tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post8551404799581948430..comments2024-03-12T00:48:56.979+01:00Comments on Empty Nest Expat: How Czech Government Delighted Me As a ConsumerKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-63664455420037115462010-01-28T13:06:34.411+01:002010-01-28T13:06:34.411+01:00I'm so excited! Today, Jan. 28, 2010, $810 mil...I'm so excited! Today, Jan. 28, 2010, $810 million was allocated to high speed rail in Wisconsin for a Madison/Milwaukee corridor and $12 million for a Milwaukee/Chicago corridor. Now how you do high speed rail for $12 million is a question I have, but the point is, it's a start! Yea, President Obama and Wisconsin/Illinois delegations!<br />http://www.channel3000.com/news/22363367/detail.htmlKarenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-75879727726527913422010-01-27T15:43:24.757+01:002010-01-27T15:43:24.757+01:00C.S. and Gulland, thanks for coming to my blog and...C.S. and Gulland, thanks for coming to my blog and leaving me a comment. I hope you'll keep coming back. I enjoyed looking at your blogs!Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-76908930188689046252010-01-27T15:22:55.983+01:002010-01-27T15:22:55.983+01:00Patrizia, Thank you for leaving a comment and welc...Patrizia, Thank you for leaving a comment and welcome to my blog! I can't write about German trains because I haven't experienced them. Whenever I would rave to my Czech students about how amazing their subways and trains are they would always say "but I think German trains and subways are even better." It just goes to show how far my country has to "travel" to get where you already are today.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-56559932792244897342010-01-27T12:45:32.992+01:002010-01-27T12:45:32.992+01:00I like your optimism and I really do not want to c...I like your optimism and I really do not want to criticise, but I only took once a train from Dresden to Prague and return.<br />The way there was with a german train and it was perfectly on time.<br />The return, with a Czech train, we had a four hours delay.<br />May be it was just that day, but it didn´t make a very good impression on me....Baffington.posthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03885351517320069220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-52253753154633656082010-01-25T21:07:03.020+01:002010-01-25T21:07:03.020+01:00Interesting insight into a foreign country's t...Interesting insight into a foreign country's transportation. I would love to see such a system here in the southern USA. However, I fear it would take communism to get most SUV cell-phone talking mommies to give up their expensive ride. Pity. <br /><br />Basically, it's a reality-based solution (railway transportatio) which could even help our ailing economy. Yet when the majority are living in the la-la-land where everyone will eventually be rich, real solutions just can't be accepted.Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03061381516154992999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-91799544418146625002010-01-25T16:32:49.797+01:002010-01-25T16:32:49.797+01:00I linked from CFN. Thanks for posting this. So man...I linked from CFN. Thanks for posting this. So many people don't realize that a world exists beyond the shores of the US. Keep up the good work!<br /><br />GullandGullandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10692487413041337435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-76292467285008075782010-01-23T22:29:43.346+01:002010-01-23T22:29:43.346+01:00Hi Karen - Extremely good post which I was nodding...Hi Karen - Extremely good post which I was nodding in agreement with, all the way through as I read it. <br /><br />Ironically, we can thank the Communists, both for the remaining density of the Czech railway system and for building the main core of the Prague Metro system. <br /><br />The UK, like many other Western European countries, closed down and tore up considerable sections of their railway network in the 1960 & 1970s, deeming them to be uneconomic. Now, with roads being overloaded, rail passenger numbers have increased dramatically but replacing lines closed 40 years ago is hideously expensive. Real economics didn't exist under Communism so the Czech railways were retained.<br /><br />The building of the Prague Metro started in 1967 but had its real impetus after the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968. The main core was built by Soviet engineers based on their experience of building the Moscow Metro. Stations were given names to promote Soviet-Czech friendship!!!! What you know as Andel was called Moskevská (Moscow Station)and the nearest Metro station to me, Dejvicka, used to be known as Leninova. 14 stations were re-named shortly after the Velvet Revolution.<br /><br />What you say about safety on the Metro is also true. I feel far safer travelling late at night on the Prague Metro than I ever did on similar occasions using the London Undergroud.<br /><br />The last section of your post does highlight a possible future problem. Those Czechs who have become very wealthy with the triumph of capitalism over communism, are all buying large expensive cars, particularly what you would know as SUVs. These are beginning to clog up the city streets thus delaying buses & to a lesser extent, trams. Around where I live, you are beginning to see a culture of transporting children by SUV rather than by public transport.Chaplainhttp://rickyyates.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-5799289570351572182010-01-23T03:41:35.425+01:002010-01-23T03:41:35.425+01:00Anon, come in from the cold. You can sign up for ...Anon, come in from the cold. You can sign up for a real identity - it's more fun - especially if you're going to keep coming back. I thought if anyplace in America had decent transit service it would be NYC. Not so, huh?Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-26230020419409813592010-01-23T03:39:53.231+01:002010-01-23T03:39:53.231+01:00Thanks BlackGirl! I wrote a post about that too - ...Thanks BlackGirl! I wrote a post about that too - <br />Fantova Kavarna is Waiting for It's Closeup<br />http://tinyurl.com/nk6u7vKarenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855990208488482147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-78542817671801123822010-01-22T22:15:42.961+01:002010-01-22T22:15:42.961+01:00Super post! Now, if the Czech govt could hurry up ...Super post! Now, if the Czech govt could hurry up and give Hlavni its long-overdue makeover....BlackGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09640462183169755311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-66429105534261743572010-01-22T21:04:35.242+01:002010-01-22T21:04:35.242+01:00And I miss the speed, reliability, and cleanliness...And I miss the speed, reliability, and cleanliness of the Czech Republic's public transport system now that I live in New York (City).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060065456836212415.post-54788100228148173642010-01-22T11:26:19.472+01:002010-01-22T11:26:19.472+01:00Very nice write up. I miss the speed and reliabili...Very nice write up. I miss the speed and reliability of the Prague transit system here in London.Michael Carøe Andersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09539447126327623536noreply@blogger.com