Her oldest daughter, Sofie, is twelve, the middle one, Amélie, is celebrating her sixth birthday today and little Max is three. Her husband is the actor Jan Dolanský. For a long time, the whole family lived in Košíře. Recently, they have moved to a small house in Újezd nad Lesy but due to their profession and the children´s schools, they still spend a lot of time in the capital.
We met in the maternal centre U Houpacího Koně near Anděla, where Lenka is a regular guest and where she has most of her rendezvous. There are many babbling kids toddling or running around, Max wants to cuddle with his mum, the oldest daughter needs to sort out some school matters and Amálka´s art lesson finishes in an hour, which does not leave Lenka with much time to go and collect Amálka´s birthday cake. In all the rush, we still manage to find some time to have some tea and exchange a few words.
Do you still remember what it was like to be a poor young mother in Prague 1996? It must have been different from present times?
That is true. I’d say that maybe 90% of young mothers did not work and they were basically excluded from the society. The moment you became a mother you were finished. Nowadays, there has been literally a baby-boom and maternity has become fashion. But when I had my first daughter, there were not many children, many kindergartens were shut down, schools were merged and to have a small kid meant to be seen almost like an outcast. Those were performance oriented days and even young women often looked at their peers with children as poor women who cannot do anything but give birth, wash nappies and talk with a lisp.
Do you think it is better today?
It depends. Women, themselves, have become much more active and they try to free themselves from the isolation they get into after giving birth. After all, this centre was set up upon the initiative of one isolated mother, who just couldn’t stand it anymore. The fact, that there are many such centres throughout Prague is the merit of nobody else than enterprising mothers, who needed a place to meet up with others and where their children could engage in different activities.
I know that you and your children have been coming here for many years. How did you hear about it? In a magazine or on the Internet?
No, something like a maternity centre did not interest the media and at that time, we did not use the Internet much. I learnt about it from the mum of one of Sofie´s friends. It’s mothers for themselves. I was grateful for it, all the more that it was relatively close to our place.
Have you got any idea how much time you and your kids spend in here?
Nowadays, we come once or twice a week, mostly for kids clubs. But when we lived in Košíře we were often here four times a week. Mainly in the winter when you cannot really go outside.
Many Praguers won’t hear a bad word against life in the capital even after the birth of their children. They say that schools and clubs are never too far, that it is easier to find a childminder here, that there is better health care as well as cultural and social life. You have recently moved out of the city. Can you compare?
Although I was born in Prague and I like the city, it seems easier for me to live on the outskirts. It is true that Sofie´s school is far away because we did not want to take her from the school where she went before, which means that she has to travel through the whole city. Fortunately, she is a big girl now. It certainly takes us longer to go anywhere, but we have quickly got used to it.
There are many advantages of living on the outskirts as well. You do not have the everyday dilemma: What will we do? We will go to the playground. Which means dress the children, pack food, spare clothes and travel by tram with the heavy pram to the nearest decent playground. And two hours later you have to pack everything again and travel back with your wild and dirty kids. It is exhausting. In the country, you just let your children out in the garden, even in their pyjamas and that’s it.
It seems that the public transport is a nightmare for Prague’s mothers
To use public transport in Prague is terrible. I remember, that when I did not drive, there were places I refused to go to. Let’s take, Karlovo Náměstí, for instance. There are so many staircases going in and out the metro where you have to carry the pram. Or when you have to beg people to help you in and out of the tram. It’s almost humiliating. I often had the feeling that I was invisible for the passers-by.
So the problem is not just the infrastructure, it is also the attitude of other people?
Of course. Although due to the baby-boom, you can see many mothers with children in the streets, people on the tram might still push you to get off the tram quicker than you, instead of helping you.
Do you think that the city can do something for the mothers to improve the situation?
The City Hall cannot really influence how people behave. However, the city could invest more into wheelchair and pram accessible public transport, as travelling with a pram, especially in the city centre, is truly a weightlifting sport.
Another problem is a complete lack of kindergartens. Last year, I wanted to put Max in one because I wanted him to spend at least one year in the kindergarten together with his sister who is going to school next year. I just thought it would be easier for him to adjust. But my application was refused because I was still on maternity leave.
Can you see at least something positive that has been achieved?
Sure. The attitude of restaurants’ personnel, for instance. When Sofie was little, the only place we could go was McDonald´s. It was virtually impossible to find a restaurant with a non-smoking section not to mention a baby seat or children’s corner. Also the attitude of chilren’s doctors has changed and their surgeries and waiting rooms look much better than before. I am probably a perfectionist that would like everything to change instantly. With my first child, I expected that things will improve in the space of two years or so. But it takes much longer. I do not know whether I will have another child avail of better services in the future.
Do you have a favourite cafe or a restaurant where you take your children?
Apart from Houpací Kůň we used to go to Kmotra pizza restaurant, there was a nice children´s Corner. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed. Today, I like to go to Ganys, but usually without children.
Do you think that a portal like this one can be a help for mothers?
It is certainly helpful for me. I do not have a TV so it is mostly the Internet I go to in order to look up information.
People know you mainly from the series Hraběnky. Where else can we see you?
Apart from the theatre, where I am in five plays, e.g. in ABC´s Anna Karenina, I am currently working on a series based on Marek Epstein´s screen play. It is some kind of ghost detective story, something a little bit like Randal and Hopkirk.