms of the Czech Republic and now Slovakia!
"So I am very grateful for the Internet and this wonderful website you have established. Thank you for opening wonderful doors!"
Thank you, Beverly, for your kind letter and I am happy to announce that as of next week we'll be running a brand new series of the ABC of Czech, which will be written and presented by my colleague, Heather Bowne.
Also, in her email Beverly mentioned Radio Prague's email newsletter. Everyone with internet access can receive fresh news from the Czech Republic. All the articles that are posted at www.radio.cz will be delivered to your mailbox every day free of charge. If you wish to subscribe to Radio Prague's email service, just go to our website www.radio.cz/en or type in www.radio.cz/en/subscribe.
On our website you can find the transcript of this Mailbox programme as well as the October quiz question which is as follows.
"The name of one traditional Czech dance is in fact a contradiction. The name suggests that the dance comes from another Central European country. Which dance is it?"
You have another week to send your answers to Radio Prague, English Section, 12099 Prague, Czech Republic, or by e-mail to [email protected]
