Tag: Czech Republic View All Tags

HOWTO: Steal A Bridge (Czech Style, This Time)

February 19, 2008 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

We always say to beware of thieves when traveling, but we're usually expecting them to steal a wallet or passport. But the recent crime wave in Europe that we've been following seems to be all about stealing really, really big things.

First, there was the case of the stolen beach in Hungary. Next, a stolen bridge in Russia.

This month, a bridge was the target again, this time in the town of Cheb in the west of the Czech Republic, very close to the border with Germany. A railway bridge weighing four tons, thankfully on a currently unused piece of track, was mysteriously taken away.

Police believe the thieves would have sold it for scrap. We think souvenirs might be in order too, a bit like chunks of the Berlin Wall. So watch out for men in a Prague square offering you genuine Soviet-era railway remnants.

Related Stories:
· What's the Biggest Thing You've Stolen? [IOL]
· HOWTO: Steal A Bridge (Russian Style) [Jaunted]
· HOWTO: Steal A Beach (Hungarian Style) [Jaunted]

[Photo: DaniVDM]

When the Clock Strikes...Scorpio?

October 25, 2006 at 9:35 AM | 0 Comments

If you've ever wandered through the streets of Prague (with your eyes open), at one point you probably looked up and spied the Old Town Hall's Astronomical Clock. Chances are, you then looked down in the confusion of not being able to tell what time the clock displayed and walked on.

We'd like to say that we will clear up all the mysteries of Prague's Astronomical Clock, but we aren't sure we can. We have quizzed local Czechs, asked Wikipedia and Googled it to death, only to come up more bewildered than before.

There's a zodiac ring, a 24-hour clock, sun and moon indicators, and even a part showing "Old Czech Time," which starts at 1 every time the sun sets. There are also plenty of arrows that we think are secret pointers to the best pubs in town, so we recommend only studying the Astronomical Clock long enough to decide which direction to go for the next beer.

Send us your thoughts on the Astronomical Clock if you got 'em.

[Photo: Helen & Simon]

What You Can't See in Prague

October 23, 2006 at 9:51 AM | 0 Comments


There's nothing we like more than a record-breaking tourist attraction, and Prague Castle makes it into Guinness as the largest castle complex in the world. That's reason enough to stop by, but not only is it huge, it's also impressive in other ways. The president still sits there, but the Bohemian crown jewels do too, and every hour there's a changing of the guard to rival London's, with a musical addition at midday when band members stand in various windows of the castle and peform.

The official castle visiting information site can give you more details on what there is to see, but it also includes a disturbingly long list under the headline "What you cannot visit." Some rooms only open for concert performances, some manage to open up on two random days a year, and some parts are just plain closed. Just think positive and be sure that the friendly Czechs have opened the good bits, at least, for the world to see.

[Photo: Psycho Crow]

Czechs Plus in Language Students

September 21, 2006 at 12:08 PM | 0 Comments



Who knew that learning hard languages could be so popular? Sure, the US government can't find anyone who speaks Arabic, but according to the Prague Post, record numbers of students are learning the Czech language. As one of those students (ages ago) we can relate to their pain and suffering: Czech is the hardest of the Slavic languages to learn. Only Hungarian is more difficult, because it's from an even harder linguistic tree.

As the Prague Post notes, it's not just the grammar that's hard; idioms are confusing too:

Czech is also rich in idioms that are virtually untranslatable and can throw off even the most determined language student. Take sbal si svých pět švestek a běž, a way of saying "get lost" that, translated verbatim, means, "Take your five plums and run."
Didn't Biff say that in Back to the Future?

[Image via cuellar/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Record Numbers Studying Czech [Prague Post]

Robot Mary and Jesus in the Czech Republic

August 22, 2006 at 8:55 AM | 0 Comments


If you're desperate for somewhere to sleep while traveling, sometimes a disused railway station can be a good bet. In the south of the Czech Republic, some clever marketers have turned a bunch of these out-of-use stations into money-generating apartments for tourists. Located deep in the forest between Jindrichuv Hradec and Obratan, they're booked out for the summer so you'll have to wait your turn.

What impresses us more about Jindrichuv Hradec, however, is its claim to fame for a "world's biggest". Completed in 1756, allegedly crafted by one man alone, the town holds claim to the largest hand-made mechanized nativity scene in the world. Local tourists come in their masses to see it, but if you rock in independently as we did (and fail to speak much Czech), the friendly guides will lock you in the room for your own special experience of this pretty Christmas scene. Now that's a scene worth seeing.

Related stories:
Railway Stay in Czech Republic [Railway Market]

Driving Through the Salon of the Republic

July 26, 2006 at 9:22 AM | 0 Comments


The Czech Republic is proud of many of its architecturally rich Old Towns, and the collection of gothic, renaissance, baroque, art nouveau and you-name-it architecture in the northern Bohemian town of Hradec Králové has encouraged the locals to label H.C. the Salon of the Republic.

So let's say you're in Hradec Králové sweating through Europe's heat wave and you promise your kids an ice cream. Of course, it's too hot to walk into town, so what do you do? Take your armored personnel carrier, of course.

Just what an ordinary 34-year-old Czech man is doing with such a military vehicle is a bit beyond us, but apparently it's normal there to sell off old equipment to whoever wants it. The only thing he did wrong was to drive it across the historic Old Town Square, putting the Salon's Architecture at risk. The police fined him, but as far as we know still let him take the ice cream back to his kids.

Related stories:
Man Drives APC for Ice Cream [Prague Daily Monitor]

Barstool Blues

April 11, 2006 at 12:40 PM | 0 Comments



Is there trouble in pivo paradise? Prague.tv is not impressed with the slipping standards at perma-fave Kolkovna, a Czech gastropub in Prague's Old Town. Chalk this one up to yet another restaurant in Prague becoming a victim of its own success.

Kolkovna was the 2004 Prague Post reader favorite for Czech pubs, and serves Czech food at a higher standard of tastiness than the average neighborhood pub. Because the restaurant is owned by Pilsner Urquell, the beer there is served unpasteurized. That translates into extra delicious.

All that has gone out the window of late, as prices have gone up and the quality of the food and service have not. Thirty-seven crowns for a pint is simply egregious. Too bad. This was one of our favorites in Prague, especially to take out-of-towners. As an alternative, we'd recommend Hlucna Samota. There, you can enjoy tasty knedliky for half the price. Or, better yet, spend the savings on more beer.

Related Stories:
·   Kolkovna revisited [prague.tv]

Stamping Out Crime

April 6, 2006 at 12:33 PM | 0 Comments



For Americans, tourist visas are a nuisance aspect of travel; usually they're needed for travel to countries where you can buy them at the airport. If not, it's irritating to sort out, but that's about it. However, in the rest of the world, Central Europe in particular, visas are a hot-button political issue.

In the Czech Republic, Foreign Affairs Minister Cyril Svoboda has seen enough of Americans, Canadians, and Australians overstaying their 90-day tourist visas. He wants the Czech police to look into the bank and insurance records of foreigners that want short-term visas to compliment the background checks already in place, and to ensure rigorous stamping of passports at the border.  

The to-do is not really about Aussies or Canucks wearing our their welcome in the Czech Republic. Instead, it's a pointed barb from the Czechs at the US, Canada and Australia, all of whom require the Czechs to purchase tourist visas and go through an intrusive application process before they travel.

The U.S. Ambassador recently promised that the process would soon be eliminated, but he refused to give a timeline. Given the Bush administration's current disposition towards immigration, that change is unlikely to occur anytime in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Canadians think requiring Americans to use their passport when they cross the border will hurt tourism. Imagine if Americans had to get a visa instead.

[Image via 3rd Coast Chick/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   The New National Threat [Prague Post]
·   U.S. Will Tighten Passport Rules [WaPo]