“They have a big dog, by the way,”<\/em> my friend informs me just ten meters in front of the “gate”<\/em>, as we struggle through the overgrown grass. Perfect. We finally spot the “house”.<\/em>\u00a0And also a huge German shepherd<\/strong> running towards us. I tightly clutch the pepper spray in my hand as I prepare for the worst. Oh my god, I love dogs<\/strong> but you know, from a safe distance<\/strong>. But Mates, as we later learn his name, just sniffs us and runs back to his owners, two twin brothers<\/strong> in their late fifties.<\/p>\n “It’s him! Jesus, you look like hell!”<\/em> my friend gets a lovely welcome from one of the homeless guys. “And he brought a woman!”<\/em> he critically scans my appearance, and when he considers me okay<\/strong>, we receive invitation to “come in”<\/em>.<\/p>\n “I will give you a cute dog, do you want? Put it to your room!”<\/em> the other twin brother welcomes me with a toy dog in his hands. Petr is the younger one<\/strong>, although young is just a relative term. However the older brother insists on it. “I’m three minutes older!”<\/em> he shows off.<\/p>\n Zden\u011bk and Petr are 59 years old<\/strong> and they spent most of their lives together. Well, apart from the time they spent in the jail. “I’ve been there five times,”<\/em> Zden\u011bk specifies. “For a Christmas tree! They let my brother go and kept me in!”<\/em> he explains angrily. We might have even believed him that he was convicted wrongfully but the story goes on. Zden\u011bk adds that he could have threatened the police with an ax. “I was just telling them to let me go,”<\/em> he shrugs.<\/p>\n On a land, leased to them by Czech Railways for a symbolic 500 CZK a year<\/strong> (approximately 20 euro), small hut can be found, just enough for a mattress<\/strong>. So, actually, they are not really homeless<\/strong>, they have a roof over head. And ID, as they keep reminding us. With it, they regularly go to get social support, which is around 3000 CZK per month (circa 110 euro).<\/p>\n “You promised me photos, where are they!”<\/em> Zden\u011bk shouts at my friend. He starts to nervously walk around. He probably remembered his last visit at the twins and the moment one of them took out the ax to threaten him, even they did it just for fun. \u00a0“Well…. I will bring them next time, I promise!”<\/em> he tries to save the situation. “I will make sure he does!”<\/em> I support him.<\/p>\n Petr is preparing lunch<\/strong> on an old cooker, three year old Mates is jumping around and wants me to throw him a ball. Meanwhile Zden\u011bk took out from somewhere a pack of photographs. “This is when we were young, even our own mother couldn’t recognize us!”<\/em> he shows me a photo with his twin brother. Curly toddlers<\/strong>, with surprise in their eyes. “And this is my lady. Well, she was…”<\/em> Zden\u011bk talks about a sadder part of his life. They lived together for 17 years. “She died of heart failure, right here.”<\/em> he continues. However, he doesn’t stay upset for a long time. “So I picked a new one, but she wants to fool around all the time. I am tired\u00a0and she doesn’t have enough!”<\/em> Zden\u011bk complains smilingly and points to an elderly lady, who is “living”<\/em> with them.<\/p>\n They are both full of jokes, funny faces and dances. And both of them want to speak all the time. “Bring us some 40 year old, not this young meat!”<\/em> they tell my friend. According to them, I am young and I wouldn’t be able to catch up with them<\/strong>. When my friend explains we didn’t come for this reason, they just nod their heads with disappointment.<\/p>\n “Oh, well, okay. Weird people coming here, they bring few beers, take our photos…”<\/em> Petr pretends to get angry and takes the ax. I’m calm now, I know he is joking. Well, at least I hope he is<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “When is the marriage?”<\/em> Petr asks my friend. When he laughs and explains we are not dating, he doesn’t give up. “You have better one? It doesn’t matter she has freckles! I have them also, look!”<\/em><\/p>\n “But you are ugly, look at yourself!”<\/em> Zden\u011bk\u00a0interrupts him and critically scans my friend’s appearance<\/strong>. “If you just could see us when we were young. Tell him, tell him about the wedding,”<\/em> he turns to his brother.<\/p>\n “Oh, well! We were twenty eight, I had just finished the night shift. I slept maybe two hours,”<\/em> Petr starts to tell the story. “And my brother woke me up, saying ‘come to the wedding’, so i did. We were like Belmondo boys, so handsome!”<\/em> he brags.<\/p>\n Once in a while, passing trains interrupt their talking and the loud sound of radio. They have a radio? That’s not all. “We have also TV inside,”<\/em> Zden\u011bk mentions. And many other things, among which few treasures could be found. Paintings<\/strong>, mirrors<\/strong>, clocks<\/strong>, religious motives, small\u00a0hookah and even a mountain bike<\/strong>!<\/p>\n When we come back to visit them half a year later, we notice a couple new things added to\u00a0the collection. After the first visit, I already know what am I up to, but I still squeeze the pepper spray<\/strong> in my hand. You never know with the big dog. And even more with the two crazy men.<\/p>\n They welcome us in the same style. When Petr sees us at the gate, he shakes his head.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mensikova.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/mates.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mensikova.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/fotka-batolata.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mensikova.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/p\u0159\u00edbytek1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mensikova.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zden\u011bk.jpg\")
<\/p>\n