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Travelling in English speaking countries

1)    Introduction – names, capital, cities, (flags), geography
2)    Selected countries – geography, biggest and important cities, temperature, people, stereotypes
3)    Why did you choose it? What sights are there?
4)    Would you recommend anything?
5)    Do you know any interesting places of the country? Why are these places interesting?

On the beginning I will speak about all English speaking countries and introduce them. It means the most important information. Then I will choose one of these counties and introduce it in more detail.
The first country is United Kingdom. The official name is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capital city is London. The population is about 60 million. The head of state is a monarch-now is it Queen Elisabeth II. . Head of government is Prime Minister. The most important sights are f. e.: Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, etc. I shouldn´t forget important cities like: Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.

The second country is Canada, this is the official name. The capital city is Ottawa. Canada is the second largest country after Russia. The area of Canada is about 10 million km2. The population is about 35 Millions. Form of government is federal parliamentary democracy.  Head of state is governor general, representing the British monarch (Queen Elisabeth II.). From my opinion is the most visiting place is the Niagara Falls. Other big cities are for example: Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver.

Next two countries are Australia and New Zealand. Official names are Commonwealth of Australia and 
New Zealand. Capital city of Australia is Canberra and of New Zealand is it Wellington. They both have the same head of state – the British monarch (Queen). I think that, these information are the most important about this two countries.

The last and for me the most interesting country is USA. The official name is the United States of America and the name of capital city is Washington D. C.  The population is about 300 million. The area of USA is about 10 million. The borders are with Canada in the North, with Mexico in the South, with the Atlantic Ocean in the East and with the Pacific in the West. The form of government in USA is federal republic. The head of state is president; the actual is Barack Obama, as well the head of government. The highest mountain is Mount McKinley. In USA they pay with United States Dollar. The USA consists of 50 states and 1 federal district. USA or United States of America is one of the biggest, largest, richest and most globalized states on the world.
I have chosen USA because it is for me the most interesting country to visit; my mother was there on a long holiday. I have seen the photos and videos from USA and she told me about the life style and about food, sights, architecture and about daily routine of our friend. I want to visit her and then make there holiday. I’m thinking about the idea stay in USA like an au-pair. Now I will speak just a little bit about geography: The USA is situated in the north part of North America. Its neighbours are Canada to the north, Mexico to the south and Russia across the Bering Sea. It covers the area of about 10 millions square kilometres. The highest mountain in the USA is Mount McKinley in the Alaska Range, which is 6,194 m high. The largest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri (together about 6,200 km). It is the third longest river system in the world after the Amazon and the Nile. The most interesting places in USA are: the Statue of liberty on the Liberty Island, Central Park, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, White House, The United States Capitol and many other interesting places. I would recommend the flag of the United States: The Flag of USA consist of two parts – one smaller blue oblong with 50 white stars symbolizing 50 American states and one larger oblong consisting of 6 white and 7 red stripes symbolizing the original 13 states which used to be British colonies. The Flag is sometimes called “Old Glory“or “Stars and Stripes”. Los Angeles is after NY second largest city. Here we can find the famous film centre Hollywood and luxurious quarters (Beverly Hills). San Francisco is one of the cleanest cities. Here is the largest settlement outside Asia called Chinatown. SF is famous for its cable car going through its streets. And Berkley University is here. Las Vegas: lies in state Nevada it is the biggest centre of gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Next very famous city is Houston with the NASA centre. Florida is mainly a tourist area with long beaches on Miami.

Clothes and fashion

1) Proverb: Clothes make the man, fairytale – the new Emperor´s dress
2) Importance of fashion for people
3) Differences between cultures (African tribes/Europeans)
4) Casual x formal – when do we wear it
5) Summer x winter, women x men, social groups
6) Me and fashion (favourite designers, shops, colours)

There is an old saying /přísloví/ which may be translated as „Clothes Make the Man“, meaning in other words, you can judge a person by the clothes he or she wears. Today, it is not true, because the fashion trends are changing every moment.
Fashion is a kind of art during which people can express themselves – their life style, their attitude to /postoj k/ beauty and position in the society. Clothes have always been important for people, because everybody wants to look good.
Some people, especially women, spend a lot of time choosing their clothes and they spend a lot of money on clothes – fashion is their big hobby. The word fashion doesn’t involve /zahrnovat/ clothes only, but also hairstyle, make-up and accessories. Accessories include shoes, handbags, gloves /rukavice/, belts /pásky/, hats, scarves /šátky/, jewellery /šperky/and glasses....
Different factors which have influenced the styles of clothing, such as geography, climate, poverty /chudoba/ and wealth have played their role. Fashion has developed throughout /během/ the centuries, fashion trends keep changing. Women dress differently than men. Old people dress differently than young people or teenagers.
Some people find it very important to wear expensive brands /značky/ of clothes. But what may be even more important is that everyone should find own style. You should know what looks good on you, which colour and cut gets with your figure, what colours and parts of clothes can be combined. But the main thing is that you are happy about what you wear and feel comfortable.
Each of us has to know what to wear on various occasions. When going to work, people may wear uniforms, women working in an office wear a coat /kabát/ and skirt with a blouse, whereas /zatímco/ men often wear suit including a shirt and a tie.
We have casual /příležitostný/clothes and uniforms. Casual are comfortable clothes, we wear these every day, at home, at sport…. Uniforms are for polices, health workers, people working in banks, offices…
Special kinds of clothes are uniforms and costumes. Uniforms are worn /nošené/ particularly /zejména/ by professionals such as the police, the armed forces, health workers, sometimes workers of a certain firm. It is still a tradition in some schools in Britain to wear a school uniform. Costumes on the other hand reflect the style of a past time. Scotsmen are well-known for their national costume which consists of a kilt, knee-length woollen socks, a cap and a Spolan.
For sports we usually need a special outfit depending on the type of sport. In general we wear something loose and comfortable. We put on sportswear, sport shoes.
When people go to a theatre they need to wear elegant clothes. Men wear suits, shirt, shoes and tie. Women wear skirts and blouses.
What we wear also depends on the season of the year. In summer it is very hot so you need light and comfortable clothes.  Women wear short skirts and dresses. Men usually wear some shorts and a t-shirt. In winter we need to wear something warm- sweaters, jackets, winter coats, gloves, mittens /palčáky/, hats, scarves and winter boots.
The famous fashion designers (Calvin Klein, Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana etc.) The biggest centres of fashion are Paris, London, New York, and Milan. Famous brands - Adidas, Nike, Diesel, Dolce&Gabbana, Kenvelo, Oliver…
Me personally, I like ordinary / běžné/clothes. It must be comfortable for me and I shouldn’t look like an idiot.I like shopping but it must enjoy it. For example I don’t like shopping before Christmas, because the shops are overcrowded with people. I usually like to wear a T-shirt or shirt and jeans. I like shoes with a heel /podpatek/.

Role of culture in life

1) What is culture? Traditions, Differences between dif. cultures, sports, rituals
2) Celebrations
3) Theatre, genres, cinema, concerts, galleries, museums, opera, books

Culture distinguishes /rozlišuje/ one group of people from another country. Culture is almost everything what people make. In the culture there are included traditions, celebrations, languages, fashion, ways of producing and cooking food, political systems and many other things. Now, I’m going to speak about the most important parts of culture.

Now, I would like to say something little about the two most important Feasts.
Christmas
Christmas is a celebration of Jesus Christ’s birthday. It is one of the biggest Christian holidays. There are 2 great traditions on Christmas. One of them is to be with a family or friends together and the second Christmas tradition is to get a gift from them. Between U.S. (or UK) and CR is one big difference. The one who gives presents in the U.S. is Santa Clause but in CR gives presents little Jesus. We have different food too.
Christmas it’s the day of the birth of Christ. Christmas are in our country and in the Great Britain celebrated a little bit differently. - In England: on the 24th December is the Christmas Eve. the Christmas tree is decorated with candles, bells and sweets.  Socks are hung up and children believe that they will be filled by the Father Christmas. Christmas is a truly magical season, bringing families and friends together to share the much loved customs and traditions which have been around for centuries. In the morning on 25. , you can open the presents; then is Christmas dinner – there’re differences between food in England and food in USA. Food consists of roast turkey or goose (husa) with different vegetables, potatoes and Christmas pudding. In USA = they eat roast turkey with stuffing and many different cookies. Christmas customs: in Great Britain = they have special crackers – cracker is a little present wrapped (zabalený) in colour paper and it explode with crack and are pulled (by two people). Traditionally a Christmas cracker is placed next to each plate on the Christmas dinner table. When the crackers are pulled, out falls a colourful party crown, a toy or gift and a festive joke. When Christmas pudding is made, the silver pence may be put into it and if you find this coin, you’ll be wealthy next year. The pudding consists of: flour, eggs, fat, nuts, raisins, plums and other dried fruit, succade (kandované ovoce), spices, and other ingredients.
-they sing Christmas carols, for ex. Gingle bells.
- you can kiss anybody who stands under the mistletoe during the Christmas and New Year
In Czech Republic:
- we eat our Christmas dinner in the evening; we eat carp with potatoes salad; carps soup and sandwiches or some special homemade candies
Easter
The symbols of Easter are: the crucifix. Why? The Jesus was crucifixate. Bunny is the symbol for the onset of the spring, eggs they are symbols of the new life, Easter lamb is very important for Jews, who were rescued from Egypt in this day. Typical food is Easter stuffing with potatoes and soup from fresh herbs. If we want to be healthy, we must eat something green. And we bake the cross- bun and the Easter lamb.
    In the USA family decorate Easter Eggs on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning they find Easter Eggs in the house and in the garden. According to fairytale The Easter Bunny brought Easter eggs and he hid them in the house and in the garden. When children woke up they found these eggs. Why the Easter Bunny does it, nobody knows it.
    In Great Britain girls attach boys to chairs and when men want to release, they must pay the women. People hold a competition. Who runs faster with pancakes. They eat only chocolate eggs, they don´t decorate them. 
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is the oldest and most American of the national holiday in the USA. It is celebrated in the US and Canada on the 4th Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America (in Massachusetts). In 1620 the ship Mayflower arrived from England, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. The first winter they could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.
Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days. The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin pie. Before dinner they give thanks for healthy year, good job, all good thinks and so on. On Thanksgiving there are special television programmes and sports events. In New York there is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Independence Day
In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson (the third President of the United States). Fireworks over the Washington Monument; in Miami; New York City's fireworks sponsored by Macy's and the largest in the country.
                  

Velvet Revolution Day
Is the day of the fall of Communism in CR.

Movies & Theatre
Movies & theatre is a very big topic. Everyone of us like movies so you know it. Popular genres of movies are thriller, horror and comedy and romantic stories. I think that the best movies are comedies or some film when I can relax and not think. I don‘t like horrors, because I don’t like the sci-fi and the nonsense’s.  I like going to the theatre. The last drama I saw was Hrdý Budžes with Bára Hrzánová in the lead /hl. role/.

Music
There are really many different types of music for example pop, rock, reggae, metal, punk, disco... Each band has its own concerts and fans and each person like something others. Me, I like disco, pop and rock. I don’t dislike metal and this kind of music.

Literature
Everybody reads something. Somebody reads magazines, newspaper, cartoons or some dictionary or encyclopaedia. We read for learning something new or for fun. When we read, we make our word-stock better. Now I haven’t enough time to read some book. But sometimes I read a newspaper or magazine.

These themes are only small parts of culture. Culture itself is too huge to be described only in 15 minutes (we can speak about languages or dance too) and each of us has its own view of culture. But I think everybody agrees that these 4 themes are most important.

Relationships between people

1) Importance, relationships in the society present x past
2) Kinds of relationships
3) Animals
4) Problems in relationships


Relationship is defined as a state /stav/ of connectedness /spojitost/ between people. Everybody needs somebody to love, to talk, to play games or only to pass time with. We need someone or we could go crazy.
We spend our time with friends, our family, our professors, our neighbours. Relationships between us and other people aren´t the same. We like one person more than another person. For example I like my mother and my boyfriend much more than my schoolmates. Some relationships last /trvají/ longer, some shorter.
In the past most people lived in the country. They knew each other well and they knew immediately /ihned/, what new happened. Now, we can speak with the whole world, because of internet. Now relationships are faster than in the past. Young people use ICQ or Skype for talking. They don´t have to be together, talking is enough for them. Today people want to live in big cities and they spend most of their time in an office and they hardly ever know their neighbour´s names. We can find friends everywhere – at school, at work, on disco, at the theater... Then we can go out together, or we can only write to each other.
We can be in different kinds of relationships. We can be in fellowship /kamarádství/, friendship, real friends, love or in hate.
When we are in a fellowship with somebody, it means we have some same themes and interests and we are close to each other. It’s usually a group of people.
Friendship is for me a little bit closer. My friend is a person, who listens to me, listens to my problems and wants to help me. Many people have only few of real friends.
For me is the most important relationship a family relationship and I think it´s for everyone. The parents mostly give us love; they help us with our problems. They teach us too, how we should behave in a society. Relation between parents and their children have changed a lot during last century. It was much more about respect to father as a head of family and whole family was addicted to him. Today, lots of fathers don’t have a real authority in the family because the family started to be more independent on him, because mothers’ aren´t only at home, they go to work too.
I think that nobody wants to have enemies’ /nepřátelé/. It´s not nice to know, that somebody hates us. Somebody can hate us, because of our properties /vlastnosti/or abilities /nadání/ or because of something, what we have done. It could be dangerous too, if the people make problems or if they are violent.
Some people could feel alone. A lot of old people buy an animal. Their home doesn´t seem so empty. People say that a dog is human´s best friend. But I don´t think so. A dog can listen, what we say, but he isn´t able to answer or help us. Other ways, he can perk up /povzbudit/ and he is always with us.
Problems in relationships are racism, terrorism or slavery /otroctví/.
The racialist people think that other folks are worse than theirs. The black ones hate the white ones; Czech people hate gypsies and so on.
Terrorists do bad thinks in the whole world. They put bombs into buildings, kill people. Some fight /bojují/ for freedom or for independent country, some fight because of the religion. Because of them normal people are dying.

Our way of life

1) Diff. between nations, people – present x past
2) Social refugee – poor x rich
3) Religion – why do people believe?
4) Why do people need society, freedom, money, economy?
5) Influence of parents, authorities, our idols.
6) Globalism – advertising, commercial society, violence, sex, drugs.
7) How do we live?

Today differences between nations are not as apparent /zjevný/ as in the past. In the past a religion, race /rod/, age, birth or property /majetek/ of land and many other things made big influence. Modern societies are stratificated /rozvrstveny/ into classes. Between classes is high social mobility /pohyblivost/. Present societies tolerate others more or less. There are still a few people or clans which are not tolerating the others. For example other races or religion members but the situation is much better than in the past.
I am not sure if I grasped correctly subtitle social refugee/vyděděnec/– poor or rich. Money does not mean the happiest life all the time. Sometimes poor people can be happier than rich people. But in present world, money plays a big role. We won´t entertain /udržovat/ false hopes but nobody can live without money. We need money for everything. It begins with health care and ends with gifts which we buy for friends. We generally see the poorest people like derelicts /opuštěný/ of society and deviants.
In our country is 30 percents of religionists. Someone believes less, someone more. Religion isn´t only that someone is „up“but it is also world-view, life-view, it is other philosophy. Why do people believe in god? What do they have from it? They have life where is somebody who tells them what is wrong or right, he gives them some reason to live. We can find argument against everything what could have wight influence. But religion from bigger part fell than in the past. Maybe it is due to people who believe to scientific theory more than philosophic.
People need society due to primary necessity of human – to be part of something bigger. Some people don´t want to be part of society. No of us wants to be alone, friends will help you in spots of stress. We need freedom because we aren´t glad to be chained. Everybody wants to do what he wants to do and we don´t want to be strapped in chains. In these days is freedom very rare. We need economy for going of state. We have more kinds of economies. Thanks to economy are impact wages and prices of products.
The biggest influences on us have our parents. They say what we are allowed to do. They form our socialization. Farther have influences teachers, coaches etc. Influence of our idols is subjective. Somebody has idols but somebody does not.
Advertising impacts us on every step. We see it on TV, we read newspapers and listen to radios. Drugs are one of the biggest problems today. Most people experienced some of soft drugs. Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are soft drugs which aren´t banned but they harm human body. Due to drugs is possible creation of big jones. Many people die due to drugs every year. Another problem: a single parent family. There is a big number of divorces.   

Health and diseases

1) What is health/diseases, types of diseases
2) How to be fithttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
3) Medical care in our country – compare with other countries
4) Hospitals in the Czech Republic, health insurance
5) Types of medical treatments, children diseases, incurable diseases, international WHO    
  Organization

Health is one of the most important things in our life. Everyone knows it but if you are healthy, you usually don't appreciate it. You often realize it when your parents or one of your relative is seriously ill.
The human body is permanently being attacked by many different kinds of bacteria, microorganisms, and viruses. Most diseases can be prevented or at least controlled.
The common illnesses are: a cold/nachlazení/, influenza /chipka/, a sore throat /bolest v krku/, tonsillitis /angina/.
How can we get fit? We should have a regular daily routine with enough of sleep and regular food. This food should be healthy. It means that our food must contain a lot of vitamins. But we should drink no or a little alcohol, we shouldn't smoke and take drugs. Physical training is very important for healthy life – do some sports or go for walks. I think it’s much better than sitting for a long time at the computer or watching TV.
Medical care in the Czech Republic with recent reform of public health service is not as free of charge /bezplatný/ as it was. We now have to pay a small charge every time we see a doctor. We also pay for prescriptions, stay in hospitals and medicines although some of them could be entirely paid by insurance company /pojišťovna/.
In Great Britain, there is NHS (National Health Service) which provides cheap or free medical for everybody. People don’t pay for medical treatment /léčba/. State pays medical treatment from taxes. You don’t have to use the NHS, you can use the private doctor or private hospital but you have to pay.
Health care in the USA is the best in the world, but it is also the most expensive. If one is poor, the government will pay the doctor for treatment. Many people are not poor but don't have the money to pay for private health insurance because it is very expensive.
In every bigger city, there is a health centre or a hospital. In the hospital there are many departments – surgery /chirurgie/ with surgeons, dental department with dentists, eye department with oculist, dermatology department with dermatologist, ear and throat department (ORL) with ear and throat specialist, pediatry with pediatrist, and maternity hospital /porodnice/ with gynaecologist.
In some places with fresh air or hot wells can be sanatorium or spa where people can take a bath, have a water treatment, have a massage or remedial exercises.
In our republic everybody has to be insured /pojištěný/. In our Health Insurance System employers pay health insurance for their employees. But private persons have to pay for their insurance themselves. The state pays the insurance for children, students and retired people.
We can suffer from various illnesses beginning with common children diseases such as: measles /spalničky/, chickenpox /neštovice/, mumps /příušnice/ or scarlet fever /spála/. Usually we suffer from common infections such as colds, influenza or sore throat. We usually stay in bed, drink herbal teas, take pills, drops or vitamins and after a week or two we feel well again. However the situation may sometimes be more serious and needs special treatment in the hospital, e. g. heart attack, breaking an arm or leg, or in the case of some real dangerous disease such as tuberculosis, anaemia /chudokrevnot/, pneumonia /zápal plic/, leukaemia, diabetes, etc. The doctors' care must be very attentive because human life is in danger. It is the same situation with all possible operations and surgeon interferences. It is enough to say that there are still diseases which cannot be cured such as cancer or AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). These illnesses have arisen /vznikl/ recently /nedávno/. We can do everything, but we can't change anything. Maybe the doctors invent /vynaleznou/ medicines for these illnesses.
WHO - The World Health Organization, which is a specialized agency of the UN dealing with health and living conditions, and came into existence on 7th April 1948 (the annual World Health Day), has defined health as a state of physical and social prosperity and not only the absence of disease.

The Czech Republic

1) Capital, geography, history, economy, industry, government, religion
2) Stereotypes about Czechs, famous people, national habits (foods, sports, celebrations)
3) Interesting parts
4) International meaning of CZ for the world


The Czech Republic is an inland state, which is situated in the Central Europe. Our republic has four neighbours. In the north it borders on Poland and in the south on Austria, in the east on Slovakia and the longest on Germany in the west. Our country has three parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.
    Our country’s borders are natural. They are formed by Mountain ranges. The border is lined by the Šumava Mountains in the South-west, the Ore in the north-west, the Luž Mountains, the Jizera Mountains, the Giant Mountains and the Eagle Mountains /orlické hory/ in the North and the Hrubý Jeseník and the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in the North-East. The highest mountain is Sněžka in Giant mountains, which is 1 602 meters high.
    The longest rivers are the Vltava, the Elbe and the Morava. Our largest pond /rybník/ is Rožmberk and is situated in the South Bohemia. Bohemia and Moravia are quite rich in mineral springs and spas - Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, Františkovy Lázně, Poděbrady, Jeseník, etc.
The Czech Republic has a population of about 10.4 million. The major nationalities living here are the Czechs and the Moravians, but there are minority groups such as the Silesians, the Slovaks, the Vietnamese, the Poles, the Germans and the Russians. The capital city is Prague with population about 1.2 million people. Prague is the largest city and a commercial and cultural centre of the Czech Republic. Prague is the seat of our government and President. The present President is Václav Klaus. President is elected for a five-year term, and may not serve more than two successive terms. The Czech republic parliament consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The Czech Republic excels in the production of black coal, especially from regions of Ostrava, Karviná and Kladno, and brown coal from region of Sokolov. Uranium deposits and smaller deposits of mercury /rtuť/, antimony and tin /cín/ are located in the Ore Mountains. There are also small amounts of lead and zinc ore in central Bohemia, and iron ore near Prague.
The most important part of our economy is engineering /strojírenství/ like machines, motorcars, locomotives, tractors, trams and so one. The metallurgical and chemical industries are also very important and the textile and glass industries have got a long tradition here. The main trading partners are Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Austria, Poland, Italy or France.
The currency valid here is 1 crown, which has 100 hellers.
The main agricultural products are wheat /pšenice/, maize /kukuřice/, sugar-beet /cukrovka/, grapes /hr. Víno/, hops /chmel/ and fruit. The CR is also known for its cattle /dobytek/ and pig breeding /chov/ and the fish breeding, especially carp-breeding, has got a long tradition here.

    In the Czech Republic there are many interesting places. The Czech Republic has four national parks. On the north are Bohemian Switzerland and Krkonoše and in the south are Šumava and Podyjí, or you can visit some castles as Karlštejn near Prague or Hluboká, Loket and Lednice. The well-known Český Ráj is a region of sandstone rock formations. Moravská brána with the hilly landscape is rich in historical towns, castles and sights. A lot of tourists are attracted by our famous spas like Lázně Kynžvart, Františkovy Lázně,Mariánské Lázně or Karlovy Vary.

Now I would like to tell you something about our history. The country was settled by the Slavs in the 5th century. In the 9th century they founded the first state formation - the Great Moravian Empire.
    One of the best and most important rulers was Charles IV. who ruled in the 14th century. During his reign the Prague University. New Town and Charles Bridge were built.
    In the 15th century here was the Hussite movement led by the reformation teaching of Master John Huss, who was burnt to death on 6.7. 1415.
    The beginning of the 17th century was marked by the Thirty Years’ War. After the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, the country was germanised.
    At the end of the World War I the Austrian-Hungarian Empire fell and on the 28th October 1918 the independent Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed with T. G. Masaryk as the first president.
    From 1939 to 1945 Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Germans. On 8.5. 1945 Czechoslovakia was liberated by the Red and US Armies.
    From February 1948 after the Communist Party seized the power the socialist era began. Lots of people emigrated, were imprisoned and even executed.
    In November 1989 the people threw out the communists. Now the country is trying to follow democratic principles, which is not always easy. The country still suffers from a lack /nedostatek/ of political and moral culture.
    On January the 1st, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries - the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.