Meeting the police

I have an aversion to meeting police in the Czech Republic (apart from the ones that I know are Christians). Maybe it's because they are not as nice as NZ or British police, or because they don't generally speak English. Or maybe its because I got caught speeding once! Click here for that story.

This morning I had a chance meeting with a policeman. As I was leaving our apartment there was a policeman outside looking for someone. The conversation was somewhat brief and went like this (but in Czech):

P: Do you know Mrs [insert name]?
J: No, I don't.
P: Do you know if they live on the 7th floor? [Well, he said something about 7]
J: I don't know.
P: Thanks. Bye.

I saw today by a bus stop a woman having another type of brush with the law. She was talking to two ticket inspectors (I believe) for travelling without a ticket. In Czech the expression is "Jede načerno", travelling black. Ticket inspectors in this country tend to look more unfriendly than the police. Generally they are to be big strong men in their forties or fifties with short hair and long moustaches...