The Czech film Fours Suns (Čtyři slunce) directed by Bohdan Sláma has its world premiere today at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The movie stars Aňa Geislerová, Jaroslav Plesl, Marek Šácha, Karel Roden, Klára Melíšková and Jiří Mádl. It opens in the Czech Republic on March 8.

There is a good description of the film on the Sundance Film Festival website.

The official trailer is below.

Jeff and I tried the new Czech train service called RegioJet. It is operated by Student Agency, a company that started back in 1996 as an au-pair agency, became a successful national and international bus operator and is now the largest travel agency in the Czech Republic. It has distinguished itself on the Czech market by providing a high quality of service at affordable prices. The company’s first staple, introduced in 2004, was its “yellow bus” service operating between Prague and Brno and quickly spreading to other Czech and European cities. Student Agency set a new level of bus travel experience in the Czech Republic, combining low prices with unprecedented service on board.

The introduction of the RegioJet train service on September 26, 2011 ended the monopoly of Czech Railways. Without even realizing it, Jeff and I had been waiting for something like this for years. We like train travel and the type of train we have used most frequently is the good old rychlík (express). We find a peculiar sort of comfort in the tired, squeaky rychlíks with their sagging seats, overheated compartments, non-working windows (and sometimes doors) and emergency-use lavatories. Czech Railways also operate newer, good quality trains, such as the IC and Pendolino. For comparison purposes, there is not much added service on the IC, and the Pendolino is not an option for us because it does not cover the route we need. We don’t take the train often enough to benefit from any of Czech Railways’ customer discount options, so we’ve either paid full fare or, if we thought we’d use up 2,000 kilometers in six months, bought the prepaid kilometrická banka.

We were curious to try the new RegioJet service. I read through the website at regiojet.cz and called the help line with additional questions, which were answered politely and with patience. I set up an online account and put some credit in it. Then I booked our trip. My ticket was emailed to me but I knew I didn’t need to print it out. All I needed for the trip was my 10-digit account number for the stewardess to look up on the train and see the details of my reservation.

Our first trip with RegioJet was almost delightful. The fresh looking yellow train was clean and quiet. The young staff was pleasant and smiley. There was no mad rush getting onto the train because every passenger had a seat reservation, which is compulsory, but free. Hence, no scrambling for seats and no crowded aisles. The seats were firm, spacious, and comfortable. Our stewardess gave us each a small complimentary bottle of water and offered free newspapers and magazines for the trip. We flipped through a rather extensive menu containing, in my opinion, ridiculously low priced refreshments that included free coffee and tea. We ordered some croissant sandwiches and enjoyed them. There were electrical outlets and free WiFi in the compartment. The lavatory was clean, softly scented, with music playing and a flower in a little vase sitting on the sink. The trip was smooth and fast. The fastest I’ve ever experienced it, also owing to the fact that the train barely stopped along the way. We were helped with our luggage upon arrival. Our tickets cost 152 CZK each, compared to 206 CZK we used to pay for a 2nd class trip with České dráhy. Actually, we usually paid 309 CZK per ticket to enjoy a little more space and privacy in a 1st class compartment.

Now on to the two cons of RegioJet I can think of. There were only three trains a day running at the time of our trip, so we were not able to get tickets for our preferred date because the train was fully booked a week in advance. This should improve once more trains are put into service. Nine trains a day should be running starting in December. My other complaint has to do with a little glitch when boarding in Prague. Since Jeff and I are not used to having to remember or write down seat numbers before a train trip, we forgot to do that and only realized at the platform that we had no idea which car to board and what our seats were. Contrary to what is stated on the RegioJet website, we did not get any assistance from the staff when boarding the train in Prague. Not even when we were finally able to catch a stewardess and explain our problem to her. She didn’t have time to deal with us then. We were told to get on any car and wait for help. Which we did, blocking the aisle with our luggage for several minutes while other passengers tried to get by. A note to self: make sure you know your seat numbers next time. A note to RegioJet: A little more time to board at the start of the trip would be appreciated.

Let’s see how things pan out in the coming months. Czech Railways seem to be trying desperately to match RegioJet’s prices and services. I look forward to traveling with RegioJet again soon and have put more credit in my account.

The world-renowned Prague Zoo first opened its doors on September 28, 1931. This year therefore marks its 80th birthday. A lot of reconstruction has been necessary since the flood of 2002 and new pavilions and expositions are still under construction. One of the biggest projects the zoo has ever undertaken is the construction of a new elephant exposition and hippo pavilion, which is going on now and is expected to be finished in 2013.

We just revisited the zoo and are posting a few pictures below. As an amusing anecdote, the Prague Zoo now sells elephant dung, which is supposedly a great fertilizer. A 1.5 kg bucket will cost you 70 CZK. Yet another reason to make a trip to the zoo.

You can read more about the Prague Zoo in our other post (Prague Zoo Ranked as the 7th World’s Best Zoo) or visit the zoo website, which is partially available in English.

This is the main entrance to the Prague Zoo.

The popular penguins, cute and wobbly as they walk, sleek torpedoes as they swim.

The Indian gavial is a critically endangered type of crocodile.

You can watch this hippo and her calf from so up close that you can almost feel the texture of their skin. Amazing.

The elephants deserve a better setting. These two were looking for shade under the only tree they could find.

And here are the elegant giraffes. We're glad we hiked up the hill to see them.

It was a little depressing to watch the tigers pace back and forth in their cages, but they did have a large outdoor run available to them..

Red Tails, a George Lucas production that was filmed in the Czech Republic, now has a release date of January 20, 2012. You can watch the movie trailer below and read more about the film.

Czech film “Alois Nebel” selected for Venice festival

“Lidice” fails to reverse fall of Czech cinema

Czech culture minister seeks more film incentive funds

The “Hello Boys” Wonderbra ad from 1994 featuring Czech supermodel Eva Herzigová has recently been voted the best poster ad that has appeared on UK streets in the past 50+ years. The poll was run by the Outdoor Media Centre and attracted a lot of attention from the public.

Eva Herzigova’s Wonderbra ad tops Outdoor Hall of Fame

The Outdoor Hall of Fame

Today is the last day that the 50 Czech Crown (CZK) bill is valid for payment.  As of April 1, only the 50 CZK coin will remain in use due to the much higher cost of keeping the bills in circulation.  The bills can be exchanged free of charge at Czech banks for one year.  The Czech National Bank will exchange the bill for a total of six years.

Starting tomorrow, the valid Czech banknotes are 100 CZK, 200 CZK, 500 CZK, 1,000 CZK, 2,000 CZK and 5,000 CZK.  The coins in circulation have the denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50.

For more information, see the press release on the Czech National Bank web website.

50 Czech Crown banknotes are being removed from circulation

50 Czech Crown Coins

Images from cnb.cz

As every year, the Christmas market at náměstí Míru (Peace Square) in Prague’s Vinohrady district was the first of Prague’s Christmas markets to open this year. It runs from November 20 through December 24 and its 59 stalls are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you decide to visit this cozy, local market nestled in front of the St. Ludmila Cathedral, you will find the usual products of the season, such as Christmas decorations, wooden toys, handmade jewelry, herbal soaps, herbs and teas, gingerbread, and many others. To keep warm in the chilly weather, you can sip some mulled wine, medovina (honey liquor) or Christmas punch that you can buy at some of the stalls.

The large Christmas markets on Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square open tomorrow.

Please visit our Prague Christmas Markets page for more information.

Christmas booths on náměstí Míru

Christmas tree on náměstí Míru

Booth selling Christmas gifts

Booth selling medovina (honey liquor)

The most popular booth is selling grog and svařené vino (mulled wine)

Earlier this week, the Czech Film and Television Academy announced that the film Kawasaki’s Rose (Kawasakiho růže) would be the Czech submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 25, 2011. The movie is written by Petr Jarchovský and directed by Jan Hřebejk, which is the same team behind the 2001 Oscar nominated film Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat).

According to the movie distributor, it is “a drama about family and politics, the role of memory in relationships, and that of jealousy, arrogance, love, loyalty and betrayal”. The tagline is “Behind every lie hides a truth, and behind that an even deeper truth.”

Menemsha Films – North American Distributor and World Sales Agent

The U.S. trailer for the film is below.

The European Court of Justice ruled against Anheuser-Busch InBev in a trademark dispute with the Czech brewer Budějovický Budvar. A-B Inbev will not be allowed an EU-wide trademark on the name “Budweiser”. The result is a win for the Czech brewer in a case that started almost 15 years ago. There are still legal disputes ongoing in other countries, so the trademark battle will continue.

For further reading:
A-B InBev loses Budweiser trademark battle in E.U. court
This Bud’s Not for EU
The Budweisers Should Make Up – And Cheers!

Tomorrow, an amendment to the current smoking regulations goes into effect that requires bars and restaurants to place a sticker at the entrance to show whether the establishment allows smoking or not. The bar or restaurant can be completely non-smoking or it can have a non-smoking area in a completely separated room.


SMOKING ALLOWED – Smoking seriously harms you and those around you

Non-smoking advocates were hoping for bigger changes, but according to the news reports, it is likely to take a while before the Czech Republic follows other European countries, such as Ireland and Italy and bans smoking in bars and restaurants entirely.

I have linked to some news articles below.

Czech restaurants to show whether they are smoke-free
A New Label for Prague’s Smoking Spots
New anti-smoking legislation planned