H.E. Ms. Blanka Fajkusová Ambassador Of The Czech Republic - South Africa
DS: Last country where you were based before coming to South Africa
HE: Before being posted to South Africa I spent two years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague as the Director for Subsaharan Africa, after five years in Brussels at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union.
DS: Most interesting place in South Africa
HE: Blyde River Canyon
DS: Your impression about South Africa in 3 words
HE: Beautiful, diverse, captivating.
DS: One place you would like to be posted to or visit
HE: Canada
DS: Most memorable appointment thus far
HE: Being part of and coordinating the accession of the Czech Republic to the OECD (1993-1995).
DS: Most challenging situation that you had to handle thus far
HE: Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union (first half of 2009)
DS: My inspiration is/comes from.
HE: My late father, electrical engineer, and my first Director in the Ministry. She has always been on top, very organised, fair and open.
DS: Place in your country that you love to visit.
HE: Lysá Mountain, the highest top of the Beskydy Mountains (1323 m), some 20 km from my home town Ostrava. Whenever I visit Ostrava, I always find time to climb it.
DS: Most interesting place to visit elsewhere
HE: Périgord (Dordogne) region in southern France.
DS: Favourite dish of your country
HE: Svíčková pečeně s knedlíkem - Fillet steak with creamy vegetable sauce and bread dumplings and cranberries.
DS: Tastiest dish of another Country.
HE: Tartiflette
DS: Favourite eating place in Pretoria.
HE: Cream Restaurant
DS: The best book I have ever read.
HE: Robert Merle´s historical saga on Pierre de Siorac. In 1999, I spent memorable holidays tracing places of the book.
DS: At the moment I am reading
HE: Woman with Birthmark, a detective story of Hakan Nesser, and Altschul Method, a novel by Chaim Cigan (pseudonym of Karol Sidon, Chief Rabbi of the city of Prague and of the Czech Republic).
DS: I spend my leisure time
HE: By reading books, hiking, playing tennis and also genealogy, although this remains my task for the retirement...
DS: One sentence describing a lesson that you have learnt from being a diplomat
HE: It´s good to know something of everything, but to know everything about something is definitely an advantage.