My Czech Republic Blog

Blog written by two Prague residents about life in the Czech Republic.

Gifts, Tree, Carp

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It’s Christmas and we’re spending a nice, relaxing time at home. The gifts were all given last night, on Christmas Eve, as is customary in the Czech Republic. As every year, some people were still gift shopping yesterday. I’m glad we were not among them. We kept busy doing some last-minute cleaning, wrapping gifts, making potato salad and frying carp for dinner.

I bought our Christmas tree on Náměstí Míru last Wednesday. It is 1.3 meters tall and came to 400 Kč. It was shedding needles as I was decorating it yesterday and it is already turning a rusty color. I wonder how long ago it was actually cut.

Getting the carp was a bit more dramatic. In the Czech Republic, you can either buy carp live and keep it in your bathtub until it’s time for you to kill it (!!), or you can have it killed and cleaned by the vendor right in front of you. Neither is a pleasant experience for an animal lover like me, so I had Jeff go out and bring back some carp fillets. He came back with a bloodied bag and “very fresh” carp, which had supposedly already been floating dead in the tub before he bought it. I tried to believe him…

Here are some pictures of the season:

Christmas Market on Náměstí Míru
Christmas market on Náměstí Míru, ended yesterday

Christmas Tree on Old Town Square, Prague
Christmas market on Old Town Square, open till January 1

A Christmas Tree Vendor on Náměstí Míru, Prague
A Christmas tree vendor – choose your tree and take it away, or have it wrapped for an additional 20 Kč

A Carp Vendor on Národní třída, Prague
A carp vendor on Národní třída

P. S. I had carp and potato salad for breakfast.

Watch Out for the “Hanging Man”!

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The Czech artist David Černý created a life-size sculpture of Sigmund Freud, which was originally installed on Jilská Street in Prague. The sculpture was hung on a metal rod over the street from the top of a building. According to an article on the České Noviny (ČTK) website, the sculpture has been shown in Europe and in the U.S. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the latest city to host the installation, the “Hanging Man” was hung on a seven story building and a number of citizens thought it was was a real person who had taken their own life. The sculpture will make it back to Prague one day, so if you see it here, you’ll know it is just Freud hanging out.

Hanging Man by David Cerny in Prague, Czech Republi
The “Hanging Man” in Prague

Fantastic Bio Food? I Think Not.

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I bought a sandwich at the hip Bio Cafes on Americká a few days ago. I give the place credit for trying to be different. The interior looks cool, bright and very clean, the restaurant is non-smoking and all the food and drinks they sell are organic, or bio as we say here in the Czech Republic. I had bought sandwiches there a couple of times before and never found them very exciting, but I was hungry and I was passing by, so I thought I’d give the place another chance. I chose the prepackaged Roma sandwich, which was described as focaccia with basil pesto, lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella and another type of cheese the name of which escapes me. When I got home, I unwrapped it and took a bite. I found myself chewing nothing but day old bread. I opened up the sandwich to discover its tired contents, apparently put on by a very tired employee. I wasn’t sure if I should feel frustrated or amused. In the end, I laughed and took a picture. I proceeded to take two more bites, gave up and threw the rest into the garbage.

So, guys, the bio idea’s good. Now all you need to do is teach your people how to make a sandwich.

P.S. To be fair, I must admit the soups are excellent.

Here’s an October 10 update: I went back and got the 119 CZK menu of spinach soup, bean salad and freshly squeezed vegetable juice. It was all very enjoyable. It’s just the sandwiches that are a bit… iffy.

Prague Public Transport Fare Increase, Yet Again

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Prague TramNot a lot of time has passed since the dramatic price increase of Prague public transport tickets in July 2005 when transfer tickets went up from 12 Kč to 20 Kč and single-use tickets from 8 Kč to 14 Kč. According to Hospodářské noviny, Prague public transit fares are already higher than those in Vienna or Paris when compared to the average salaries in those countries.

The Prague Public Transit Company has now approved yet another fare hike, which should take place next year. The cost of a transfer ticket is supposed to jump from 20 Kč to 30 Kč and a yearly pass should cost 5,200 Kč instead of the current 4,150 Kč. The price increase is supposedly necessary and will help in the construction of new tram and metro lines. That’s a fine reason in itself. I just hope that we’re not headed the wrong way and that those who are now taking public transport are not going to get in their cars and start contributing to the already bad congestion and pollution on the streets of Prague.

Hospodářské noviny article (in Czech):
Pražská MHD zdraží. Aby bylo na metro