Several weeks ago there was a peaceful demonstration in downtown Brno against the U.S. involvement in Iraq, and also against the plan of the U.S. and Czech governments to build a U.S. missile defense system shield (Czechs know it as “radar”, to describe it simply).

There were even some Iraqi refugees who now live legally in Vienna. As a person who has been to Vienna 20 times and who saw neighborhoods where minorities live, I have to say they must be doing relatively well, compared to Baghdad, and that their role as “exile opposition” is worth admiring.

THIS GENTLEMAN was there too. He sat down on the sidewalk and started to cook his own Arabian tea which he then offered to several spectators.

A very interesting experience…

The Fountain is a historical restaurant in the city park in Olomouc. It was founded in the 19th century and it used to be a good place to sit and have coffee while strolling down the parks: it has been closed for years. Somebody is said to have been reconstructing it, but so far you can only see a surveillance camera (top right) and little or no activity around. Given the numbers of young families, couples, or pensioners that you can see in the park on a nice day, it is a surprise that nobody has been making money on them already.

Well, to tell the truth, one of the reasons might be the rigid Office for Landmark Protection. These people won’t object if a building is kept in THIS condition, but they will start yelling if you paint it red, or any color they do not find appropriate…

People, especially foreigners, who come to Brno by train, should avoid looking out the window. Trains pass by old houses, sometimes even a few meters from half-destroyed ones. In a few years a new train station should be built in Brno. There will be some new routes and the existing ones, like this one, should probably be used only for renovated commuters…

Every bigger city should have its ugly part, I think. After all, it does contribute to its genius loci. But this one, a few minute walk from the main square, has been slowly disappearing…

Mandatory military service in the Czech Republic was abolished by law one year before I would actually have to enlist, had I not applied for the “civil service”, which was cancelled, of course, simultaneously with the military service and we’ve had a professional army since.

But it seems like the Czech Army is a huge mess. For example, the army has been sort of maintaining an old compound where it has old tanks parked out, along with some RUSSIAN vehicles that the Soviet Red Army left here in 1990 when it was kicked out after decades of occupation [the Russians invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968].

There actually is a security agency watching over these pieces of crap.

There could have been an industrial zone with several dozen small and medium-sized enterprises.

But that doesn’t sound like the Czech Army.

This is one of the streets of Brno where the poorest people live.  According to general definitions. Most of them are unemployed, and almost all of them are Roma.

But many apartments have satellite dishes [cf. the first post on Bronx, two posts back] and many of the families receive social welfare benefits that, if they add up, represent a bigger net income than that of a hard working manual labor worker who lives in a concrete block apartment building.

I am not implying anything. It’s just that nothing is as one-sided as it might look from the street…

Google keywords:
Czech Roma, Czech photo blog

There are some interesting trends when it comes to store signs in the Czech Republic. Or, two, to be exact.

The first one is putting the name of the product on the sign. So you would have stores with huge signs saying “M E A T”. Or “B O O K S”. Not “Joe’s Bookstore”.

The second one would be naming the store. So you’d have a tiny store named BARBORKA, or Little Barbara, that sells blankets and bed sheets. If the lady didn’t stick the items out for pedestrians to see them, you wouldn’t know what is inside…

The ugliest part of Brno can be found around Cejl [street name]. It is the part of Brno where most empty houses can be found. It is the part of Brno that most people have associated with the Roma minority. And sure enough. During a 400-meter walk 20 people walked in the opposite direction and 17 of them were Roma.

Buildings where they live often have piles of garbage in their back yards but at the same time five out of ten windows would have a satellite dish.

However many houses that were empty last summer now have new windows, scaffolding around the front facade, construction workers running around and a poster saying “above-standard apartments for sale”.

Experts are afraid that the “ugly neighborhood” tag will soon go to some suburbs that look relatively good so far.

And since every big town must have its ugly part, I am afraid they are right. I just have a hard time guessing which one it is going to be.

Google search keywords:
Bronx, Czech Roma

Czech Rail [Ceske drahy] is most definitely the least reputable company in this country. Owned by the state, it receives hundreds of millions in subsidies but it is anything but customer-friendly.

It cancels routes and lines to smaller towns where it is not profitable. Gee, I thought it was a public service company that does not consider commercial success of some routes, being a state-run entity and all…

Its pricing policy is ridiculous and confusing. It runs a system of “discounts” the combination of which hardly anyone understands.

It doesn’t give a shit about one-time travellers. If you have to travel by train once in a while and you do not own any discount card, or train pass, or frequent-customer card, you pay A LOT. In some cases even 50 percent more than on a bus owned and operated by a private company.

The building is Brno Main Station. Also traveller-unfriendly. Dirty, full of homeless people, lacks comfy benches. Its “services” include a gambling room…

Google search key words: Czech Railways, Czech public transportation

Living in historical center has certain advantages. I don’t think whether I should call this an advantage, but — it is a very enriching experience seeing all the attributes of a big city every day and sort of living next to them: trams, fruit markets, street festival venues…or beggars.

I live on the northern edge of the historical center of Brno. Walking across it southbound where the bus station is takes some 15 minutes. And there are five well-known spots on which you can see them: sidewalk in front of a bank, edge of the main square, Bata shoe store entrance, church, and a travel agency entrance [this photo]. This woman tries three of the five during one afternoon, and from what I saw she purposefully switches places with another woman.

There are two categories of these people in downtown Brno [just like anywhere else, I guess]: why not and hell no. First one? Older ladies, one of them with only one leg and a dog on a mat, or a young man playing the violin. Second category: a guy six feet tall who could crush me with his bare hands, visibly in shape, whose way to ask for money is Hey man, any spare change?

At least THIS woman says good afternoon.

It is quite normal for big cities that living in the very center of a town means either having to pay enormous rent or having the luck to own a house or an apartment at a very prestigious location. I don’t know what the case is with these houses in downtown Olomouc, but I do know that owners of such houses often get some subsidies from the municipality so that they can repair their facades.

Olomouc is one of the oldest towns in the Czech Republic, founded in the 11th century.