My Czech Republic Blog

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

World Cup Bound!

By 1 Comment

The Czech Republic beat Norway 1-0 in the second leg of the football play-off match in Prague and advanced to the World Cup in Germany, which begins in June 2006. This is the first time the Czech Republic has qualified since the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The official FIFA World Cup website is a great source for World Cup news.

After the game, the Czech team donned t-shirts which said “Odjíždíme! A vy? – Germany 205 dní”, which means “We’re leaving! And you? – Germany 205 days”. We can hear fireworks going off in the distance.

Thumbs Up for Prague Wine

By Leave a Comment

Just got back from a most enjoyable lunch/dinner at U Grébovky in Prague-Vršovice (you can read about them on our Prague Restaurants page on My Czech Republic). The food and dessert were delicious as usual and I finally got to try the wine from the Grébovka vineyard, i.e. wine produced from the grapes that are grown right here in Prague, in the Havlíčkovy Sady park on the border of Vršovice and Vinohrady. I didn’t expect much, but all three of us who shared the bottle and who are more or less spoiled by French and Napa Valley wines were impressed with it. It’s too bad that the vineyard has recently decided to keep all their wine to themselves and the restaurant is not going to carry it anymore. Oh well, we’ll just have to try one of their South Moravian selections next.

(Inside info: The Grébovka wine that’s going to be sold AT the vineyard has supposedly been commercialized and made into a boring table wine. I guess the only way to verify it is to go and try it.)

St. Martin and His White Horse

By 3 Comments

Tomorrow is November 11, the day of St. Martin. According to old Czech weather lore, it is the first day on which we can expect snowfall because Martin may arrive on a white horse. And he sometimes does. I remember being excited as a child when I looked out the window on the morning of November 11 and the ground was indeed covered with snow!

There are dozens of old Czech sayings (pranostiky) that are connected to the day of St. Martin and usually have to do with predicting the winter weather. Here are a few:

• Přijede-li svatý Martin na bílém koni, metelice za metelicí se honí. – If St. Martin arrives on a white horse, snow flurries will be plentiful.
• Na svatého Martina bývá dobrá peřina. – On St. Martin’s Day, a feather quilt will serve you well.
• Na svatého Martina zima svůj chod začíná. – St. Martin’s Day is when winter begins.
• Na stromech a révě do Martina listí – tuhá zima přijde, buďme jisti! – If there are still leaves on trees and vines on St. Martin’s Day, be sure the winter will be harsh!
• Je-li na svatého Martina pod mrakem, bude nestálá zima. Je-li jasno, bude tuhá zima. – If it’s cloudy on St. Martin’s Day, the winter will be variable. If it’s clear, the winter will be harsh.

St. Martin is an important Roman Catholic saint, known as the bishop of Tours. He lived in the years 315/316–397.

Update November 11, 2005:
The day is almost over and the weather was relatively warm here in Prague. It was 12° Celsius, mostly cloudy with some sun, and there are still quite a few leaves on trees. According to the sayings above, we should be expecting a variable to harsh winter. Hmm, so which is it?

A tree in our back yard   A cloudy day

Strahov Monastery

By Leave a Comment

I finally visited the Strahov Monastery in Prague, which is something I had wanted to do for a long time. I’m really glad I’ve seen it. The exteriors have been restored to pristine beauty and parts of the interiors are breathtaking.

The Convent

Strahov Monastery Summer RefectoryFirst I took a peek inside the gorgeous Strahov Church, which was not open to visitors, but gave me a preview of what’s to come. I began my tour of the monastery in the building of the Convent. I loved the different rooms on the ground floor, especially the winter and summer refectories, but also the cellar-like romanesque rooms from the 12th century. The Strahov Picture Gallery occupies the first floor. I didn’t particularly care for the grim religious and mythological scenes, gloomy landscapes and dark portraits that are displayed there and that can almost make one feel uneasy.

The Library

Strahov Monastery EvangeliaryNext I bought a ticket to see the famous library. It holds 280,000 books, the oldest and most valuable one being the Evangeliary (a liturgical book containing portions of the Gospels), which dates to the middle of the 9th century. The book is covered in red velvet and its front is decorated with precious stones and ornaments that were added in the course of time. The center of the cover is adorned with a cross, supposedly a gift from king Charles IV. The Evangeliary on display is a somewhat recent copy, but don’t think you’re being shortchanged. When the copy traveled to an exhibition in Germany in 1999, it was supposedly insured for 1.5 million deutschmarks!

An interesting part of the Strahov Library exposition is the xylotéka, a collection of 68 “tree books” made by Karel of Hinterlagen around 1825. Each “volume” is really a box representing and documenting one European tree. The box cover is made from the wood of the tree and is covered with its bark. If you opened the box, you would find different parts of that tree – a root, a twig, a leaf, a dried piece of its fruit, etc. The boxes are protected behind glass though, so you can only see them from the outside. The Strahov xylotéka is one of the two such collections in Europe.

I learned all this from one of the library staff who, after prompted, started telling me a lot of interesting and in my opinion essential facts about it. The strange thing is that had I not asked, I would have left with absolutely no information. It’s a pity that such an important and beautiful institution does not make it easy for its visitors to learn about the treasures contained inside.

I highly recommend visiting the Strahov Monastery. You can easily do it on the way to the Prague Castle. A tour of the Convent and Library will take you 15 – 20 minutes each and you’ll need another 30 minutes or so if you include the Picture Gallery.