The two largest Christmas markets in Prague opened over the weekend. The markets at Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) and Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) were crowded over lunch time on Sunday. There were a lot of people buying gifts and enjoying the food selection, including bramboráčky (potato pancakes), klobásy (sausages) and trdelník (cooked dough with cinnamon and sugar).

View of the 2011 Old Town Square Christmas Market

The Old Town Square Christmas Market

Close up view of trdelník (cooked dough typically with cinnamon and sugar)

Stand selling bramboráčky (potato pancakes)

Christmas ornaments

The final preparations were being completed today on the Christmas market on Peace Square (Náměstí Míru) in Prague. The market starts tomorrow and traditionally is the first one in Prague to open for the holiday season. The two largest Christmas markets take place on Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) and Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí).

You can read more about Czech Christmas and Christmas time in Prague on our site at My Czech Republic.

Setting up the Náměstí Míru Christmas market

Setting up the Náměstí Míru Christmas market

Booths at the Chistmas market on Náměstí Míru

Signs at the Christmas market on Náměstí Míru

Vinobraní, the annual Czech wine festival, takes place around the country in September. A semi-fermented young wine called burčák is always one of the big attractions. Here are some pictures I took this year at the popular festival on Náměstí Míru in Prague.

Long burčák lines at the vinobraní on Náměstí Míru

Church of St. Ludmila on Náměstí Míru

Burčák stand

The less common red burčák

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..

As we’ve written in an older blog post and as we mention on our website, May 1st is the unofficial day of love in the Czech Republic. We went to the Petřín Park to enjoy the spring day. The park was busy with couples strolling, sitting on the grass and visiting the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha, the Czech patron of lovers. A nice man in a suit played the violin in front of the statue as couples stopped by to lay flowers and spend a few moments.

Strolling on May 1 at Petřín Park

May 1 on Petřín Hill

Kiss on May 1 at Karel Hynek Mácha Statue in Prague

Violinist on May 1 at Mácha Statue on Petřín Hill

I was in the Prague district of Karlín today and I stopped by the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Kostel sv. Cyrila a Metoděje) to take some pictures. The construction of the Neo-Romanesque basilica took place between 1854-1863. It was badly damaged in the flood of 2002 and had to be restored.

The Prague train station on a Friday evening, November 26, 2010. A little different than you’d expect.




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)

It is October 31, the fall colors are fading and November is upon us. The Daylight Saving Time ended today in the Czech Republic and we are now officially on our way to winter. They say it is going to be a harsh one, judging by the early arrival of ravens and, as some Czech press playfully writes, by the fact that the meteorologists in Brno-Žabovřesky are adding insulation to their building (let’s remember that the Czech government’s Green Savings Programme is in full swing and styrofoam-clad buildings can be spotted quite easily these days).

We like to bring you pictures and here are a few taken recently by Jeff.

Happy Halloween!

Ravens at the Pardubice Train Station

Fall in the Havlíčkovy sady park in Prague

Two dogs with their people walking in Havlíčkovy sady

A country road in Moravia

Fall view with a stream in Moravia

We went to Střelecký ostrov and Petřín over the weekend and we were surprised to find the trees turning color and shedding leaves already. With the wind and slight chill in the air, it really felt like fall.