Bucharest

View along a side street in Central Bucharest © Ricky Yates

I spent a further 24 hours in Bucharest following our Archdeaconry Synod meeting, not least because flying back to Prague on Monday afternoon was far cheaper than flying back on Sunday evening! I used the time exploring the city centre by bus and on foot, and I hope that these photographs will give readers of my blog, some impression of what Bucharest is like.

Looking at the photograph on the left, it would be very easy to think that it was taken in Paris or another French city, rather than in Bucharest. And many of the most attractive buildings dating from the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century do display a French architectural style. This is because of the strong French-Romanian links during this time period . . . → Read More: Bucharest

The 2011 Eastern Archdeaconry Synod in Bucharest

Members of the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod outside the Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest © Ricky Yates

Once a year, the clergy of the Anglican Chaplaincies scattered across Central & Eastern Europe, together with elected lay representatives of their congregations, meet together as the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod. This year’s synod meeting took place in Bucharest, Romania, between Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th September.

In previous years, along with Sybille, I’ve driven by car to attend these annual synodical meetings – in 2009 to Izmir in Turkey and in 2010, a somewhat shorter journey to Vienna. This year, a combination of Sybille choosing not to stand for re-election as a lay representative, together with Sam the dog still getting used to long car journeys, we decided that I would attend the synod meeting alone and fly to get there.

Malev . . . → Read More: The 2011 Eastern Archdeaconry Synod in Bucharest

Kaufland prichází! – Kaufland arrives!

Kaufland arrives! © Ricky Yates

Today, 19th September 2011, is the third anniversary of our arrival in Prague. Ever since then, Sybille and I have almost constantly lived next to, or very adjacent to, major building and construction work. In many respects, this should not be surprising as the Czech Republic bounces back from over forty years of Communist era stagnation, to now being the most economically prosperous of all the former Warsaw Pact countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

For nearly two years from our arrival, we had the fourth and final stage of ‘Residence Podbaba’ being constructed in front and to the side of our Chaplaincy Flat. As I mentioned in a July 2010 post, the dust and noise that building work constantly generated, was at times quite irritating and frustrating. More recently, at the beginning of 2011, the work . . . → Read More: Kaufland prichází! – Kaufland arrives!

The tramline from Podbaba to Vítezné námestí has reopened!

Tram 8 at the new Podbaba tram and bus stop © Ricky Yates

Yesterday, for the first time in more than three and a half months, Sybille and I were able to travel from the Chaplaincy Flat to St. Clement’s Church, in one uninterrupted tram journey lasting just 17 minutes. Further to my earlier post entitled ‘Extending and upgrading our tramline’, on Thursday 1st September, the re-laid and extended section of track between Podbaba and Vítezné námestí re-opened.

Here is the new Podbaba tram and bus stop with Tram 8 about to set off for the centre of Prague and then on out to Starý Hloubetín on the eastern side of the city. The new stop is about 200 metres further on from the old one and thus slightly nearer to where we live. Travelling on the tram along the extended and re-laid section of . . . → Read More: The tramline from Podbaba to Vítezné námestí has reopened!

Czenglish – an explanation?

Would you like an exclusive French female cousin? © Ricky Yates

I’ve written many times previously about this strange language that I regularly encounter in the Czech Republic which I call Czenglish. I’ve found it on menus, on market stalls, on buildings and on public notices. If you want to see other examples besides those I’ve just linked to, put ‘Czenglish’ into the search box on the top right-hand-side of this page and hit ‘enter’.

On the left is my latest example of this strange language. The Kulat’ák Restaurant here in Praha 6, is proud to offer an exclusive French female cousin to its customers. For the benefit of the proprietors of Kulat’ák, it should be ‘Exclusive Cuisine’.

And when correcting this hilarious mistake, the first statement also needs to be amended to read ‘The first . . . → Read More: Czenglish – an explanation?