My Czech Republic Blog

The Islands of Prague: Střelecký ostrov (Shooters Island)

July 4, 2019 By Dana Leave a Comment

Střelecký ostrov (Shooters Island) is one of several islands on the Vltava River in Prague. Locals come here to relax, have a picnic or attend an outdoor event. If you’d like to get away from the noise of the city, this is a place to consider. On hot summer days, you’ll enjoy cooling off in the shade of magnificent trees. You can sit on a bench and watch boats go by. You can have a bite to eat or get a pint of beer at one of the outdoor stands. Kids will enjoy watching the swans and ducks on the river, running around or spending time at the playground. In the fall, the leaves on the trees change color and the scenery is breathtaking.

A view towards the Lesser Town Embankment

One of the food stands on Střelecký ostrov

Why Shooters Island?

Are you wondering where Shooters Island got its name? It is actually a reminder of the purpose it served throughout history. Under Charles IV, long bow and crossbow shooters had the privilege of training here. Shooting competitions were held on the island from the 15th century. Thanks to the island’s strategic position within the city, shooters stationed there were able to defend the Old Town against enemy armies in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A view towards the Smetana Embankment on the Old Town side

The National Theatre and Smetana Embankment from Shooters Island

Getting There

You can access Střelecký ostrov easily from the Legion Bridge (most Legií). It’s the one that leads from the National Theatre on the Old Town side of the river to Újezd and the Petřín foothills on the Lesser Town side. To reach the island, walk about halfway across the bridge. You’ll then have two options of getting down to the island: descend a staircase or take an elevator. Walking from the National Theatre, the stairs are on the left side of the bridge and the elevator’s on the right. If you need the elevator, you may want to plan ahead and start your walk on the correct side of the bridge. That way you won’t have to cross the relatively busy street and tram tracks later.

Elevator between the island and street level

On Legion Bridge (most Legií) looking towards the Old Town

On Legion Bridge looking towards Lesser Town

The New Town Hall Tower

June 26, 2019 By Dana 2 Comments

Did you know that you can climb the New Town Hall tower on Karlovo náměstí? You can get a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. The tower is open Tuesday to Sunday from spring through fall. There are 221 steps leading to the viewing area. You can also visit the tiny quarters where the tower watchman used to live. His task was to watch for any fires in the city and sound a warning bell in case a fire was spotted. The rooms are not preserved in the original condition but house a permanent exhibition on the history of the New Town.

Here are some views from the tower:

While visiting the tower or even if you’re just passing by, stop by the eastern facade and look for a metal rod attached to the wall. This is the standard measurement for the Czech or rather Prague cubit. It is called loket in Czech, which means “elbow”. The loket was a measuring unit introduced by Czech king Přemysl Otakar II in 1268. It is 59.3 cm long and is supposed to represent the distance from the elbow to the fingertips. The metal rod was placed on the wall of the New Town Hall in 1760. Merchants used it as an exact measurement guide until the 19th century.

Trdlo – Say It Five Times Fast!

April 26, 2019 By Dana Leave a Comment

If you’ve been to Prague, you’ve probably seen them. It’s hard not to. They’re scattered all over the city center and there’s always at least one to be found at every Christmas and Easter market. Stands selling trdelník are a Prague icon.

Trdelník or trdlo is a round, hollow pastry made from basic sweet yeast dough. Strips of the dough are wrapped around a metal rod and baked over hot wood coals. This typically happens right in front of you, so you can watch the process while you wait your turn in line. The finished pastry is then rolled in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, crushed nuts, and vanilla. It can be dipped in chocolate.

Trdelník is usually presented as a traditional old Bohemian pastry, making it sound like a Czech invention. It is not originally Czech though. The pastry was first made by Hungarians in Transylvania (Romania) and later brought to the town of Skalica in Slovakia. Skalický trdelník even holds the European Union’s PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) denomination. The Hungarian kürtöskalács (chimney cake) is just as much an icon in Hungary as trdelník is in the Czech Republic. In fact, you’ll find a similar pastry in many European countries – Sweden, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, and elsewhere.

Even though Czechs can’t claim the original trdelník, they have found a way of making it their own. In recent years, a new version of trdelník appeared in Prague. It is sweeter and much richer in calories. The secret of this Czech invention that became an instant hit is to simply close it up on one end to make a cone and then fill it with ice cream, Nutella, strawberries and whipped cream, or apple strudel filling.

If you feel like a snack or dessert as you stroll along the streets of Prague, remember to look for trdelník!

From Prague to Mount Ještěd

June 17, 2018 By Dana Leave a Comment

We recently spent a few days in the picturesque Jizera Mountains north of Prague. It may not seem like it but you can find yourself in the heart of the mountains in less than two hours if you’re coming from Prague. Just hop on a bus at Černý most, get off in Liberec 75 minutes later, take a 13-minute ride on tram no. 3 from the bus station, and get off at the end of the line. There you are in Horní Hanychov, a pretty village at the edge of a forest and at the foot of Mount Ještěd.

It is actually not correct to call Horní Hanychov a village. It is officially a part of the city of Liberec. Prior to the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships that took place there in 2009, this part of town received an improved infrastructure, a new ski jumping hill, and new ski lifts.

Ještěd is the highest mountain of the Jizera mountain range. At 1,012 m (3,320 ft), it doesn’t even make it on the top 30 list of Czech Republic’s tallest peaks, but you can definitely tell that you’ve climbed a mountain once you get up top. At least we could.

GOING UP

There are three ways to reach the Ještěd summit: walking (or biking!), driving, or taking the cable car. We chose the cable car.

To reach the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain, you need to walk about 15 minutes from the end of the tram line. It is an easy hike along a comfortable, slightly uphill trail. Just follow the signs to “Lanovka JEŠTĚD”.

There is some outdoor seating at the cable car station and you can buy snacks, beer, or coffee. The cable car is operated by the Czech Railways company. When we visited, the service ran every 30 minutes – on the hour and half hour.

The Ještěd cable car has been in operation since 1933. The original cabin is now in a museum, having served as a snack bar, a tool shed, and a bee house. The current cabin has been used for over 40 years. It fits 35 people. I wouldn’t particularly like to experience the ride during high season and can’t quite imagine how it must feel when the car is full to capacity. There were eight of us including the operator and the ride was quite pleasant. It takes only four minutes to ascend the 400 meters to the summit but we sure noticed we had entered a different world after the short ride. We boarded the cable car in slightly cool but generally mild weather. Four minutes later, we stepped out into dense fog and howling wind. We were thankful for the warm interiors of the iconic Ještěd tower.

Our view from the cable car window as we got to the top of the mountain

The Ještěd lookout tower – or what we could see of it

After you exit the cable car, it is just a short walk up the road to the tower

THE LOOKOUT TOWER

If I should sum up my experience of the tower interior, the words that come to mind are eerie and depressing. Stepping inside the conical structure that was designed in 1963 – 1966 and built a few years later is like going back in time. Specifically to the communist times of my childhood. The common areas comprising a hotel reception, restaurant, snack bar, and restrooms all seemed dark, sticky, and tired. There’s probably not much that can be done without interfering with the award-winning original design but a few upgrades such as removing the stickiness from wood surfaces and modernizing the restrooms seem entirely feasible.

The sad and gloomy interior hallway looking to the right…

A staircase leading up to the restaurant

The lookout tower has a glassed-in walkway going around its perimeter, promising beautiful views of the surrounding region. In clear weather, you can see the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše) dominated by the tallest Czech mountain of Sněžka, and the popular ski resort of Harrachov. You can glimpse the Trosky castle ruins in the Bohemian Paradise protected area, as well as the Kozákov peak, which is known for its precious stones. You can see the towns of Turnov and Jablonec nad Nisou, and you can even have views into neighboring Germany and Poland. As it turned out, we saw nothing but fog. Which means we have to go back another time!

GOING DOWN

We decided to hike down the mountain instead of taking the cable car. Hikers can choose between a longer but easier route, which is about 5.5 km long and is supposedly good enough for families with strollers, or a shorter route through the woods. We opted for the latter because it looked more interesting. It was 3.5 km long and took us a little over 1.5 hours including a short stop for lunch.

This is the longer, more comfortable way down:

We took the blue trail through the woods toward Nad Výpřeží – Liberec – H. Hanychov.

We realized on the way down that hiking up the mountain would be no picnic. The trail was relatively steep all the way back to Horní Hanychov and came down steadily with no flat parts. Despite that, we passed a school group of 10-year olds with a teacher, and a family with similarly aged children making their way happily up the trail. Our trail looked like this for the most part:

The trail got wider and smoother toward the bottom of the hill.

After about an hour and a half, we arrived in Horní Hanychov.

STAYING IN LIBEREC

The Jizera Mountains are a great getaway from Prague. We recommend making the city of Liberec your base for a few days and taking trips to the surrounding areas on trams or buses. We have found Liberec to be a very convenient city, big enough to provide great public transport, good restaurants, and enough accommodation options while remaining easy to navigate and quiet compared to Prague. Plus they have a wonderful ZOO and botanical garden!