Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Wisdom of Babička Míla
(“Granny Míla”)
Co-author Honza Vihan's grandmother,
B o h u m i l a V i h a n ov á ( F e b r u a r y 1 7,
1907-August 18, 2008), was born in the
Austro-Hungarian town of Prag (today's
Praha), which was then ruled from
Vienna. In the 101 years of her life, she
lived under seven different governments:
Habsburgs, interwar Czechoslovakia,
Nazis, communists, post-communist
Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic,
and the European Union. Wise beyond
even her many years, she counseled
family and visitors alike as follows:
• “Ilikedeachchange,becauseit
always brought something new.”
• “Youmustbeabletotakethebestfromwhatever
comes.”
• “Nothinggoodthatyoudoiseverlost;italwaysstays
somewhere and surfaces when needed.”
• “Whenthecommuniststookover,thatwasbad—really
bad. But then, my mother used to say, 'There's no point
in crying over spilled milk. There's enough water in it
already.' So, I tried to get by, and somehow we managed
to live through it all.”
• “Themainthingistokeepyourinnerbalance.”
• “Youshouldnevertakeyourselftooseriously.”
• “Leteveryonebelievewhatevertheywant,aslongas
they behave accordingly.”
• “Moneywillalwaysbehere.Wewon't.”
• “Parentsshouldnevermixintheirchildren'slives.”
• “Goodhealthandhappymind!”
even the existence of) the abuses. The opposition party chose as its
candidate University of Michigan economic professor Jan Švejnar,
the most outspoken critic of Klaus' reforms in the 1990s. While
public support was evenly divided between the two candidates,
behind-the-scenes deals in the Parliament allowed the ruling con-
servatives to maintain their majority and keep Klaus in power.
Klaus has polarized the country like no other figure in mod-
ern history, bringing into visible confrontation the old attitude of
suppressing past trauma, and the new attitude of learning from
your history.
Today, while not without its problems, the Czech Republic
is still enjoying a growing economy and a strong democracy, and
