My Czech Republic Blog » Photos

A Vyšehrad Walk

Dana — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:01:52 +0000

We took a walk around the Vyšehrad Castle area yesterday. I always enjoy it there but this particular visit felt even more special. It was a beautiful, warm evening, late enough for the day visitors to be gone, yet lively enough with dog walkers, joggers and parents with kids. The beautiful views from up there took me by surprise again.

A View of the Prague Castle, Lesser Town and the Nusle District from the Vyšehrad Castle Area

A View of the Vyšehrad Castle at Sunset

Prague Train Station Getting a Major Facelift

Dana — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:58:50 +0000

The Prague main train station (hlavní nádraží) is finally starting to look like a train station. A nice one I mean. One that a city like Prague deserves. A clean one. Bright and airy. Organized. With ways for passengers with strollers, bikes and heavy luggage to get to their platforms without having to drag their strollers, bikes and luggage up stairs and non-working escalators. With wide hallways and civilized looking public toilets (still paid, but oh well…). The repulsive, dreary, smelly basement luggage locker area is gone! It magically disappeared into thin air and was replaced by an open, modern ticket window and information center that doesn’t smell of urine. Boutiques, bakeries, fast food restaurants, regular restaurants, flower shops, and a really nice bookstore are now in place of the handful of tired looking newsstands and plastic wrapped sandwich stands that were once your only “entertainment” and “refreshment” options at the station.

The restoration of the Prague central station is far from finished, but the city no longer has to be ashamed of the pathetic welcome it offered its train traveling visitors until recent months. The work is currently estimated to be finished by 2012. Let’s see what other surprises the Italian investor has in store for us for the coming years.

Here’s just a little personal request: Would it be at all possible to put benches on the platforms? Please?

Flax Field in June

Dana — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:17:06 +0000

A blooming flax field is not a common sight in the Czech Republic. Here’s a picture of a field of flax growing right in front of my eyes as I type from my summer getaway spot.

And a closeup of the pretty flowers:

Searching for Signs of Spring in Prague

Jeff — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:22:18 +0000

I went out yesterday in the hope of finding some signs of spring in Prague, considering that the official first day of spring (March 20) is just over a week away. I ended up at Petřín Hill, which is a favorite place to go for a walk. Well, it was pretty devoid of people and the weather was cool and cloudy with some rain. I did not see any buds on the trees just yet. There were some nice views and the few dogs I saw looked to be enjoying themselves.

It’s Mikuláš Night Again!

Dana — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:59:29 +0000

Today is December 5th, the eve of St. Nicholas Day or Mikuláš in Czech. We have written about our experience spending a fun Mikuláš evening on Prague’s Old Town Square. This year, we decided to visit a smaller Prague square away from the center. We went to Náměstí Míru in Prague 2. You rarely run into foreign tourists here and the area has quite a local feel. The Christmas market that is put up on the square every year is a small, rather intimate affair and you’ll mostly find Czechs here, shopping for Christmas gifts on their way from work, showing their kids the lights or enjoying a cup of mulled wine and a klobása purchased at one of the stands. Before we headed out this evening, we had expected some commotion on the square, some families with kids and a few Mikuláš-Devil-Angel groups. We got there a little after five and were surprised to find the square literally packed with people. So packed you could hardly move amidst the crowd. People dodged each other, looked for each other, stood in lines to buy sweets, beer, hot dogs… They carried their children in their arms and on their shoulders, or tried to make their way through the crowd pushing strollers. A number of Mikuláš and Devil characters clad in elaborate costumes handed out candy and tangerines to well behaved children. People had fun.

Jeff took some pictures as usual.

Christmas Markets and Winter Weather Arrive in Prague

Jeff — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:01:11 +0000

The Christmas Market on Peace Square (Náměstí Míru) in Prague opened up last weekend just as some winter weather moved in. We had our first snow on Saturday. It was only fitting since last week, while the Christmas Market was being set up, the last remnants of fall were being blown aside and swept up.

The Christmas markets on Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) and Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) will begin tomorrow.

We updated our Prague Christmas section with the dates and hours of many Christmas markets in Prague.

Fall in the Czech Countryside

Dana — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:54:27 +0000

The varied scenery around the Czech Republic can be appreciated in every season. Fall offers a particular mixture of melancholy and vibrant colors. We’ve been taking lots of walks in the countryside lately and have enjoyed the strange autumn silence, the crisp, transparent air, and the thick, rustling carpets of leaves under our feet. The colors were at their most striking around the middle of October. They changed from green to red to bright yellow and brown in a matter of days and are now mostly faded. Some trees seemed to lose their leaves almost overnight.

Here are some photos that Jeff took on our walks.

Harvest Time

Jeff — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:16:39 +0000

Here are some pictures from a trip to the Czech countryside I took in July. The harvest was in full swing. The dožínky (harvest festivals) took place at the end of August around the country.

Texting for Tickets

Jeff — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:57:41 +0000

A real convenience when using the public transportation system in Prague is being able to purchase transport tickets using a cell phone. Back in November 2007, the Prague Public Transit Co. (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy) started offering the service SMS Ticket (SMS jízdenka). If you send the text message “DPT” to the number 902 06 26, you will receive a text message back that includes a unique code and 26 CZK will be deducted from your phone credit.

The price of the ticket is the same as a regular transfer ticket, but instead of 75 minutes of use, you get 90 minutes. Be aware that it is only possible to buy an SMS ticket if you have a SIM card from one of the Czech mobile phone companies. Even if you have a Czech cell phone, it might be necessary to activate your carrier’s premium SMS service. That is what happened to me. Always keep a paper ticket around just in case.

You can see the service being promoted on trams, at tram stops and in metro stations. The service has proven to be very popular. It received the Czech @ Award and the service has helped reduce the number of “involuntary or occasional illegal passengers”.

Karlovy Vary – And the winner is …

Jeff — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:02:38 +0000

The 43rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival wrapped up yesterday. The closing film was the movie Mamma Mia!, which is based on the musical of the same name and features songs from ABBA. The Danish film Terribly Happy (Frygtelig Lykkelig) won the Crystal Globe for best feature film.

If you are interested in reading more about the festival, I have linked to the official site and some news articles.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (official website)
Karlovy Vary: the best of the fest
Danish film Terribly Happy wins Karlovy Vary festival
Czech film Karamazovs wins critics’ award in Karlovy Vary

The main venue for screenings is at the Hotel Thermal (see picture below). On our site, we have a section on the famous spa town of Karlovy Vary.