Balkan, Here We Go
Written by cd on May 6, 2007 – 8:54 pm -I’m reading “The Czechs in a Nutshell,” by Terje Englund, a Norwegian journalist who based in Prague since 1993, covering Central and Eastern Europe. The book was recommended to me by a trainer at work, a former Londoner who drifted to Germany for some years and made quite a lot of money selling personal insurance. Currently, this single, happy old chap waltzes around Prague, operating a pub, brokering insurance deals and running training session for international companies.
“This book is quite funny. Everything this guy [the author] writes is true.” He laughed, holding out the book.
I bought this book to kill my idle time, about three hours day commuting on foot, tram, subway and train to and from work. I bought this book so I can learn more of whatever nonsense quirkiness Czechs might have. But to tell the truth, I bought the book to fill up my other blog about the Czech Republic and to brag shamelessly to my friend: “want to know everything about Czech and Prague, go here.” ;-D
Well, not only I learned a thing or two about the beeraholic and dumpling-gravitated Czechs, I also discovered priceless information about the Balkan, well, according to Czechs.
1. Every summer, landlocked Czechs load packs of beers on their cars or UV and flock to the Balkan jewel at Adriatic sea, Croatia seaside, that is. No wonder, during the very first day camping at an auto-camp in Omis, I met a Czech tour guide who, each year, sets up camp sites here for Czechs.
2. Some rich Czech owns a huge pension in Montenegro seaside, thus many Czechs find it convenient to hop on tour buses, heading to Cerna Hora.
Well, if you say that Czech is a Eastern country, which I do from time to time, they will probably squirt beer at your face and swear not to see you ever again. (Okay you know that I’m exaggerating.) Anyway, Czechs will try very hard to persuade you of their Central European connection; besides their country is more west than their former “master/ruler” Austria. The boast about their western cling compared to other poor Eastern brothers, so on and so forth. However, due to a minor issue with their money pocket, every summer Czechs load packs of beers on their cars or UV and flock EAST to the Croatian seaside, or sometime Montenegro seaside.
You see, there is even a pub bragging Czech beer. Now are you convinced?
Posted in Living, Society |
