Czech language

Contrasts between the Czech Republic and Poland

You would think that with Poland and the Czech Republic being next-door to each other, and with Polish and Czech both belonging to the West Slavic group of languages, the two countries and their respective populations, would have much in common. Surprisingly, they don’t! Whilst what follows is based on seven years of living in the Czech Republic, and only the past five days travelling through Poland, I hope it still has some validity 🙂

Some contrasts are indisputable. The area of Poland is four times greater than that of the Czech Republic. Driving across Poland these last few days has forcibly brought this home to me. It is a big country! Likewise, the population of Poland is nearly four times greater than that of the Czech Republic – 38.5 million against 10.5 million.

But even with the languages of two countries both being West Slavic, this does not bring about much commonality. Whilst an adult Czech can fairly easily understand an adult Slovak and vice versa, when both speak in their respective languages, the same does not apply to Czechs and Poles. I’ve been told this several times, by citizens of both countries. Interestingly, a Polish hotel receptionist told me a couple of days ago, that she and many other Poles, find it easier to understand a Slovak, rather than a Czech.

There are similarities between Czech and Polish – both have seven cases 🙁 , and some vocabulary is also identical, or only slightly different. For example ‘beer’, which in Czech is ‘pivo‘, in Polish it is ‘piwo‘. But there are also many significant differences and various false friends. Quite commonly, when a Czech and a Pole want to speak to each other, they will resort to using second language English!

One major area of contrast is with regard to the Christian faith. Whilst Roman Catholics are the majority Church in both countries, the level of adherence and practice is vastly higher in Poland than it is in the Czech Republic. In both countries under communism, the Christian Church suffered – Protestant and Roman Catholic alike. But whilst in Poland, it was the Roman Catholic Church that was at the forefront of opposition to totalitarianism, in the Czech Republic it was predominantly artists and writers.

Over the past twenty-five years, since the collapse of the communist regimes in both countries, considerable sums of money have been spent on restoring historic Churches. However, in the Czech Republic, this has mainly been done to preserve what is seen as the country’s cultural heritage, as well as to attract tourists. In Poland, whilst both these motives also apply, the main reason is to provide and enhance, well-used places of worship.

As we have driven through Poland these last few days, one thing that has frequently struck us, are the considerable number of large new Roman Catholic Churches we have seen. These clearly have all been built since 1989. You do not see this in the Czech Republic.

Post 1989, both countries rapidly embraced capitalism with state owned industries being privatised and Western European investment being actively encouraged. This has resulted in many Czech and Polish businesses coming under foreign ownership. In the Czech Republic, these are often German – Škoda is now owned by Volkswagen, and two major supermarket chains, Kaufland and Billa, are also German.

However in Poland, the French are the major player. We’ve seen large hypermarkets belonging to Auchan and Carrefour. And in the banking arena, Credit Agricole and BNP Parisbas appear to have a considerable market share, judging by the number of branches both have in Polish towns and cities.

One observation Sybille has made since we’ve been in Poland, is that there are far fewer dogs to be seen. In the Czech Republic, the commonly quoted statistic is that 40% of households have at least one dog. Judging by the number of dogs we meet when walking in Prague, each one of which Sybille likes to say ‘Hello’ to 🙂 , that could be an under estimate. We have seen, and Sybille has said ‘Hello’ to, several Polish dogs. But to many fewer than would be the case in the Czech Republic.

The only area where I have observed any similarities between Poles and Czechs, is in their fashion sense. As I wrote under point three of my most famous post, ‘How to be Czech in ten easy steps‘, one popular male look is having long hair and tying it back in a pony tail. Since writing this, I’ve been told that this was a way, post 1968, of showing your opposition to the communist regime. This may well explain why you can often see men in their fifties and sixties, sporting this look. The look is is also alive and well in Poland, presumably with similar origins.

Likewise, the habit of Czech ladies wearing either very short skirts or spray-on jeans, can also be frequently observed in Poland. But even here, there is a difference between the two countries. In the Czech Republic, many new grandmothers, dress little differently from their daughters, often competing with them as to who has the shorter hemline! Here in Poland, the difference between the generations is rarely blurred.

Quite honestly, there is very little love lost between Czechs and Poles. Sybille and I have chosen to take advantage of living in Central Europe, by currently spending a two week holiday, exploring Poland. But several Czechs have expressed considerable surprise that we should want to do so! Most Czechs do not visit Poland. Since passing through the border area just north of Ostrava, we haven’t seen a single Czech registered car!

Twenty-five years on from the Velvet Revolution

Havel navždy - Havel forever. © Ricky Yates — Havel navždy – Havel forever. © Ricky Yates

I had originally planned to write a blog post on this topic back in November 2014, immediately following the ‘Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day’ public holiday on Monday 17^th November, which officially marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution on 17^th November 1989. But rather than write an immediate reaction, I eventually decided that it was better to wait somewhat longer and give myself a little more time for both research and for reflection.

For although the events of 17^th November 1989 were what initially triggered the Velvet Revolution, it took several weeks before on 29^th December 1989, the previously Communist Party controlled rubber stamp Czechoslovak parliament, voted dissident playwright Václav Havel, to be the new President of Czechoslovakia with the promise of holding truly democratic parliamentary elections in the following year.

Therefore over the past two months, not only has the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution been commemorated, but also the twenty-fifth anniversary of Havel’s election as President, and in-between on 18^th December, the third anniversary of the death of Václav Havel on 18^th December 2011.

Placard from 17th November 2014 © Ricky Yates

With all these anniversaries, there has been an outpouring of appreciation for the late Václav Havel, well-illustrated by the large poster displayed on the front of the National Museum overlooking the top end of Václavské námestí / Wenceslas Square, and by this placard that I photographed on Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day. Much has been written in praise of his role in leading the dissident movement and bringing about a peaceful end to the Communist regime. Then as to how well as President, he represented the nation of Czechoslovakia 1989-1992; the Czech Republic 1993-2003.

The way Havel represented the nation, has been sharply contrasted with the behaviour of the current President, Miloš Zeman. Despite receiving just under 55% of the total vote in the presidential election held only two years ago, his level of support and popularity has since dropped considerably. In recent times, he has made statements questioning the economic sanctions being imposed on Russia for its military activity in Ukraine. He gave a live radio interview on Czech Radio in which he used foul language. Then in the days just before the Velvet Revolution anniversary, he tried to downplay the level of violence used by the riot police against the student demonstrators in 1989.

As a consequence, one of the major events on 17^th November, was a protest march to Prague Castle with the demonstrators waving red cards, calling for President Zeman to be ‘sent off!’ It should be noted that this demonstration took place in Prague where Zeman did not gain a majority of the votes cast in the 2013 presidential election. But even many of those who voted for him are now expressing considerable disappointment with his words and actions and his complete unwillingness to apologise for them. A majority of the population now see him as an embarrassment for the Czech nation, in stark contrast to the late President Havel.

With these anniversaries, many people have been looking back and reflecting on how much has changed here in the Czech Republic, from the situation that existed twenty-five years ago. One very obvious change is that the demonstration against the current President took place without being attacked by riot police! Expressing an opinion that differs from those in authority is now possible.

I have often read that Czech people always talk quietly, can be unfriendly towards foreigners and are difficult to get to know. The experience of myself and Sybille over the past six-plus years is that this generalisation is far from the truth. Where it may apply to some extent, is amongst older Czech people who experienced living under the Communist regime. You spoke quietly because you didn’t know who was listening. You didn’t make friends easily because you were never sure who was an informer. And for most of that generation, the only language they have is Czech, together with the Russian they were forced to learn and which most have since done their utmost to forget 🙂

However the reality now is, that every Czech aged thirty or under, has no recollection or personal experience of living under a Communist regime. Therefore a group of young Czechs together are likely to talk somewhat loudly, especially if they are enjoying a few beers at the same time! They also easily make friends with each other and are often friendly towards foreigners. This is helped by most educated younger Czechs being able to speak English and many of them being very keen to practice their English language skills.

All of this was clearly brought home to me once again last week and is what has prompted me to finally compile this blog post. Last Monday, Sybille and I visited Bar- Restaurant U Topolu, a favourite of ours as it is with many of the students from the nearby technical university. With no table being free, we asked three young ladies if we could share the free end of their table. Upon hearing us speaking to each other in English, they spoke to us in English. Having discovered that we were not tourists but lived here, they were more than happy to converse with us.

All three were in their final year at the technical university, studying architecture. They were out celebrating together, having each completed an important assignment which they had handed in that day. Judging by the number of ‘blades of grass’ * they would eventually need to cut, they had been celebrating for some time 🙂

They spoke freely about themselves, where they were from and what their aspirations were. They were keen to know about us, where we were from and whether we liked living here. When we said that our only real complaint is our difficulties with the Czech language, Lenka, (the most talkative of the three), admitted that even she struggled sometimes with getting her Czech right! This rather confirmed the complaint I’ve heard from a few older Czech people, that many younger Czechs don’t always speak their own language correctly.

These three young ladies are part of the new post-Velvet Revolution generation making the most of the educational and other opportunities that they now have and also knowing how to enjoy themselves at the same time. Open and friendly towards each other and even with English-speaking foreigners living among them.

* See this previous post and the comment on it by Sean.

A visit to the dermatologist

The entrance to Vojenské nemocnice, the Military Hospital © Ricky Yates

On Wednesday 30th April, I paid my fifth visit in the last nine months, to see a Czech dermatologist at Vojenská Nemocnice, the Military Hospital here in Prague. It prompted me to think that I really ought to write a blog post all about my experience, along with a brief explanation as to how the Czech Healthcare System works. But first a bit of background about me.

Between July 1970 and February 1975, I lived and worked in Australia. During my time there, I got badly sunburnt on several occasions and have since suffered from the consequences of being a pale, white, north-European, who exposed himself to far too much Australian sun.

It took nearly twenty years before I first experienced the unwanted consequences of my unwise actions. It was in 1988, whilst I was training for ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, that I eventually went to see my GP about a scab, located on the hairline of my forehead, that refused to heal up. The GP sent me to see a dermatologist, who promptly diagnosed it as a Basel Cell Carcinoma (BCC), the commonest, but fortunately least dangerous, form of skin cancer.

Unfortunately, by that stage, it had become too big to be cut out under local anaesthetic, with a couple of stitches to pull the resultant wound together. Instead, the BCC had to be removed under general anaesthetic, with a skin graft taken from my chest, put across the gaping hole on my forehead. The evidence of that operation is still visible today, all the more so because my hairline has receded much further in the subsequent twenty-six years.

Ever since that operation in September 1988, I have kept a very watchful eye on any scab or spot on my face that refuses to heal up and promptly sought medical advice. As a consequence, over the years I’ve had several more small BCCs cut out under local anaesthetic. During the latter years of my time living in the UK, my BCCs were usually ‘frozen off’, by being treated with liquid nitrogen which destroys the cancerous cells.

During my first few years in Prague, I was pleased that I could not see any visible signs of further BCCs on my head and face. However, in the Spring of 2013, a tell-tale non-healing scab appeared on my current hairline, on the right side of my face. I also observed several smaller spots, all of which looked ominous. So in early June last year, I finally took myself off to see my GP, Dr Adriana Youngová.

Dr Youngová is a fluent English-speaking Czech, helped no doubt by being married to an Englishman called Mr Young, hence her unusual surname. Interestingly, although she has taken the Czech genitive form of Youngová, she calls the medical practice she heads, ‘Young & Co‘, without the ‘ová’ 🙂 But I digress.

Dr Youngová immediately agreed that I almost certainly had a BCC and promptly wrote a letter of referral for me. She recommended that I see a dermatologist at the Military Hospital as she knew that many of the medical staff there, spoke English. However, unlike in the UK, where your GP sends your letter of referral to a hospital and the hospital then writes back, giving you an appointment, in the Czech Republic, the patient has to contact the hospital themselves and make their own appointment.

I therefore went in person to the Military Hospital in order to make my first appointment. I could just have telephoned, but realised that if language was going to be a difficulty, which it was, you cannot make hand signals over the phone 🙂 Surprisingly, the young female receptionist on the main hospital entrance, spoke better German than English, and successfully directed me ‘auf Deutsch‘, to the building where the dermatology department is situated. However, the receptionist in the dermatology department itself, only spoke Czech, so I was most glad that I had not tried to phone. Eventually, my limited Czech, combined with appropriate hand signals, got me my first appointment for 15th July 2013.

As is required under Czech law, as an employed person, I and the Church as my employer, make contributions each month, to VZP CR, who in turn provide me with full medical cover under the Czech public health insurance scheme. VZP CR in turn, issue me with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which I show in order to receive, almost free medical care.

Pay CZK 30 & obtain your ticket © Ricky Yates

I say ‘almost free’ as, on each occasion you visit your GP or have a hospital appointment, you are required to pay CZK 30 (just under £1.00 or US$1.50). On entering the dermatology department, there is this machine in the entrance hall, into which you put your CZK 30 and obtain a printed ticket, showing you have paid up. This is then retrieved from you, when you see the dermatologist.

My appointment yesterday, like a couple of previous ones, was for 08.00. This is very Czech as there is quite a tendency here to begin work early in the day. I first went to the machine to obtain my CZK 30 ticket. There was a delay whilst an elderly Czech lady in front of me, slowly managed to recover her coins, having first pushed them into the slot where the ticket comes out! I felt a certain sense of satisfaction that I understood the instructions on the machine, better than did a native Czech!

Then it was on to reception, to confirm my arrival. This receptionist is a classic example of what I have previously described as how to dress Czech. She regularly wears tops that reveal a large amount of cleavage. As I’ve previously written, it is look that would be appropriate for a romantic dinner with her husband or boyfriend, but not what I really want to see at 08.00 in the morning, in advance of being attacked with liquid nitrogen. Fortunately, the top on Wednesday, was somewhat less revealing than a couple of the previous ones 🙂

Once my arrival had been confirmed & the receptionist had found my file, I had to wait in the adjacent waiting room, until summoned. For the first time yesterday, I was summoned by a nurse who could actually pronounce my surname. My surname of ‘Yates’, causes great problems most of the time, as no Czech surname begins with the letter ‘Y’!

I saw the same young female Czech dermatologist that I’ve seen on four of my five visits. She speaks fluent English and has a helpful and friendly manner. She agreed with me that the original large BCC on my hairline, has still not completely disappeared, despite four previous treatments with liquid nitrogen. However, she was convinced that it was now much smaller and that one further treatment might finally do the trick.

So it was out with what I would describe as a cotton bud on the end of a large stick, first placed into the flask of liquid nitrogen, and then dabbed firmly on the offending area, several times over. She also treated a new spot I had identified, alongside my ear on the other side of my face. After treatment, she dusted both with a white antibiotic powder which does leave me looking slightly ghostly.

Having received treatment, I was duly given my next appointment for two months time at the end of June, along with a written report about my treatment, all in Czech! Then it was back to the tram for my journey home.

In conclusion, I have to say that I have been most impressed by my experience of the Czech Healthcare System. It is effective and efficient and gives an excellent level of care. Even as a foreigner, once you get to know the basics as to how the system works, then you should not have any real problems or concerns. And because most well-educated Czechs, especially the younger ones, speak reasonable English, language is usually not a problem with many doctors or with some nurses.

The hospital block where the dermatology department is located © Ricky Yates

Farmer’s Market on Saturday – Worship on Palm Sunday

Market 1 — Crowds at the Farmer’s Market © Ricky Yates

In early March, after a two-and-a-half month winter break, the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market at Vítezné námestí resumed. So now nearly every Saturday, we take a short bus or tram journey from the Chaplaincy Flat and explore what the market has to offer. As you can see, we are not the only ones who do so and at times, it can get quite crowded!

There are a number of stalls that we regularly visit each week for supplies of bread, eggs and potatoes. Whilst we can buy such things from our very convenient Kaufland supermarket, the produce from the Farmer’s Market does always seem fresher, is often cheaper, and one can be almost certain that the producer obtains a far better return for their labour.

Stall selling Moravian wine © Ricky Yates

Another of our favourite stalls is this one, selling Moravian wine. Whilst they do sell it by the 0.75l bottle, you can also have a plastic bottle filled from the tanks behind the counter. Two litres of extremely quaffable white wine costs around CZK 150 (just under £5.00 at current exchange rates).

The senior proprietor, (the gentleman behind the stall on the right in the photograph above), is Czech. However, he also speaks reasonably fluent German and has some English. So we frequently conduct business with him in a mixture of all three languages! When we are about to depart, his farewell words are almost always to wish us ‘Ein schönes Wochenende‘ 🙂

Flower stall at the Farmer's Market © Ricky Yates — Flower stall at the Farmer’s Market © Ricky Yates

Czech people do love their flowers and there are always numerous stalls that sell them. I couldn’t resist photographing this colourful stall yesterday which, as you can see, was doing a thriving business.

In the centre of the market area, there are various stalls selling freshly cooked food with tables & chairs where you can sit down and eat. And you can usually do so to musical accompaniment such as this young accordion player/singer was providing yesterday morning.

Our visit to the Farmer’s Market at Vítezné námestí yesterday morning, when all the accompanying photographs were taken, marked the beginning of a busy but enjoyable weekend. Today, not only did we have our Palm Sunday Eucharist, but the service was to be followed by that significant event – our Annual Church Meeting.

Just a few minutes before worship was due to begin at 11.00 this morning, we suddenly had a problem of the nicest sort. We completely ran out of copies of the Palm Sunday Order of Service as the congregation became double the size for a normal Sunday. The cause was a large number of visitors, mainly Americans but also including a delightful Indonesian couple. The biggest visitor group was a party of high school students from Connecticut, along with their teachers. We solved the problem by me asking from front, for people to share, so that everybody could follow and join in the liturgy. Fortunately, we just had enough palm crosses to go around!

After reading the Palm Sunday Gospel – Matthew 21. 1-11, I led the congregation in a procession outside, all around the Church as we sang ‘All glory, laud and honour, to thee Redeemer King’. Fortunately, when we re-entered the Church, we were still just about in time with Professor Michal Novenko on the organ 🙂 Some of those living the apartment blocks that overlook the Church got a bit of a surprise, but at least they were made aware that today was Palm Sunday!

As for the Annual Church Meeting, it was much better attended than in a number of previous years, and despite the serious financial difficulties that we face, there was a real desire expressed to work together to overcome them. Both our worship and the Annual Church Meeting have certainly helped prepare me to enter Holy Week, and with Jesus, once more walk the way of the cross.

November – a time of change

Prague Castle & the Vltava River © Ricky Yates

As October has become November, so many aspects of my life and the situations around me with which I interact, have changed. I’ve therefore decided that this provides an overarching theme for a new blog post 🙂

As all across Europe, overnight between Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October, our clocks changed, going back one hour. I write this, partly for the benefit of my British son-in-law who some months ago, famously remarked, ‘I don’t suppose the clocks change where you are?’ Well yes – they do! At the same time as the United Kingdom was moving from British Summer Time (BST), back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), here in the Czech Republic, we changed from Central European Summer Time (CEST), back to Central European Time (CET). This means that we remain one hour ahead of the UK, and also the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. Whilst the clocks always change on a fixed date – the early hours of the morning of the last Sunday in October – there is never any guarantee that the seasons and the weather will change in a synchronised manner. However, last week we had our first overnight frost and most of the leaves have now fallen from the trees. Autumn is rapidly changing to winter.

When Sybille and I moved to Prague more than five years ago, in September 2008, the third bedroom of the Chaplaincy Flat, was already furnished as an office, with a desk, bookshelves and a rather simple trolley on which was situated a printer/scanner/photocopier. Some time ago, the bottom shelf of the trolley collapsed when I put too much weight on it. More recently, the only reason it has remained reasonably upright, is because part of the metal trolley frame, was leaning against the wall! Before the printer/scanner/photocopier ended up in a heap on the floor, we decided that a change was required.

Late last week, we visited the IKEA store at Zlicín on the outskirts of Prague, in search of a replacement for the collapsing trolley. A three drawer chest that had the correct dimensions to fit into the corner where the trolley was located, seemed the best purchase. Thus I successfully put together a piece of flat-pack furniture for the first time in several years. The end result is very much a change for the better, as all the things that were on the trolley shelves, are now stored in the drawers of the new chest, where they cannot fall down or gather dust.

Last Tuesday, I met Her Excellency Jan Thompson, the new British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, for the first time. Jan arrived here in August and presented her credentials to President Zeman, at the beginning of September. She replaces H. E. Sian MacLeod with whom I had a very good working relationship, not least through hosting the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during their visit to the Czech Republic in March 2010.

As part of a commendable and very understandable exercise of beginning to learn about and comprehend, the British expatriate community living here in the Czech Republic, Jan had invited Christian ministers working with British citizens, to afternoon tea at the British Embassy. Amongst those present were Rev’d Gareth Morris who is pastor to the International Baptist Church, together with his wife Elizabeth, and Major Mike and Major Ruth Stannett, who head up the the work of the Salvation Army throughout the Czech Republic.

The Ambassador was keen to both learn about our work, and to have our insights on life in the Czech Republic. Just like her predecessor, she has had over six months of individual language training and was able to present her credentials to the President, speaking in Czech, much to his surprise! After all that hard work, it does seem a shame that she is likely only to be here for four years before there is another Ambassador change.

There is another change that I have noticed at the British Embassy, over the time that I have lived here. With the exception of a relatively small number of senior positions that are held by British nationals, all the other staff are now Czech or Slovak. When I met my first British Ambassador, (I’m now on my third 🙂 ), the PA who set up my meeting, was a British young lady, who was on secondment for a few years from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

Now the Ambassador’s PA is a delightful Czech young lady, who first sought my help for names and contact details of those she ought to invite to afternoon tea with the Ambassador. Likewise, all the staff of the consular section, dealing with lost passports, Brits who run foul of the Czech police etc, are also Czech or Slovak. The reasoning behind this change is almost certainly one of cost. Czech staff are cheaper to employ and have no additional expense of being moved from, and eventually back to, the United Kingdom. But it does seem slightly strange as a British Citizen, to be mainly dealing with non-Brits at my own Embassy 🙂

My car parked in the snow last winter © Ricky Yates

Last Wednesday, I paid a visit to my good friend Adrian Blank in Nepomuk, so that my car could experience an important change – from summer to winter tyres. This is the first winter that I’ve done this, as previously the car has been little used during the winter months. But after a couple of somewhat hairy return trips from Brno in falling snow last winter, this year I’ve purchased and had fitted, a completely new set of winter tyres. They certainly gave a very smooth return journey last Wednesday. And I shall be most interested to experience the promised improvement in grip and control they are meant to provide, once the snow and frost do arrive.

Finally for this post, there is one change that the Czech nation is still waiting for – a change of government. On the last weekend in October, the Czechs went to the polls to elect a new lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. The background to the election and its eventual outcome, would require a further post in its own right. But if a stable government is to be formed, it will need a three/four party coalition. Talks between the parties are under way, but lurking in the background is a President who has his own ideas of what should happen. Watch this space!

The Green Party campaigning in Pelhrimov © Ricky Yates