Over the past several months I’ve been recording notable Czech insights I’ve learned. Some of these apply only to Prague, which is in Bohemia, but many are generally Czech and so are applicable to other regions of the country, including Moravia and Silesia. In this post I describe a few of the highlights.
ANGLO-AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (AAU)
In the summer of 2025, Sofia graduated from Anglo-American University (AAU) after four years of studies there. I still have a special place in my heart for AAU, and I continue to encounter reminders of the university, not only because the school is situated in a beautiful often-seen location below the castle, but also because over the past months the school has been paying to advertise around the city. There’s various signage, including elegant wraps on multiple trams.
PRAGUE UPRISING MEMORIAL PLAQUES
I’ve noticed the “stumbling stones,” or kameny zmizelých in Czech (Stolpersteine in German), for years around Prague. These are small brass plaques set into sidewalks, normally in front of a person’s last freely-chosen residence. These brass plaques primarily commemorate people murdered by the Nazi regime, particularly Jewish victims. Sofia’s first apartment building, close to the Old Town Square, has multiple of these grim reminders, and I recall tour groups often coming by and learning about these.
But more recently my attention has been drawn to pamětní desky, or “memorial plaques”, affixed to the facades of various buildings around the city. As it turns out, there are various types of memorial plaques, but around the annual anniversary of the Nazi surrender in World War II, people embellish the plaques (like with wreaths) which memorialize people murdered by Nazis during the Prague Uprising from May 5-8, before the Soviets entered (I can’t say “liberated”) the city on May 9. By the spring of 1945 Nazi Germany was collapsing, but Prague was still under German occupation. The Czech resistance had been preparing for an uprising, and on May 5, 1945 resistance fighters and ordinary civilians began taking control of parts of the city. German forces carried out terrible reprisals and massacres against civilians and captured insurgents, and around 3,000 Czechs were killed during these few days. These plaques keep the memories alive of the lost loved ones.
MUSHROOM ADVICE CENTRE AND BOX
On a much lighter note, there is a mushroom box in Prague! What’s a mushroom box, you might ask… Well, it’s provided by the Czech Mycological Society: “Those interested can bring mushrooms they have found and have them identified on the spot for a small fee or, in off-hours, leave them in a special box on the ground floor of the building, or mail them in a suitable wrapper to the Society’s office mailing address mentioned above.” (https://www.myko.cz/english/)
How cool! These sound like fun guys.
Supposedly 70 percent of Czechs hunt mushrooms at least once per year. My friends in Prague actually do talk about it often, but then again, so do many of my Asheville friends. I reckon it’s the company I keep — they continue to grow on me.
Today’s music video:
I’ve shared Atarashii Gakko music videos before, but not this one, which I still regularly listen to. It’s so unlike other music I’ve heard, and it’s catchy and fun. An omakase is a Japanese restaurant where customers don’t place an order but take what the chef offers, which includes 10-20 courses! Ben and I didn’t officially visit an omakase, though we did have a meal as a set menu with multiple courses at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto, and we normally had no idea what we were eating, haha.
Today’s dad jokes:
See the mushroom advice centre section above.
Today’s Stoic quote:
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
Major Meander 