Traveling the day after St. Patrick’s Day can be hellish

by Iva Skoch on

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, to all of you aside from the guy who sat next to me on an EasyJet flight from Prague to London a couple of years ago (the morning after St. Patty’s day) and almost threw up in my lap.

He had a black eye and body odor of a dying donkey. I am trying to make peace with you man, I really am. I also hope I never have to be stuck next to you for 90 turbulent minutes.

Tomorrow morning must make one of the worst days to fly anywhere, especially around Europe and especially on a budget airline from a destination known for its cheap liquor. Honestly, I don’t think i will ever fly out of Prague on March 18 ever again.

Thanks, kittyroara, for the lovely photo. By the way, do you ever fly budget airlines to or from Prague?

From the New Europe: Three hemp plants? No problem in the Czech Republic

by Iva Skoch on

On Friday after a hearty Czech meal, my Mom popped the question. She asked me if I could somehow manage to get her a hemp plant or two. At first, I thought it was a trick question. What do you answer? So I said what any good Czech daughter would say. “Sure Mom. I think I can manage that.”

I know she has no intentions of actually using it for “marijuana-smoking purposes,” but her request still surprised me. She explained she wanted to use hemp for medical purposes, because she believes hemp products have magic powers. I don’t know about magic powers, but I do think it is kind of cool to be the daughter of a Czech hemp grower.

Drug possession has been top of mind in the Czech Republic in the last couple of weeks. Historically, the laws here have been very vague. Until now, it was illegal to carry “more than a small amount of drugs.” Yes, you get the point. The definition of a “small amount” varies greatly and opens doors for all kinds of bribery.

Finally, it looks like the Czech Republic will settle on limiting punishment to a fine for growing up to three hemp plants or carrying up to 20 joints, a gram of hashish or 0.5 grams of methamphetamine (pervitin). Any caught exceeding those limits would face criminal prosecution and a possible prison term, the Prague Daily Monitor reports. Soon, I might be the daughter of a woman who had to pay a fine for drug possession.

Can the Irish save Tara?

by Catherine Bodry on

The Irish have always been aware — and proud — of their history. That characteristic is coming in handy as the citizens of the Emerald Isle attempt to stop the construction of a major road slated to roar straight through one of Ireland’s oldest monuments.

Tara, or the Hill of Tara, is an ancient (and still somewhat mysterious) earthworks consisting of spiraling mounds. Archaeologists speculate that from 4000 BCE to the invasion of Richard de Clare in 1169, Tara was the center of Ireland’s political (and ceremonial) acitivies, and the name Tara derives from the Gaelic Teamhair na Rí, or “Hill of the King.”

The motorway in question would plow directly through the Tara-Skyrne valley, and is being built to serve Dublin commuters. Because the highway would radically alter Tara’s landscape, the site was picked up by the World Monument’s Most Endangered list. Those opposed to the road argue that there are several alternatives that were never properly researched, and that would circumvent Tara.

Recently, protests have gotten dramatic (see photo).

The most recent posts on TaraWatch.org, a blog set up to inform readers of the Tara battle, report that the Irish High Court has rejected an application for an injunction to halt work on the motorway. In response, one woman chained herself to a jack in a tunnel–any attempts by law enforcement to remove her, as well as heavy road equipment running over the tunnel, threaten to collapse it and harm her.

So what can you do? First, get informed, and then spread the word. Several avenues are paved for onlookers to help raise awareness of Tara — besides MySpace and Facebook pages, there’s also the aforementioned TaraWatch.org, the World Monuments Fund’s site, an online petition, and Tarapixie, an audio/video protester site.

Thanks to Emily Villamar Robbins for lots of information and linking me to several Tara sites.

Is the Guinness really better in Ireland?

by Catherine Bodry on

Yesterday I wrote about the 5-minute process for pouring a perfect pint of Guinness. That fanaticism alone should be a clue to the quality of Guinness in Ireland — any country willing to wait five minutes for its drink is a true aficionado. When I lived there, I found many Irish to be passionate and very specific about how Guinness should be drunk. Once a stranger stopped me in a pub because I was drinking a pint that hadn’t fully settled — he was that concerned about it.

I frequented a two-story pub in Galway, and another regular, an older Irish man with watery blue eyes and a red nose, would only get his pints from downstairs. “The Guinness has to travel too far up the pipes to get upstairs,” he informed me. He believed that the Guinness was purest and freshest the less it has to travel.

That opinion holds true for geographical location as well — it’s a widely-held belief that Guinness tastes best in Ireland, and specifically Dublin, where the brewery is located. I have to agree — the drink is just richer there. In the States my pints always taste flat and watery.

So why is that? I did a little research, and here’s what I came up with:

  • The popularity of the drink in Ireland means that kegs aren’t sitting around long. Therefore, the Guinness is almost always fresh — and certainly more fresh than overseas since it doesn’t have to travel as far.
  • The lines are cleaner — pub owners in Ireland are visited every three weeks by a Guinness representative who flushes the lines to Guinness kegs.
  • Guinness should be served at room temperature — an oddity to us who associate the pleasures of beer drinking with its coolness on a hot day. I’ve noticed that most bars in the States tend to chill their Guinness along with the rest of their beers, which definitely changes the flavor of it.

Some other theories that I had a hard time verifying:

  • The water at the Dublin brewery is better than the water where most Guinness brewed for export is made (in England).
  • Guinness taps in Ireland are pressurized with nitrogen, while taps in the US (and elsewhere, I assume?) are pressurized with carbon dioxide.

What do you think — is the Guinness really better in Ireland?

Thanks to John Udell for some Guinness facts.

EU demands that US airlines pay for carbon dioxide emissions

by Anna Brones on

This past week, European Union transport commissioner Jacques Barrot clearly stated that US must pay for carbon dioxide emissions or risk a curb on flights to Europe. As the Open Skies agreement lifts limits on flight between the US and the EU this month, Barrot is calling for a second phase of the treaty that would demand US airlines to join the EU emission trading scheme, or to create a similar one in the US.

Tension between the US and the EU regarding the airline industry is already high. In February, the Bush administration gave the EU its own expectations — more data should be provided to the American government on European passengers flying to the US — which Barrot deemed as a step “not proportionate” to existing security problems.

While the Bush administration threatened to require citizens of countries that did not comply with its demands to apply for visas, the EU says that if US carriers don’t “go green” they could face equally frustrating consequences. “It’s always possible to imagine reducing the number of flights or suspending certain rights,” Barrot said. That would mean less transatlantic flights, which could subsequently lead to higher prices for passengers.