Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan and with 937,000 people it is also the country's biggest city.

Originally Pishpek, it started out as a small fort, in 1825, as a stop on the Silk Road through the Tian Shan mountains.  In 1862 the Russians set up a garrison here.  The name was changed to Frunze in 1926 and in 1936 it became the capital of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.

Mikhail Frunze statue

In 1991, prior to independence from from the USSR, the Kyrgyz parliament changed the name to Bishkek.   Before independence the city's population was overwhelmingly ethnic Russian but by 2004 it was only about 20%.  Now it's only around 8% but everything is still written in Kyrgyz and Russian.

Бишкек isn't really known for its sightseeing.  It's a typical Soviet style planned out city.  There are lots of monuments throughout the capital.



The Martyrs of the Revolution monument was erected in 1978.  The main figure is Urkuya Salieva, an early communist in Southern Kyrgyzstan, who was killed by rich peasants.



The White House is the seven story presidential office building.  In 1985 it was built as the headquarters of the Communist Party's Central Committee.

In 1974 the People's Friendship Monument was unveiled to honor the 100th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's entry to the Russian Empire.

Museum of Fine Arts

The Victory Monument was completed in 1984 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War (WWII).

The red granite ribs represent a yurt while a woman stands over an eternal flame waiting for her son or husband who will never return from the war.

At Ala-Too Square is a monument to Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.  The monument was displayed in 2011 for the 20th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's independence.






At Ala-Too Square is the State Historical Museum which is pretty interesting.  The flagpole was built in 1998 and there is an hourly changing of the guard.

Manas the Great is the national hero.  The Bishkek Airport is now Manas International.

Behind the museum is a statue of Lenin.  It used to be where the Manas statue is but was moved several years ago.  I think it's one of the last Lenin statues still up in Central Asia.

Not far away from Lenin, in Oak Park, is a statue of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.


This building was built in 1936.  Until 1984 it was the headquarters of the headquarters of the Supreme Soviet.  Today it is the American University of Central Asia.



The Bishkek Circus was built in 1976.

The Red Guards Memorial is a mass grave for those who died in the war.  In 1970 an eternal flame was added but it currently isn't lit.

Kurmanjan Datka was a military leader and stateswoman.  She also served as a colonel in the Russian Imperial Army.  The monument of her was unveiled in 2004.

The granite monument of Friendship and Glory of Labor was erected in 1974 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kyrgyz Communist Party.

Aaly Tokombaev was a national poet who wrote under the pseudonym Balka (Hammer) and contributed to modern Kyrgyz literature.  His monument was erected in 1996.

Jumabek Ibraimov was the mayor from 1993 to 1995.  He served as the country's prime minister from 1998 until his death from stomach cancer in 1999.  He was the first PM who publicly spoke out about corruption high within the government.

Since becoming independent there have been two revolutions in Kyrgyzstan.  This monument is in memory of those killed in 2002 and 2010 and it symbolized the victory of good over evil.

The Frunze Museum contains the home of General Mikhail Frunze who was born in Bishkek.  He was a close associate of Lenin and played key roles in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917.  The city bore his name until it was changed to Bishkek.

Panfilov Park contains more memorials, some nice paths, and lots of rides for the kids.  Although some of the rides looked as if they hadn't been serviced in quite some time.

The monument for Nasirdin Isanov was installed in 2003 as part of the city's 125th anniversary.  Isanov was the country's first prime minister.

Toktogul Satylganov was a poet, singer and musician.  This 1974 granite monument shows him with his traditional instrument, the komiz.



The philharmonic hall was built in 1980.

Bishkek was pretty easy to get around.  Almost everything is written in Kyrgyz and Russian.  Some of the younger people seem to understand basic English but it was nice to give my Russian a work out.

I found the old buses interesting.  When you get on, you enter in the rear.  You exit from the front of the bus as you pay the driver.  A ride was only 8 Som (~12¢).

Made it to Bishkek

I finally made it to my first "Stan".  It took a while to get here.  I started yesterday afternoon with a 1 PM Student Agency bus ride to the Prague Airport.

Prague to Istanbul

Then I had a 7:10 PM flight on Turkish Airlines from Prague to Istanbul.  This was my first time on Turkish Airlines and it was pretty nice.  The flight was 2 hours and 40 minutes long.  This gave me almost two hours at the Istanbul Airport waiting on my connection.

Istanbul to Bishkek

Then at 12:45 AM I got on another Turkish Airlines flight.  The flight to Bishkek was just over five hours.  I tried to get some sleep but that didn't work out so well.  By 9:30 I had already cleared immigration and got by luggage.

The guest house that I'm staying at had a car pick me up at the airport which was great.  After a long flight I was not really up for having to haggle in Russian with the airport taxi drivers.

As soon as I got to the guest house the owner served me my first Kyrgyz breakfast.  This and a hot shower and I'll be ready to start exploring the city.

Update:  This afternoon my Russian got me a high five from an ethnic-Korean Kyrgyz.  He was surprised that an American could speak Russian.  I guess he didn't notice my Czech pronunciation and vocabulary.

Bob and Bobek

Bob and Bobek are two rabbits that live in a magician's hat.  They are the main characters from a popular cartoon series that first appeared on Czechoslovak television in 1979.

There have been eight series and the episodes have appeared on večerníček (night time children's TV program).

Bob is the bigger rabbit and often takes the parental role.  Bobek (bobby) is the smaller rabbit and takes the child role.  They are clever and often get in and out of trouble.

Vladimír Jiránek is a well-known artist and illustrator who authored the series.

Bob and Bobek were even the mascots of the 2015 World Hockey Championships.

Here's a video of their adventure Na Koncertě that I found out on YouTube.

Blue Insurance Card

A few weeks ago I received a letter from my insurance provider that because I now have permanent residency in Czechland, I need to update my insurance card. 

Fine...but here's what I don't understand.  The company knows I need a new card but they won't request it until I give them my old card.  Which means that for a period of time I'm without an insurance card.  Why can't they order the new card, let me know when it's ready and immediately swap it out for my old card?  Loczech. 

So I go to the VZP office and give them my green insurance card (for non-EU citizens).  The clerk tells me that it will take six to eight weeks for my new card to be ready.  She gave me a piece of paper stating that I still have health insurance and that any doctor or hospital can call them to verify my coverage.  I'm glad that I took out travel insurance for my trip to the Stans next week.

Fortunately it only took two weeks for my card to be ready.  This time I've got a blue EU card.  The coverage is the same but I will miss my old green card.

Upside Down?

So yesterday after work, I went with Claudia to take Tünde out by the lake.  We grabbed dinner and walked over to the jungle gym for her to play.  Tünde; not Claudia. 

Upside down or not?

There were hot air balloons flying over but one of them was upside down.  Or at least it sure looks like it was upside down.

No one seem distressed at all so I can only assume that this was supposed to happen.  I'm not sure if it was actually flying upside down or not.  Perhaps it was only meant to look that way.


Either way it had me feeling nostalgic for the big balloon ride we had a few years ago.  That was so much fun and it's been far to long since then.

Božena Němcová

Božena Němcová is considered to be the mother of Czech prose.  She was a major figure in the Czech National Revival movement and many of her works are required reading for Czech school children today.

She was born in 1820 in Vienna and died, at the age of 41, in Prague in 1862.  Her father was Austrian and her mother was Czech.

At 17 she had an arranged marriage to a 15 year old Bohemian patriot.  They had four children but the couple didn't get along.  She spent most of her life in harsh poverty and often had to receive charity.

Němcová wrote many short stories and fairy tales.  Her most famous novel is Babička (The Grandmother) about a young girl and her grandmother in the countryside.  She also wrote a version of Popelka.

There is some speculation on her origin.  Some think that she was actually the illegitimate daughter of Wilhelmine, the Duchess of Sagan, while others think that she may have been Wilhelmine's illegitimate niece.  Neither speculation has ever been proven.

Božena Němcová is featured on the 500 Czech Crown banknote.

Brno in the News

©Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Brno was in the Atlanta newspaper this weekend. 

Steven scanned the article and e-mailed it to me.

It was about the 70th anniversary of the Brno Death March where after the war ended, and due to the Beneš decrees, ethnic Germans had to march 56 km to the Austrian border.

2015 Global Peace Index

The 2015 Global Peace Index results are in.  Europe remained the world's most peaceful geographical region.  No real surprise there as 15 of the top 20 countries are in Europe.

Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world.

Both Czechland and the USA improved from last year's results.  Czech Republic moved up to 10th place (the 6th most peaceful country in Europe).

The USA moved up to 94th place.  Not the best of scores but it's an improvement.

Here are the top 20 countries.

1.  Iceland

2.  Denmark

3.  Austria

4.  New Zealand

5.  Switzerland

6.  Finland

7.  Canada

8.  Japan

9.  Australia

10.  Czech Republic 

11.  Portugal

12.  Ireland

13.  Sweden

14.  Belgium

15.  Slovenia

16.  Germany

17.  Norway

18.  Bhutan

19.  Poland

20.  Netherlands

Update:  The 2016 results.

Quarter Two Team Building Event

On Saturday we had our second quarter team building at a park in Brno. 

One of my goals for this years was to have a quarterly event for my team members in Czechland, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. 

Piotr & Damir handling the firewood

Unfortunately we did have a bit of rain but not enough to spoil the day for everyone.

There was plenty of excellent food.  And alcohol.  Plus we had Láďa as the DJ so all was good.




Anytime you get a bunch of European chaps together in a park there is bound to be a bit of football (soccer).

Tomáš trying baseball for the 1st time

The best part for me was getting to play some baseball.  Of course the challenge here was having to explain the rules...over and over again.  But it was still great to hit a few balls.




Our first quarter event was in January.  Way to cold with the ice and snow but it was fun.  It would have been better in March but I wanted to set the expectation right from the beginning that I want something planned each quarter.

These first two gatherings have both been in Brno.  It's time to start mixing things up a bit.  The Polish team has committed to hosting an event.  And I'm sure that I can convince the Slovak team to put something fun together.  





So let's see if we end up in Wrocław or Bratislava for our third quarter bash.