Back in Slovakia

I'm back in Slovakia again.  Big surprise.  Just a couple of days of meetings in Bratislava.

At least from the 23rd floor of the office there is a great view of the castle.

7 Years in Czechland

Friday was my seven year mark in Brno.  I just wasn't actually in Brno on Friday in order to really mark the occasion.  I was up in Helsinki for Eiko and Tommi's wedding.  I got back home on Sunday evening and had to work on Monday.

Fortunately today is 5 July and it's St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day which means a day off.  It also gives me time to realise that I've been here for seven years.  Seven years!  Where has all of the time gone?  It's a good thing that I love it here.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this adventure in Czechland so great.

Eiko & Tommi's Wedding

On Saturday we were in Finland to watch Eiko and Tommi get married.  It was great to be able to join in on all of the festivities.

When we were in Helsinki in 2014 we visited St. John's Church which is the country's largest stone church.  Who would have thought then that this is where Eiko would tie the knot?

This is actually their second of three weddings.  They had a civil service in Stockholm and this was the full blown European wedding in Helsinki with Tommi's family.  In January they will have a Japanese wedding with her family in Tokyo.


Eiko is Japanese and Tommi is Finnish.  They met in graduate school in Spain and now live in Sweden.  So of course they were going to have an international wedding and their guests represent 16 different nationalities.

The reception was a great blend of traditions from across the globe.  One Swedish tradition is that when the bride leaves the room, all of the men cling their glasses while all of the women line up to kiss the groom.  When the groom leaves, the women all cling glasses and the men line up to kiss the bride.  



It was also a great chance to catch up with Liz and James after their wedding.  The midnight sun for sure helped make for some great photos.  It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful weekend.  We're so happy that we could join in and share it with everyone.

Midnight Sun

We're in Helsinki this weekend for Eiko and Tommi's wedding tomorrow.  It feels like we were just at Liz and Jame's wedding and now it's time for Eiko to walk down the aisle.

One interesting thing going on, besides this also being Helsinki's Pride weekend, is the midnight sun.  Also called "white nights", this is when sunsets are late, sunrises are early, and it never really gets completely dark.  While the sun sets for a while, light can be seen on the horizon.

Around the summer solstice the sun is visible for 24 hours but this is way up north closer at the Artic Circle.  Most of Scandinavia experiences these white nights, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, plus Greenland, Russia, Alaska, and parts of Canada.

This photo was taken at 11 PM and as you can see it is still very much light outside.  The night sky is defiantly more blue than black.

Our hotel has blackout curtains so I don't think it will be a problem getting a solid night's sleep before all of the festivities begin tomorrow.

Gay Adoption

While Czechland does not have gay marriage it has recognised registrované partnerství, registered partnerships, since 2006.  This allows for equal status when it comes to inheritance, alimony and health care.  One thing they have not allowed for is adoption.  Well that now changes...sort of.

The Czech Constitutional Court, the country's highest legal authority, has just overturned a law that bans individual gays and lesbians living in a registered partnership from adopting children.  The decision was based on the fact that it was discriminatory because individual gays and lesbians who don't live in a registered partnership are allowed to adopt.

So moving forward, gays and lesbians who have a registered partnership can now legally adopt but as an individual; not as a couple.  Hey, it's not perfect but it is definitely progress.

The Winter Queen

Elizabeth Stuart, 1596 - 1662, was the daughter of James VI and I, King of Scots, England, and Ireland, and his wife, Anne of Denmark.

She was named after Queen Elizabeth I of England.  Her grandmother was Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth's younger brother became Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

In 1613 she married Frederick V, Count Palatine of the Rhine.  Both of them had been related to Henry II of England.  They moved to Prague and in 1619 they were crowned the King and Queen of Bohemia.

In 1620 their reign was ended by their defeat at the Battle of White Mountain which triggered the Thirty Years' War.  As their reign only lasted one year, Elizabeth is remembered as the Winter Queen, zimní královna.  In 1621, she became an Electress, a queen in exile, and lived in the Hague.

Frederick died in 1632 during the war.  He and Elizabeth has 13 children.  The royal families of Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands, plus the former royal families of Greece, Romania, Germany, and Russia are all descendants of the Winter Queen.

Her grandson became George I of Great Britain.  Through different paths, Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom is a direct descendent of the 10th and 11th generation.

Brexit Results

Wow!  This whole Brexit thing has me absolutely gobsmacked.  I can't believe how the vote went.

The final results were 52% for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union vs 48% to remain.  Again, absolutely gobsmacked.


I've heard arguments that a post-Brexit UK could leave the EU and still retain benefits like the four countries in the European Economic Area.  To me, this just sounds dumb because the UK would then still have all of the obligations it currently does but it would lose its vote.  Staying the same without having a say doesn't seem too bright to me.  Just saying...

The overall vote was close but it wasn't close across the entire UK.  The majority of England and Wales (except for their capitals of London and Cardiff) voted to leave.  The majority of Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.  Could this lead to another independence referendum in Scotland?  Does this mean that the Common Travel Area will be impacted and border checks will have to be reintroduced between Ireland and Northern Ireland?  Could there be a referendum for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join the Republic?  

Residents of the British Territory of Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.  Brexit could have serious political and economic consequences and who knows, perhaps Spain will try to leverage this for control of the Rock.

While older voters wanted to leave, the majority of younger voters all wanted to remain.  This whole referendum thing was basically supposed to be an opinion poll but it hasn't been marketed that way to UK voters.  It will be interesting to see what happens next but it looks like the United Kingdom is less united than ever.

We have elections coming up in November in the USA.  Let's hope that these are the only crazy election results this year.

Update:  Here's another interesting CGP Grey video I found out on YouTube.  It gives a nice, quick overview of last month's Brexit vote.

©CGP Grey

Update:  The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video about how the UK originally joined the EU to begin with.

©History Matters

Brno vs Prague and Bratislava

There are a number of reasons why I enjoy living in Brno.  Coming from Atlanta, a city of over 5 million people, makes Brno seem like a small town and that's fine by me.  I find Brno to be the perfect size.  It's a big enough city that there is always something going on but small enough to enjoy the local feel of the place.

I'm going on seven years here and, from the beginning, I've always preferred Brno to both Prague and Bratislava.  For one thing I find the cost of living to be lower here.  Here's a random flyer I found from jobspin.cz, a recruitment company, where it highlights a few of the cost and quality of living statistics between the three cities.

I usually spend two to four days in Bratislava each month so I'm pretty familiar with the city and I find it to be more expensive than Brno.  It's interesting to look at this table to see that it is also more expensive than Prague which is three times the size.  It may be because Slovakia is on the Euro.

The cost of rent and pubic transportation are lowest in Brno and most expensive in Bratislava.  Going out for dinner and beer is cheapest in Brno.  Now, to be fair salaries are lower here on average compared to the other cities.  But Brno's crime and safety indices are better too.

No, I'm not trying to bash Prague or Bratislava.  I love going to Prague.  It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  And after dealing with so many tourists I normally can't wait to get back home to Brno.

©jobspin.cz

Wrocław Again

I'm back in Poland again.

Another couple of days meeting with my team in Wrocław.

I like the it here but I'm ready to be back in Brno and sleep in my own bed.

2016 Global Peace Index

The results of the 2016 Global Peace Index are in.  Despite last year's terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, and instability in Turkey, Europe remains the world's most peaceful region.  European countries make up 14 of the the world's top 20 peaceful countries.

For the third year in a row Iceland is the most peaceful country.

Last year, Czechland cracked the top 10.  This year it moves up four spots to #6.  The USA fell out of the top 100 to come in at #103.

Syria is the least peaceful country followed by, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Here are the top 20 countries.

1. Iceland
2. Denmark
3. Austria
4. New Zealand
5. Portugal
6. Czech Republic
7. Switzerland
8. Canada
9. Japan
10. Slovenia
11. Finland
12. Ireland
13. Bhutan
14. Sweden
15. Australia
16. Germany
17. Norway
18. Belgium
19. Hungary
20. Singapore