Journal
The Norway Trip was awesome, since we've traveled to Slovakia, now we're off to its neighbor, Czech Republic, to find their similarities! The first stop of our trip in Prague, Czech's capital was the St. Vitus Cathedral which was built within the Prague Castle, one of the most important castles in Europe. The cathedral was huge and very beautiful, decorated with colorful windows as well as paintings telling stories from the bible. This is one of the hundreds of churches in Czech Republic however the country is known as "the country with the highest atheism percentage." We read an article about religion in Czech Republic and it says according to one study in 2010, 37% of Czech citizens did not believe in the existence of God, a life force, or any form of spirit. Before the 19th century, 96% of the population practiced Roman Catholic Christianity however after the World Wars, today only 10.3% adhere to the faith. Many other religions occupy about 1% of the population while the rest, which is 51.9% of the population does not wish to identify with any religion. Well after this boring introduction about the religions in Czech Republic, let's talk about some interesting and beautiful architectures.
Skyscapers, museums and stylish weird buildings are all presented in Czech Republic. Many buildings in this Western Europe country is constructed using the Gothic style, an architectural time period primarily of the Late Middle Ages. Despite not being famous for its skyscrapers, there are 13 architectures over 75 meters in Prague alone. As well as stylish buildings in the city center. We visited one of them, The Dancing House. This building was completed in 1996 and was iconic ever since. The Dancing House was named after it's weird "dancing shape" which is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa. It surely is amazing! Another interesting building that we've visited was the Astronomical Clock located in Old Town Square in Prague's old town. The clock tower celebrated its 600th anniversary back in 2010!!!
We were pretty curious about Czechs' value, therefore we went digging for facts of their society and culture. Let’s start from the family, the family structure is usually the center of the country. A person’s first priority is to be responsible of his or her family. Efficiency, Logical and Forward thinking are the three most significant elements to contribute to your family in a productive way. Meanwhile, careful planning in personal life and in own business is also crucial to a Czech. While traveling around the country, we found that the Czechs are not as enthusiastic as Taiwanese when interacting with others. We also realized that they are usually very serious, formal and reserve. The Czechs only open up a bit once you develop a personal relationship. One of the reasons why we found the Czechs odd and strange is because they tend to not acknowledge us when the Czechs walk along the street. Beside contributing to the family and their society, communication is also important to the Czechs, they usually talk in a really formal way as mentioned before, they are always serious! They aren't straightforward and would always make sure to protect one’s feelings. If someone lowered their head while listening to the others, it means that they are not comfortable with what he or she said. That person will then immediately stop or find a way to pacify him.
A zoo in Czech Republic has begun cutting off horns from rhinos in order to save them from poachers. In total 21 horns are planned to be removed after a white rhino was shot dead by a poacher in a zoo in France. The decision to remove the horn was difficult and sad, Jan Stejskal, director of international projects at the zoo, told CNN. "We understand it is a natural thing for a rhino to have horns," he said. "We would love to keep them untouched. I was there during the procedure on Monday, and emotionally I didn't like it." "But it does not hurt the animal, and this is a necessary measure that can help us reduce risk," he said.
Hello Patrick,
Look at this beautiful night view of Charles Bridge. It stands over the Vltava River and connects the Old Town to the Prague Castle. There are about 30 statues on the bridge featuring famous knights and kings from the past. The Charles Bridge started construction in 1357 and the first stone was placed by King Charles IV himself. The bridge was 621 meters long and almost 10 meters wide. It was completed in the 15th century however it had been damaged several times throughout the history by floods. Let's hope this beautiful bridge won't be destroyed anymore...
Daniel and Andy.
Skyscapers, museums and stylish weird buildings are all presented in Czech Republic. Many buildings in this Western Europe country is constructed using the Gothic style, an architectural time period primarily of the Late Middle Ages. Despite not being famous for its skyscrapers, there are 13 architectures over 75 meters in Prague alone. As well as stylish buildings in the city center. We visited one of them, The Dancing House. This building was completed in 1996 and was iconic ever since. The Dancing House was named after it's weird "dancing shape" which is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa. It surely is amazing! Another interesting building that we've visited was the Astronomical Clock located in Old Town Square in Prague's old town. The clock tower celebrated its 600th anniversary back in 2010!!!
We were pretty curious about Czechs' value, therefore we went digging for facts of their society and culture. Let’s start from the family, the family structure is usually the center of the country. A person’s first priority is to be responsible of his or her family. Efficiency, Logical and Forward thinking are the three most significant elements to contribute to your family in a productive way. Meanwhile, careful planning in personal life and in own business is also crucial to a Czech. While traveling around the country, we found that the Czechs are not as enthusiastic as Taiwanese when interacting with others. We also realized that they are usually very serious, formal and reserve. The Czechs only open up a bit once you develop a personal relationship. One of the reasons why we found the Czechs odd and strange is because they tend to not acknowledge us when the Czechs walk along the street. Beside contributing to the family and their society, communication is also important to the Czechs, they usually talk in a really formal way as mentioned before, they are always serious! They aren't straightforward and would always make sure to protect one’s feelings. If someone lowered their head while listening to the others, it means that they are not comfortable with what he or she said. That person will then immediately stop or find a way to pacify him.Newspaper
Czech zoo cuts off horns to protect rhinos after France attack
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/europe/czech-rhino-horns-trnd/
A zoo in Czech Republic has begun cutting off horns from rhinos in order to save them from poachers. In total 21 horns are planned to be removed after a white rhino was shot dead by a poacher in a zoo in France. The decision to remove the horn was difficult and sad, Jan Stejskal, director of international projects at the zoo, told CNN. "We understand it is a natural thing for a rhino to have horns," he said. "We would love to keep them untouched. I was there during the procedure on Monday, and emotionally I didn't like it." "But it does not hurt the animal, and this is a necessary measure that can help us reduce risk," he said.Czech Republic sets up unit to counter fake news threat
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/28/europe/czech-republic-anti-terrorism-fake-news-unit/
The Czech Republic is setting up a new counter-terrorism unit aimed at the threat posed by "foreign disinformation campaigns" or fake news. The Center Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats is going to start operating on Sunday. This center is intended to monitor all internal security threats, including attacks on soft targets and extremism, as well as "disinformation campaigns related to internal security." Its establishment follows the publication in September of a Czech intelligence service report that identified Russian disinformation and cyber-espionage (cyber spy) activities as a potential threat to the Czech Republic, European Union and NATO. Another reason to establish the center was because Washington accused Russia of interfering with November's US presidential election by hacking into Democratic National Committee emails and leaking details to the public. This statement encouraged many countries including Czech Republic to update their security systems and stop any country to hack into government emails and systems.
100 Year Old Beer Found in Czech Republic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4362104/100-year-old-beer-discovered-Czech-Republic.html
In Czech Republic researchers have discovered three bottles of beer that are estimated to be 100-years-old. The beer, which was bottled in dark glass and well sealed, was discovered during the reconstruction of a brewery in Záhlinice, Czech Republic. The three lager beers were produced during World War I and was stored in a large cold cellar at the brewery. The researchers had tasted the beers and said they ranged from intensely sulfuric to sour, and had flavors that ranged from fecal to fruity. These researchers are based at the Research Institute for Brewing and Malting in Prague, and had decided to analyze the beer for insights into early 20th century brewing processes, as well as the chemical changes that occur in beer over long periods of time. After analyzing, they found that old beers had higher alcohol content and were less bitter than the beers of today. They also contained more iron, copper, manganese and zinc.
Post Card
Look at this beautiful night view of Charles Bridge. It stands over the Vltava River and connects the Old Town to the Prague Castle. There are about 30 statues on the bridge featuring famous knights and kings from the past. The Charles Bridge started construction in 1357 and the first stone was placed by King Charles IV himself. The bridge was 621 meters long and almost 10 meters wide. It was completed in the 15th century however it had been damaged several times throughout the history by floods. Let's hope this beautiful bridge won't be destroyed anymore...
Daniel and Andy.
For the pictures, where did you guys get them? credit?
ReplyDeleteI really like how there are photos attached with the news articles even though they are not required. Good Job!
ReplyDelete