All About the Czech Republic: The State in the Middle of Europe

Mitinal
The flag of Czech Republic
The flag of Czech Republic


So as you can tell Im from Czech Republic. I want to talk about this because most of people from USA think that anything from Germany to East its Russia or Communist. I dont say that all of Americans think this is true but When i visited US it really looked like it. So here are some basic information and history of Czech Republic.

History

So if you want any info before 1900s I can make solo take on it, its really long and chaotic at times. Anyway before 1918 there was no Czech republic. We were part of Austro Hungary. After WW1 and thanks to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk we became independent state. After that came a short peace called First Republic or První Republika (At the time its called Czechoslovakia/Československo, because the Slovakia and Czech Republic were united). Then came the Hitler and his claim on sudeten land (essentially a border zones but a lot larger)

Sudeten/Sudety
Sudeten/Sudety

So the great UK and France sold us for "Peace". This is still pretty sensitive topic. Then Nazis took the rest of our territory and Slovakia was left "independent"(Nazis made it into pupet state). Then came WW2 and after that 3 years of peace until Soviets came and started occupating us. Thats probably the reason why so many Americans think we are communist. Anyway if I leave out the details... We became independent of Soviets in 1989 and in 1993 we devided into Czech Republic and Slovakia. So thats about it now lets move on!

Culture

So as any other Slavic nation, we have pretty rich culture. From beer to hating Nazis we are pretty much the same. A lot of us are conservative. A lot of creatures in our stories are similar to the ones of Poland or Ukraine. For example Polednice/Půlnočnice. They have the same Monster in Poland or Slovakia. Polednice is a bad spirit, wandering the fields during the noon. Půlnočnice is the same but does so at midnight. Most of monsters are similar by the looks but have different names.

On other note we are not much religious because of our history. There have been a lot of times where our people were pushed into new religion and then came the communist who oppressed religious people.

We have a lot of historic figures who we remember and are proud about. For example Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Karel IV., Saint Václav...

Books and Movies

Now for some books and movies. We have a lot of movies, but they are effected by Nazis and then Communist. So the movies are nothing special most of the times, but the thing is the new movies are sometimes somehow worse, a lot worse. I will post a few pics and videos under here for you to look, you won't probably understand so i will try and provide subtitles...


So i found full movie with English subtitles. Its one of the most iconic czech films. If you ask anyone older than 30 about typical movie chances are he will answer with this one!

I can tell you that i remember this film, when i was young. And trust me this is still broadcasted on TV from time to time...

As for something new-ish we have quite good comedy - series. For example Comaback. As a citizen of Czech republic i urge you do not search for "Ulice" or "Ordinace v růžové zahradě". The first one is about people living somewhere. Thats it. And it has about 2500 episodes, one hour each. The second one is the same but its about doctors. The sad part is both are watched by a lot of people, mostly older generations.

I think this sums it up, in other parts of culture we are same as you. We go to cinema for new movies, we use internet, we have elections and we are all time angry about something. Except for SJW, they are not here, yet. And they probably won't be because i dont think they would survive here. Noone would give a damn because the younger ones just dont care by dafault and the older ones watch "Ulice"... not even joking.

The books, well nothing i would find intresting. We have kid books but the famouse ones are probably the same, Harry Potter, Witcher... also i dont read much so i dont really know much about books...

yeah maybe Pejsek a Kočička or Dášeňka. These are both old but good kids read... the new stuff is either too boring or its from differend country...

Cuisine

People say Americans are fat and eat only junk food. We are better at it. A lot better at it. Let me show you.

Svíčková
Svíčková

This is Svíčková. Svíčka is candle in English. Dont let yourself be fooled this has nothing to do with candles in food. This is one of the most traditional foods in Czech Republic. Before you ask yes we eat a lot of foods with sauce. In fact svíčková is name for the sauce not the other things so you can say sauce is really the main part of you food. The thing on top is called "Knedlík". Its made from buns... the thing on left is cream and cranberry jam. It tastes delicious. And its heavy and junky, you eat it and you will lie on your sofa for the rest of the day making sounds you shouldn't make.

Then there is this:

Guláš
Guláš

Its called Guláš. Its from Hungaria but we are creative and we add the "Knedlík". Again its from buns. The knedlík has a lot of forms, shapes and tastes. You can have these white ones called "Houskový knedlíl" (made from buns) or "bramborový knedlík" (made from potatoes) or there is something else, "Karlovarský knedlík" (i have no idea what its made from...)

So next time you eat something from Czech Republic probably ask for small dish, we make a lot of heavy junk food.

Nice places

So lets end this with a few nice places from around the Czech republic.

1) Praha/Prague

Prague
Prague

Capital of Czech Republic and place where president lives. We sometimes call it "Stověžatá Praha" which means something along the lines of City with hundreds of towers. Its one of the most beatuful cities in Europe i think its number 1 spot if you want to visit Czech Republic.

2) Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary is near German borders, its city with a lot of spa but not much culture. Good place to chill and take a rest...

3) Pardubice

Pardubice
Pardubice

The city where I grew up and live to this day. Its also called "City of Gingerbread". By now you probably noticed that thing in middle of plaza, its called "Morový sloup" or Plague Column (translated via Google Translate). It was made to protect cities from Plague. There are statues of saints on it and some of them even work as a fountain. Needless to say it didn't protect anyone but its a nice touch.

4) Brno

Brno and their
Brno and their "Clock"

So this one is just to make a few people angry. No just kiding, Brno is a nice city to visit. Not a Prague but still not bad. The black thing is clock... or it should be i dont know, maybe someone will answer it in comments because even I dont know how it works.

5) České Budějovice

České Budějovice
České Budějovice

And for final tip I choose the České Budějovice. They have tradition with fish. There are a lot of ponds in area. Its pretty place and they do specialyties from fishes. The most known is probably the Fish fries. If you ever have the chance stop by and eat one, its experience like no other...

So this will be it. Thank you for reading this. I know my English is not something to brag about so there will be a lot of grammar fails. I will be glad of all and any opinions.

Once again thank you and have a great day!

All About the Czech Republic: The State in the Middle of Europe
11 Opinion