Normalizace

Normalizace was the period that followed the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 that brought an end to the Prague Spring.  

"Normalisation" began in 1969 and lasted 20 years until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. 

It was the systematic restoration of hard-line control of the communist party in Czechoslovakia characterised by political repression, censorship, and enforced societal conformity.

In April 1969, Gustáv Husák replaced Alexander Dubček as First Secretary of the Communist Party.  There was no Stalin-style executions or gulags but rather administrative and bureaucratic oppression to keep people under control.  

• About 500.000 people who had supported the Dubček's reforms were kicked out of the communist party.  Many were demoted to manual labour positions regardless of their education or expertise.  
• Loyalty declarations were required to:
• Keep your job
• Study at university
• Hold cultural or academic positions
• Travel abroad
• Censorship was fully reinstated.
• Books, films, and music from the reform era were banned
• Artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers were blacklisted
• Independent organisations were dismantled
• StB surveillance increased dramatically with informants recruited, or coerced to inform, in workplaces, apartment buildings and student dorms

Normalisation relied on quiet pressure, social isolation and the fear of consequences to keep people in check.  

Basically that the system will leave you alone so long as you don't challenge the system.  

This helps explain why today Czechs are often so skeptical towards authority, don't trust political slogans and value personal freedom.

23rd Strážnice Vinobraní

This past weekend was the 23rd annual vinobraní in Strážnice. 

We went on Saturday morning.  It was a full-day wine and folk festival.

Lots of wine and burčák, plus beer and slivovice, along with performances by local music and dance groups.

Here are a couple of videos I filmed at the festival.

Příběhy z Ukrajiny

Příběhy z Ukrajiny, Stories from Ukraine, is an exhibition showing the experiences of Ukrainians feeling the country due to the Russian invasion.

Near the Moravian Gallery, there are civilian cars that were hit by Russian missiles in Ukraine.  

The exhibition brings a bit of the war to the centre of Brno.  

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Open-Air Concert

On Thursday, the Janáček Theatre out on a free open-air concert, in front of the theatre, to kick of the start of the 2023-2024 season.

Kája and I met up there after work to enjoy the performances before going to dinner.

There were performances by soloists, a choir and the opera company orchestra.  

Here are a couple of videos I took during the performance.

Brno's Museum of Applied Arts

Yesterday we went to the Museum of Applied Arts. 

The museum was founded in 1873 and its among the 10 oldest such museums in the world.

Today the museum is a part of the Moravian Gallery.  

The museum's collection focuses on applied arts from the Middle Ages to the present and includes collections of glass, ceramics, porcelain, textiles, furniture and metalware. 

It was pretty interesting.  One of the coolest things though was actually in the cafe where a machine scans your face, then a robot makes you a latte with the image of your face on the foam.

55th Anniversary of the Invasion

Today was the 55th anniversary of the Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. 

The invasion ended the reforms of the Prague Spring and ushered in the era known as "normalisation" which was the strict alignment of Soviet policy that didn't end until the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

In 2019, the Czech Senate declared 21 August as a Significant Day that's officially known as "The Day of Memory of the Victims of the 1968 Invasion and Subsequent Occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact Troops."

Different Time Same Occupation

There were memorials across Czechland today and there are clear parallels between the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

1. The aggressor fabricated internal threats to justify invading an independent country.

• In 1968, it was framed not as an invasion but as "fraternal assistance" to protect communism from alleged Western interference and counter-revolution.
• Today, Russia's narrative is that it's not a war but a "special military operation" to "protect Russian speakers" from alleged Nazism and NATO control.

2. Both the Soviet Union and Russia deny the sovereignty of smaller countries. 

• The Soviets asserted that communist countries had "limited sovereignty" that later became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.
• Vladimir Putin claims that Ukraine is a historical part of Russia so therefore doesn't believe it is a real state.

3. Use of propaganda.

• In 1968, the Soviet media claimed that the military was invited.  They suppressed independent media and forced agreements signed under duress.
• Today, the Russian media, which is under state control, claims that they were asked to come help by Russian-speaking Ukrainians.  There are heavy disinformation campaigns and staged referenda in occupied territories like when Russian annexed Crimea.  

Many people here in Czechland see Ukraine living out 1968.  A common phrase I hear is My už toile jednou zažili which means "We've lived through this once already."  The difference I see though is that Ukraine is fighting back where as Czechoslovakia never had the chance to.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Lom Janičův Vrch

Lom Janičův vrch is a former limestone quarry that's located just outside of Mikulov.  It is 51 km (32 miles) from Brno and is part of the Pálava Protected Landscape Area.

Limestone mining at the Mariánský mlýn (Marian Mill) was intermittent throughout the 20th century but ceased around 2004.  

Once mining stopped, the quarry flooded and created a clear water lake which in 2014 became a protected natural monument.

After work yesterday we headed to the lake and the water felt great.  It was about 15℃ (59℉).   

There are strict controls about what you can take in.  No disposable plastic or glass bottles allowed.  

There's minimal infrastructure; just a few changing stalls.  There is a nude section if that's your thing.

Hotel Avion Fuchs Exhibit

The  Hotel Avion opened in 1929.  The most striking thing about the 10-storey hotel is that it is only eight metres (26 feet) wide.

The hotel was designed by Bohuslav Fuchs who is considered to be one of the most important Czech architects of the 20th century.  Most of his work is in Brno.

In 2010, the functional building was designated as a Czech Cultural Monument.  Following years of disrepair, the hotel was under renovation from 2016-2022.

Inside of the hotel is a museum exhibit of Fuchs' work in Brno.  Some of it I've seen before, such as the Bohuslav Fuchs House, and some I'll need to go check out.

The exhibit it pretty interesting.  It's free for hotel guests and 99 Kč ($5) for visitors.

Ploché kužely

Brno got some new artwork this week.  At Dominikánské náměstí, in front of the New Town Hall, are three bronze cones called "Ploché kužely", (Flat Cones).  The cones are 1,4, 1,8, and 2,4 metres (4.6, 6.7, and 7.9 feet) tall and weigh 200, 450 and 1000 kgs (440, 992, and 2204 lbs).

When you look at them from an angles the cones are flat.  During hot weather, the cones will provide a water mist.

There was a competition back in 2021 that was won by architect Ing. arch. Michael Gabriel and sculptor Tomáš Pavlacký.  

They are supposed to symbolise the city's "smoking pipes" which was when steam used to escape from the underground network of steam pipes.  The city reportedly paid 8.303.000 Kč (about $403,000) for the artwork and the operating costs should be about 125.000 Kč ($6,000) per year.

Brno Parking

Since 2018, Brno uses a "flower" model for parking in the city.  A person's residential, or a business address, is the flower's centre and the neighbouring areas are the petals.  The city is  divided into three different zones: A, B, and C.

Zone A is the historic city centre.  If you don't have a residency permit then you can't drive in the area or park.

Zone B is a sign around the city centre.  Visitors can park here for for one hour free.  After the first hour it costs 40 Kč (~$2) for every hour after.

Zone C, where I live, takes effect next effect next week.  Parking during the day is free, and on weekends.  On workdays from 17:00 to 06:00, visitors can park for free for the first hour.  Then it's 30 Kč for every hour after.

You have to register your vehicle at the parking metre or via an on-line app in order use the free first hour.  Except for weekends and holidays when you don't have to register for free parking.

A resident parking permit costs 600 Kč ($30) per year for the first vehicle.  It's another 15.000 Kč ($726) for a second vehicle and another 30.000 Kč ($1,450) for every additional vehicle.

Residents can allocate "visitor hours" to guests and tradespeople.  If you live in Zone A or Zone B then you can issue 200 hours per year for free.  You have to pay for additional hours.

For Zone C, it's 100 hours per year for free and additional hours are paid.

Claudia is coming for a visit next week so I registered her German license online so she will be able to park near my flat for 100 hours for the next year.

Planet Festival 2023

The moon and the earth are back at Kraví hora as part of Planet Festival.  There are both day and evening programmes as part of this week's festival, including screenings of science-fiction movies and presentations at the observatory.  

Crazy Tipping

Tipping is much different here in Euroland from how it works in the USA.  The biggest difference is that service works in Euroland don't live off of their tips.  European employees provide an actual salary, with health benefits, to their staff which is required by law.  Customers here don't need to subsidise the employees so that they don't have to provide a living wage.  As someone who used to live off of tips, I have strong opinions about tipping but after almost 15 years of living in Europe I see how flawed the American system is.

While we were on holiday I saw just how out of control tipping has become in the United States.  It seemed that wherever we went, there was a request to tip.  I ordered a bubble tea at a food stall in Atlanta and tried to pay by card.  The system prompted me to enter a tip amount in order to complete the payment.  Why the hell am I being asked to tip for a bubble tea?  And the system required me to swipe to a second page to confirm that I did not want to tip.  We bought hot dogs at the Braves game and the again, I had to enter a tip amount in order to pay for our food at the game.  

During Covid time, I think a lot of people were more generous with tipping in order to help out service workers during all of the lock downs.  Yet, it seems that once the lock downs ended the expectation for higher tips didn't.

I had explained the whole tipping thing to Kája.  He didn't understand why the customer is responsible to pay an extra +20% because employers don't pay better.  Why don't people just get better jobs?  Not easy to explain.  Here's an interesting video I found on YouTube about tipping having gotten out of control.

©CNBC

Birth Certificate Bureaucracy

I was eligible to apply for Czech Citizenship two years ago after I passed my B1 Czech language exam.   However, I can't apply until I first sort out my birth certificate.

Here's the situation...

I need to provide a birth certificate with an apostille.  An apostille is basically an internationally recognised "super notarisation".  In the USA,  an apostille can only be issued in the state where the document was issued.  Since I was born in California, my birth certificate can only be given an apostille by the Secretary of State of California.

The fee to request an apostille in California is $20.  I have an old certified copy of my birth certificate with me in Brno.  I would need to mail my birth certificate to California, along with payment for the apostille, and the return postage for it to be mailed back to me in Czechland.  

I wasn't really thrilled about mailing the only copy of my birth certificate.  The next option was to request a new certified birth certificate from Riverside County, in Southern California.  I would need to submit a request by mail, with payment, for the new birth certificate.  It would get mailed to me in Brno.  Then I would need to mail the new one back to California for the apostille, and then have this mailed back to me in Brno.  Crazy.

I found lots of companies that I could pay to sort out a new certified birth certificate or to sort out the apostille.  Finding companies that would handle both the birth certificate and the apostille was damn near impossible.  The few companies that I did find that would handle both parts, and seemed somewhat reputable, cost around $1000.  

So while we were in California I took the opportunity to finally get my documents sorted.  I shipped my birth certificate to Sacramento for the Secretary of State to issue the apostille.  My mom needed to write a Czech for the $20 processing fee.  I included a pre-paid DHL envelope for it to be shipped back to me in Brno.

While in California, I also requested a new certified birth certificate just so that I will have a spare copy.  The new birth certificate will be sent to my parent's home in Arizona.

Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia

Štrbské Pleso is 18 km (11.2 miles) from Tatranská Lomnica.  By train it's an hour away.

Štrbské Pleso is another popular tourist town in the Tatras.  

It was founded in 1872 and today it is home to about 200 residents.

Lots more hiking!

The town is located on the southern shore of Lake Štrbské pleso.

The lake is the second largest lake, in the Slovak side of the Tatras.  It is almost 20 hectares (almost 50 acres).

Nearby is the Veža snov (Tower of Dreams), which is also called Tatras Tower.

The tower is 53 metres (174 feet) tall and has a 15° incline.  We wanted to check out the top but it started to rain a bit.