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A priest performing a wedding ceremony out in the open in the town of Hradiště had to stop the proceedings mid-way because the bride’s toddler was screaming to be fed. Unfazed the bride picked up the child and nursed her while the priest and guests waited. Because she would not be put down in the end the couple said their “I do”s with the child at her mum’s breast. The story is not all that unusual. Since a new law went into effect allowing weddings to be held outside the church or registry hall, priests and mayors performing wedding ceremonies say that they have many funny stories to tell. The same priest said he once went through the ceremony on a farm with a dog fight going on behind him. While the mayor of Chrudim was asked to marry a couple of ardent hockey fans on the ice rink in-between periods, with everyone slipping and sliding on the ice in the rush to complete the ceremony before the break was over. Certainly few couples have a bigger audience – and they don’t have to feed the guests.

Photo: CTK Playing in the sandpit is something most people grow out of at an early age but in the south Bohemian town of Písek – which translates as sand – making sandcastles is a matter of pride. The town, which lies on the river Otava, orders several truck-loads of sand every summer and invites people to a sand party on the river bank. Every year there is a given theme for the works of art that are created by young and old. This year it was “water, sun and sea” and guess who dominated the embankment? Right in one, a huge sand sculpture of Pamela Anderson. That’s what happens when you let grown men play in a sandpit!

Photo: CTK Tourists in Prague may have been somewhat confused this week by the sight of gondolas on the Vltava river. Seven gondolas led by a Quatordesona –i.e. a gondola with 14 rowers – sailed up and down the Vltava as part of the annual Baroque Water celebrations held to mark the 280th anniversary of the canonization of Jan of Nepomuk, patron of fishermen, swimmers, divers and all people whose lives are in any way linked to the river. The reason why he should favour people whose lives are connected to the river is due to the manner in which he met his end. He was thrown into the Vltava and left to drown at the behest of King Wenceslas, because as the queen’s confessor he refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. The celebrations held in his memory started with a mass in St. Vitus Cathedral served by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk who afterwards led a procession to Charles Bridge to bless the spot from which Jan of Nepomuk was thrown into the river.

Photo: CTK While tourists on the Vltava embankment were admiring the Baroque Water Celebrations, the city centre was taken over by a procession of 700 zombies. Prague’s annual Zombiewalk led from Old Town Square to Wenceslas Square and got plenty of attention from passers-by. People with grey faces and red eyes with knives stuck in their heads and trailing bloodied bandages made their way through the city centre to the upper end of the square for a final count and a group photo. According to an unwritten rule a zombie must never accost the living, never touch them or pester them in any way. This is to protect those bystanders who shudder at the sight of the realistic costumes but, increasingly it is the people watching who stop zombies and ask to take a snapshot with them. The event is clearly gaining in popularity because this year there were a number of foreigners taking part. The organizers are delighted since they hope to beat the world record in the number of zombies gathered in one place which is 900. So next year, if you are in Prague roundabout this time, give the zombies a helping hand. Stick a knife in your chest and join them.

Photo: CTK They say that saying sorry is not always easy, but sometimes saying thank you or congratulations may prove equally hard. It is not so long ago that Radio Prague had news of a Czech potato grower who wanted to congratulate US president Obama on his election victory and took out a huge ad in a local paper to do so. Last week the CTK news agency reported that an 82-year-old pensioner from a small village south-east of Prague erected a memorial in his own garden to thank the United States for lending the Czechs a helping hand on a number of occasions in the country’s history. The four-meter-tall massive granite memorial reads “Thank you America for liberating us from Nazism and communism”. Originally Fialka offered to donate the memorial to the village to be placed alongside a memorial stone to World War II victims, but the plan to move it to the village square was rejected due to its size. The mayor suggested other possible locations but those were rejected by Mr. Fialka. Moreover some of the villagers reproached him for overlooking the merits of the former Soviet Union, so Mr. Fialka paid for the construction of a second memorial which reads “Thanks for peace and freedom to Reagan and Gorbachev”. This memorial is also in his garden – which is getting a bit crowded – and he plans to offer it to the village in November on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Let us hope that they find a place for this one because the old man is thinking of commissioning two more memorials, one of which should be placed near his birthplace. It’s a nice idea of course, but maybe if he switched to plaques things might be easier.

As Radio Prague listeners doubtless know mushroom picking is a popular pastime in the Czech Republic –millions of Czechs do it, and if you are Czech you never forget the pleasure of browsing through the forest and later preparing various delicacies from wild mushrooms. The Czech expat community in Cedar Rapids has so much nostalgia for this tradition that they hold annual mushroom get-togethers every year. This year’s Mushroom Days, or Houby Days as they are called, attracted 400 people to Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. It was basically a food tasting event – with over thirty Czech and Slovak dishes to be sampled. Besides the mushroom treats, visitors could sample the famous Czech kolaches, goulash, roast pork, sauerkraut and dumplings, and many other Czech staples. Besides reviving old memories and satisfying Czech taste-buds the event had another positive effect – the proceeds went to the Czechoslovak Museum in Cedar Rapids.