The Czechs speak of themselves as ‘complainers’ and, after living here for over 21 years, I’m coming around to their attitudes. Why not complain a bit, it’s cleansing for the soul—if not particularly effective. So, here’s a couple from my current list of grievances:

Zebra-stripes come near the top, as I am both a driver and pedestrian. Prague has been on a fairly aggressive campaign of re-striping the roads at pedestrian crossings and it’s a great thing to see the elderly and women with baby-carriages venture a little more confidently into the traffic. Motorists (at least in my experience) seem far more conscious of their obligations toward the vulnerable and it’s all a win-win—except for my complaint.

You can’t see the damned stripes after a couple months of rain, snow and traffic. Actually, the same goes for lane-markers on both city and country roads—they’re gone in a flash and we’re back to peering into oncoming headlights and feeling our way down the roads.