My Czech Republic Blog

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

Open-Air Olbram Zoubek Exhibition at Ovocný Trh

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The weather was nice yesterday, sunny and pretty warm, so Jeff and I went for a walk in the Old Town. The Easter market on Old Town Square was packed with people who were probably as happy as we were to be able to stroll leisurely without having to dodge umbrellas and shiver with cold.

When passing through Ovocný trh, the square behind the Estates Theatre and Myslbek shopping mall, we ran into something peculiar. A multitude of tall, skinny, odd looking sculpture people was filling the center of the square. They stood motionless, patiently allowing live human beings to wind their way among them, stare into their faces and strike funny poses next to their naked bodies to have their pictures taken.

We recognized the sculptures as the unmistakable work of Czech artist Olbram Zoubek. As it turns out, the exhibition has been put up at the occasion of his 80th birthday, which falls on April 21. A selection of 110 sculptures presents Zoubek’s work from 1958 to present. If you think you don’t know who Olbram Zoubek is, just think of the striking Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the foot of the Petřín Hill at Újezd.

You can enjoy the unique open-air exhibition until June 4, 2006. I recommend it. Oh, and it’s free of course. Just don’t touch the sculptures.

Olbram Zoubek Statues on Ovocný Trh in Prague

Olbram Zoubek Statues on Ovocný Trh in Prague

Olbram Zoubek Statues on Ovocný Trh in Prague

Photos © jeffshanberg.com

Three Prague Restaurants Featured in 2006 Michelin Guide

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The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Main Cities of Europe, which covers hotels and restaurants, was published last month. The guide is famous for its 1 – 2 – 3 star restaurant rating system and it also includes a rating called Bib Gourmand, which highlights “good food at moderate prices”. Prague did not have any restaurants that received stars in the 2006 Edition, but three restaurants were awarded a Bib Gourmand: Aromi and Brasserie M (new additions), and Le Terroir.

The restaurants in the guide are geared toward business travelers, so I think that in this case the term “moderate prices” simply means that the restaurants do not fall into the top price bracket. Aromi has been on my list for a while now and I think it is time for a visit.

For our comments on some less expensive, but good restaurants in Prague, you can see our Prague Restaurants section on My Czech Republic.

Charles IV Exhibition Sold Out

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It’s been a long time without a post. We feel bad. The spring has arrived and I guess we’ve been too excited to sit at the computer too much these days.

The latest news that has caught our attention is kind of a shocker. The Charles IV – Emperor by the Grace of God exhibition is SOLD OUT as of April 4. The only way to get tickets now is to go to the ticket office at the Prague Castle and see if there have been any cancelled reservations. I don’t quite understand how tickets can be sold out for the remaining seven weeks. School trips maybe? If that’s the case, it’s a bit of a pity I think. There was a school trip at the exhibition when we went back in March. The teenagers were chatting, throwing jokes around and making fun of the Gothic portraits on display. They were not in the least bit interested in the exhibits, which is only natural at that age. Well, I hope I’m wrong and I’ll just try to imagine that all tickets have been presold to those who are really interested in the art and life at the court of Charles IV and not to groups whose organizers included the exhibition in their agendas just to fill the sightseeing schedule.

We wrote about the event here.

This Could Have Been a Summer Day

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This is the second weather post in a row, I know, but I just can’t keep quiet about this. We’ve had a summer day here in Prague. It’s been absolutely beautiful. The sun is out, the sky is blue, the air is warm, the high was somewhere around 21°C (70°F). I was cautious before going out this afternoon and just had to put a jacket on because it simply felt wrong not to after having bundled up in three layers of clothes for months. As it turned out, I didn’t need it. Jeff wore a t-shirt and was happy as a clam.

I have a feeling that the weather has played a malicious little game with us this winter. It dumped tons of snow on us, brought arctic temperatures from Russia and didn’t give us a break for the longest time, just to make us feel that the winter would never end. And then it serves us a gorgeous day we’re not really expecting until May and laughs at our unpreparedness and childish glee.

Here’s a bit of weather wisdom for today:

Jaké počasí bude na sv. Ruprechta, takové bude i v červenci.
The weather you get on St. Rupert Day is the weather you’ll have in July.

I’m not going to complain if we have weather like this in July!