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.

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.

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.

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”. 

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.