czech republic....the strong and silent type

7/28/2019 Czech Republic....the strong and silent type

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Czech Republic 2008The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life,

but that it bothers him less and less.-Vaclav Havel (Czech playright and former-President)

Tuesday, June 17th Marinsk Lzn11:12 pmThe first day without a camera..... and I felt totally lost, without purpose!

Due to a comedy of errors and perhaps travel fatigue, mostly on my part,

two cameras and one camcorder were out of action today. Marc saved the

day with his television camera fully prepared for battle. The good part of

this debacle was that Reese and I were able to fully enjoy the spa and

charming village experience. Thermal baths have been the main event of

this area ever since King Charles IV established it as his personal

playground in the early 1800s.

My growing unease at not meeting real Czechs on a more personal

level led me to a conversation with a young lady named Therese.

She explained my situation by declaring, naturally, Czechs are very

shy people. Now I know much better how to approach them,

using my experience with Scandinavians. Both cultures are much

more relaxed if you make the first move, provided your dialog is not

too awkward, which will only provoke more embarrassment and silence on their part!
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Thursday, June 19 Plze8:03 am

Famous for its Pilsen beer, were starting to feel off thebeaten tourist path for the first time. American tourists

tend to be cautious travelers and

congregate around the more

familiar big attractions found in

Rome, Paris, Prague and

London. Anywhere Rick Steves

recommends you can also find

copious Americans with their

guide books in hand. Germans, on

the other hand, seem smitten with

extreme wanderlust and can be

found in virtually any o&eat nook and cranny aroundthe globe, often traveling solo or in pairs.

Pilsen (Plze in Czech) is saturated with real Czechpeople going about their daily lives.... an amazing find

after three tourist towns. The film crew initially found

this to be a drab working-class town with anonymouspeople working out their post-communist lives. Mostbuildings and streets are dirty and the fashions seem to

be about ten years behind. This impression quickly

faded as we got below the surface and started meeting

real people. They are wonderfully genuine, not jaded by

the incessant flow of tourism like we experienced in

Prague. Cultural observation is virtually impossible

with the tourism facade whitewashing real people with

all their personal triumphs and struggles.

After hunting down a ball and field, Reese and Adam

played soccer with several Czech 20 year olds waiting

for a rock concert. I joined about 45 minutes later and

one guy commented that Im a little drunk and a little

high and told me about drinking a lot of beer with twoguys from Texas last week. None of the Czechs had

spoken English until this point, so Reese and Adam

were surprised when this guy opened up. My theory is

that I was old enough to be less of a threat, especially

with a girl watching the game.

Immersing and losing oneself into a new culture can be

a rewarding experience. My thought: just do it!


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Friday, June 20th esk Krumlov1:16 pm

45 minutes to show time. We are filming the 13th century village ofeskKrumlov, much beloved for its generous people, lively festivals, Gothic and

Renaissance stone houses, which are preserved to this day. We just met an

older gentleman who told us of his experience 40 years ago, when Soviet

tanks rolled into the historic square. He said the locals started playing

Czech national anthems as a form of passive resistance to the Warsaw Pact

nations crushing their Prague Uprising. One guy died by lighting himselfon fire to protest the return of Communist hard-line instead of democracy.

Monday, June 23rdesk Krumlov8:15 am

A short time until departure to yet another undiscovered region, and the tale of this place must be

told. My historic frustration with tourist attractions reached critical mass Saturday night. The film

team had worked tirelessly for two days, carrying gear up and down the hot cobblestone streets,

stopping at various attractions to capture the medieval moments in high definition. Jugglers and

actors, blacksmiths and craftsmen, Lords and Ladies, knights and jesters, all swimming in a sea of

tourists. After a point, this became visual overload - I needed more, something real, a personalconnection. No sooner had made this honest assessment when a funny looking dog appeared,

looking like a Star Wars Yoda with long ears protruding from the side of her head. I stopped my

frenetic pursuit of the perfect camera angle for a moment to pet the dog and soon found myself

engaged in a lively and lighthearted conversation with one guy and four girls in their mid-20s.

cultural communion = celebrating the diferences


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8:33 am

Right in the middle of the town square, five beautiful Czech people sat down on the dirty, worn

cobblestones and we all pursued a lively discussion. They were all dressed in the manner of the

medieval commoner, or working class, very comfortable, loose fitting clothing, prepared for work or

play. What struck me was their presence - all were very much in the moment, not looking bored ordistracted by the thousands of people and vendors traipsing through the square. Soon, my film team

wondered offto the next attraction. As usual, they believed me to be offto parts-unknown as myrole operating the B camera was to wander, capturing images the big TV camera missed.

I stayed on the square, time passing effortlessly, as if caught in a time machine on fast forward.Petra entertained us with her female dog, called Charlie, using a Czech accent, of course. Soon,

Martina produced a bottle of local mead and all communally passed the bottle around the circle.

Ludik joined Petra with antics reminding me of a Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy and

peals of laughter resounded for perhaps an hour. Our revery was sharply interrupted by the local

craftsman - we had been sitting in front of his booth, scaring his customers away! We soon resumedanother hour of conversation until my Puritan work ethic nudged me to move on. All kissed heartily

and parted as warm friends.

Its 9am and the trumpet is sounding. Villagers awake! For me, there is more to tell regarding my

Fabulous Five: Petra, Petra, Petra, Martina and Ludik with special mention Charlie, theextraterrestrial canine. Since my old-world village apartment has only one key and three lockeddoors prior to entrance, I found myself waiting on the street for Reese to return with the team.

After perhaps a long hour of waiting and people watching it wasnt my team that showed up, rather

to my delight it was the Fab Five and Charlie! To make a long story longer, we then spent the next

seven hours together laughing, dancing and singing our way through town events until I walked them

to their car at 2:30 am. We bidadieu and they gathered gear for sleeping under the stars. My perfect

bohemian evening came to a close while embracing pillow and describing the events to Reese.


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Czech Republic in ReviewPatience brings roses. - Czech Proverb

Karlovy Vary(aka Carlsbad)

the largest spa town in Bohemia:

.... remains a quaint, picturesque village currently

famous for its medicinal mineral springs and an

appearance on the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale.

The gambling scene is filmed at Grandhotel Pupp,

pronounced poop, to the chuckle of most English

speakers. Unfortunately for the more active in our

group, most the people here are in the over-60 crowd.Our man-child guide of 19 franklyexplained why would I go here,

Im not sick. Ironic that he wasprovided by the tourism office!

Marinsk Lzn

This is THE town for rest and

relaxation. Famous for its cold

healing waters, this town has hosted such luminary

figures as Goethe, Wagner, Chopin and Freud. After

interviewing and filming at the most historic and

exclusive spa, the crew were treated to individual

massages and full access to the healing waters..... can

you say aahhhhh!

Tuesday, June 25 Brno5:49 am

Arrived in this working class scenic town last night.

We are staying at International Best Western, which

Marc and I agree was built in the communist era.

Stalinist architecture can be best described as

nondescript with absolutely no aesthetic value orfeatures that would be considered attractive. Drab,

grey, square, lifeless..... does that sum it up? Many of

these blots on the landscape seem to have been

destroyed or received and extreme makeover since the

fall of communism almost two decades ago. Now, the

crown jewels of this beautiful country can shine

unblemished - medieval churches, castles, villages,bridges harkening to an inspired bygone era.


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Thursday, June 26th Brno6:41 pm

Not everyone welcomed us with open arms. Some welcomed us with the one finger salute!

Apparently, Czech TV was not kind to someone working at the market.

Several workers were upset and tried to shout us out. Funny thing was,

we were not even there to film the market - the crew was passing throughto find scenic shots of the town.

Actually, the people in this town, like every other town, were exceptionally

nice once you took the time to say hello and exchange pleasantries. Most

are very concerned about Brno being left offthe tourist map even thoughits the second largest city in Czech Republic. International darling, Prague,

takes front stage center for almost every venue, so our show featuring undiscovered cultural gems

resonated with our hosts, especially in Moravia, which is in some respects the country cousin to

more cosmopolitan Bohemia.

Sunday, June 29 Strnice8:58 am

Just concluded an amazing weekend festival of wine, women and song. 15,000 strong patrons of thefolk arts celebrated tradition and libation. Alcohol flowed freely via local beers with up to 11%alcohol and an assortment of specialty 50% liquors made from plumbs and pears. Many of theyounger folks drank to incapacity, staggering blindly through the lush, green castle grounds.

One story told of the mistress of the castle frequenting the local winery upon her husbands absence.

The wine flowed and she soon fell in love with a worker, bearing a bastard son. Many believe her

spirit still protects the wine 300 years after her death, offering supporting evidence to prove it.


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Hope is not the conviction that something wi)turn out we)but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how

it turns out-VlacavHavel
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czech republic....the strong and silent type

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