New Electric Trains

About two weeks ago the South Moravian Region unveiled the first of 37 new electric trains at Hlavní nádráží.  South Moravia is the first region to purchase its own trains which will replace the older fleet, some of which are more than 50 years old.  These will also be Czechland's first electric trains.

There will be 31 four-car trains with 333 seats and six two-car trains with 146 seats.  The trains will be able to go up to 160 km/h (almost 100 mph).

Production of the Škoda trains began two years ago and the first trains will leave Brno sometime this fall.  The entire project cost 6,65 billion Kč ($310 million) but 85% was covered by an EU subsidy of 5,5 billion Kč (+$310 million).

The trains will run on the S2 and S3 lines, both of which are regional backbone line.  

The S2 line runs Křenovice - Sokolnice - Brno - Blansko - Skalice nad Svitavou - Letovice.  The S3 line runs Níhov - Tišnov - Brno hl.n. - Vranovice - Šakvice - Hustopeče / Tišnov - Brno hl.n. - Židlochovice.

The trains will be initially operated by České dráhy until 2025.  One of the requirements in order to get that 85% EU subsidy was that the carrier will be decided by tender procedure.  The tender process should be decided in 2024.  

Below is a video I found out on YouTube showing the trains.  They look like they are going to be pretty comfortable.  In keeping with the region's wine producing heritage, all of the trains will be named after varieties of grapes.

©IDS JMK

Moritzburg, Germany

Good morning Dresden

Claudia and I arrived in Dresden on Thursday evening.  On Friday morning we explored the city a bit and found a café for breakfast before we headed over to Moritzburg.  It's about a 30 minute bus ride from the main station but it was free thanks to my €9 ticket.  

Moritzburg is home to Prince Charming's castle from the film Popelka.  A Friday afternoon and how many people can say that they were at Prince Charming's castle?  I love living in Euroland. 

Claudia's parents brought Tünde down from Berlin after she got out of school.  The pension that Claudia booked us all at was the same place where her parents spent their honeymoon 45 years ago.  

At the castle, we had tickets to a performance of Popelka.  The start of the play was delayed due to a bit of rain but fortunately it cleared up enough for the show to go on.

After the show we went to dinner to celebrate Oma and Opa's anniversary.

On Sunday morning, they dropped me off at the train station for my trip back to Brno.  

This was my fourth trip to Germany in three weeks and my third weekend in a row.  I had to let Tünde know that I wasn't coming back next week.  Uncle Christopher wants to sleep in his own bed.

Germany's €9 Ticket

For Christmas 2019, I bought Claudia and I concert tickets to see the Pet Shop Boys in Berlin on 1 May 2020.  Then came Covid and the world shut down and the concert was postponed.  Then postponed again.  It's 2022 and we finally get to go see them.  The last time I saw them was back in 2013.  

While I'm in Germany this weekend I'm going to use my new €9 ticket which the government launched this summer to help with the rising energy costs.  For just €9, you can travel, in 2nd class, on all local and regional public transport across the country.  Buses, trams, ferries, U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains, plus local and regional trains.  This is an amazing deal.  

EC and IC trains are excluded so I still need to have a normal ticket from Brno to Berlin.  But once I'm in Germany all of my local travel is covered.  A one-way S-Bahn ticket from the Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Friedrichshagen is €3.  The €9 ticket is good for the entire month of June.  It's going to be available in July and August as well so €27 for all three months.  It seems to have already caused a big jump in the number of people using public transportation all across Germany.

I'm on the train now and I'll get to Berlin tonight.  Tomorrow night is the concert at the Mercedes Arena and then it's back to Brno on Sunday because I have a business trip on Monday to Frankfurt.  I'll be able to use my €9 ticket on public transportation there too.  This really is a cool deal.  I wish Czechland did something similar.

December 2022 Update:  I loved my €9 ticket but Germany didn't extend it.  The German states finally agreed on a new country-wide public and regional transportation ticket.  It costs €49 a month it is only available as a monthly subscription.  

Now I just use my BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe) app on my mobile phone.  I can buy 4 one-way tickets (AB zones) for €9,40.  Four individual tickets would cost €12 so it's basically buy 3 and get 1 free.

Another Public Transit Exhibition

Every year the Brno Technical Museum puts on a display of old trams.  The last one I wrote about was back in 2010.

The historic tram is always popular and this one can still be ridden today.

The Golden Tram wasn't on display but then again it's not exactly historic.

Again, not historic but I like the Brno dragon šalina.  Leave it to the Czech sense of humour to have a dragon tram and with the dragon wearing a rouška to support the preventative measures to reduce Covid-19.

SkyUp Airlines Coming to Brno

SkyUp Airlines is a Ukrainian low-cost airline that opened in 2018.  It currently has 11 planes flying to 33 different destinations and soon Brno will be one of them.

The Ukrainian State Aviation Commission approved the airline to begin 7 new routes between Ukraine and Czechland from April 2021.  The airline already had routes to Prague but all flights are currently suspended due to COVID-19.  I'm not so sure that things will be much better by April but let's hope.

The plan is to have flights going from Kyiv to Prague, Pardubice, Ostrava, and Brno.  There will also be flights from Prague to Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Zaporizhia.

They will also fly from Bratislava to Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv.

Currently, again due to COVID-19, there are no passenger flights right now at the Brno Airport.  

Ryanair permanently cancelled its route between Brno and Bergamo (Milan) last year.  In Spring they should resume regular flights to London Stansted.  I still avoid Ryanair as much as possible because they suck.  The good news is that once SkyUp does actually begin flying to Brno there will be two airlines flying to Brno, even if one of them is Ryanair.

Update March 2021:  Due to COVID-19, SkyUp flights from Brno are delayed until at least June 2021.  Ryanair will resume flights to London Stansted and Bergamo in May 2021.

Cancelled Trip and Current Restrictions

I was supposed to head out today on holiday but that's not happening now.  I'd been planning the one for quite some time.  

I was going to visit friends in Bratislava and fly out tomorrow morning to Lviv, the 7th largest city in Ukraine.  

After a few days I was headed on to Debrecen, the 2nd biggest city in Hungary, with a day drip to Oradea, the 10th biggest city in Romania.  

I'm disappointed but I got lucky at the same time.  If I had started by trip last week then I could have gotten stranded somewhere trying to get back.  My next trip to Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina is also cancelled.

Lots more has happened since last week when the Czech government declared a 30-day state of emergency.  

On 13.3., the law was changed and spreading COVID-19 on purpose is now a felony and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.  On the same day the USA has banned all flights coming from Schengen countries including Czechland.

On 15.3. a hospital in Prague and University Hospital Brno were set up to handle COVID-19 patients.

On 16.3., the government put the entire country in lockdown.  Restaurants, bars, gyms, museums, libraries, and most shops are all closed.  Employees are encouraged to work from home if possible.  With few exceptions, the borders have been closed and the only people allowed in are citizens or permanent residents.  Czechs can't leave either.

On 17.3., it became mandatory to wear a face mask or cover your nose and mouth with a scarf when on public transportation.  

You can no longer enter at the front.  The front section of trams and buses are blocked off.  The doors now open automatically at stops so you don't have to push the button.

The fine for not wearing a mask is 10.000 Kč ($458).

Then yesterday Czech Republic became the first country in the EU to require face masks when you leave your home.

Only seniors over 65 are allowed in grocery stores, pharmacies and drugstores.

Parents of school aged children under ten are able to take nursing care leave for nine days.  If you're a single parent then you can take 16 days of leave.  Parents on nursing care leave receive 60% of their salary.

The government will cover 80% of employee salaries for businesses forced to close during the lockdown.

Mariehamn, Åland Islands, Finland

On Friday night I caught a flight to Sweden, spent the night and caught the 7 am ferry to Mariehamn.  From Stockholm it was a 5,5 hour trip.  

Mariehamn is the capital of the Åland Islands.  In Finnish the town is called Maarianhamina but even though the islands belong to Finland, Swedish is the official language so everyone knows it as Mariehamn. 

It is home to 11.000 people which is about 40% of the entire islands population.  

The town was founded in 1861 and is named after the Russian empress Maria Alexandrova from when the territory was part of the Russian Empire.

It's a small town and you can check out everything in a day.  Still well worth a visit.

Södragatan is one of the town's oldest streets.  There are lots of colourful wooden houses dating back to the 19th century.

The Maritime Museum is dedicated to the story of the island's seafaring tradition. 

Pommer, built in 1903, is the world's only four-masted freight sailing ship that is still in its original condition.  It is a museum ship but unfortunately it was closed when I got there.

Tusenskönan, the Daisy Park, was opened in 1993.  The spot was originally designated to be a parking lot before the city made it a park.

The Sittkoff Galleria is the most popular shopping centre and meeting point in town.

St. Göran's Church is the town's main church.  It was consecrated in 1927.

Lagting is Åland's Parliament House.

The town hall was built in 1939.

The Mission Church is the town's oldest church building.  The building has been a church since 1897.

The municipal library was built in 1989.

The Åland Museum is the town's museum of history and ethnography.  The same building houses the art museum as well.

The Mariehamn Museum covers the design and history of the town.  Unfortunately it too was closed this time of year.

The Alandica Culture and Congress Centre is located at the eastern harbour.

Lilla Holmen is an island separated from the town by a narrow sea channel.  It's a nice area to go for a nature walk.  

29.2. Leap Year

After a full day in town I caught the midnight ferry to Helsinki.  Apparently the Åland Islands are not part of the EU customs zone which means that duty-free goods can be purchased on board.  It seems popular but everything still had super high Scandinavian prices.

The ferry to Helsinki was 10,5 hours.  I hadn't seen Tommi and Eiko since their wedding 3,5 years ago.  They have moved from Stockholm to Helsinki now and picked me up at the harbour.

We went for coffee and I got got to meet their son.  He is such a handsome little chap.  After a nice visit they dropped me off at the airport and I got home late Sunday night.

Dogs in Czechland

Czechs are big time dog lovers.  Something like 25%-30% of Czechs own a dog.  The most popular dogs across the country are German shepherds, dachshunds, Labradors and golden retrievers.

Dogs are welcomed more places than they are in the USA.  It's not uncommon to see dogs sitting under the table at cafes, pubs, and restaurants.  And I'm not talking about service animals.  People take their dogs almost everywhere.

If dogs aren't allowed then there's usually a sign on the door indicating that dogs aren't allowed.  Large grocery stores, museums, castles, churches, and some restaurants are places that usually restrict entry except for service animals.

If you take a dog to a pub or restaurant, the waiter will normally bring the dog a bowl of water without even being asked.  

Dogs here tend to be better socialised than in the USA.  Dogs are well trained and because they are used to being out in public without any problems they continue to be become even better behaved.  

Now this is Czechland so there are rules and bureaucracy to deal with.

The law states that dogs either have to be on a leash (a lead) or wear a muzzle.  In cases where the dog bites someone then the owner or walker of the dog is liable.

You have to purchase a ticket for the dog to ride public transportation.  When on public transport the dog must wear a muzzle.  Or if it's a small dog then no muzzle is required if the dog is in an enclosed pet carrier.  

People here are pretty good about picking up after their dogs.  I expect that there's a huge fine if you don't but I don't know how much it is.

All dogs must be registered with the city authorities.  Registration fees are paid for each dog older than three months.  The owner is required to register the dog within 15 days of getting the dog.  If you take a dog from a shelter then you are exempt from registration fees for the first year.  The fees can vary depending if you live in a flat or a family house.  The fees are also lower if you are a pensioner.

I'm told that Brno has the most complicated fees in the entire country because each of the city's 29 districts have their own rules.  Here are the fees if you live in the city centre.

If you live in a flat then the basic registration fee for a single dog is 1500 Kč ($67).  For additional dogs it is 2250 Kč ($101).  If you live in a family house then it is 600 Kč ($27) for the first and 900 Kč ($40) for the additional dogs.  If you are a pensioner then the fees are only 200 Kč ($9) and 300 Kč ($13).  

If you don't pay your registration fees on time then the fine is three times the original cost.  If your dog passes away then your are required to inform the authorities.

The Veterinary Act was amended so that as of 1 January 2020, all dogs older than six months must be chipped.  The fee to chip your dog is normally 400-450 Kč ($18-$20).  I though chips had been mandatory before but maybe there were exceptions allowed.  The fine for not chipping your dog was increased from 10.000 Kč ($450) to 20.000 Kč ($900).