This is a question that Anna Košlerová has asked herself, her friends, and is now asking you.
Anna, her friend Kristian, and his two sisters, Klara and Adela, created the hashtag #kafesbabi which translates to "coffee with Grandma" and #pivosdedou which translates to "beer with grandpa" to create a way to increase awareness of quality time with grandparents.
Around the Czech Republic, there are multiple cafes that have partnered up with #kafesbabi, offering a discount on coffees and cakes if you bring grandparents with you. At this point, they get contacted a couple times a week by cafes that would like to join in on the challenge.
For her, catching up with her grandparents usually happens in a casual setting over coffee or a beer in the city. It quickly became a tradition of theirs, to meet somewhere in the middle and talk rather than meeting at each other’s homes. That's when the idea of starting the project emerged. "When you are little, your grandparents come and take care of you, and when they are old you take care of them. The middle bit is so precious, yet many miss out on it, due to being too busy with establishing their own lives. I was lucky in all my unluckiness to establish a connection with my grandparents while they were still in shape," she says.
Anna grew up abroad in Norway, so she rarely saw her grandparents. "Five years ago, my dad passed away. I then realised family time may be scarce and I should not take it for granted. So after finishing my studies, I moved to Prague with the aim of getting to know my family better," she said.
While enjoying a drink with your grandparents, you can learn a lot a) about your family and b) you get a personal perspective on history, often things you have learned, or should have learned in school, just like Anna has. When spending time with her grandma, she tries to put her phone away and listen, something she struggles with when spending time with her peers. Her grandpa taught her about humbleness, kindness and not taking oneself too seriously.
"Talking to my grandparents has made me understand, or at least appreciate the pace at which this world is changing, how much we are affected by technology and how isolated it can make the older generation. This has an impact on all sorts of things we tend to get angry about from voting behaviour, racist prejudice to gender stereotypes," said Anna.
This year the Prague Fringe Festival will be partnering with #kafesbabi to promote the worthiness of spending time with elders. We will offer a discounted price of 150 Kč per person. In order to receive this discount, you need to buy your tickets online in advance via our website or GoOut (when buying your tickets, just choose the student/senior discount for both of you no matter your age), as we can't provide discounts on door sales. Tell the staff at door that you are part of the project when you enter a show.
After the show, you can head to our partner cafe Roesel and you grandparent will get their coffee free of charge, as part of the project.
Anna will be seeing Tropez! and The Story of Faust at the festival, what will you be seeing? Let us know using #kafesbabi and #fringesbabi!
To find out about the organisation or cafes that partner with #kafesbabi, check out their website at https://www.kafesbabi.cz/
