I walked through Heroldovy sady today. It was another cold day, but the park was still busy with people taking a walk and dogs exercising their owners.
A Blue Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree on Wenceslas Square is blue this year. I don’t mean that it has a bluish tone. And it’s not a blue spruce either. It’s not a spruce at all. It’s an artificial tree and when darkness falls, the flashing blue pyramid could be transported directly to the Vegas Strip.
Someone must have had a last minute idea to do an artificial tree this year, so the guys at Taiko probably ran to the artificial tree supplier and were told, “You know what? You’re a little late but we got one left in the back. It’s blue. I’ll give you a good deal on it.”
Happy Mikuláš!
It’s St. Nicholas Day tomorrow, so Jeff and I went to look at the Old Town Square to see the Mikuláš processions (you can read more about the tradition here). It was more fun than I expected. We got there a little after 5 p.m. and things were slowly getting going. The first groups of Mikuláš, Angel and Devil were starting to appear, causing all the kids to stare with curiosity and wide-eyed awe. The best Mikuláš and Devil we saw came all the way from the town of Telč and stationed themselves in front of the regioninfo office to promote their Highlands region, hand out koláče and impress the kids. Their costumes were really top notch!
After dinner at Kolkovna, we came back to the square around 6:30 p.m. and the action was in full swing. Small groups consisting of various renditions of St. Nicholas with his beard and cane, the Devil with his chain and sack, and the occasional winged Angel were surrounded by families and onlookers. The children obediently recited poems and bashfully accepted candy for their efforts. Foreign tourists watched with interest and took pictures. Everyone seemed in a good mood.
We made an interesting observation. There were far more Devils than Angels on the streets. Does this say anything about the Czech character? 🙂
There’s a Number in My Seat!
The other day I found myself gawking at a tram whose second car was stuffed with big red numbers from floor to roof. Then it dawned on me and I realized that this was a TV commercial brought into life, literally. I was amused and thought that this was pretty clever advertising.
Tram 77 is a two-car tram sponsored by Vodafone, which recently took over Oskar, the no. 3 mobile phone company in the Czech Republic. The number 77 represents the first two digits in a phone number that you’ll get if you sign up with the provider. The campaign is in conjuction with advertising on TV to promote the company’s offer of unlimited free minutes.
The tram covers a route between Náměstí bratří Synků in Nusle and Otakarova in Vršovice and runs through a good part of the city center, so you can catch it at I. P. Pavlova, on Wenceslas Square, Malostranské náměstí, Národní třída and elsewhere. The first car is for passengers and the ride is free.
The Tram 77 campaign started on November 21 and will run through December 4.
