Czech Update
The latest updates from news and events for all interested in Czech language and culture.
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Czechs celebrate anniversaries of Jan Hus and Cyril and Metoděj on successive days
Author: admin Posted: July 5th, 2009
EU Skeptic Ideologue Praises 'Courageous' Czechs in a Newspaper that Once Supported Hitler's Annexation
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: February 8th, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• National identity
• News
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
Prominent UK right-winger, Peter Hitchens lays out the involved history of the Czech land in a typically tendentiously der read more »
Most Czechs feel EU alegiance
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 28th, 2009
Categories: International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• National identity
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
It appears that most Czechs feel good about the EU membership - even half the communists - as the Czech six-month EU presidency gets under way. read more »
Google Maps Adds Public Transport info for Prague
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 15th, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Tourism
The ever-improving Google Maps just added another feature to its map of Prague. In addition to relevant photos, videos and Wikipedia entries, you can now see if there's any public transportation near where you want to go. read more »
Scottish Harvest in Bohemia Wins BCSA Prize
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 2nd, 2009
From a BCSA press release: read more »
Google Czech live long, Google Prague, get rich
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 27th, 2008
Resuming Czblogging after a hiatus with the amazing news that simply Googling Czech can have beneficial consequences. A new Google mashup StateStats shows correlations between US states' socioeconomic characteristics and the frequency of particular search terms originating from those terms. read more »
Škoda again heads list of top Czech companies
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: June 20th, 2008
Categories: Economy
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
With almost 10 billion Czech crowns (roughly 649 million USD), the Škoda car manufacturer heads the Czech Top 100 (worth 42 billion EUR) in size and value followed by the energy giant ČEZ and computer manufacturer Foxconn CZ. The only other tech company and the top one dealing in bits only was the former Czech Telecom. No internet companies made the top 10. read more »
How and where Czechs travel on holiday?
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: June 4th, 2008
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Food and drink
• Habits and customs
• Holidays
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Tourism
How Czechs travel seems to be impacting on where. The most popular destination for vacationing Czechs has been and still is Croatia. However, a recent Croat ban on importing certain kinds of foods has caused almost 10% of the 900 thosand Czechs planning a trip to cancel their holiday there (in favor of Italy or some other place). Why? read more »
Czech Healthcare Update
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: May 27th, 2008
An interesting write up of the Czech health system in the NY Times. read more »
Karel Gott, the never-aging pop star, marries in Las Vegas
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 13th, 2008
He's been a fixture on the Czech, German and general East European music scene since at least he mid-1960s. Started off with Rock'n'Roll and descended into broad pop in the 70s. Sold millions and millions of records and is the subject of adoration and derision in equal measure. Most Czechs and their parents have grown up listening to him and watching him win music contests. read more »
Half of Czechs are proud to be Czechs
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 2nd, 2008
One of those glass half-full half-empty surveys.
Proud to be Czech, but leave the politics aside - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz read more »
Czech inventor of the 'drunk tank' dies aged 91
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 27th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Language
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
• Vocabulary
• Curiosities
Záchytka is a wonderful Czech word that stands for the institution for the collection of drunken (and possibly disorderly) individual wondering city streets occasionally referred to in English as 'drunk tank' or ' read more »
Talking about the Velvet Revolution
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 17th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Culture
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• National identity
Listen to what it was like to be a Velvet Revolutionary in this discussion between Bohemica's Dominik Lukeš and Eamonn Burgess on Future Radio 96.9FM. This discussion was part of the Community Chest programme guest-hosted by Dominik on 16 November 2007.
Lost in translation: Prudish Washington Post journalist mistranslates spa, has time of her life in Karlovy Vary
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: February 7th, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Environment
• Habits and customs
• Health
• History
• Holidays
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Language
• Tourism
A slender blonde sitting next to me on a bench in Karlovy Vary's Spa III got up, tossed off the white read more »
Czech drinking habits revealed
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 27th, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Food and drink
• Habits and customs
• Health
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
1 in 10 Czechs drink like fish, 1 in 10 are teetotallers and the rest have the occasional tipple adding up to 10 liters of pure booze per head per year. All that and more was revealed by a recent survey. read more »
A little glimpse of Czech history
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 7th, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
An interesting article from 1939's Telegraph appeared giving us a glimpse of Czech history at a painful moment in the country's memory as it was casually described by the British press little realising that it was but the first step on the way to the invasion of Britain.
read more »Czech Republic Enters the Year Presiding over the EU
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 1st, 2009
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Politics
Nobody described the challenges ahead than Radio Netherlands:
International news - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English
www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6117... read more »
Czech animation reviving rich history
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: June 27th, 2008
Czechs have always been on the cutting edge of animation (even helping with some of the Tom and Jerry cartoons in the 1950s and 1960s) and now it seems, things are looking up again, as this short article in Variety suggests. The name from the past to take note of is Jan Švankmajer who's cited as an influence on Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. read more »
Irglová: Czech singer and actress reaps fame rewards after Oscar win
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: June 14th, 2008
Categories: Culture
• Film
• Idioms
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Music
• National identity
• You Tube Pick
"Co Čech to muzikant" (Scratch a Czech, find a musician) goes an old Czech saying (going back to 1800s at least) that used to be known around the musical world. And now it is again! read more »
Mašín brothers, history, present
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: June 2nd, 2008
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• National identity
• Politics
The International Herald Tribune offers a very good write up of a rather small event in the history of early communist rule in Czechoslovakia that has caused much controversy in more recent times. read more »
Czech real estate more popular with foreigners
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 20th, 2008
Categories: International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
More and more properties are being snapped up by foreigners residing in the Czech Republic. What exactly that means for the economy and culture is not clear yet. More readers for this blog perhaps.
More foreigners now keen on buying Czech real estate - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz read more »
New resource for Czech exile literature online
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 5th, 2008
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Culture
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Literature
A complete text (all in Czech) of a book survey of Czech exile literature between 1971 and 1989 was made available by the author on the University of Glasgow's Slavonic Studies Department website. read more »
Czechs end 2007 with EU freedom of movement
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 2nd, 2008
Categories: History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
Finally, Czechs can leave their passports or IDs at home when travelling to any of their neighbouring countries. The Schengen zone has embraced a bunch of new countries including all those that share a border with Czech Republic. read more »
Czech taxes 113th in the world
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 20th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Economy
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
In a strange imaginary league table of worldwide taxation, Czech Republic came in the 113th place. That is not good! read more »
Příkopy - Prague street in Top 20 most expensive in the world
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 15th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Economy
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
• Vocabulary
The Prague street that joins into the bottom of Wenceslas square came 20th in the world ranking of the most expensive streets in the world (down from 18th a year ago). Rents there reach 2000 EUR per square meter a year. Paradoxically, the Czech name translates literally as "on the ditches". read more »
