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Czechs file thousands of insurance claims every year and some of them are truly beyond belief. The most curious case this year was reported by the insurance company Česká Pojištovna. It had to do with a small aircraft taking off without the pilot. The pilot had trouble with the propeller and jumped out to set it in motion manually. The propeller promptly went into action and the plane started moving before the pilot could jump back into his seat. When the passengers saw the pilot running alongside the plane they all jumped off the aircraft in a panic. Those who were injured in the process were all compensated by Česká Pojištovna, which rated the incident as the most bizarre insurance claim of the year. On the other hand the insurance company Kooperativa refused to compensate one of its clients who claimed that he had been attacked and robbed by a little green man in one of Prague’s trams. Another strange request was made by a client who wanted compensation for his precious tropical fish which he said had died of shock during the fire-works marking the start of the new year.

Photo: CTK A beggar in a wheelchair was seen to get up and walk on New Year’s Eve but the miracle in the town of Kladno did not go down at all well with the local police and the beggar and his accomplice were both slapped a thousand crown fine. The man in the wheelchair was sporting a written notice asking for financial donations to enable him to undergo an operation which might enable him to walk again. When two officers approached he and his friend pretended they spoke no Czech and addressed them in Hungarian expecting to be let off. Much to their amazement one of the officers answered them in fluent Hungarian, demanding to see their IDs. The able man grabbed the wheelchair and fled and as soon as they were out of the officers’ line of vision his disabled friend miraculously recovered the use of his legs. Unfortunately for them they were being recorded by a security camera in the street and when they rounded the next corner a police car was waiting to pick them up.

Photo: CTK Close to two thousand people jumped aboard this year’s sci-fi train to celebrate the last hours of 2007 in the company of ETs, elves, hobbits, spooks and various sci-fi film characters. The New Year’s Eve train, which has an eight-year-old tradition, always runs from the south Bohemian town of Vimperk to Kubova Hutˇand back, and the fancy dress parties on board are so popular that there are now several runs in the course of the afternoon and evening in order to satisfy growing demand. There is a restaurant car with a live band and the waiters serve a menu tailored to the occasion. Last year the train carried horror movie passengers who dined on chopped fingers and eyeballs. This year the waiters had a menu out of the popular Czech children’s sci-fi series called Návštěvníci or The Visitors. The “visitors” travelled back to us from the distant future and brought their own food with them - “amarouny”, a kind of jelly containing every great taste known to man, but perfectly hygienic and healthy. Although the waiters could not vouch for the latter the feast of amarouny and champagne proved to be a huge success.

Photo: CTK Czechs and Slovaks who vehemently opposed the split of the common state in 1993 established their own form of protest – they would climb the Velká Javorina mountain range on the Czech-Slovak border to spend New Year’s Eve together. They maintained close contacts with their friends on the other side of the border all year round, but the New Year’s celebration had a special significance and they climbed Velká Javorina every year since 1993. This year both countries joined the Schengen border free zone and that was cause for a big celebration. Border controls disappeared and the group of Czechoslovak fans perceived it as a symbolic re-union. “It’s just like the old days, the border should never have happened,” Radovan Kunc, the organizer of these gatherings told the media. The group lit a big bonfire at Velká Javorina and sang and danced the night away at a nearby pub. And on a note of euphoria they saw the New Year in singing the Czechoslovak anthem.

Photo: CTK In an effort to win over the best experts in the field Czech firms are offering their employees more and more perks. Work mobiles and cars are considered standard bonuses in many firms, as is a five week holiday and wellness spa treatments. Soon they may be offering something more – an afternoon nap in the workplace. The idea of anyone saying “sorry boss –its time for my nap” is still unthinkable but medical experts claim that an afternoon nap increases performance and creativity and reduces the frequency of on-the-job-errors.

Photo: CTK Although news of this research has spread, most Czech companies are not yet ready to consider an afternoon siesta for their employees, saying that they simply do not have the facilities required. But the telephone operator Vodafone is a trail-blazer in this respect. It has been offering operators at its Chrudim client centre relaxation in a special restroom since 2004. The room is equipped with two reclining armchairs which are constantly in use and Vodafone says the investment was well made. The beneficial effects of a twenty-minute nap are said to be apparent at first glance – employees are energized, friendlier and more cooperative. So if your employees are grouchy, argumentative and generally disgruntled - you know what to do – put them to bed – one at a time, mind you, and for no longer that 20 minutes. Anything longer could allegedly induce a state of sleep drunkenness and you don’t want to end up with a staff of zombies in the office.