365 days ago...

Almost a year to the day we savored our last coffee in Belgique, packed up our car with the guinea pigs and left rainy East London, waving goodbye to our worldly possessions which we trustingly put on the back of a Polish lorry (secretly praying that we'd see them again).

Two days later we arrived at midnight in Prague.  Our stuff did arrive, mountains of it which we had to unpack.  We had 5 days before Czech school started.  It was a mix of excitement, nervousness, curiosity and fear  - and some of those feelings haven't gone away.

The year has rushed by, we've had our ups and downs, but it's been a fun experience and we've never once regretted our decision.  However I feel it is time to re evaluate what I like and don't like about living here...

LOVES
1.  Freedom - maybe this is because it's always easy to leave the shackles of your old life, mortgage, job pressures, the rat race, but it's been lovely stepping away from all that for a while.

2.  Independence & responsibility - have gone hand in hand and this is what the kids have learnt this year, from school, scouts groups, and living here - the Czech Republic hasn't heard of health and safety here yet and it's been amazing for them to learn how to look after themselves, and they've embraced it!













3.  Nature and countryside - canoeing, mountains, skiing, swimming in lakes, it's quite easy here to do all that stuff. Czechs also seem to live side by side with nature more, it's been great.


4.  Learning another culture - stimulating, interesting, sometimes weird...

....and sometimes very different...

5.  Woof woof - it's really dog friendly here.  We can take Max on buses, trains, the metro, to restaurants...He's been to more restaurants at the age of 10 months than I did before I was 18 years!

6.  A surprising entry - The Weather.  Maybe we've had a good year, but it was a proper cold winter, and a proper hot summer.









HATES

1.  Czech DRIVERS - awful, dangerous, unsafe.  They overtake on side streets, reverse without looking, never stop for pedestrians.  Stats show they are one of the worst in Europe and I believe it.

2.  Customer Service - I don't think Czechs have a word for it in their lexicon.  They find it a very difficult concept to grasp.

3.  Bureaucracy -  ooh they don't half love a bit of paperwork, and there's lots of coloured stamps that need to be stamped to make sure it's all official.

4.  Cold Fish - Czechs's aren't the warmest of people.  It takes an awfully long time for them to accept you, especially if you're a foreigner.

5. Corruption -  sadly a daily occurrence with politicians and people in power.

6.  1980s and mullets - I wanted to start a collection of mullet photos, but I never seemed to have my camera to hand when the time came.

But believe me, they are still alive and well here...along with bad 80s outfits and Christmas jumpers...and let's not forget good old sock and sandals!

















But either way, so far we have survived the good and the bad!

On the Road....

...Unlike Jack Kerouac I'm not taking mind bending substances and quoting Ginsberg or the Beat Poets, instead I'm carrying suntan lotion, dog food and reading out weather reports from the iphone.

Still, the feeling is the same, that of freedom and spirit of adventure.

This is the first holiday since the kids were born that we've donned backpacks and went travelling with just a guidebook and a passport.  Admittedly we've not gone far - only to Slovakia, the neighbouring country, but it feels like a real trip away without hotel reservations in place, and more importantly without The Car and all the trappings of life we bring with us when we have 4 wheels.

Everything we need we are carrying on our back, and if we ain't got it - tough luck.

Our first thrilling stop was the overnight sleeper train from Prague which arrived at an ungodly hour in some ungodly deserted train station in the Slovak Mountains. It was definitely less Orient Express and more Intercity, but that didn't stop the kids from being high with excitement, practically bouncing off the walls until the lull of the train on the tracks rocked them to sleep about midnight.

We felt like the Famous Five - cos now we've got our own Timmy the dog (ok....a less well behaved version) and hubby took us on all sorts of treks through meadows, along streams and up mountains.  

Luckily he was astute enough to pepper this with trips to hot springs and waterparks to keep the kids and wifey happy along the way.

And even when he was presented with problems like climbing up a steep gorge with a Labrador and ladder....

....he always found a way around it....

               

Woof Woof!

The weather helped.  I'm sure we (read I) would have given up and headed straight for the nearest town and hotel if we'd been squelching through mud, but the sun made it all more doable, more romantic, more fun....

And we definitely all felt a sense of independence and spontaneity as we conquered fields of wildflowers drinking in the panoramic views and sweeping valleys.

And then all too soon it was time to wait for our night train to Prague again...to slowly take us back to reality.

The Good Life

Barbara and Tom from the 1970s sitcom would have a field day in the Czech countryside.

It's all sustainable, simple and self sufficient. Back gardens are vegetable allotments, trees are there to bear fruit (peaches, cherries, apples, pears), and there are pigs and rabbits (and no they're not pets...)

But you won't find a Margo Leadbetter character here. Czech countryside doesn't mean expensive commuter properties, renovated barns, picturesque thatched cottages....or to the Manor Born...

It normally means dilapidated buildings, run down farm houses, an old pub if you’re lucky, a collection of chickens running, and trying to make ends meet.

My husband's family live in an old converted school in a village. Granddad has one flat, one uncle and family one side, and a second uncle and family live on the other side.  Their children have grown up, built houses close by and seem quite content to live the rural life, they have no desire to move to the nearest city, and certainly would never contemplate living in Prague.

We just got back from a long weekend visiting them, and even after 10 years I'm still in shock when I go.

It's just well....so.... rural.

They grow everything themselves - they have bees which produce honey

...they dry herbs for cooking and teas, they pickle and store fruit and vegetables for the year ahead.














It's like a production line, I'm always in awe.

And it is like stepping back to the UK in the 1970s, I remember my parents growing veg in the garden, and even then not quite to the same extent.  It was a matter of necessity, it was cheaper.  And Czechs more than most had to grow their own and live more off the land.  Even after the collapse of communism it's still a part of everyday life for many.

I like the fact that most Czechs, even those that live in the city, are really knowledgeable about plants and animals, they understand weather patterns and food is still seasonal.  I love the fact that if I have a cold or an ache one of my husband's aunts whips me up a homemade tea with the right combination of herbs to help my aliments.

And it's also got nothing to do with being 'new age', or following any kind of trend to grow your own, it's just more practical I suppose - and therefore they have a more symbiotic relationship with the land.

But.... it also never continues to surprise that even though there are fruits and vegetables abound, at least in summer time, strangely none of it seems to find it's way into the Czech cuisine, or sneak onto a restaurant plate!

The Good Life TV show:
http://youtu.be/iwfjCoODvbo

To the Manor Born:

http://youtu.be/_nt9cz_prjM

Schools out for summer!

Today is the last day of school.  To say it’s a bit of a shock is an understatement, to say time has flown is a cliché, but come on….have the kids really completed a whole year of school in the Czech Republic?

It feels like only yesterday when their backpacks were laden with pens and pencils, gym kits and loo roll!  We were all suffering first day nerves, it was something completely new for us, and we didn’t understand what on earth was going on  (ok that was just me).

Now I sit here typing this while my son is out the front somewhere playing with his friends, my daughter has a friend around and they are jumping on the trampoline in the sunshine.

They have settled really well and I am so proud of them.

It's also an important day for Czech kids all over the country - not only is today the last day of term and start of summer holidays, but it's also the day they receive their grades. You see children everywhere walking home from school, on the bus, in the parks clutching their precious certificates - knowing that they'll either get a treat from happy parents, or a bollocking for bad marks.   It’s a pretty big thing here.

It’s also been a big thing for us too – the kids have done really well,

 ...and now we have to make some tough choices.

Do we stay in Prague, come back to London, move somewhere else?   Secondary school pulls us back to the UK, and of course family and friends.... but at the moment we’re not ready to pack up things and go back to Blighty.

We're just starting to enjoy ourselves, life is pretty good, I have a great little job, hubby is happy.

Oh, decisions decisions....

Lovin' the Lab

Oh dear... I think I'm turning into a dog person.

Don't worry,  I promise I'll never, ever get to the mad-dog-lady-stage -  you know the kind who are always smooching their pooches.  But these four-legged creatures, blimey they don't sure get under your skin, twist your heart and make you go gooey.

The problem is, they are unbelievable affectionate and utterly devoted to their 'pack'.  Who wouldn't melt when you are greeted by an 'all over body wag' that starts at the tail and travels up to the head until the whole thing is just swaying in some excitable movement, just because you walked in the door.

My husband throws his arms up in despair, 'he's just pathologically sociable' he complains when the dog just won't give up the wag.

But it doesn't end there, Max is desperate to do whatever we do - swimming, cycling...

I've caught him up at the computer, sitting trying to play cards with the kids, watching telly, and given the chance he would quite happily stretch out on our bed, head on the pillow snoring away.

But having a dog is equally challenging and hard work – it's a right royal pain to constantly have to plan around him or take him with us, he chews everything (including the neighbours shoes), and then there is the dreaded dog training...

I was originally having private dog lessons with a Czech lady who was blind, she didn’t speak English so I had to fumble around in my best Czech and I yes I did feel as though it was blind leading the blind.  But I was always terrified of going to class as she was very strict and it took me a few painful weeks to realise that Max didn’t have to behave like a perfectly trained guide dog (Ok I confess I just was slack and I just couldn’t stick to the her rules).

We did learn a lot though, and when it’s just Max and I on the streets he can be the perfect dog -  aided by a few snacky bribes.  But as soon as he sees a cat or another dog, it's another story.

So I decided it was time to step up the training again, and perhaps get him used a ‘dog class’ where he can be around dogs of all shapes and sizes.  The class is in Czech, and being bilingual Max can understand both Czech and English…..and obey none.

I cringe when I think of the first class.  The dog was pulling me everywhere in an excited frenzy, while I was desperately trying to understand what the hell the instructor was telling us.  It culminated in us having to do an exercise where we leave a treat under a tree, let the dog off the lead, they run to get the treat and return to you.  In theory.

Max didn’t give two hoots about the treat, bolted like a flash of black lightening across the field to play with the other dogs in another class - I could just about make out a black speck causing chaos far away in the distance.  If you’ve seen the Fenton the YouTube sensation you’ll get the idea.

I haven’t plucked up the courage to go to the class again.

Check out Fenton here.... http://youtu.be/CtB1HQt6ak8

A taste of freedom

Last week my husband and I had a whole week off 'child duties' as the children packed their bags and left home to go on a school trip.

They went to 'Skola v prirode' which literally means going to 'school in nature' where the whole school decamps to a purpose built holiday camp in the countryside.  This tradition started in the 1950s because of severe pollution in the cities, it was mandatory for all kids to go so they could spend some time in a healthy natural environment.  Sometimes this could mean up to 3 weeks at a time, twice a year if you lived in the north of the country, which was a heavily polluted industrial area.

If you ask Czechs about it they seem to fall into two camps, kind of like marmite, they either loved it or hated it – hated the organised activities, hated being away from home, hated the food, or loved the freedom away from home, loved playing in the woods, loved being with friends.  Nowdays you don’t have to go, it’s optional but we grabbed the opportunity, after all the kids don’t get as many chances these days to do that kind of stuff.

But I had my concerns - what if they hated it, what if they got ill or had an accident (I'm glad I didn't find out about the horse riding and boating until they came back). This was compounded by chats with a student I teach who regaled me with horror stories from her youth which either involved the whole school getting food poisoning or bed bugs.  

So when I waved them off I shed a little tear hidden behind my sunglasses then headed back to an empty home to wallow in worry.

At first it was very strange, the house was deathly quiet, and eerily tidy.  I could put something down in the morning on the table and it was still there in the evening, and it was beginning to get quite disconcerting.

And so it was just me, hubby, the dog and the guineas left.  Well since the dog and guineas can’t speak, it was just me and the hubby.  I did wonder whether we’d have enough to talk about for a week, I mean I can’t remember the last time we spent a whole week together.

We went on a few ‘dates’, we had friends visit us for the weekend, we ate late, watched a movie, had a few hangovers.  Surprisingly enough we still had things to talk about at the end of the week – we had a nice time together.

But I think Max our dog found it the hardest, he had me for company 24-7 as I sat and wrote at the computer he kept looking at me with those puppy dog eyes as if to say when are those fun people coming back?  You know, those small ones that jump up and down squealing and making a mess?  The ones who leave their toys around for me to chew, and drop crumbs on the floor for me to eat.

The first half of the week went slowly but just as I was getting into all this time off they were due home.  Suddenly I was there picking them up at the coach listening to their excited stories of discos and go-karting, bowling and hiking.  It sounded amazing to me.  I wish we still did school trips in the UK, I have great memories of times with friends.

So the house is full again, it’s noisy, messy, the dog is going crazy with all the activity, there are suitcases strewn across the floor, a mountain of very dirty washing and some even dirtier kids.  We’ve already had an argument, the dog has chewed a plastic starfish left on the floor, and I found 5 day old squashed banana left in the bottom of a rucksac.

 But it’s wonderful....and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Panelák: part two

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At first these Panelaks were considered architectural wonders, modern, spacious post war housing with running water and central heating.  The first panalaks in Prague were built in the early 50s and people remember moving into them as youngsters with great excitement – everything was shiny and new, modern lifts took them up to their flat, there were other children to play with who lived right next door.

But sixty years later their glory has definitely faded.  Once roomy and spacious for a young family became crammed and tiny for teenagers.  

The paper thin walls didn’t help, you could hear every argument or ablution from the people upstairs, there was no privacy….

…your neighbours knew exactly what colour knickers you had - and just quite how often you washed them.


But there wasn't much escape from it, unlike in the UK where most of us try to move up the property ladder, or have the freedom of renting and moving around, most Czechs live in their panelaks for life.


Take my husband's two great Aunts, they moved into their panelak in 1956 and it's pretty much now as it was then, it's like a living museum to that era.  I love visiting (not just because they are lovely) but I also because I feel as though I’ve stepped into the movie Goodbye Lenin.

The first time I went to the loo I was surprised, it was like walking into a blue telephone box off the hallway - but it was certainly no Tardis, it was tiny.  I found out later that all the inner walls of the flat are made from plastic or chipboard, slotted in like pieces of Lego.


Nowadays people have more disposable income but a lot of them still can’t afford to move, instead there is a booming home improvement industry.  Around us there are tons of DIY stores/ kitchen shops. These panelaks are undergoing make overs that would make TV shows like SOS DIY / Extreme Makeover weep to get their hands on (now there’s an idea for a series….!)

The Czech Government can't afford to knock these panalaks down and build houses, but at the same time they can't afford for the middle classes to move out.  So in a bid to prevent them from becoming like the UK housing estates which are often associated with high unemployment/ lower social economic classes, they are trying to make them more attractive places to live for young professionals, painting them bright colours to hide the grey concrete,

building new parks for children, leisure centres and cinemas for teenagers, even shopping malls, pubs and churches.  They are planting trees and flowers hoping to break up some of the anonymous lines....

...quality of life has definitely improved for many.... although you'd still better hope for good neighbours!