My Czech Republic Blog

We went to Střelecký ostrov and Petřín over the weekend and we were surprised to find the trees turning color and shedding leaves already. With the wind and slight chill in the air, it really felt like fall.  

The European Court of Justice ruled against Anheuser-Busch InBev in a trademark dispute with the Czech brewer Budějovický Budvar. A-B Inbev will not be allowed an EU-wide trademark on the name “Budweiser”. The result is a win for the Czech brewer in a case that started almost 15 years ago....  

Tomorrow, an amendment to the current smoking regulations goes into effect that requires bars and restaurants to place a sticker at the entrance to show whether the establishment allows smoking or not. The bar or restaurant can be completely non-smoking or it can have a non-smoking area in a completely...  

Outdoor grilling is especially popular this time of year. It always draws crowds when it happens on Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí). The first two pictures are from last Monday when there was a celebration for the Czech team winning the 2010 Hockey World Championship. The sausage stands on...  

We have a number of Czech tongue twisters on our Czech language learning site Local Lingo. We are in the process of adding audio for all of the tongue twisters and making them easy to listen to. Just press play – no software needed. Here are a few popular tongue twisters with slow and [...]  

The MICHELIN guide Main Cities of Europe 2010 is out and Prague retains a one star restaurant. The Allegro Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel defended its one star rating while the other one star restaurant from 2009, Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, closed before the ratings were released in 2009. Divinis and...  

The Olympic games start today in Vancouver, Canada. The Czech Republic has sent a record number of 92 athletes to participate in the games. If you plan to follow the various sporting disciplines, you may hear some Czech names mentioned. We thought we would offer an audio pronunciation of the names of some...  

We have not had any new snow in Prague for a few days, but a lot of it still remains on the ground. More snow is expected next week. The pictures below were taken earlier this week around náměstí Míru in Prague.  

The Czech Republic is digging out after heavy snowfall around the country. Trains and flights were delayed and there were serious problems traveling by road. Border crossings with Germany and Slovakia had to be closed for a few hours for snow clearing. Heavy snow creates problems around the country Main...  

We want to wish all of our blog visitors a happy, healthy, and successful new year.  Thanks for visiting and we hope you stop by in 2010. Jeff and Dana  

It’s that time of the year again. The end of November, a month before Christmas, and that means that the first Prague Christmas market opens at Náměstí Míru. It started on Friday morning and we went to take a look. It was the same market as last year, with the same stalls selling the same...  

Google Street View for the Czech Republic went live earlier this month.  Prague and some nearby cities such as Mělník and Poděbrady are included, in addition to the D1 freeway to Brno.  However, it looks like Brno is not yet available.  I have linked to the original Google announcement and show the...  

This month there were two anniversaries to celebrate train rides to freedom.  On September 4, a train from Prague arrived in London to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the “Winton Trains”, which carried 669 mostly Jewish Czechoslovak children to safety in the United Kingdom and Sweden in the...  

We took a walk around the Vyšehrad Castle area yesterday. I always enjoy it there but this particular visit felt even more special. It was a beautiful, warm evening, late enough for the day visitors to be gone, yet lively enough with dog walkers, joggers and parents with kids. The beautiful views from up...  

The Prague main train station (hlavní nádraží) is finally starting to look like a train station. A nice one I mean. One that a city like Prague deserves. A clean one. Bright and airy. Organized. With ways for passengers with strollers, bikes and heavy luggage to get to their platforms without having to...  

A blooming flax field is not a common sight in the Czech Republic. Here’s a picture of a field of flax growing right in front of my eyes as I type from my summer getaway spot. And a closeup of the pretty flowers:  

I hadn’t been to the Prague Zoo for a few years and didn’t remember it as anything special. It was badly damaged in the 2002 flood and when I was there a year or two later, there was lots of reconstruction and new construction going on. Lots of promise in the air, but a pretty bare place at...  

Czech student film wins prize at Cannes festival Congratulations to Zuzana Špidlová!  Her film Bába was awarded the top prize for the best student and youth film at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Slovak, Czech ForMins want youth to better know the other language Even though the Czech and Slovak languages...  

Are tax incentives for the Czech film industry coming soon? Radio.cz news Film production competition heats up in Eastern Europe Karlovy Vary International Film Festival announces some special guests and program highlights Czech film greats Forman and Švankmajer among special guests at Karlovy Vary festival...  

The MICHELIN Main Cities of Europe 2009 guide, which contains information and ratings on hotels and restaurants in 20 countries in Europe, is being released tomorrow. The Michelin Guide is famous for its 1 - 2 - 3 star restaurant rating system, with three stars being the highest. Last year, the Prague...  

I went out yesterday in the hope of finding some signs of spring in Prague, considering that the official first day of spring (March 20) is just over a week away.  I ended up at Petřín Hill, which is a favorite place to go for a walk.  Well, it was pretty devoid of people and [...]  

Czech Lion film award shortlist revealed Official awards website Up for the best picture award are The Karamazovs (Karamazovi), Tobruk and Country Teacher (Venkovský učitel).  The Czech Lion (Český lev) awards will take place on March 3. Danish experts ask to open astronomer Tycho Brahe’s grave Tycho...  

We would like to thank all of you who followed our blog last year and we wish you a very happy and healthy 2009! We hope you continue to read our posts and leave your comments. Šťastný nový rok! Jeff and Dana  

Today is December 5th, the eve of St. Nicholas Day or Mikuláš in Czech. We have written about our experience spending a fun Mikuláš evening on Prague’s Old Town Square. This year, we decided to visit a smaller Prague square away from the center. We went to Náměstí Míru in Prague 2. You rarely...  

The Christmas Market on Peace Square (Náměstí Míru) in Prague opened up last weekend just as some winter weather moved in.  We had our first snow on Saturday.  It was only fitting since last week, while the Christmas Market was being set up, the last remnants of fall were being blown aside and swept...  

The varied scenery around the Czech Republic can be appreciated in every season. Fall offers a particular mixture of melancholy and vibrant colors. We’ve been taking lots of walks in the countryside lately and have enjoyed the strange autumn silence, the crisp, transparent air, and the thick, rustling...  

Here are some pictures from a trip to the Czech countryside I took in July.  The harvest was in full swing.  The dožínky (harvest festivals) took place at the end of August around the country.  

A real convenience when using the public transportation system in Prague is being able to purchase transport tickets using a cell phone.  Back in November 2007, the Prague Public Transit Co. (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy) started offering the service SMS Ticket (SMS jízdenka).  If you send the text...  

Czechs join Slovakia to register salami and sausage If they publish the recipes, I would be interested in knowing what exactly is inside. European Tour returns to Czech Republic in 2009 after 12 years Golf has been gaining in popularity over the years here and this should give it a boost. Dogs –...  

The 43rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival wrapped up yesterday.  The closing film was the movie Mamma Mia!, which is based on the musical of the same name and features songs from ABBA.  The Danish film Terribly Happy (Frygtelig Lykkelig) won the Crystal Globe for best feature film. If you are...