The Russian shows the Czechs the beauties of Prague and the republic. I was most surprised by the great public transport, he says
I will show you the Czechia, as you may not know it, Russian student Timur Kireev offers on Instagram. His profile Deník cizince has thousands of followers on this social network. Twenty-five-year-old Timur comes from Russia, but speaks fluent Czech without an accent. His instagram profile is full of photographs from the corners of Prague and the whole country, which often Czechs do not even know. He praises Czech transport and infrastructure.
How is it possible that in the six years you have been in the Czech Republic, you know Prague and many parts of our country better than many Czechs who have lived here all their lives?
It’s a question of what one likes. I really like to travel, I really like to discover new places, not only those where I have lived or I live, but also their surroundings. It’s also because I’m interested in geography. When I left Russia, I did not want to become a world citizen. I wanted to find a country I would fall in love with and be able to identify with. And the Czech Republic has become that country. That’s why my passion is to travel around it and learn more and new things and show them.
Why did you decide for the Czechia? What did you know about him when you lived in Russia?
The fact that I moved to the Czech Republic was the happiest coincidence of my life. At the age of seventeen, I decided to study abroad. I didn’t know the Czech Republic at all until then. I thought it was a country in purely Eastern Europe that resembled Bulgaria, Serbia or Poland. I had the idea that it was a relatively conservative and religious country.
So why did you decide to go here to study?
My mother knew I was not feeling well in Russia. She came up with the idea that I could try the Czechia, because it’s cheap here, which is due to the fact that her colleague’s son studied here.
Why didn’t you feel good in Russia?
Russia has been on the path of democratization since the beginning of the 21st century, and as a child I felt that everyone didn’t care. I have noticed a gradual consolidation of authoritarian power, a reduction in the media, attacks on human rights or political opposition. And civil society hardly reflected this and put up no resistance as the country grew economically.
So I didn’t feel well for political reasons. I knew that the quality of life in Europe was much higher, that a lot of things worked completely differently. That, of course, is known in Russia. There is an internet, it is not a problem to find what European cities look like and how they live elsewhere. And also from the social ones, because I have seen that Russia is not developing in a liberal reason or in a globalized direction as developed countries.
You have almost no accent. How did you manage to learn Czech so well?
Mostly love. When a person likes a country, likes its culture and its language, it is much better, faster and more successful when someone learns a language for purely pragmatic reasons. But I know that Czech is beautiful, and Czech is spoken in my favorite country. I am especially fascinated by lengths in Czech, the absolute word is “countdown”. It is a beautiful and rich language. One must be diligent. I went to intensive courses and had good teachers, I met people who motivate me.
Reporting stops is an art in the Czech Republic
Do you have any language models in Czech society, such as public figures?
Without knowing it, I was very influenced by Dagmar Hazdrová, who reports stops in Prague’s public transport. He has a beautiful pronunciation and a beautiful voice, at the same time it is quite an interesting past. She worked for the radio in 1968, where she had to leave for normalization. But Czech simply sounds even better than ordinary speakers. Reporting stops is an art in the Czech Republic, I also really like reporting in Czech Railways.
What advice would you give to foreigners who are struggling with Czech?
Mainly learning a language to which one has a relationship, or developing a relationship with that culture or country as such. It is definitely not possible without diligence. And of course choose the right language courses. I went to those from Charles University and I think they are some of the best on the market. I also watched a lot of Czech television and wrote down unknown words.
Do you have a Czech word that is causing you a problem?
definitely. Mustard, for example.
On your Instagram, you show thousands of Czechs the beauties of not only Prague. Do you have a tip for some places that you think are undiscovered by Praguers?
There are many such places. I can name, for example, Tichá Šárka, which is a part of the Šárka Valley, which is not as popular as Divoká Šárka and there are significantly fewer people there.
I also recommend to everyone one of the most interesting trips along the outskirts of Prague, from Kolodějy to Královice, where it will not feel like in the city at all. These are city districts that few Praguers know. Few people were there, but the road is very beautiful and one feels almost like in Pošumaví, because there are meadows and fields, a slightly sloping landscape or smaller forests and a lake. I also really like the Girl’s Castles, which are beautiful.
I also recommend Lipence, which is also a very nice part of town, from where you can walk to both the Vltava and the Berounka. There is a footbridge that leads from Prague to Černošice, which in my opinion is also a kind of unique in Prague. The big rock in Bohnice is also beautiful. I think this part of the city is more interesting than people think. Yes, there are blocks of flats, but also a lot of beautiful nature. Also Sedlecké skály, one of the most impressive rocks in the whole of Prague, where no one is. There you can see a beautiful sunset without meeting a single person. There are many places, but I can’t name them all.
Do you feel that Praguers know their hometown little?
It depends on the individuals. I think that Czechs like walking a lot and in Prague, for example, the city environment is much friendlier for hiking than in Russia. For example, someone works and does not have much time for walks and knows mainly the places where they live and where they go to work. But I think that even people, the city knows Prague well, are always able to place something new. I walk around Prague a lot and it always surprises me anyway. Even if a person has been here for 60 years, Prague has developed and is constantly changing, although the core remains authentic.
He also shows places across the Czech Republic to his followers. Which cities excited you the most?
My favorite city outside of Prague is Tábor, which I was absolutely enchanted by. In my opinion, the camp is ingenious in how it was designed, how it is urbanized and how the individual parts follow each other. Beautiful is the historic center with medieval streets, which is followed by a beautiful promenade.
There is also not much visual smog, which I think is a big problem, especially for Czech cities. However, they managed it beautifully in Tábor and it looks very cultivated there. In addition, it is located between two bodies of water – the river Lužnice and the water reservoir, where people swim or play sports. It is also a great city for trips and the housing estates are designed quite happily there.
Are there any other cities you would recommend to take a trip to?
One of my favorite cities is Pardubice, although many people who live there do not understand. But I think they are beautiful in that they have incredibly well-developed public spaces. I have not seen a more modern park in the Czech Republic than the Pardubice Podzámecký Park. Stromovka is not so modern either. Also impressive are the automatic mills, where there should be a cultural and social center. And in my opinion they have one of the most beautiful Czech squares.
But I can’t help but mention my favorite town of Frymburk in Lipno. This is an absolutely magical place. It is one of the two districts in the Czech Republic with the lowest population density, so there is the most nature and the least people. When I miss Russian nature, I go to Pošumaví. And Frymburk is a beautiful place that is surrounded by water on three sides. I go there every year. It’s my tradition, so he’ll go again this year.
Where else would you like to look?
To Sněžka. A complete surprise, but I was not in the Giant Mountains. That’s awful. Sněžka is the most impressive mountain in the Czech Republic. I saw a lot of photos, I would also like to see the Map of the Republic, a place where the snow can melt easily until the beginning of August. I definitely have to look there. It’s a pity that there are no emergency nightclubs like in Šumava and you can’t legally sleep in a tent there. There isn’t even the best connection, so I’ll have to come up with a logistical one and I need to plan it. But I’m the type to wake up and say, “I’m going there today.” But it is not very good in the Giant Mountains.
It is also worth mentioning the last regional town and the last Czech region where I was not – Zlínský. I’ve heard that you can still meet grandmothers in scarves in Wallachia there, which fascinates me. So until the grandmothers die out, I definitely have to go there.
Is there anything that surprised you in the Czech Republic?
A lot of things. Most obviously probably public transport. The Czech Republic is really doing very well in terms of public transport. When someone complains about public transport in Prague, I tell them that there is nothing at night in my native Ufa, which is the same size. There are no timetables, and if you have a vision somewhere, you can’t rely on it. One just comes to a stop and waits for something to come. You will not get to after nine o’clock, only the most touristy parts have some connections within a maximum of 23 hours. That system is absolutely unbearable.
I am quite sure that when a Czech finds himself in Ufa, he is shocked, because it is a modern city with historical monuments and shopping centers, cafes and various businesses, but transport does not work at all, as in many places in Russia.
Most Czechs would probably be surprised that you praise transport.
Of course, you can work on everything, but in my opinion, Prague and Czech transport in general is absolutely great. I was also very surprised by the overall state of the infrastructure. Even though we all complain that everything is wrong and nothing is working, I have to smile. When I arrived, I was shocked at the good condition of the centers and many small towns and the infrastructure.
I understand it’s not ideal. Of course, Moscow is completely different, it’s really a world city, but the rest of Russia, including the big million cities, is terrible. City centers look completely different. The blocks of flats look different. waste is not controlled at all, it is a different world. But of course the Czechia is a much richer and more developed country.
Is there an area in which Russia is better and could be an inspiration for the Czechia?
These are areas that are not related to Russia’s completely inefficient state administration, such as gastronomy. It is also said that design is generally at a better level in Russia, but I do not fully understand that. There are also many shops in Russia, often in smaller cities that operate non-stop.
At the same time, these are often things related to the size of the nation, such as the fact that Russian is a large and widespread language spoken by about 200 million people, which is fifteen times more than Czech. Although media freedom is at a bad level, one has a hundred TV channels, there is an article on Wikipedia for almost everything, if you remember, the offer of youtubers is incredibly diverse.
You can find almost everything on Russian YouTube. When someone wants to find a feminist blogger, no problem. There are hundreds of them and they will have tens of thousands of subscribers, although sexism and access to feminism are a relatively big problem in Russia. If you want to find a grandmother who makes videos of how to plant plants in the garden, you will find her and will have tens of thousands of subscribers.
You yourself help the children of foreigners in their employment in a non-profit organization. Do you raise the same Czech lovers as you are?
I believe that love for the place of residence is born in a friendly and safe environment in which the child feels confident and does not feel disadvantaged. This is exactly the environment I try to provide to children as part of my activities. Although there is no guarantee that the children who attend our activity will become passionate lovers of the Czech Republic like me, I am still convinced that they will feel more at home, that they will start to identify more with the Czech Republic and that they will eventually like our beautiful country. a little more than before.