Visitors to Prague as well as locals should be warned that stores larger than 200 square meters will close on Easter April 1st and on April 2nd. The law came into effect in 2016 and aims to make the Easter period less about commerce and more about the holiday spirit, allowing people to slow down and spend time with their families. The law prohibits sales but does not require the store to be closed, according to some legal experts. All retail shops over 200 square meters must be closed during seven of the most important national holidays on the Czech calendar. New Year’s Day (January 1) Easter Monday Liberation Day (May 8) Czech Statehood Day (September 28) Independent Czechoslovak State Day (October 28) Christmas Day (December 25) St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) Exempted from the new regulation are all shops under 200m, pharmacies and gas stations (thanks for that), and shops located in hospitals, airports, and train stations. As for those, who open their doors in violation of the law? Fines can go up to one million crowns, while repeat offenders risk paying five times that amount. Author: red
Sarka and Angus Grundy agreed to help a refugee family for six months and became close friends with a Syrian couple and their daughter. The two couples met through a programme sponsored by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which pairs Czech volunteers with refugees who need help learning the ropes in their new country. “This has become a real friendship,” says Sarka. The original agreement was for her to help Syrian refugees Farid* and Wafa* and their daughter Hiba for six months but now, long past beyond the allotted time, she jokes: “No one can stop us being friends.” Volunteers help refugees navigate their way through the bureaucracy and learn Czech ways of doing things, but Sarka says this family has needed little practical assistance. Farid and Wafa are not the real names of the Syrian couple in their thirties. They have been in the Czech Republic for almost five years but are still reluctant to disclose their identities, fearing reprisals against relatives in Syria. “When a refugee or asylum-seeker comes here, he may find a job but it is always below our level.” says Farid. He has learned Czech but his professional qualifications from Syria are not recognized, so he works...
If you’ve lived in the Czech Republic for some time now, your attitude to life has probably changed a lot thanks to the Czech cultural influence. Let’s face it, you know you’ve basically become a native Czech if these apply to you! 1) You say dobrý den and say Nashledanou to all the people you encounter during the day: neighbors, shop assistants, and even strangers in the elevator. 2) The weekend is sacred, so it’s useless to worry about work issues from six o’clock on Friday evening. 3) You know a lot about dumplings and can easily name a few of their varieties. 4) You adore “collecting” discounts in stores and on various discount websites. 5) Words like Václavák, Staromak, Kulaťák are in your lexicon. 6) There are no “urgent matters” to you anymore. In life, there are no worries or problems that can’t wait until tomorrow. 7) The best rest is an active rest. If your weekend was not spent in the fresh air, then it was wasted. 8) You never leave your house without your backpack. 9) You embrace equality and consider it normal not to pay for a girl in a cafe and don’t usually give her a hand when...
A Swedish father, whose love of Czech beer is quite astonishing, has vowed to fight against a ruling which says that he cannot name his three-month-old son “Pilzner”. The father changed his own name to Matz Pilzner Johannesson as an adult. Speaking to Swedish TV he said, “I only drink Pilsner and since I was young, I have been referred to as Pilzner.” “My father was also known as Pilzner because he used to drink Pilsner.” The Swedish tax agency, Skatteverket rejected the name as they believed it would “give offense or be seen to cause discomfort for the bearer.” The family have said they will continue to fight to carry on their family tradition. Author: red
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