We have not had any new snow in Prague for a few days, but a lot of it still remains on the ground. More snow is expected next week. The pictures below were taken earlier this week around náměstí Míru in Prague.

The Czech Republic is digging out after heavy snowfall around the country. Trains and flights were delayed and there were serious problems traveling by road. Border crossings with Germany and Slovakia had to be closed for a few hours for snow clearing.

Heavy snow creates problems around the country

Main Prague roads covered with slush, others with packed snow

Prague to start removing snow from centre to Vltava River

Snow in Šumperk

Snow clearing in Šumperk

We want to wish all of our blog visitors a happy, healthy, and successful new year.  Thanks for visiting and we hope you stop by in 2010.

Jeff and Dana

It’s that time of the year again. The end of November, a month before Christmas, and that means that the first Prague Christmas market opens at Náměstí Míru. It started on Friday morning and we went to take a look. It was the same market as last year, with the same stalls selling the same merchandise and foods, with the same tree and nativity scene. But one thing was different. The weather. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was about 13 degrees Celsius (55 Fahrenheit). The flowers on the square were still in full bloom, the lawns were bright green, people were dressed lightly and the market decorations felt out of place. It made me remember all the falls and winters I spent in California, and how hard it was for me to get into the Christmas mood there.

The unseasonably warm weather we’re having is supposed to last through November and possibly into the first week of December.

Google Street View for the Czech Republic went live earlier this month.  Prague and some nearby cities such as Mělník and Poděbrady are included, in addition to the D1 freeway to Brno.  However, it looks like Brno is not yet available.  I have linked to the original Google announcement and show the coverage map and some selected street views. You can scroll around on the embedded street views or click for a larger version.

There were other updates to Google maps this month that affected the Czech Republic.  There were changes to the look and feel of the maps that improved the readability of such items as street names and roads.  The latest update added more businesses to the map with an icon to get  detailed information.  It looks like this data covers the country.

Evolving the look of Google Maps

More, more, more real estate in Google Maps

Google Street View announcement on the Google LatLong Blog
A gold medal-worthy Street View update

Google Street View Coverage Map of the Czech Republic (highlighted in blue)





Municiapl House (Obecní dům) in Prague



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The Čertovka and Charles Bridge (Karlův most) in Prague


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View of the road to Mělník and the Mělník Castle


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