Culture (Page 2)

Not every glass bottle is the same. In the Czech Republic, there is a long running programme of recycling glass beer bottles. In most bigger Supermarkets, customers have the opportunity to return undamaged glass containers for the alcoholic drink, and in return, they receive 3 crowns per bottle. With an average beer consumption of more than 300 bottles per year per person, this cash is welcome by many. Furthermore, it lowers the trash output of households and helps the environment. While the programme cost a lot to implement, it is now successfully running for years, so soft drink companies are now deciding to jump on the ‘recycling train’ too. Both the Kofola and the Mattoni 1873 companies are planning toContinue Reading

Recently, there has been more and more complaints from the post-worker unions. Now, the situation has reached a boiling point, as the workers have a 3-day strike planned from September 29th to October 1st, and are planning to start collecting signatures for a petition. According to Filip Janovský, Chairman of the Independent Trade Union of the Czech Post, the main concerns are overloading few employees with too much work, management ignoring safety rules and the constant decline in the quality of services provided by the company, which leads to public ridicule. Many politicians also agree with this. According to the PM Andrej Babiš, the company is not competitive enough on the market, as its ordinary workers have low wages whileContinue Reading

The Charles Bridge, which construction lasted for 45 years and was completed in 1402, is arguably one of the most known and valued historic monuments in the Czech Republic. This medieval stone arch bridge crosses over the Moldava river right in the heart of Prague, where plenty of eager tourists from all over the world admire its beauty. Sadly, for many Czech citizens and foreign tourists it is also a place for vandalism. Sightseers often tend to leave small writings on the stonework of the Charles Bridge. It seems harmless to the visitors, yet for the restoration team that is in charge of keeping the bridge in a good condition, it is a job as complex as though it wasContinue Reading

The annual conference of the heads of embassies of the Czech Republic has officially begun on the 23rd of August 2021. The meeting takes place at the Černín Palace, in the capital city Prague. At this week-long event, the members of the Czech government, representatives of Czech diplomacy and invited guests discuss topics such as foreign policy, security, consulate, EU and economy. Above all, an exceptionally debated matter will arguably be the Czech Chairmanship in the Council of the European Union as the Czech Republic will be in charge of this post for the first six months of the year 2022. This year’s conference kicked off with speeches given by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš (ANOContinue Reading

Czech Republic has a love-hate relationship with alcohol. Although we produce a lot of good beers, wines and spirits, our consumption of them often causes trouble for those, who drink irresponsibly. A part of responsible drinking is definitely waiting for one’s 18th birthday. At that age, Czechs can legally start buying and drinking alcohol. This age has been determined by a number of experts, based on the fact that alcohol can cause much more damage to a brain that has not developed fully. Furthermore, the brains of adolescents have a much higher likelihood of developing an addiction. Despite all these reasons, some adolescents resort to attempting to buy alcohol in shops and bars and they unfortunately often end up beingContinue Reading

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic itself had to step in after the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic identified a strange example of law making in one of Czechia’s many local governments. Even though the Czech Republic has a Senate and a Parliament which makes the majority of its laws, the local governments of cities and even villages have some legislative power too. This is allowed, so that local people can make minute changes to their local laws, so that they fit their community the best. For example, in 2013, in Bzenec, local authorities officially issued a ban on walking your lion. This ban became a local law after one of the families from there bought aContinue Reading

In the early morning of August 12th, a driver refused to stop for a standard police check. It was 4am, when the police began to pursue a van that was on the D1 highway on its way to Prague. The incident turned into a huge chase in which several police patrols were involved including an emergency motorized unit. Minutes later, the van crashed into a tree in Holešovice. The driver fled from the vehicle thereafter, followed by immigrants. According to the intervening police unit, around 30 migrants, who likely decided to take an illegal route for their move into Europe, were hiding in the luggage space of the vehicle. 23 of the Syrian newcomers were almost instantly captured by theContinue Reading

While Czech cafeterias manage to feed much of the country’s children and government workers on every workday, they are in dire need of a reform. However, this reform is a bit of a political taboo, as coming up with an effective one takes balancing the scales of ingredient, equipment and personnel costs with the quality of food that we give to our children and essential workers. Now, a union of four animal rights organization proposed a potential upgrade to school and office lunches – more vegetarian lunches. The four organizations, Compassion in World Farming, Nesehnutí, Obránci zvířat and Svoboda zvířat, presented twelve ideas, that they suggest politicians should include in their election plans to attract voters who are against animalContinue Reading