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

I hadn’t been to the Prague Zoo for a few years and didn’t remember it as anything special. It was badly damaged in the 2002 flood and when I was there a year or two later, there was lots of reconstruction and new construction going on. Lots of promise in the air, but a pretty bare place at the moment. When I recently revisited, I was surprised not only by how different the zoo looked and felt, but mainly by the modestly displayed sign listing the top world zoos selected by Forbes Traveler Magazine in November 2007. The Prague Zoo was highlighted at line 7.

What an unbelievable achievement for the small, even intimate ‘garden’ that was hit so hard by disaster only seven years ago! In fact, ‘intimate’ must be one of the factors that put the zoo so high on the list. This is where I studied a gorgeous six foot tiger from six inches away and stared in the face of a disturbingly human looking gorilla lounging some four feet away from me.

Besides feeling intimate, the zoo projects a friendly atmosphere towards its visitors. It is very child oriented with fun little play areas for kids. You can borrow a stroller or cart to push or pull your little ones around. You can even bring your dog with you, and you’ll see plenty of them around.

Another thing that made me feel good at the Prague Zoo is the environment that’s been created there. Gravel paths, wooden boardwalks and lots of greenery make it feel very natural and pleasant to walk around.

If you would like to visit the Prague Zoo, you can find some practical information on the Prague Zoo page of our site or directly on the Zoo Praha website.

And here’s the Forbes Traveler Magazine’s list of The World’s Best Zoos:

1. Animal Kingdom, Orlando
2. Basel Zoo, Switzerland
3. Beauval Zoo, France
4. Berlin Zoological Garden, Germany
5. Bronx Zoo, New York
6. Chester Zoo, U.K.
7. Prague Zoological Garden, Czech Republic
8. National Zoological Gardens of South Africa
9. San Diego Zoo, California
10. Schönbrunner Zoo, Austria
11. Singapore Zoo
12. Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC
13. Taronga and Western Plains Zoo, Sydney
14. Toronto Zoo
15. Ueno Zoological Gardens, Tokyo, Japan

Czechs join Slovakia to register salami and sausage
If they publish the recipes, I would be interested in knowing what exactly is inside.

European Tour returns to Czech Republic in 2009 after 12 years
Golf has been gaining in popularity over the years here and this should give it a boost.

Dogs – Czechs’ best friends
I do see a lot of dogs around and unfortunately you have to watch where you step when walking on the sidewalk. 

Season tickets in Prague to be replaced by chip cards
It would be very convenient to buy monthly/yearly tickets or to just add credit online.

I hear that the ski season began in the Krkonoše Mountains today. It has been snowing there for a few days and there is now enough snow to allow skiing. Winter is starting early this year. Who knows, maybe the ski resorts are going to make up for last year’s terrible ski season.

I think it is safe to say that mushroom picking is a Czech national leisure activity. The mushroom season usually lasts from June/July through October. Last year’s harvests were especially generous thanks to the rains and cool temperatures. On our weekend trips from Prague, we would see people returning from forests with baskets full of gorgeous suchohřiby, křemenáče, bedly and other mouthwatering varieties. As we sat in our train compartment, we went by people’s yards and caught glimpses of piles of fresh mushrooms being cleaned in preparation for dinner or to be sliced up and dried. From the bus windows, we watched rows of colorful holubinky line the road.

We haven’t been taking very many trips this summer but I hear that this is another good year for mushrooming. Even rare kinds of mushrooms, ones that can be seen just a few times in a lifetime, can supposedly be found in the Vysočina (Bohemian-Moravian Highlands) region where the weather has been just right.

When we were in Italy last fall, we marvelled at the abundance of fresh forest mushrooms that were sold at outdoor produce markets. I was jealous and wondered why forest mushrooms aren’t sold anywhere in the Czech Republic, a country that is so devoted to mushrooming. Is it because people are expected to pick their own mushrooms?

There’s a good article on mushrooming on the Radio Praha website.