The Mexican Wave

Next week are the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  Football, known as soccer in the USA, is a big deal in Europe.  I was proud that the USA almost made it to the quarter finals.  Neither the Czechs nor the Slovaks qualified to the tournament.  They must be focused on getting ready for the upcoming hockey season.

One thing that drives me batty is when people refer to "the wave" as "the Mexican wave".  Here's the deal.  The wave is when, in the stands at a sporting event, briefly stand, yell and raise their arms before quickly returning to their seats.  

Outside of the USA and Canada, people call it the "Mexican wave" because it was first brought to world-wide attention when it was broadcast during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.  Since this is when most people saw it for the first time, the name stuck.  However, the wave had been around for many years before that.  It was even used during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 

And if you don't believe me then watch the movie "Teen Wolf".  Towards the end of the movie, you see kids at a basketball game doing the wave.  The film was released in 1985 (before the 1986 World Cup) which means that the scene was probably shot in 1984.  However, the wave had been around for years before that.  So to my Eurocrew, quit calling it the "Mexican wave"; it's just "the wave". 

Rybička

There is a Czech saying that Každý správný muž má u sebe nůž which basically means that "Every real man carries a knife."

I'm told that all Czech boys (and Slovak boys too) at some point receive a small pocket knife with a fish-shaped handle.  It was very popular during communism but the tradition continues today.   

Rybička means "little fish" and it has a hole at the end so that it can be carried on a key chain or worn around one's neck.  The knife comes in handy for mushrooming.

Thanks to Martin and Katka, now I too have my very own rybička.  Between this and my sock and sandals I feel like I'm starting to fit in.

5 Year Fiesta

July 1st marked my fifth anniversary of arriving on my Czechland adventure here in Brno.  Plus, July 4th was American Independence Day and July 5th was St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day, today is Jan Hus Day and my birthday is in a few weeks so there is plenty to celebrate this month.  Therefore a nice, respectable shindig was in order. 


I rented a venue out by the Brno Dam for some BBQ and good times.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Apparently I've been in Czechland long enough that I should be able to blend in more with the locals. 

Sporting socks & sandals

In order to make that happen some friends gave me socks and sandals.  The funny thing is that later, Martin and Katka also gave me socks and sandals.  So two sets of socks and sandals.  Maybe they will bring me luck when I take my state Czech language exam.

As a complete surprise, later on in the evening the pub started pumping our bubbles for a foam party.  Lots of fun!!  Thanks everyone for a great time.

Brno's Twin Cities

The concept of twin towns is designed to foster friendship between different cultures and to develop international business links.

In British English it is known as "twin towns" while in the USA we refer to them as sister cities.  In Czech it is known as partnerské město (partner city).

Brno is currently twinned with fourteen cities.  These include Bratislava, Slovakia; Dallas (Texas), USA; Kaunas, Lithuania; Rennes, France; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Leeds, UK; Leipzig and Stuttgart in Germany; Poznań, Poland; St. Pölten and Vienna in Austria; Utrecht, Netherlands; and Moscow and Voronezh in Russia.

Atlanta has 21 sister cities but none in Czechland.  Perhaps someone should look in to this.

Update:  September 2018 - Lviv, Ukraine is to become the newest twin city.
Update:  Brno has sister city agreements now with Daejeon, South Korea and Debrecen, Hungary.  This brings the number of twin cities up to 17.

Update:  March 2023 - Taoyuan, Taiwan, is the newest twin city.  

5th Anniversary

It's been 5 years!!  Five years ago I set foot in Czechland for the first time ever.  I so can't believe that it's been five years. 

I have learned so much during my time here.  Now that I've crossed the five year point I can officially apply for permanent residency so that I won't have deal with any more work and residency permits.  That is assuming I can pass my mandatory Czech language exam. 

Thanks to all of the people who have made this such an awesome adventure.  And special thanks to my family and Steven & Michal for all of the care packages.  See everyone at the party on Saturday.

Battle on the Dam

Today I went with Claudia and Tünde out to the dam.  The original plan was to walk around the lake and to take a boat ride out to Veveří Castle.



While waiting for tickets we found out that there was a special "Battle on the Dam" boat trip on offer just for today.  The two-hour ride was 200 Kč ($10) to cruise on the lake while remote control planes and boats reenacted the Battle of Midway.



The Battle of Midway, in the Pacific, was one of the most important naval battles of WWII. 



The show included commentary, in Czech of course, from the ship's captain.  Throughout the trip, there were random history questions and history DVDs were given out to the kids with the right answers. 



There were plenty of explosions to keep everyone's attention.





While it was a 'world war', I find it interesting that the reenactment was of a Pacific battle and not a European battle. 

The most important thing was that Tünde enjoyed all of the noise.

Bratislava Visit

I had meetings this past week in Bratislava.  On Thursday my meetings, which had been planned for a couple of months, started at 9 AM.  So of course, right at 9 AM, there was a fire drill.  The entire 28 floor building had to evacuate.  Not a great start, productivity wise, but we managed to get everything covered in the end.

That night we had a team outing.  It was great to get my teams from Bratislava and Brno together for the evening.  Everyone seemed to have a really good time.  

Vyškov Aviation Musuem

After the Olomouc Aviation Museum we went and checked out the Vyškov Aviation Museum.  This open-air museum is much bigger than the one in Olomouc.



The exhibits are former Czechoslovak and Czech aircraft plus some other military hardware, all in various states of restoration. 

Focke-Wulf wreckage from 1939

There is also a display of World War II aviators.

As well as aircraft wreckage from the war found in the local area.













The AZP S-60 is a Soviet made 57 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun from the 1950s.  It was heavily used by the Warsaw Pact countries.

The 2K6 Luna was Soviet ballistic missile complex that was in operation from 1960- 1982.  The 3R10 rocket had a 400 kg nuclear warhead with a range of 10 to 32 km.  While used in Poland, Romania, and East Germany, I don't believe it was used in Czechoslovakia.


The Mil Mi-8 is a Soviet-designed medium transport helicopter.  It is one of the most produced helicopters in the world.




The MiG-23 was produced by the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1985.  Over 5,000 MiG-23's were put in service.




This air museum is well worth the 50 Kč ($2.50) admission.  If only the displays were written in English as well as Czech.  But oh well.

Olomouc Aviation Museum

I tagged along with a fellow IBMer from Bratislava who was off to see a couple of aviation museums.  The first one was just outside of Olomouc, in Neředín.

Not much to see from the outside

The Olomouc Aviation Museum was founded in July 2009.  It was an idea of Zdeněk Svobodník who is a well known stage actor.

The city of Olomouc provided two hangers for the museum.  The staff of aircraft mechanics, pilots and engineers are all volunteers.

The foucs is on the history of Czechoslovak aviation.  It's pretty small but if you like aviation then it's worth seeing.  The entrance is only 50 Kč ($2.50).

The MiG-21 is the most heavily produced supersonic jet aircraft in history.

The cockpits were always painted a turquoise green color.  Apparently, it was found out that this color helped keep pilots awake and reduced stress on long flights.


The Aero L-29 Delfin was Czechoslovakia's first locally designed and built jet aircraft.  It was used for jet training and in the 1960s it was the standard jet trainer for all of the Warsaw Pact countries.



The Mil Mi-24 is a large attack helicopter that could transport eight people.





The Let L-610 was a prototype aircraft.  It could transport 40 passengers.  It was only in Czechland as only eight were ever built.



The Ilyushin Il-14 was a Soviet twin-engine aircraft.  It was used to transport military personnel and cargo.  The planes were manufactured in Czechoslovakia and East Germany. 

There's something a bit sad about seeing the planes there in pieces.  Kind of like visiting an aviation cemetery.  But still worth going for a visit.

2014 Global Peace Index Results

The Global Peace Index uses 22 indicators which gauge the absence of, or fear or, violence.  It looks at the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic or international conflict and the degree of militarization.

Some of the items which go in to the formula include:

• Perceived criminality in society
• Violent crime, number of homicides,  access to weapons and the number of people in jail
• Political instability, relations with neighboring countries, civil liberties, freedom of press, gender inequality, adult literacy, education spending, enrollment in primary/secondary/higher education

This year's results have Iceland ranked #1 out of 162 countries.  Czech Republic just missed making the top ten.  It tied for 11th place with Sweden.  The USA didn't fare so well as it ended up #101.

Update:  The 2015 results.
Update:  The 2016 results.
Update:  The 2017 results.
Update:  The 2018 results.

Update:  The 2019 results.

Update:  The 2020 results.