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The sun is shining onto the courtyard of the Strahov brewery, rays reflecting in the glasses of beer. “I have already had the amber one, the dark one too. The Easter one, then,” a middle-aged lady decided. She went out for a beer with a friend. “This Easter one isn’t bitter at all,” she said. The number of special beers brewed for special occasions in the Czech Republic is growing. Christmas ones are strong and dark while the Easter one is lighter. The Strahov brewery started to serve 13-degree non-filtered light green beer one week before Good Friday. To resurrectionThe tradition of seasonal special beers came to the Czech Republic from western Europe. It is common in Belgium and SwedenContinue Reading

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Half of Czech men and one third of Czech women admit that they have had extramarital affairs, the fourth “part” of a long-term research project on the sexual behaviour of Czechs has shown. The research by the Sexuological Institute of Charles University comparing the bedroom habits of Czechs every five years has shown that in comparison with 10 years ago, extramarital affairs have decreased. In 1998 two thirds of men and almost half of women acknowledged infidelity. Promiscuity is not risingOn average, Czechs have intercourse twice a week with each time lasting less than 30 minutes, including foreplay. The number of sexual partners has remained approximately the same since the beginning of the 1990s. “It means that promiscuity is notContinue Reading

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Swarms of bats started flying over Prague’s Stromovka park in search of new dwellings. These mammals spent the winter in a rescue centre. This year ecologists managed to save a record number of bats from death by hunger and exhaustion. “We had some 400 bats here last winter while in previous years it was only dozens,” said Dagmar Zieglerová from Nyctalus organisation that secures refuge for bats. “Mice with wings”, as most of the people tend to perceive these animals, often lose their homes during winter. “A tree, in which bats used to live, was felled on Střelecký ostrov, for example,” Zieglerová said. Rescuers first placed the bats in an old wardrobe and then they closed a deal with PragueContinue Reading

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People come to hospitals for treatment, but one person in 20 catches an infection there. At least in the Czech Republic. The overall European average is one in 14, according to recently-released European statistics. Research shows that the so-called hospital infections are most common in Spain, where they strike down every tenth patient. One in 100 diesThe European average is 7%. Czechs with their 150,000 “newly infected” (5% to 7%) are therefore in the “better half”. “Still these infections are responsible for the same number of victims as traffic accidents,” said Vlastimil Jindrák from Na Homolce Hospital on Tuesday. In all of Europe almost one hundredth of those who catch an infection dies. Altogether it makes for 37,000 dead perContinue Reading

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Cigarette smoke fills the air, the bartender by the beer tap is serving several beers at once and briskly putting them in front of guests. “Another week is behind us,” the men at U černého vola in Prague’s Pohořelec say and close their eyes in delight when swallowing the first sips of a cold Gambrinus. Pubs are essential institutions at a time of financial crisis. More than 80% of Czechs go to pubs to forget about their daily concerns and problems, according to a survey conducted by Jiří Vinopal from the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences. Growing reports on pubs and restaurants that are closing down are, in this respect, more disturbing than other declining statistics. TheContinue Reading