Blog written by two Prague residents about life in the Czech Republic.
All Souls’ Day falls on November 2nd in the Czech Republic. People visited cemeteries today to light candles and spend some time at the graves of their deceased loved ones. We have written about the tradition in our Little Souls post. Here are a few pictures from Prague’s Olšany Cemetery taken today.
Following a series of methanol poisonings from illegally made alcohol, the Czech government instituted a widespread ban on the sale of liquor with an alcohol content of more than 20%. The ban went into effect on September 14 and may last for weeks or even months as Czech police try to find the source of the illegal liquor. Vendors, restaurants, bars and pubs are not allowed to sell any hard alcohol at this time. The government may lift the ban partially by allowing sales of newly produced spirits in bottles sealed with new excise stamps within about two weeks.
Here are some current articles on the topic:
http://www.praguepost.com/news/14337-banned-booze.html
http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/czech-government-plans-to-ease-liquor-ban
And here are two pictures of Prague bar signs from today. As usual, Czechs are quick to make light of a bad situation by injecting some humor.
1st Category, 0% vol.: water, soda, coffee, tea
2nd Category, 0,1 – 4,99% vol.: products of Pilsner and other breweries
3rd Category, 5 – 19,99% vol.: products of wineries and mostly foreign distilleries
4th Category, 20% vol. and over
This sign uses the notorious quote by The Good Soldier Švejk, “Beg to report Sir, I DON’T DRINK ANY LIQUOR…” and words from a Czech children’s game “Cukr, káva, limonáda, čaj, rum, bum” (Sugar, coffee, lemonade, tea, rum, boom)
The Southern Gardens below the Prague Castle reopened on June 20, 2012 after a 2.5-year reconstruction. The gardens offer one of the most beautiful views of Prague, so they’re definitely worth a visit. They were originally designed by Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik in the 1920s while he was working on numerous projects at the Prague Castle. The recent reconstruction returned the Southern Gardens to their original look. You can access the gardens from the top of the New Castle Stairs off of Hradčanské náměstí, from the top of the Old Castle Stairs near the Opyš viewpoint, or from the third castle courtyard via the so-called Bull Stairs (Býčí schody). The gardens are open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and entrance is free.
Prague’s renowned Matějská pouť (St. Matthew’s Fair) started on March 3 this year. The fair is a Prague institution and the tradition can be traced back to 1595. The Matějská has had its home at the Prague Výstaviště in Holešovice since 1963. With some 130 attractions, it is the largest fun fair in the Czech Republic. We barely scratched the surface this year but you can easily spend hours there, especially if you decide to visit the Sea World (Mořský svět) aquarium (as we did) that can be entered from within the fair grounds.
This year’s St. Matthew’s Fair will continue until April 22. After that, some permanent attractions will remain in place for the rest of the year.
Opening Times
Tuesday – Friday: 2 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
The fair’s official site with lots of good pictures and videos is at www.matejskapout.cz.
Tickets
Entrance: 25 CZK per person (adults and children alike)
Rides: Tickets for each ride are sold separately and can quickly add up, beginning with 30 – 50 CZK per toddler ride and going up from there
