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!

Panelák: part one

Ahhh, Prague, the city of a 100 spires    

…..but it’s also home to 100s of tower blocks.

Concrete monstrosities like these.  

And these.  

This is where the real people live, not in the gorgeous historical centre in airy apartments with balconies overlooking coveted squares...

...instead this is more likely to be your view.

And it’s not just Prague, they blot the landscape across the whole of the Czech Republic stretching across the eastern block from Germany to Mongolia.  A legacy from the communist era where flocks of people were brought to work in the cities, or rural landscapes were dug up and heavily industrialized.

The Polish call them ‘Bloki’, to the East Germans they were ‘Plattenbau’, Hungarians call them, ‘Panelhaz’ and in the Czech republic they are known as ‘Panelaks’  - they all mean the same, a panel building constructed from pre fabricated materials and an awful lot of grey concrete.

There are panelak settlements (gigantic housing estates) in the suburbs of every city or town in the Czech Republic where 100s of thousands of people live, in 20 storey buildings up 100 metres long – all living the communist dream in ‘collective, affordable’ housing.

But unlike the tower block I lived in for a summer as a student in Hackney Wick where a mix of drug users, gangs, poor single mothers, squatters and a few unfortunate students from North London Poly lived  (it was blown up in the late 1990s due to its squalid state) ….these  ‘sidlistes’ or housing estates are home to all social classes (remember they are left over from communist times when there was no such thing as class).

They were never built as a form of social housing, these were designed as homes for everyone from university professors, nuclear physicists, to shop and factory workers.

And the fact is that remains true today.  According to statistics one in three people Czechs live in a panelak, my husband grew up in one, most of his friends did - architects, lawyers, teachers, TV producers, policeman, bankers, shop workers....

Over the years I’ve got over my prejudices, but it’s hard for any Brit to get your head around the fact that you’re not going to be stabbed or mugged every time you walk through one, to realise this is where the most people and families live.

But the Czechs aren't proud of their concrete cities, lots of people hate them with a passion because of what they represent...

great monuments to communist suppression. 

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