As mentioned in an earlier post, English is a mostly analytic language, while Czech is mainly synthetic. The core difference is how grammar is expressed. In analytic languages, grammar is indicated mostly through separate words and strict word order, which you can see in English. Synthetic languages express grammar mostly through changes to the words […]
Read More Wordplay – analytic vs syntheticI’m back in Prague, and things are the same but different in this dynamic place. After having been in Asheville for a few months, Prague feels more crowded and hectic than I recalled, and I suppose it might just be, as it continues its huge growth as a very popular city both to move to […]
Read More Czech, PleaseI spent a few nights in Abu Dhabi with a very hospitable and generous friend and his family. In preparation and while there I learned a lot about the UAE and the region. I had never been anywhere near here before, and I flew over most of the height and width of Iran from Azerbaijan […]
Read More Oil be honest, the UAE surprised meI was blown away by Baku, figuratively and literally, and it sometimes wasn’t good, and I don’t plan to ever return. Azerbaijan is ranked as the most corrupt country in Europe, and after being compelled to pay my first-ever bribe to a police officer, I would believe it. But at the same time, I’m glad […]
Read More From Baku with PlovAfter finishing up my time in Romania, I flew Moldovan airline HiSky from Bucharest to Chișinău, the capital and largest city of Moldova. Moldovan airline FlyOne returned me to Prague. Who would have thought that Moldova would have multiple low-cost airlines?! A tour guide told us that flight traffic to/from Moldova has increased markedly since […]
Read More Kiss Me Now, Chisinau (and Transnistria)Friend (?) of the blog Vlad the Impaler founded Bucharest in the mid-1400s, so it’s a relatively young city in this region of the world. Its population is over 2 million, and despite still recovering from WWII and decades of crushing communist policies and neglect, it’s now quickly regaining ground. It’s even ranked as one […]
Read More Bucharest, not BudapestI was surprised to learn that the main tourist hotspot cities in Romania’s Transylvania are historically German: Brașov, Sighișoara, and Sibiu. The Transylvanian Saxons dominated the region after merchants and craftsmen from today’s Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany were invited by the Hungarian leadership in the 1100s to establish towns and trade in the region and […]
Read More Staking out TransylvaniaCoincidentally, Dan Brown’s latest book, The Secret of Secrets, just released this month, is based in Prague. I bought an English language copy (surprisingly, it was less expensive than the Czech language version) and read it in five days, in time to finish it before a big book tour event held in Prague. I didn’t […]
Read More Dan Brown in TownIn 2010 the US enacted FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) to combat tax evasion by US taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States. This act requires, among other things, that foreign financial institutions report information about financial accounts held by US taxpayers. Banks outside the US must identify and report US account […]
Read More Czech Account and Bank IDWhen spending so much time in Czechia, it is helpful to have a Czech phone number and to be able to access apps available only in Czechia (or at least for non-US Google accounts). I didn’t want a landline, of course, but I needed a solution for my mobile phone. For many of the running […]
Read More Czech phone number and mobile apps
Major Meander 