CYPRUS AND EUROPE

[Alexios]

I have recently returned from a holiday in the Czech Republic. I like to organize my holidays in such a way so that I get the opportunity, even for a few days, to get a real taste of the country i visit, as far away as possible from the usual tourist destinations.Fortunately my wife agrees on this.So the whole trip involved several days of travelling deep into Bohemia and Moravia and only 2 days in Prague.
The first thing that strikes the eye in the C.R is the absolutely fantastic countryside. Lush green forests, interchanging with miles of cultivated land,corn fields, vineyards and the occasional sunflower field, like yellow soldiers with their heads turned towards the sun as if in worship, provide a breathtaking combination of colour.The scenery changes as one gets closer to the villages, where crop farming gives itself to fruit growing, apple, pear, peach and plum gardens so mediculously looked after, one gets the impression that a divine hand looks after them.Not a single scrap metal or old machinery abandoned here and there.Not a single haphazardly built ugly shed or warehouse spoiled the scenery.I thought of what we see left and right as we travel on our motorways especially from Larnaka to Ayia Napa and couln't help comparing...
Then are the villages and towns themselves.Every single one is built on the same old medieval yet trusted plan. A large central plazza (with smaller ones around it depending on the size of the place) with a church or cathederal dominating the square.Government buildings and large shop on its periphery with smaller shops and reastaurants etc along the streets extending from the plazza towards the residential areas.The plazzas and streets themselves are beautifully paved and spotless even in the remotest villages.No metal signs sticking out, no loud advertising boards, no holes in the pavements.The larger buildings are a praise to architecture, with particular attention paid to a symmetry and style that make our towns look like piles of cement thrown about by a madman along asphalted pathways we call roads...I leave aside the beautiful castles,monasteries and other remarkable sights to be seen almost everywhere one travels..
Then are the people themselves.Friendly in the real sense of the word, patient and caltured with an air of tolerance about them, an essential characteristic of any civilized society.I will refrain from commenting on Czech women as the female members of this forum will definately think i am exaggerating..
I couln't help comparing this Central European country which only gained true independence only 20 or so years ago with Cyprus and how much behind we are in so many ways. We could come up with dozens of excuses, some of which would be valid.Overall however i envied what i saw.
As we stepped off the plane and the heat of a humid night struck my face i really felt like turning back.Driving towards Nicosia, the taxi driver started talking about the APOEL-Trabzonspor game that took place the previous night and how we should have beaten the lucky sods in such passion as if it was a war.I had to pretend a headache and asked him to stop talking..I should have been feeling happy happy as we approached Nicosia.Instead i was feeling melancholy, to become really depressed when suddenly that huge illuminated flag appeared on Pentadaktylos infront of us, flushing away like a traffic warning.I forgot to say that apart from one or two flags on government buildings in Prague (which incidently looks like a city straight out of a fairy tale) i did not see a single Czech flag in over 1.700 km we travelled!! Maybe the Czechs are not as proud of their country or ethnicity as we are...Maybe they have no reason..the way we have....

[Cyprus rules!]

Hey Alexios, I hope you had a great time on your holiday! It seems that you did! It seems that the Czech Republic is becoming extremely popular with Cypriots, many aunties and uncles have been, in fact my mother and father went two years ago and absolutely loved it! I agree that Cyprus is slightly behind, compared to other European Countries, but I have to admit that, during the passed few years things have, and continue to, improve. However there will always be the 'Cypriot Nature' holding it back a bit, so to speak, for eg, the poor organizational skills, that Countries like the Czech Republic are brilliant at (But hey, that's what makes us Cypriot! )! I suppose it's because I live in England, where things tend to be quite 'anal', but when I go to Cyprus, sometimes it's a relief to encounter a more laid back approach to things, although sometimes it does get frustrating!

It's actually quite interesting that you should have written this post comparing Cyprus to other EU countries. I came across this article yesterday, which takes a different view. I suppose it's different people's opinions, plus the things/places/countries people have to compare to are different....

http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=244651&pid=1

[Alexios]

Well..i must admit Cyprus is still a great place for holidays because of it's 4 Ss..

[Cyprus rules!]

[Alexios]

So you know what all 4 Ss are??!!!!!!

[Leyla]

[Alexios]

You got 3 out of 4 ok...you are allowed one more guess...

[Leyla]

Souzoukko? lol...

[Bananiot]

Nicely reported Alexios. You must have been a journalist in a previous life.

Having just returned from Denmark I experienced the same emotions as Alexios on arriving back. I hate the heat but it wasn't just the heat that struck me on returning. It had more to do with the cultural misery and inherent inability to tackle matters in an intelligent and practical way in Cyprus.

Regarding the second point, I learned that Denmark had great wars with its neighbours (after all, if you do not fight your neighbour, whom will you fight?) that lasted over numerous centuries. Land changed hands frequently and thousands of people perished. However, about two hundred years ago, they decided to put an end to these nonsense and move forward. Today, there are practically no boundaries in Scandinavia. People move in and out of countries at will with no formalities and can even work or live in any country they chose. They were mortal enemies but today they just lough at the stupidity of the past. I visited a great castle where the history of Denmark was very well illustrated with paintings.

This has to do with culture. The castle is called Frederiksborg Castle and is situated in the centre of Hillerod on three islets in the Castle Lake surrounded by Frederiksborg Castle Gardens. The castle was built in the Dutch Renaissance style at the beginning of the 17th century by Christian IV, then rebuilt about 250 years later by another great Dane, the brewer J.C. Jacobsen (you have all tasted carlsberg, I suppose), following its destruction by fire (the King had returned from hunting and insisted on starting a fire when the fire place was not quite ready).

The National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle presents the history of Denmark and its important figures in a significant collection of portraits, historical paintings and modern art. The Castle Chapel survived when the rest of the castle burnt down in 1859 and today it stands as in Christian IV's time. On Sunday afternoon I attended a jazz concert, along with 1000 highly appreciative Danes and there I realised that Denmark is not just the danish girls but it is a about culture unknown to Cyprus. The Danish Kings lived in Frederiksborg Castle for about a century and the absolute monarchs were crowned in the palace chapel from 1671. Since 1693, Christian IV's palace chapel has also served as the knight's chapel for the Order of the Elephant and the Knights of the Dannebrog and is also used as a parish church at the moment. The church also houses the old organ from 1610 built by Esajas Compenius. Our Danish friend Torsten, told us that it is the oldest playable organ that exists in the world. Frederiksborg Castle Chapel served as the beautiful backdrop for the wedding of Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra in November 1995.

Frederiksborg Castle Gardens consist of a romantic landscaped garden where one can enjoy the view of Frederik II's small Bath House (Badstueslottet), which is occasionally used by the Royal Family for hunt lunches, and a baroque garden, recreated in 1996 according to studies of J.C. Krieger's gardens from 1725. The garden is especially noteworthy for its four royal monograms executed in boxwood, the historical flowers and the festive cascades. When crossing a wooden bridge, I could not help noticing couples, old and young, kissing. My wife got jealous, and I had to remind her that we Cypriots are not much into this romantic nonsense. Still, my austere remark was not enough to save the day.

[Alexios]

[Bananiot]

strakosha

[Alexios]

[Cyprus rules!]

[Cyprus rules!]

[cypezokyli]

sth about the check republic (especially prague).

they were the most lucky city in europe. not a single bomb didnot fall in prague in WWI and especially WWII. they surrended to the germans and surprisingly when the soviets were marching the germans retreated without the need for further bombs. in the meantime the chechs exterminated all of the german minority (in prague one out of three was a german-speaking).

but it is true. it is very interesting to know why the CR developed so fast in comparison to all the rest of the east block.