Here is our first entry from Pink Tanks and Velvet Hangovers: An American in Prague, by Douglas Lytle. It comes from page 7, in the chapter entitled, “A Train to Bohemia.”
These facts brought be closer to an understanding of just who the Czechs and Slovaks were. An extraordinarily old guidebook cheerfully told me, without much elaboration: “The Czechs, in fact, were long ago nicknamed ‘the Yankees of Europe.’ The sober, diligent rough-hewn Czech feels more at home in a mine, mill or factory. Like a New Englander or Scotsman, he loves to build machinery, and his homeland, Bohemia-Moravia, is one of the world’s most highly industrialized areas.” Judging by this screed, I would be meeting a lot of happy mechanics who would take me into the basement after dinner to show me their favorite tools and drills. I also wasn’t so sure how good I would be at discussing differing theories of irrigations.
I can’t say how accurate that guidebook was for Lytle, because I haven’t talked much about drills or irrigation with many Czechs, but I thought it was a good lead off entry! Stay tuned for more interesting insights from this book about the people and country I love!
very interesting….