Compact archive November 19, 2007

American businessman Jan Ferdinand Kallik visited Prague. He was forced to emigrate in 1947 with his father, when communists had gained political power. His story is not different from many others, if he wasn’t 9th generation of the lineage that is forced to emigrate from Bohemia again and again. 9 generations before it was Jan Amos Komensky, who had to escape from religious intolerance.

Jan Kallik came to Prague to a conference about Komensky, arranged by the ministry of education. Being an economist he says it is a pity Czechs are not able to sell Komensky better. “It is all about advertisement. You should spend more energy on him,
his revolutionary approaches to scholarship set basis of modern education worldwide.”

Three of Kalliks’ children are teachers. His daughter Allison was voted one of ten best teachers of California.

The Czech Republic has been a member of the European Union since May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union but has not completed the third stage of the EMU and therefore still uses its own currency, the Czech koruna.

Initially the Czech Republic planned to adopt the euro as its official currency in 2010, however recent evaluations have found this unlikely.

The Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek have declared to adopt the euro will be possible only after changes in pensioner and health service. He said that in a TV discussion this Sunday with the Slovak prime minister Fico. Fico announced Slovakia still expects to adopt the euro in 2009.

The place at Lesser Town Bridge Tower was thoughtfully examined. At the side of the stones were found the same symbols as at the Lesser Town Bridge Tower. There were also small pieces of pottery, the oldest probably dating back to the 8th century, which responds to the oldest settlement of the area.

The archaeologist research at the bridge is prior to the repair. At the moment archaeologists have reached the canalization, where the drainage of the bridge runs, the excavation is about six meters deep, ending at the geological subsoil.

The long planned repair of the bridge started in August. Charles Bridge gains new isolating, watershed and gas lamps.

About one hundred of neo-nazis have ‘buried freedom of speech’ at Paladskeho namesti. Dozen of policemen kept an eye on them, but there was no violence this time, the event was calm and ended in half an hour.

The prime minister went to Narodni trida with his family. His youngest kid in a baby-coach was admired by Pavel Bem and other colleagues from the ODS.

There were demonstrations against the American Radar in the center. About two thousand people demonstrated at Wenceslas square. They demanded to terminate negotiations with the U.S. government in that matter, referendum, or Czech government resignation.

The president lightened up a candle at the students’ monument. The ex-president Vaclav Havel held a speech, commenting ‘present endeavor of organized crime to affect politics’. The minister of the interior Ivan Langer responded in a way he doesn’t comment theatre pieces, so he would expect Havel not to comment crime.

The anniversary was also celebrated by a football match of Euro qualification Czechs vs Slovaks. Czechs managed to beat the opponent 3 : 1 and enjoy the course to the Championship.

Czech mountains are full of skiers, in Jeseniky there is danger of snowslides, winter sport lovers head to Krkonose, Sumava, or Orlicke hory. Meanwhile they enjoy sports, vine growers from Moravia celebrate winter frosts by making ice wine. Temperatures lower than 10ºC brought the harvest to the middle of November, but usually it starts at the beginning of December.

Icewine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, so the result is a concentrated, often very sweet wine. In the case of ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards.

This gives ice wine its characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity. When the grapes are free of Botrytis, they are said to come in “clean”.

The most famous (and expensive) ice wines are German Eiswein and Canadian ice wine, but apart from these, ice wine is also made in the United States, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Australia, France, New Zealand and Israel in smaller quantity.