Easter traditions

Here we go again.

As if the Christmas crafts weren't enough, the Czechs are at it again - and this time it's for Easter.

Beautiful hand painted eggs, home-made flower decorations, and hand crafted Easter symbols.

The magazine I freelance for asked me to write an article about in Easter in the UK, how we celebrate and in particular my most memorable Easter.  I had to own up, Easter just isn't that big a deal back at home - mostly it involves stuffing your face with more chocolate in a few days that you would normally consume in a year.  Nowadays I do an Easter egg hunt for the kids, but that's a recent import from the USA.

At a push I can remember one particular Easter when I told my younger sister that Creme Eggs were made from real eggs (which she hates) so she gave me all 6 of her eggs, upping my stash to 12.  Years later I confessed....but I'm not sure that's what they really meant by memorable.

On the other hand celebrating Easter is incredibly popular here. There are decorations and Easter markets everywhere -  maybe it's because the tradition is enjoying a revival post communism when most religous festivals were stamped out, or perhaps it's just because the Czechs are so desperate to celebrate the arrival of spring after a harsh winter.

Either way I really like the fact that Easter means something here, it's nice to celebrate it, decorate the house and do something other than eat chocolate.

Kids finish school on 'ugly Wednesday', 'Green Thursday' and 'Good Friday' are holidays then on Easter Sunday the boys get making their 'pomlaska' a kind of whip made from willow branches, while the girls get decorating their special eggs called, 'kraslice'.

Yes....boys make a whip out of fresh willow branches and girls sit at home painting beautiful eggs for them.

The boys come around on Easter Monday and whip the girls and in return they get given these intricate hand crafted eggs, - and if you're old enough you get a shot of alcohol too!

What to say to your 7 year old son who's eyes light up at the thought of whipping his older sister? Or to your daughter who protests about how unfair it is?

Hmmm.  How to explain this very ancient fertility ritual thought to bring health and youth to the fair maidens of the village?  The politically correct brigade would implode.

Luckily for the girls feminism has kicked in a little bit these days and they are allowed to retaliate after Easter and throw cold water at the boys (to quosh their testosterone perhaps??).

All I know is that in our house it's going to cause a huge amount of trouble....and there's going be some very wet boys!

Prague with friends...

Some things are best done with friends.

And visiting the beautiful old town of Prague is one of them.

For 48 hours there was an invasion of 8 Wanstead Women .....

....and it was a great excuse to hire a guide for the morning and see the sights through fresh eyes.

For such a little country the Czech Republic sure has a lot of interesting history – I suppose that’s what happens when you’re bang smack in the middle of Europe, you keep getting invaded by your neighbours, and then your neighbours neighbours.

First inhabited by the Celtics and Germanic tribes, then the Slavic people onto the Romans for a bit, then it became part of the Habsburg Empire (Austrian), onto the Nazi’s and finally the Russians.  It’s frankly a wonder that the Czech’s have managed to hold onto their language and culture.

What's not quite as well known is that fact that the Czech Republic was one of the richest countries in the roaring twenties and thirties, with an art scene and a cafe culture (I like the sound of that!) and Prague was its thriving capital - think Cool Britannia in the 90s.

After the war and Nazi occupation the communist party was voted in.  No one could foresee that the Russians would invade, and the country would lay dormant under the communist dictatorship for nearly 50 years - all those businesses, shops, factories and any entrepreneurial spirit would lay gathering dust or fading away until the Velvet Revolution.

Here's a picture of us at the John Lennon Wall which started as wall of silent protest against the regime where graffiti would spring up like wild flowers.

But since the revolution the city of a 100 spires has relcaimed its place in Europe and now is one of the top tourist destinations, and it's a great place for a city break.

  

It was a wonderful to share some of Prague's gems with friends, to re-connect and to share a glass of bubbly on a rooftop bar overlooking the city.


Cheers girls!  and thanks for coming.

P.S if you're missing reading the blog in Czech here is a translation LOL!
http://translate.google.cz/translate?sl=en&tl=cs&js=n&prev=_t&hl=cs&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpragueherewecome.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fprague-with-friends.html&act=url

Domácí úkol....homework

I know it seems I’ve been a bit slack on the old blog front, but I’ve had an excuse…honest I have.

For my homework my Czech teacher thought it would be a good idea to blog about our ski trip to Austria.... in Czech.  It seemed like a novel idea at first, until it took me nearly 3 weeks to write something that I fear is probably illegible to the native speaker (and has given my husband a throbbing headache as he had to proofread it).

Don’t panic, here is a google translation....but unfortunately it seems to have made it even more unreadable!! 

http://translate.google.cz/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=cs&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpragueherewecome.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fdomaci-ukolhomework.html



Sobota.

To je naš prvni den praznin, ale dneska musíme jet celý den autem do Rakouska. Vstala jsem brzy a pes je u sousedů ale i když byla jsem organizovat, to bude další hodiny před jedeme.

Ach jo, to je dlouhou cesta, musíme sedět pro 6-8 hodiny v autě, děti už si stěžují na cestu, se hádají a ptají, 'kdy dorazí me?'. Byli jsme v autě jenom 40 minut. A k dovršení všeho tam je dopravní zácpa která, nás stéla tři hodiny.

Ale, jsme odměněni - manžel našel termální lázně blízko dálnice, to je jako oáza (ale oáza je normální v poušti) tenhle oáze je v sněhu! Predstavjesi -  horkou vodu, spostu párů a kolem je sníh. Neměla jsem fotak a pak jsem si vzala obrázek z internetu.  

Po koupání ve vodě, musíme jet další 3 hodiny. Nakonec dojedeme našeho apartmán, zjistili jsme, že ho je moc menší néz jsem ocekavali. Jiří a já usneli na málem rozkaldacim gauči, a děti se natáhněte na manželskou postel.

Pondělí

Bolí mne hrozně nohy!! To je jako kdybych tancovala celou noc na vysokých podpatcích. Myslím že moje lyžařské boty jsou moc malé. Tyhle boty mě zabijou. Naštěstí mám malé dítě, které mi bude masírovat nohy.
Zítra musím vyměnit boty.

Úterý

Dneska mám nové boty, jsem nová žena...ale...dneska taky je moc ledový, ani moje nove boty nemůžou pomoct. Manžel má dobrý nápad že, pojedeme na druhou stranu s jeho kamaradami.  Jediný problém že jsou brilanti lyžaři, rychlejši než já a brzy mě nechat v prachu (nebo v prašanu). Moje sedmi létě dítě jezdí rychleji než já.

Ale to jde od desíti k pěti když se rozdělili jsme. Manžel a syn lyžuje na ledové sjezdovce a já a dcera na hlavní cestě. Přijíždíme dolů k vleků a manžel zavolá, 'Syn spadl dolů a možná si zlomil ruku'.

Zpanikařila jsem a rychle se snažila jsem získat další vlekem nahoru na horu, Ale protože nesoustředím, spadala jsem z vleke! To jenom malý pád, ale moje dceru sedí na sedačce, která se rozjela beze měn! Katastrofa!

čtvrtek
Syn neporušil ruku!  Hurrah...jedeme na lanovce.
Ano, tyhle hory jsou krásné. Máme štěstí protože každý den svítí slunce. Teplota je od -3 Celsius do +2 Celsius, to je jako tropický ostrov srovnání s Prahou kde je -18.
Můj zblazni manžela premluvil nás že to bude supr jestlich pojedeme na lyží do Itálie, a tak jedeme po cestičce. Tam jsem jedli Pizzu a pili kávu.
Jedna strana je Rakouska a druhá je Itálie!

Pátek
Dneska je nás poslední den v Rakousku, naše týden byl rychle uběhl. Děti se zlepšili, ale nevím o mém lyžování. Výlet byl moc dobrý, hory byly úžasné a inspirativní.

Koupili jsme důležité potraviny před odjezdem; vino, sýry a čokolády

Winter in a cold place

I totally get this winter thing now.

Right now we’re experiencing temperatures of anywhere between an absolutely biting        -17 °C degrees, to a ‘warm’ - 5°C, the kind of weather that takes your breath away when you open the front door, that makes your nose and cheeks numb and your teeth ache after 5 minutes.  Freezing, stinging, cutting, oh it’s bitter.

Prague is really quiet, it’s actually quite lovely – no hordes of tourists jabbering away and clicking their cameras, no bustling Christmas markets (they’ve all been packed away), and no hawkers trying to sell you stuff (it's too bloomin cold to be standing around).

This is kind of weather makes the busy world slow down, freeze to an almost standstill….and that’s when I, like any other Anglo, discover what Czechs have known their whole lives….the fun of winter.

Winter means sledging and skiing. 

Winter means frozen ponds and lakes, and even rivers – and people out on mass with their ice skates...

Remember those shelves of ice skates, sledges, ice hockey sticks in Tescos? Well as the mercury dropped and everyone realised that winter is finally here they’ve been rampaged, they are bare…

We ran to Tescos to make our claim on the last few pairs of ice skates and we had a go at joining in with the locals.

Every Tom, Dick and Hanka is on a pair of skates it doesn’t matter if you are young or old, and if you’re too young to walk you get pulled around on a sledge on the ice, there are go karts on the ice, people playing ice hockey everywhere, dogs running wild (inlucding ours of course),

and don’t let a sleeping baby stop you from skating around.

It sounds obvious but I even get the fatty food – bring on the lard, layer it on, the dumplings, the meat, any excuse for a cake.   It’s time to pack on the blubber.

I also understand my husband more - why he wants to drag us out in -10 degrees, why he loves the mountains, and why he’s been pushing us onto a pair of skis over the last years.

It's lovely.  But ask me in a few weeks time and I think I'll be ready for spring!

Role reversal

There comes a time later in ones life that the role of parent and child begins to reverse and you begin to look after your parents, perhaps helping them with lifting boxes, or advising them on which internet provider to choose, or assisting them with a problem.

It isn't supposed to happen when they are 7 and 9 years old.

I’m already getting used to my children speaking for me in a shop, but now my daughter has taken it upon herself to write the school notes from me, and then to add insult to injury I am presented with them to sign like a small child.

It’s painful.

It’s an interesting position to be in where a young child has to help their parents because of course it's not the natural order of things.   I suppose it's a symptom of moving to a foreign country later in life, children adapt so quickly and the oldies are left behind in the dark.  I have complete empathy for parents in the UK who don’t speak English and have to take their children to school, somehow fuddle through the system and manage to sort out homework/reading/problems.

I went to Parents Evening on my own last week – which was an experience in itself.  Parents don’t individually come up to the teacher.  Instead they are made to sit on their child’s chair – 25 parents squished up on the desks while the teacher takes up her powerful position at the front and reads out the schedule of events for the up-and-coming months. 

And if your child hasn’t completed a piece of work or is behind the teacher quite happily highlights this in front of everyone.

Eeeek.

I sort of understood about a third of what was being said at the meeting (getting better) but god knows what I missed.  I gathered the kids are doing well and have acclimatised brilliantly so that’s the main thing I suppose?

But it’s not that long ago that I was the font of all knowledge for my children -  The Oracle from which I imparted interesting facts and wise opinions.

‘Mummy what’s faster a killer whale or a Cheetah?’

‘Hang on son let me think…it’s the Cheetah’

Of course I was secretly aided and abetted by Google, but that’s not the point.

The point is that I thought I would be The Oracle for a few more years, but sadly it’s fading before my eyes, exasperated by the fact their Czech fast exceeds mine.

Bloody hell the kids have even started skiing better than me.

Oh well, there’s still one person who listens to me and thinks I’m the source of all knowledge…the dog.

New baby in the family

No, I’m not pregnant, thank goodness.

But I might of well have been considering the amount of work and sleepless nights and wee and pooing going on in our house.

This is our new addition, Max, a black labrador.

He's Max.... as in Mad Max in the mornings....

....Maxipes Fik when we worried he is going to grow too big (this is a reference to a Czech kids cartoon about a dog who grows as big as a house) 

...or he's Maxi Pie when he’s being cute & cuddly.

He popped out of a box on Czech Christmas day (Christmas Eve) and we all know that a dog is for life not just for Christmas, although my husband is a bit worried about that….

It is like having a new baby though – or rather maybe it’s like adopting a toddler who suddenly invades your life and turns it upside down, but along with the chaos brings you great joy.

Of course he’ll have to be bilingual, he already knows how to sit and lie down in English, but we’ll have to take him to a Czech training class so it could get complicated : (

We already hit a flaw in the plan when we wanted to go skiing at the weekend (in local mountains an hour away)….what to do with the bloomin’ dog?  So we took him with us…not quite skiing, but he did have to go in the Bobsled with us….

He loves the snow

So we are exhausted, a bit worried that this has changed our lives forever, but happy!!

Christmas

Christmas is tinged with sadness this year for Czechs.

The 'People's President' Vaclav Havel passed away a few days ago and the country is in mourning.  It seems he touched the lives of many people, who saw him not only as their political leader that transitioned the country from communism to democracy, but as a fellow friend, someone who was looking out for them.  He was a person who lived by his simple motto, 'Truth and love must prevail over lies and hate'. 

His death I suppose is in some way the end of an era, but in other ways it reminds the Czechs that the struggles and hardships that its people and country suffered didn't happen that long ago.  For anyone under 30 it's hard to imagine but there are still generations who still feel the after affects of communism.  My husband's family are one such example - torn apart by family members running away and not being able to return for years.

Christmas will of course continue, and the Czechs it seems love this holiday as much as the Brits do, the Christmas markets still draw the crowds, there are intricate nativity scenes dotted around Prague, Svarak (or mulled wine) can be found on every corner, and there are decorations and trees everywhere.

Czechs celebrate on the 24th of December, and it's mainly centered around an evening meal.  I suppose it's no surprise that a nation of meat-lovers has fish on this special day, but it's no ordinary fish....it's carp which has spent the year growing exponentially in ponds around the country.  The fish get 'harvested' in November when the ponds are drained and the fish are moved temporarily to farms ready for the supermarkets and markets.

But naturally most people like to buy their carp fresh....but if you want it really fresh you'll buy it live from the many fish tanks around town, take it home and keep it in the bath tub for a few days.


Just make sure you've had a bath first.


...some carp lucky and get released back to ponds and rivers once the kids have made pets out of them, others are destined for the chop if you're not too squeamish 
(I'm thinking we might just get a filet...).


Then it’s breaded and fried and served with a potato salad.


The Christmas tradition here is that Ježíšek, a sort of baby Jesus, brings presents under the tree and lights the sparklers on the tree at the same time after the meal is finished....it's always a bit of a struggle working that one out whilst sitting at the table, and not burning the house down.


Ježíšek is having a hard time in the Czech Republic at the moment - because the much more robust and commercial Santa Claus has muscled his way in on the scene and traditionalists are up in arms.  The problem is Ježíšek / baby Jesus just doesn't have a great marketing image, he's not arriving on a great big sleigh with bells tinkling shouting 'ho ho ho', in fact most of the time he's not even depicted at all.


My kids are lucky.  They get to celebrate twice as Ježíšek and Father Christmas have worked it out between themselves, they get a gift under the tree on the 24th, and a stocking on the 25th so let there be peace and harmony between all.

My family are due in the next few days, which we're very excited about - so before the christmas madness begins.... 

All that's left for me to say is Veselé Vánoce and Štastný nový rok....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year  xxx