Universal Healthcare

One of our friends visiting Brno this week came down with Conjunctivitis, Zánět spojivek, normally called "pink eye" in English.  So we made the decision to go visit Bohunice Hospital.  

Going to the hospital on day 2 of a 4-day weekend?  Not something that sounded like a fun time but we headed to the emergency room.

When we got to the hospital the receptionist told us to go directly to the eye clinic on the 16th floor.  Within five minutes the nurse had taken some personal information and our friend was seen by a resident.  

A senior doctor joined, multiple x-rays just to rule things out, and a prescription for medicine and we were headed home.  Everything done in just one hour.  Our friend doesn't have a Czech health card but does have a European health card.  In a situation like this, you have to pay for the visit and medicine, you submit a claim with your country's health insurance system and get reimbursed.  

The visit, with the x-rays, cost 500 Kč (~$21) and the medicine was another 500 Kč.  In the USA, even with good insurance, it would have cost way more.  

I never understand why universal healthcare is seen as a bad thing by so many Americans (Republicans).  It's not something radical.  There are 73 countries in the world that offer universal healthcare coverage and all but 43 countries in the world have free healthcare or access to universal healthcare for at least 90% of their citizens.  

In the USA there is national defence but the moment national healthcare is brought up, you would think that people were advocating for the downfall of the country.  

Sure, no system is perfect and there's always room for improvement, but I've never seen a country with universal healthcare trying to repeal it.  It's as if universal healthcare is a good thing.

The USA is the largest country without universal healthcare and to put this in perspective, some other countries without free healthcare are Nigeria, Yemen, South Africa, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. 

I'm very happy that I live here in Czechland where we have a very good healthcare system.  And I've never heard of anyone in a country with universal healthcare going bankrupt due to medical bills.  That's just an American thing.  Most Americans are one major disease from losing everything due to medical bankruptcy. 

Update:  Our friend was fully reimbursed for the 1000 Kč within a week.

The Slav Epic

The Slav Epic, Slovanská epopej), was painted by the famous Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha between 1910 and 1928, and is a cycle of 20 large canvases.  The cycle shows the mythology and history of the Slavic people.

The paintings are on display in Moravský Krumlov, about 51 km (31 miles) from Brno.

Mucha worked on these paintings for 18 years and the cycle is considered his biggest success.  After finishing the cycle in 1928, it first went on display in Prague and Mucha bestowed it to Prague, on the condition that the city build a special pavilion to display it.

Mucha died in July 1939.  He was interrogated by the Gestapo because he was culturally important in Czechoslovakia.  During WWII, the paintings were hidden away to prevent the Nazis from seizing them.

After the 1948 Communist Coup, the communist government wasn't keen on Mucha who they considered a bourgeois artist and whose art wasn't in line with socialist realism.  So building a special pavilion to display Mucha's work wasn't a priority for the communist government so they were put on display in Moravský Krumlov in 1963.

The Slav Epic was on display in Moravský Krumlov for almost 50 years.  Prague waged a decade-long legal battle to move the paintings to the city which intensified in early 2010.  The city of Prague felt the paintings would be seen by more people...tourists...if they were located in Prague but none of the city's galleries had space for the pieces.  They are huge; up to 6 metres tall and 8 metres wide (19.8 feet tall by 26.25 wide).

In 2012 the paintings were moved to the National Gallery and stayed there until the end of 2016.  In 2017 they were taken on a two-year tour of Asia before returning to Prague in 2019.  The Asian tour was controversial and Mucha's grandson unsuccessfully sued Prague to stop the tour.

The paintings returned to Moravský Krumlov in July 2021 where they are to remain for up to five years.  In 2022, Prague signed an agreement to renovate Savarin Palace, in Prague, which is to be the painting's new home.  In my humble opinion, Prague being the capital and all, the city has more than enough things to see and do.  There weren't any problems with having the paintings in Moravský Krumlov and having the paintings outside of Prague brought tourists to South Moravia.  

Seeing The Slav Epic has been on my list of things to do for a long time.  Claudia and Nat went and saw it about 12 or so years ago but on a weekend when I was out of town somewhere.  It was worth the wait. 

Here's a Rick Steves video I found out on YouTube about Alphonse Mucha and The Slav Epic.

©Rick Steves

25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement

Yesterday was the 675th anniversary of Charles University and it was also the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement, known also as the Belfast Agreement, signed on 10 April 1998, brought peace to Ireland.

The agreement was signed by the UK and Irish governments and was confirmed by referendums in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.  It allowed for devolved government in Belfast but more importantly, it brought an end to The Troubles which was the 30 years of violence between nationalists and unionists.

The Troubles began in the late 1960s as violent conflicts between Catholic Unionists and Protestant Loyalists.  During this time more than 3,500 people were killed and more than 50,000 injured.

The agreement acknowledged that the majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted to remain a part of the UK.  It also acknowledged that many people in Northern Ireland, and the majority in the Republic of Ireland want a united Ireland.  If and when a day comes that the majority of people in Northern Ireland want to be united with Ireland, then both the Irish and British governments must comply.

Everyone in Northern Ireland has the right to UK or Irish citizenship, or may have both passports.

Paramilitary gourds had to decommission weapons and the British and Irish governments committed to the early release of about 400 prisoners.  The British had to normalise security arrangements at the border.

One of the biggest problems of Brexit is that there's now a land border in Ireland between the UK and the EU.  Many people have been concerned that putting a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland could bring back the Troubles.

Here are a few videos I found on YouTube.

BBC News

RTÉ News

RTÉ News

Easter 2023

What a long Easter weekend.   First Claudia and Tünde came for a visit, then Natalie came, then Katka came.  Lots of fun visiting and some adventures along the way.

Although it was a bit rainy we visited the Brno Easter market.  

Even the Brno dragon got in the spirit and is currently sporting wings.

On Saturday, we went to Moravský Krumlov to see The Slav Epic.  This has been on the Czechland to-do list for years and it didn't disappoint.

It was great to spend time with the girls.  The only glitch was that poor Nat got pink eye which required a visit to Bohunice but that's another story.

Charles University

Today is the 675th anniversary since the founding of Charles University in Prague back in 1348.

Univerzita Karlova was founded by Emperor Charles IV, and it is the oldest, and largest, university in Czechland.  It was modelled after the universities in Bologna and Paris.  It was the 31st university in Europe and the first in Central Europe.

There were four faculties when the university opened: theology, law, medicine, and arts.  Today there are more than 51.000 students studying in 17 different faculties.

While universities in Brno are well regarded, Charles University is the only Czech university to rank among the top 250 universities worldwide, amongst the top 1,5% of 17.000 universities worldwide.

Here's a short English-language video about Charles University that I found on YouTube.

©Univerzita Karlova

Brno's New Twin City

Brno has a new twin city - Taoyuan (桃園市).  Located in northwestern Taiwan, not far from Taipei, it's the country's 5th-largest city.

Back in September there was a memorandum of cooperation signed between Czechland and Taiwan to increase the level of cooperation between the two countries in education, science, and culture.  Maybe the sister city agreement between Brno and Taoyuan was a part of this.

Here's a short video I found about it out on YouTube.

©民視英語新聞 Formosa TV English News

Czech National Bank

Česká národní banka, (ČNB), is Czechland's central bank it supervises the country's financial market.  It's primary objective is price stability by setting monetary policy, it issues the koruna, manages the payments and transfers between banks, and oversees the banking sector, capital markets, pension funds, the insurance industry, and foreign exchanges.  It holds reserves of more than $62,5 million and tries to stabilise inflation to around 2% per year.  The headquarters are in Prague.

The Austro-Hungarian Bank was the central bank of the Habsburg Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries.  Czechoslovakia didn't have a central bank for the first six years of independence.  The country's ministry of finance was responsible for all central banking functions.

Národní banka Československa was the central bank from 1926 to 1939 during the First Republic.  From 1939 to 1945, during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, there was the Národní banka pro Čechy a Moravu v Praze.

The national bank was re-established after WWII and in 1950 it was renamed to Státní banka Československá.

Following the Velvet Divorce, the State Bank of Czechoslovakia was replaced on 1 January 1993 by the Czech National Bank.

Slovakia has the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).

Here's a short video, in Czech, about the ČNB that I found on YouTube.

©Česká národní banka

So this January was the 30th anniversary of the Czech National Bank (and Slovakia's too).  

To commemorate both the 30th anniversary of the ČNB and the Czech currency, the bank is issuing a special 1000 Kč banknote.  

Here's a short video about the commemorative bank note.

©Česká národní banka

New Washing Machine

Old washer

Last week my washing machine stopped working.  A repairman come over for a service call and for 500 Kč ($22) I got confirmation that it's officially broken.  

Service call invoice

I thought that the washing machine came with my flat but I found out that it didn't.  The previous tenant purchased the washing machine but left in the flat when he moved back to Norway.  So, (1) I had a washing machine that doesn't work, (2) it was out of warranty, and (3) I needed a new washing machine before  I have a flat full of houseguests in a few days.

I entertained the thought of replacing the old washer with an integrated washer and dryer combo.  My old flat had a washer/dryer combo but I really only used the dryer once a week for bed linens.

Yes, having a dryer would be nice once in a while, but after having gotten by without one for the past eight years it just didn't seem necessary.  

In the end I went with another Whirlpool machine for 11.000 Kč ($475) and it comes with a ten-year warranty.  

I suppose I can take it with me if I move out.  More importantly, I can catch up on a week's worth of laundry before the girls show up.

Weekend in Strážnice, CZ

We spent this weekend in Strážnice, visiting Kája's dad and sister.  

Just a quiet home visit and a walk around the town.  Nice and relaxing.  Just what I needed before this next crazy week begins.  

Claudia, Tünde, and Nat are all coming for a visit but before that, I need to replace my washing machine which died a few days ago.  So getting a new washing machine is the priority before everyone comes to stay for about a week.

Emil Boček, R.I.P.

General Emil Boček turned 100 years old on 25. January.  He was a Brno native and the last remaining airman of Czechoslovak Royal Air Force.  On 25. March he passed away.

When he was 16, he illegally escaped the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and he joined the Czechoslovak foreign army in France.  Later he became one of the youngest recruited in to the RAF.

He was an aircraft mechanic in the 312th Fighter Squadron.  From 1944, he served as a fighter pilot in B Squadron of the Czechoslovak 310th Fighter Squadron.  He was credited with 26 operational flights, flying almost 74 hours. 

Although he was a hero and fought in the resistance, the Communists frowned that he was a member of the non-communist resistance and he left he military in 1946.

He had owned a car repair shop in Brno but he had to give up ownership when Czechoslovakia nationalised private property following the 1948 coup.  He continued to work at the shop and was never persecuted by the state.

The general was awarded the Order of the White Lion of Military Group, 3rd class in 2010.  In 2017 he was awarded the Order of the White Lion of the First Class Military Group for extraordinary services to the defence and security of the state and excellent combat activities.

Following his passing, Prime Minister Fiala said that "General Boček was fighting for our country to be democratic, free and independent."  

Here are two short videos, in Czech, that I found out on YouTube.

©TV Nova

©sleduju37p

Update April 2023:  Here's a video from the funeral, showing military honours, that I found on YouTube.

©Petr Komůrka