14 Years in Czechland

Today is 14 years since I moved from Atlanta to Brno.  My 14th Czech-aversary!  Last year was thirteen years which means that I lived in Brno just as long as I had lived in Atlanta.  Now I've lived longer in Brno.  Wow!!  Still the best decision I ever made. 

It's been five years since I was last in the USA.  It's been 11 years since I was last in Atlanta but that's where we're headed.  

We're currently at Vienna airport waiting on our British Airways flight to Heathrow and our connecting flight to Atlanta.  I hope Kája is ready for the next three weeks.

Meet the Mayor 2023

Yesterday I got to meet the mayor.  The mayor's office wanted to hear from people about how to better meet the needs of foreigners as the city continues to grow as a centre for technology and innovation.  

Kyndryl is the city's largest private employer with about 1700 foreigners working here in Brno.  We were provided two tickets and I was lucky enough to be asked to go. 

After work I showed up at the town tall for the event.  This was my first time inside and I was floored.  

Some of it has been recently renovated and I had no idea of just how beautiful it was.

JUDr. Markéta Vańková has been Brno's mayor since 2018.  Before she was mayor, she was a representative for the South Moravian Region.

One of the chaps from the Brno Expat Centre knew me from my blog.  That was a surprise but then later on I remembered that my blog had been mentioned back in 2017.

I was impressed with how the city is trying to bring in more highly-qualified expats, especially in the field of nanotechnology, and what the city can do to help people settle in.

There are foreigners from 149 countries registered in Brno.  Slovaks don't have to register as foreigners in Czechland so their numbers aren't included.  The largest number of foreigners in Brno are from Ukraine, followed by Vietnam, Russia, India, Romania, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Philippines, USA, Poland, UK, and Belarus.  

I was gobsmacked to find out that there are 629 Americans living in Brno.  I have no idea of where they are hiding because I don't know them.  How are there more Americans here than Poles when Poland is next door?  I honestly only know a few Americans here.  I know way more people from Italy, France, Spain, and Germany here in Brno and these countries aren't even on the list.

There were maybe 50 or 75 people that were invited and I got the chance to meet up with a few friends from other companies that I haven't seen in a while. 

It really was a great experience and I count myself very lucky to have had the chance to participate.

Now to figure out where are of these other Americans are.

Eurocorps

My 2000th blog post.  I can't believe that I've been at this for over 13 years or that people still seem interested in my Czechland adventure.  Thank you to everyone who continues to follow along.

Eurocorps is a European army, of about 60.000 troops, that can be deployed on very short notice.  It was founded in 1992 by France and Germany and it went operational in 1995.  This month it celebrates its 30th anniversary.  Eurocorps' headquarters are in Strasbourg, France.
Eurocorps is at the service of the EU and NATO and in 2002, it was certified as one of NATO's nine High Readiness Land Headquarters.  Eurocorps considers requests for support from the UN and OSCE.  It can also be deployed at the request of the framework nations.

There are six framework nations - France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, and Poland.  

Any EU country can join with the unanimous approval of the framework countries.  There are also five associated nations - Austria, Greece, Türkiye, Italy, and Romania. 

Finland was an associated member from 2002 - 2006 and Canada was from 2003 - 2007.  Czech Republic isn't a member but I believe that they have participated is some military exercises with Eurocorps in the past.  I'm not aware of Czechland having any plans to join. 

Eurocorps has participated in peacekeeping missions in the Balkans as part of SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina and KFOR in Kosovo.  It was deployed to Afghanistan as part of the UN's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).  It's even been deployed to Africa as part of EU training missions in Mali and the Central African Republic.

Poland became the newest framework member this year in January.  From 2023-2025, a Polish general will take command of Eurocorps.  With all of the support Poland has given Ukraine during the Russian invasion, I'm sure that Russia isn't thrilled with Poland soon to lead Eurocorps.

What's interesting to me Austria and Türkiye being associate members.  Türkiye is a member of NATO but not the EU so until it actually becomes an EU member, if ever, then it can't be one of the framework nations.  Austria's constitution prohibits it form entering into military alliances.  So I guess that by being an associate member it can participate in Eurocorps without violating its constitution, in the same way that it is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme without being a NATO member.

Here's a France24 video I found on YouTube from 2009 that talks about Eurocorps.

©France24

Vaccine #2

I received my second Pfizer BioNTech vaccine yesterday morning.  Like last time I had a 10 am appointment at the Brno Exhibition Centre.  I had to show my health insurance card at the initial registration again.  This time the woman looked at my name and said that she thought that she knew me.  Kind of hard to tell I guess as we were both wearing masks.  I assumed that it must have been from IBM but then the mention of IBM triggered that she knew me from my blog.  I thanked her for reading the blog and went on to the next station to see the nurse.

The nurse verified my insurance information, took my temperature and told me that I had to get in a separate line for foreigners.  This was different from last time.  Six weeks ago there was just one line.  Of course the place was busier this time because more people were here.  Last time everyone was getting their first vaccine.  This time some people were here for their first vaccine and some were here for their second vaccine.  In the past six weeks the government has sorted out the administration of vaccines for foreigners here in Czechland who have self-paid health insurance.  This mostly applied for English teachers and the like who are technically independent contractors.  Now that these foreigners could finally get their first vaccine it meant that there were more now more foreigners here so I guess that was the reason for a Czech line and a foreigners line.  

So it was busier than last time but still very well organised.  From start to finish it took me about 45 minutes and I walked out with my stamped vaccination card.  I was given a weblink so that at home I could print out a digital vaccine card.  Kind of funny to print out a digital card but whatever.  The important thing is that now I'm fully vaccinated and I didn't have any side effects.  I'm sure that at some point I'll probably have to go for a booster shot.  Now how soon before I can travel somewhere?

In the Lithuanian News

Yesterday morning I received a message from a Lithuanian friend in Prague that a photo of me was in the Lithuanian news.  What!?!?  I haven't been to Lithuania in a while so I had no idea what this was about.  Perhaps it's another one of these "I'm everywhere" or "I'm still everywhere"things.

One of the Lithuanians at work was featured on a website about her life and how she ended up in Brno. By the way, this is the same chica who made me give the Mozaiko presentation a few weeks ago.

One of the photos used is of us on the IBM float during the 2019 Prague Pride. 

The article is pretty interesting.  Obviously it is entirely in Lithuanian but Google Translate will give you the jist.  Congratulations Rimgailė on your write up!

Czechoslovakia

My 1,400th blog post.  Lucky for me it still doesn't look like I'll run out of material to write about anytime soon.

Czechoslovakia would have been 100 years old this year.  The country dissolved in to the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in 1993.  Of course, it's still funny that so many people think that Czechoslovakia still exists.

As the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart at the end of WWI, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president, founded the Republic of Czechoslovakia (RČS) on 28 October 1918.  The new country of 13,5 million people was made of up the areas of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia, and Carpathian Ruthenia, which contained some of the most industrialised regions of the former empire.

The First Republic lasted from 1918 to 1938.  In 1920, the country's official name was changed to the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR).  Československo was one of the world's ten most industrialised states, the fourth in Europe, and had a thriving democracy.  After 1933, it was the only functioning democracy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Following the Munich Agreement and the Nazi annexation of the Sudetenland.  The country also lost southern parts of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia to Hungary and part of Silesia to Poland.  This pretty much ended the First Republic and the new Second Republic only lasted for 169 days until Germany occupied the rest of the country in 1939.  From 1939 to 1945, what was left of Czechoslovakia was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and the Slovak Republic which was set up as a Nazi puppet state.  While there was no more Czechoslovakia, a government-in-exile, the Third Republic, continued to operate from the UK.

After WWII, Czechoslovakia regained its pre-war borders except for Subcarpathian Ruthenia which was annexed by the Soviet Union.  President Beneš stripped citizenship from ethnic Germans and Hungarians who took German or Hungarian citizenship during the occupations.  The new government then confiscated the property of about 2 million ethnic Germans and expelled people from the country.  This was the background for the Brno Death March.

The country fell into the Soviet sphere of influence and became a satellite state.  From 1946 to 1948, Czechoslovakia had a coalition government until 1948 when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) seized power in a coup and eventually established the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR).

In 1968, Alexander Dubček became First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party.  He began a liberalisation period known as the Prague Spring.  It was referred to as "socialism with a human face".  This didn't go over well with Moscow and in August 1968, the Warsaw Pact (except for Romania, Albania, and East Germany) invaded the country and put a stop to the liberal reforms.

During the 1970s the country saw a rise of dissidents including playwright Václav Havel.  Dissidents were under the watchful eyes of the StB and faced political and economic persecution.

As communist governments began falling in 1989, the Velvet Revolution began on 17 November and lasted until 29 December.  The demonstrations brought about a peaceful end to the 41 years of one-party communist rule.

Following the Velvet Revolution the country became the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (ČSFR) which lasted until 31 December 1992.  The Velvet Divorce split the country and on 1 January 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic were established.

Update 2025:  Here are a couple of short, interesting videos I found on YouTube about Czechoslovakia's formation and break-up.

©History Matters

©History Matters

Blog Mention

I was mentioned in the Brno Expat Centre's June newsletter.  They did an article called Insights and adventures of expat bloggers. 

"An American's life in Brno can be followed at Christopher's Expat Adventure and his Facebook page BrnoChris."

Thanks for the mention!

I'm Approved

This is my 1,000th blog post!  Who would have thought that this blog thing would still be going strong?  I guess it's appropriate that this is my 1,000th post because I got some great news today.

On 3 December I submitted my paperwork for permanent residency and today the Czech Interior Ministry called me to say that I've been approved.  Yeah!!  No more having to jump through hoops like a trained circus poodle every two years to request a visa extension.  This will give me almost equal status with Czech citizens except that I can't vote.  If I want to vote and get a Czech passport then I can apply for that in another five years.  And who knows what will happen in another five years?

I need to make an appointment to visit the ministry for a new photo and submit my biometrics.  I should get my new Czech green card in a couple of weeks after that.

No Blog Contest This Year

Several people have asked about this year's blog contest.  Well, the answer is that there wasn't one this year.  On one hand it is kind of disappointing because it would have been nice to see if I came in 1st place again.  On the other hand, I'm kind of glad that there wasn't one because I've been so incredibly busy this year that it would have been one more thing to do.  Who knows?  Perhaps there will be another contest in 2015?

Tripadvisor Thread

Like a lot of people I find a lot of valuable information on tripadvisor.  And since my family is coming in a few short months on their first trip to Europe I'm starting to plan things for us to do.  Well the other day I was checking things out in the Prague Forum and found an old top thread from 2012 about my blog.

On the right side of my blog I've got a list of a few items that are not available over here in Czechland.  Not that this make it a horrible place to live in or anything.  It's just a few of the little things that I miss from the USA.  Heck, when the day comes for me to leave here I know that I'll miss kofola.

Well, the thread started out fine saying that "it is a fun list of items."  Of course, the person obviously didn't focus too much on the details because the thread is called Not available in Prague - Really?.  I don't live in Prague.  Of course it's easier to find things in Prague.  That's where the vast majority of American expats live.  I'm in Brno where, until recently, it has been much harder to get certain items.

A few comments suggested that "when in Rome, do as the Romans".  Duh!  A few agreed with a few items, especially the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  I've never met an expat that didn't miss something from home. 

My list has changed over the past five years.  Black beans are no longer on the list as I've been able to find canned black beans here.  Not everywhere, but I can find them.

I've managed to find "soft" sandwich bread.  It's not exactly like back home but it is close enough.

I've managed to find some something close to angel hair pasta.  The noodles are only an inch or two long but the texture is the same.

A few stores now carry Dr. Pepper; just not my local Albert.

And thanks to The Candy Store I no longer have to import jelly beans.

A few more things I've found in other countries.  I can get Caesar salad dressing in Germany and Natalie keeps me stocked with Bisquick from the UK.  Plus, when I get desperate I can always count on care packages from my best friends in Atlanta.  I guess I need to start making a list of supplies for my family to bring with them.

Update 2020:  The list has been updated in 2020.

2013 Blog Contest Results

Yeah!!  I repeated as the top expat blogger for Czech Republic.  Thanks to everyone who voted!

This year's contest was much different from last year.  I'm not sure that having the contest around Christmas was the best time to hold it as most people tend to be quite busy.  This may have deterred my main challengers from last year from entering this year's contest.  None the less, it does feel quite nice to have won again.  Congrats to the runner up - Czechesotans. 

Here's was my original entry...

Top 5 Things I've Learned Living in Czech Republic

1.  Czechia (Czech Republic) is located in Central Europe; not Eastern Europe.  Just look at a map and it's clear that it's located right in the middle of the continent.  Eastern Europe has negative connotations.  Most of the former communist countries want to be found in Central Europe.  Even Belarus claims to be in the center of Europe.  I guess that's true if you consider Europe running from Iceland to the far eastern bit of Russia.  Regardless, Czechland is perfectly centered for travel which is why in less than five years I've been lucky enough to visit 43 countries.

2.  Patience really is a virtue.  Anyone who has spent time in a former communist country knows all about the mindless bureaucracy required in order to get even the smallest thing done.  However, what can be even more draining is just everyday life with a foreign language.  Simple, mundane things such as going grocery shopping, visiting a pharmacy or mailing a package at the post office can require an awful lot of energy.  It's important to never give up.  OK, sometimes you buy sour cream instead of coffee creamer but as long as you don't make the same mistake twice then you at least get a humerous anecdote out of it.

3.  You never know where life will take you.  I grew up during the Cold War.  When I joined the U.S. military, we still taught German, Czech and Polish.  Times change.  Who would have thought that 20 years later I would work for IBM in Czech Republic?  Much less regularly visit East Berlin, have a Bulgarian boyfriend or be Godfather to the prettiest little German-Hungarian princess.

4.  Carefully choose your words.  Just because two people speak English doesn't mean that they speak the same language.  In school, most Europeans learn British English.  Therefore it's often better for me to adjust my vocabulary in order to better communicate.  Elevator becomes lift, apartment becomes flat, and pants become trousers while underwear becomes pants.  It can be a bit confusing at times.  For example, I once called a Romanian girl "chica" which means 'girl' in Spanish and is commonly used in the USA.  Imagine my surprise when I received a lecture about how she didn't appreciate being called "a chicken". 

My most recent English-language blunder was referring to the loo (restroom, WC, toilet) as the "little boys' room".  The next five minutes trying to explain how the little boys' (or little girls') room has nothing to do with pedophilia wasn't exactly fun.

Once I was in a hurry and said that "I was off like a prom dress."  Big mistake.  Huge!  For the next 40 minutes I had to explain what an American high school prom was and why a dress would come off.  Forty minutes of my life that I will never get back.  Lesson learned...save the colloquial expressions for other native speakers.

5.  It has never been easier to be an expat.  I don't think that I could have been an expat 20 years ago.  Aside from e-mail and Skype to keep me connected to family and friends, there are a whole slew of social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  The Internet provides an incredible amount of information to help people get started.  My blog started out simply as a personal journal so that my family could keep up with my adventures.  I would never have guessed that I would receive +125 new visitors per day from all over the world.  With all of the expat blogs available there really is no reason not to get started.Top 5 Things I've Learned Living in Czech Republic

1.  Czechia (Czech Republic) is located in Central Europe; not Eastern Europe.  Just look at a map and it's clear that it's located right in the middle of the continent.  Eastern Europe has negative connotations.  Most of the former communist countries want to be found in Central Europe.  Even Belarus claims to be in the center of Europe.  I guess that's true if you consider Europe running from Iceland to the far eastern bit of Russia.  Regardless, Czechland is perfectly centered for travel which is why in less than five years I've been lucky enough to visit 43 countries.
2.  Patience really is a virtue.  Anyone who has spent time in a former communist country knows all about the mindless bureaucracy required in order to get even the smallest thing done.  However, what can be even more draining is just everyday life with a foreign language.  Simple, mundane things such as going grocery shopping, visiting a pharmacy or mailing a package at the post office can require an awful lot of energy.  It's important to never give up.  OK, sometimes you buy sour cream instead of coffee creamer but as long as you don't make the same mistake twice then you at least get a humerous anecdote out of it.
3.  You never know where life will take you.  I grew up during the Cold War.  When I joined the U.S. military, we still taught German, Czech and Polish.  Times change.  Who would have thought that 20 years later I would work for IBM in Czech Republic?  Much less regularly visit East Berlin, have a Bulgarian boyfriend or be Godfather to the prettiest little German-Hungarian princess.
4.  Carefully choose your words.  Just because two people speak English doesn't mean that they speak the same language.  In school, most Europeans learn British English.  Therefore it's often better for me to adjust my vocabulary in order to better communicate.  Elevator becomes lift, apartment becomes flat, and pants become trousers while underwear becomes pants.  It can be a bit confusing at times.  For example, I once called a Romanian girl "chica" which means 'girl' in Spanish and is commonly used in the USA.  Imagine my surprise when I received a lecture about how she didn't appreciate being called "a chicken".
My most recent English-language blunder was referring to the loo (restroom, WC, toilet) as the "little boys' room".  The next five minutes trying to explain how the little boys' (or little girls') room has nothing to do with pedophilia wasn't exactly fun.
Once I was in a hurry and said that "I was off like a prom dress."  Big mistake.  Huge!  For the next 40 minutes I had to explain what an American high school prom was and why a dress would come off.  Forty minutes of my life that I will never get back.  Lesson learned...save the colloquial expressions for other native speakers.
5.  It has never been easier to be an expat.  I don't think that I could have been an expat 20 years ago.  Aside from e-mail and Skype to keep me connected to family and friends, there are a whole slew of social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  The Internet provides an incredible amount of information to help people get started.  My blog started out simply as a personal journal so that my family could keep up with my adventures.  I would never have guessed that I would receive +125 new visitors per day from all over the world.  With all of the expat blogs available there really is no reason not to get started.
- See more at: http://www.expatsblog.com/contests/767/top-5-things-ive-learned-living-in-czech-republic#sthash.DIlFyOnS.dpuf

Top 5 Things I've Learned Living in Czech Republic
1.  Czechia (Czech Republic) is located in Central Europe; not Eastern Europe.  Just look at a map and it's clear that it's located right in the middle of the continent.  Eastern Europe has negative connotations.  Most of the former communist countries want to be found in Central Europe.  Even Belarus claims to be in the center of Europe.  I guess that's true if you consider Europe running from Iceland to the far eastern bit of Russia.  Regardless, Czechland is perfectly centered for travel which is why in less than five years I've been lucky enough to visit 43 countries.
2.  Patience really is a virtue.  Anyone who has spent time in a former communist country knows all about the mindless bureaucracy required in order to get even the smallest thing done.  However, what can be even more draining is just everyday life with a foreign language.  Simple, mundane things such as going grocery shopping, visiting a pharmacy or mailing a package at the post office can require an awful lot of energy.  It's important to never give up.  OK, sometimes you buy sour cream instead of coffee creamer but as long as you don't make the same mistake twice then you at least get a humerous anecdote out of it.
3.  You never know where life will take you.  I grew up during the Cold War.  When I joined the U.S. military, we still taught German, Czech and Polish.  Times change.  Who would have thought that 20 years later I would work for IBM in Czech Republic?  Much less regularly visit East Berlin, have a Bulgarian boyfriend or be Godfather to the prettiest little German-Hungarian princess.
4.  Carefully choose your words.  Just because two people speak English doesn't mean that they speak the same language.  In school, most Europeans learn British English.  Therefore it's often better for me to adjust my vocabulary in order to better communicate.  Elevator becomes lift, apartment becomes flat, and pants become trousers while underwear becomes pants.  It can be a bit confusing at times.  For example, I once called a Romanian girl "chica" which means 'girl' in Spanish and is commonly used in the USA.  Imagine my surprise when I received a lecture about how she didn't appreciate being called "a chicken".
My most recent English-language blunder was referring to the loo (restroom, WC, toilet) as the "little boys' room".  The next five minutes trying to explain how the little boys' (or little girls') room has nothing to do with pedophilia wasn't exactly fun.
Once I was in a hurry and said that "I was off like a prom dress."  Big mistake.  Huge!  For the next 40 minutes I had to explain what an American high school prom was and why a dress would come off.  Forty minutes of my life that I will never get back.  Lesson learned...save the colloquial expressions for other native speakers.
5.  It has never been easier to be an expat.  I don't think that I could have been an expat 20 years ago.  Aside from e-mail and Skype to keep me connected to family and friends, there are a whole slew of social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  The Internet provides an incredible amount of information to help people get started.  My blog started out simply as a personal journal so that my family could keep up with my adventures.  I would never have guessed that I would receive +125 new visitors per day from all over the world.  With all of the expat blogs available there really is no reason not to get started.
- See more at: http://www.expatsblog.com/contests/767/top-5-things-ive-learned-living-in-czech-republic#sthash.DIlFyOnS.dpuf

2013 Expat Blog Contest

The good folks over at Expatsblog.com have put together another contest.  Last year the rankings were primarily determined by readers' comments.  In order to make it a bit more fair for new bloggers, this year they've decided to make a twist.

Participants need to write a "Top X" list for their particular country.  The contest entry must be written solely for this challenge so no previously published blog entries count.

I guess I need to come up with the "Top 10 Things to do in Brno" or the "Top 5 Expat Hangouts in Moravia."  Who knows what I'll come up with?

I need to submit my entry by December 11th and voting runs December 16th - 20th.  Wish me luck and don't forget to show some love by leaving feedback on the 16th.

1000th Russian Hit

I still can't believe how many hits that this blog receives.  I usually average over 50 new hits a day.  And from all over the world.  This still amazes me that so many people read what is basically my on-line journal.

Today I received my 1000th unique hit from Russia.  Not the 1000th time someone in Russia has looked at my blog.  My blog was viewed by the 1000th new IP address in Russia.  Большое спасибо России! 

At some point I still need to visit Russia.  The main reason I haven't gone so far is simply because Russia requires a visa and the application process is a pain in the ass.

Recently, Russia has implemented some tough new anti-gay legislation.  Basically "propaganda of nontraditional sexual orientation" is illegal so as to protect minors.  Utter rubbish!  

It will be interesting to see what effect this has on next year's Olympic Games in Sochi.  Perhaps I'll make it over next year to either St. Petersburg or Kaliningrad.

Off to Český Těšín/Cieszyn

Last year was Nat's "not" going away party.  When we thought she was going to move back to Scotland, she and I took a weekend trip to Warsaw since she had never been to Poland before.  Well, our luck finally ran out.  Next month, she has to move back to the UK.  Though instead of Edinburgh she will move back to London.

Since her farewell trip last time was to Poland we figured we would do it again.  So this afternoon we're off to visit Český Těšín / Cieszyn.  It's a divided city that is partially in ČR and in Poland.

Apparently, after WWI, there was a disagreement as to whether the city should go to Czechoslovakia or to Poland.  The Olza River runs through the city so that became the border between the two countries.  It's hard for me to imagine a city, split in two, with border guards on each side.  The only example I can think of is Berlin during the Cold War.  With both ČR and Poland being Schengen members the border is now open.

http://3broshostel.com/en/

Some guys recently opened a hostel in Cieszyn and sent me a message.  They enjoyed my blog and knew that I liked Poland.  So they invited me to come stay at their place for a weekend.  And perhaps if I like it I would write about it.  Sounds fair to me.  So this afternoon, Nat, Eric, Krasimir and I are taking the three hour train to Český Těšín.  Then it should be a 15 minute walk to the 3 Bros' Hostel on the Polish side.

2013 Travel Poll Results

Well my first blog travel poll results are in for where I should visit in 2013.  First of all I would like to thank the 164 people who cast their votes.

This was kind of fun letting others have a voice in where I venture off to in this new year.  Next time I will limit people to only a single vote.  However, even with people being able to vote for more than one place I don't think it severely impacted the final results.

So with 61 of 164 votes, I will go to Iceland this year.  I never thought that it would have been such a close race between Iceland and one of the Central Asian "-stans".  Or that Georgia would have come in 5th place.

 

I may still visit one or more of the other choices sometime this year.  However, the first trip I organize will be to where my loyal readers have decided.  So even though I'm not a fan of cold weather, and Iceland is up near the Arctic Circle, I guess now's time to start sorting out my trip to Reykjavik.

CZ Expat Blog Results

Yeah!!  I won the 2012 Expat Blog Award for Czech Republic.  I must thank everyone who voted for me.  Winning this award is even better than the award last year for a few different reasons.

First of all, this award was just for ČR which made it more personal.  Most of the other bloggers were all from Prague, and whilst I like Prague, it is not the only city in this country.  So I kind of feel that Brno won too. 

I liked that this contest required people to actually give feedback.  The quantity of feedback wasn't supposed to be the only deciding factor but I haven't seen any winners for other countries who also didn't happen to have the most number of votes.  Some of the feedback was very touching to read.  And while I personally know many of the people who voted, it was really neat to read the feedback from total strangers.  This blog really has taken on a life of its own.

In the award announcement, the organizers randomly choose one comment as a testimonial. 

One fan says: Christopher's Expat adventure is by far my favorite blog. I look forward to each new post. The variety of Chris' content: travel, history, holidays, architecture, professional and personal experiences, among others, always keep the blog new and exciting. Chris is so talented in taking a cultural difference and explaining it in a way that makes the reader understand that the cultural difference is not good or bad but just different. He has a true gift of showing the common humanity and humor that transcends various cultures. I am excited to read about Chris’ future adventures and to feel as if I am there with him as I read his blog. Thank you for all your post. Keep up the great work.

I love that they chose Steven's comment for this.  

There are a some really well-written expat blogs which I regularly follow and I was up against two of them for the title.  Girl in Czechland and Ricky Yates - an Anglican in Prague are both great blogs.  I've followed them for sometime now so in the spirit of good sportsmanship I did vote for each of their blogs.  I would have been proud to have finished up behind them but it does feel really good to have actually won.

The other cool thing about this contest is that now I've got a number of new blogs to follow in other countries which will be helpful as I plan future adventures.  Thanks again to everyone who voted, congrats to my fellow bloggers, and a big thank you to Expats Blog for putting this contest together.

Where Should I Go in 2013?

So far since moving to Europe in July 2009, I've been to 34 different countries.  Not a bad run if I do say so myself.  Now the question is what new places do I visit in 2013?  There are just so many places that I want to go to...Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Montenegro, Norway, Finland, Ukraine.  Heck, somehow I still haven't even managed to make it to London yet.  Decisions, decisions.  That's where I've decided to let my readers have some input.

Originally, I thought about letting people choose where I would visit.  The only problem with that one is that I would get a whole lot of votes to go back to Atlanta and I was just there.  So instead, I've come up with five different places.  All of these places are ones that I would eventually like to get to.  Some will be easier than others.  I may do more than one of these in 2013.  Who knows?  However, I will for sure go to whichever one receives the most votes.  

Here's a little background on each in order to help you choose where to send me.

Iceland is located in the mid-Atlantic and it is the USA's closest European neighbor.  For someone who isn't the biggest fan of cold weather this one must sound a bit odd.  Glaciers and volcanoes just sound so cool.  While the best weather is in summer time, I would most likely go in March or April so that I can catch the Aurora Borealis.  The biggest drawback to Iceland, aside from the cold, is that it is even for Scandinavia, it is very expensive.

Georgia is a country between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.  Once part of the Soviet Union, it declared independence in 1991.  Georgia is home to the break away republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  Both of the areas have been occupied by Russian soldiers since the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.  I don't plan on going anywhere near the break away republics but how cool would it be to go from Atlanta, Georgia to Tbilisi, Georgia?  

The United Arab Emirates is on the Persian Gulf between Oman and Saudi Arabia.  It is a federation of seven emirates.  I know many people who have gone there and everyone has enjoyed it.  Dubai is home to the Burj Khalifa which is the world's tallest building.  One of reasons for considering the UAE now is because I would really like to visit Israel.  The problem is that if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport then the UAE, and about 20 other nations, won't let you enter the country.  Therefore I have to visit the UAE first.  On the drawback side, the UAE isn't exactly gay friendly.  Homosexuality is illegal and the punishments range from jail time, fines, deportation and the death penalty.

The Baltics consist of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  At the start of WWI, all three countries gained independence from the Russian Empire.  However, all three were later annexed by the Soviet Union.  In 1991, they declared independence.  The three countries are now liberal democracies and in 2004 they joined the EU and NATO.  If I go to the Baltics then I may try fit in either Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland, or Belarus.      

The "Stans" are five countries in Central Asia which all used to be Soviet Republics.  Today, they are the independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  Not quite sure which one (or maybe two) countries I would visit.  Uzbekistan has been on my list of places to visit since I was 16 years old.  I remember reading a magazine article about the Soviet Union and it talked about how Uzbekistan was home to camels and pineapples.  It just sounded like such an exotic part of the U.S.S.R.  Kyrgyzstan doesn't require a tourist visa which is a plus.  The other four all charge between $160 to $180 per visa and each visa will require a trip to the appropriate embassy in Prague or Vienna.

You can only vote once per computer.  I should have only allowed people to make a single choice but I didn't.  Oh well, something to remember for the next time.  So feel free to submit your vote on where I should go visit in 2013. The poll will remain open until New Year's Eve.

I'm Everywhere

So besides the election results, here's the other thing that happened to me yesterday.  I was in a meeting with my boss and she says that I'm everywhere.  I had no idea of what the hell she was talking about.  Apparently, this past weekend she was looking at a blog which she normally reads at and she found a picture of me.  What!?!?

Check this out.  Some Prague blogger wrote a story about being on a tram.  In the story, the people were happy and so he posted a picture of some happy people.  Here's the thing.  The photo is of Claudia, Mariya and me, from 2011, when we did the Brno Expat tram ride. 

Here's the link to the story.

Here's the translation.  And FYI...Any expat can tell you that Google Translate or Bing Translate never gives you a 100% accurate translation.  While the English isn't perfect you will still get the gist of the story.

Miracles happen. Every day and everywhere. Even you don't have to be a mystic or a prophet. Just tune in. Or be ready jedoduše. It happened a few days ago on the tram 26 in which I took at Kulaťáku. It was in the middle of ' everyday ' day, it was a few of us on the island, among others, and a man with a dog. I paid no special attention to anybody, because I wrote the email. The tram arrived, I sat down, all for standing writing email. And then it happened. From there, after a while the speakers: "on behalf of the Transport business thank you vzornému the passenger with the dog, which not only has the dog perfectly prepared for travel in the public mass transport, but in addition to the stop sign for the emergence of a dog. Thank You Very Much. It happens once every few years. "

The hand with the rozepsaným by email to me and I looked at the car, because they teach me culture-this must be meant sarcastically and I see some antisocial drunken individum dog. But the tram driver was not meant seriously and positively. What? Veřejená the praise from the mouth of the driver of the tram?! On what planet I was? The Impossible! A Miracle! But the real miracle came only because everybody on the tram began to talk. ' Ice ' immediately and we must have melted-present people-we just magically come together. I've heard the stories, seen the cute faces, smiles, joy. An ordinary human encounters on the tram 26. Live. What you didn't know for a while. The gentleman with the dog looked incredibly happy and almost up to the other, so that in itself is not a model, but that it had learned in the army. There was laughter and the word several stations. I was (and I'm from the episode) happy, because I brought the realization that this is what in the US is actually below the layer of culture. We can do it. We're not so bad, how are we trying to kid each other everywhere. We've got to do it. Only we have to afford more and more as follows. Thank you to all of the tram 26., which was the day going to the station of a miracle.

So pretty much a human interest story.  It's just funny that my face showed up on a Czech language Prague blog that I've never heard of.  I don't mind at all but it is odd.  I did post the following comment to the story.  Basically I said that "Hmmm, this picture is from a 2011 expat function in Brno.  How the hell did my photograph end up on this page and what does it have to do with this story?"  I also included a link to the original photo.  Again, I don't mind.  Just another random funny thing I get to write about.  I guess I really am everywhere.