Today is the Day of Three Kings. Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar (in Czech Kašpar, Melichar and Baltazar) were the Biblical gift bearers but I think of them as the “light bearers”. The Czech saying Na Tři krále o krok dále means that on Three Kings Day, we’re one step further on our way to longer days. Which is definitely a welcome trend after the two dark months of November and December.

I just read somewhere that the Day of Three Kings marks the end of Christmas. I did not know that. But the truth is, my parents always keep their Christmas tree up until around January 6 and we just took ours down today.

As of January 1, 2008, The Prague Public Transport Fare Increase is a reality. The Prague Public Transit Company rang in the New Year with new ticket prices. The increase did not end up being as high as was originally expected but it is still a noticeable change. A transfer ticket went up from 20 Kč to 26 Kč and a single-use ticket now costs 18 Kč instead of 14 Kč. A yearly pass is 4,750 Kč instead of the former 4,150 Kč.

There was a serious shortage of the newly priced tickets yesterday when it was nearly impossible to buy any. The situation was supposedly corrected by this morning but in reality, it was still an adventure to buy tickets. I was eventually able to find them, so here they are:

More information about new ticket prices can be found on our site at www.myczechrepublic.com/prague/tickets_fares.html.