Prague events

If you like electronic music, great show, party and DJ and Producer Paul van Dyk, you have the unique opportunity to see his performance in T-Mobile Arena in Prague. When? On Friday, 14 September Paul Van Dyk will perform on the action called “In Between” Album Tour, in cooperation with United Music and Bohemian Recordings. You can see three hours lasting performance where he will show his skills and unique style in which he combines technologies of Serato Scratch Live and Ableton Live, complemented by playing the electronic keyboard.

Paul van Dyk was born in East Germany and grew up in communist East Berlin. He liked listening to the radio and discovered his passion for music. He wanted to find and create a different, more unique sound. In 1990‘s he played at various clubs in Berlin and in 1994 he released his first album 45 RPM. Currently he is the World’s No. 1 DJ and dominate the electronic music charts. He has sold over 3 million albums and in 2005 was nominated on Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his original album Reflections.

But he is not only DJ and Producer, he is also person who dedicated his life to politics and social justice. From his youth he has had children’s charity in India’s Mumbai and partnership scheme with the German Red Cross to help poor children in Berlin. He most recently received Berlin’s Medal of Honor for helping poor children in Berlin.

If you decided to eyewitness this famous person, donť hesitate and buy the tickets. On this action, you can also see Michael Burian, the Czech interpreter who will perform new label Bohemian recordings on which he is going to release his own Michael Burian DVD on March. Polish DJ and Producer Angelo Mike and Dutch DJ and Producer Pacific are the next guests. If you want to know something else about Paul van Dyk, look on his official websites www.paulvandyk.com.

A modern room with a safe built especially for this event will soon have a new tenant. A famous book called the Devil´s bible, known worldwide as Codex Gigas, the most precious treasure of Swedish national library is coming to Prague for a limited time . It will be exposed in Klementinum since September till January.

It is one the most valued books in the world and is sometimes called a library in the book. This unique manuscript with giant proportions and about 800 years old is coming back to Prague after more than three centuries. This exhibition is expected to be as much frequented as the exhibition of crown jewels which is held only rarely at Prague castle.

The visitors coming in small groups will have the chance to see the book only for ten minutes. The book will be guarded on the route very carefully, the value of the book is incalculable and its origin reaches to the 13th century. In the room watched by many cameras will be created a special climate favourable for this medieval hand writing. The book will be opened on a page with an illustration of small devil who gave the name to the book. The other parts of the book can visitors see as digital images.

The famous picture of devil has got to the book according to a legend – the devil helped the monk with writing. The monk wasn´t able to write the book on time so he devoted his soul to the devil. Historians say that the book is a product of one author. This author probably spend on writing about 20 years. The book includes the list of sins, magical incantatory formulas, calendar and many other interesting information.

The exhibition is starting on September 20 in Klementinum which is situated between the Old Town Square and the Charles bridge. The historic building of Klementinum, the former monastery is currently the seat of Czech national library.

Do you want to visit an exhibition? Then visit the Prague Airport Ruzyne. Do you think I am joking? Exhibition at the airport? It is true that most common place for exhibitions is a gallery or a museum, but this exhibition is special. It celebrates the 70th birthday of Prague Airport.

70 years have already passed since the first planes landed and took off at Prague Ruzyne Airport. How many passengers might have checked in and out over the time? That is probably impossible to count. It is to say that Prague Airport is the second biggest airport in Central and Eastern Europe.

With this exhibition you have a chance to travel the world although not leaving the building. On more than 200 large colorful photos by Czech traveler and photographer Jiri Kolbaba you will see the beauty of all continents and will “visit” about 120 countries.

The photos are displayed all around the airport so that not only passengers can admire them. You do not have to be actually departing, arriving or picking up friends to be able to visit this exhibition. The exhibition is for everyone and it is for free.

So celebrate the wonderful anniversary together with Prague Ruzyne Airport and enjoy the truly marvelous photos. The exhibition is held till August 26.

You can get to the airport from subway station Zlicin (yellow line B) by taking bus number 100. It is about 15 minutes ride with the bus. Or you can travel from subway station Dejvicka (green line A) and take bus number 119 which is there in about 20 minutes.

March has come and that means that Febio is here as well! And that is great news!! At least for me, because I love good movies and Febiofest is about good movies only.

The official name goes like this: Prague International Film Festival Febiofest. And this year it will be already 14th edition!! So it is no novelty or non-professional festival. Not at all! It is the best event in Prague!!

Febiofest is not a typical film festival. It is a special event for fans of films which cannot usually be seen in cinemas – besides the premieres of the most relevant films of contemporary cinema, it also presents low-budget and alternative films, experimental cinematography, documentaries as well as retrospectives.

With Febio you travel the whole world. It introduces films from all regions. You can choose from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, etc. Last year, festival presented 336 films from 65 countries! The spectrum of movies is incredible. Everyone will find his or her film here, I am sure about this.

Febio grew from a small club event into the largest audio-visual festival in the Czech Republic. It is the second most prestigious festival in the country right after Karlovy Vary. But this is maybe only a question of time.

This all takes place within nine days -this year from 22nd to 30th March. Visit Village Cinema Andel on subways station Andel (yellow line B) as soon as you can to buy tickets! They cost 79 CZK and are usually very soon gone!!!

The Prague part of the Febiofest is then followed by a small representative program selection presented in six largest towns of the Czech Republic.

In November and December, Czechs commemorate the Velvet Revolution. It refers to a bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist regime in 1989, and brought back democracy to Czechs after fifty years of lack of freedom – after Nazi occupation and communist rule.

Velvet Revolution is very special since revolutions usually go hand in hand with fighting. Because of its peacefulness it was named “Velvet” as the revolution was as smooth as this material.

It started off on November 17, 1989, as a peaceful officially-sanctioned march in Prague to commemorate Czech student Jan Opletal, who died at the hands of the country’s Nazi occupiers 50 years ago, in 1939. Students, however, soon started to scan slogans against the communist regime.

It is said that about 15 000 students had joined the demonstration. They walked to the grave of Jan Opletal and – after the official end – continued from the Czech National Cemetery at Vysehrad to Wenceslas Square calling for democratic reforms. They never made it there, however.

At about 7:30 pm, when they were halfway in their march, at Narodni Street, were the students stopped by a cordon of police. After few minutes, when the students offered flowers to the police shouting rhythmically: “We have bare hands” and singing songs, the police suddenly began to beat the young demonstrators with night sticks. Before that, the police managed to block all escape routes. Nearly 200 people were injured. One student was reported beaten to dead. Although this was later proved false, is served well for mass student’s support among general public.

November 17 was the impulse for great changes to come. The six-week period between November 17 and December 29, 1989, that is the time period called the Velvet revolution. On December 29, Vaclav Havel, a dissident and a play writer well known for his anti-communist opinions, became the President of the Czechoslovakia. Soon enough, in June 1990, the first democratic elections since 1946 were held in Czechoslovakia.

Visit the key places where Czech history was in making – Vysehrad Cemetery, Narodni Street and Wenceslas Square, where students were heading. At Narodni Street, best reached by trams 6, 9, 18, 22, 23 – station Narodni divadlo, there is even a memorial to November 17. I am sure there will be candles there on this day and few days after November 17 too.

President of the Czech Republic always lays flowers there on this special day. You may meet him there!!

It is in a passage through on the right side if you walk from the National Theater towards the Wenceslas Square. There is portrayed a hand on the wall showing a “V” with its finger, which stands for Victory. It was a favorite gesture of demonstrators during Velvet Revolution meaning we will succeed.

What is very interesting is that in 1989, November 17 fell on Friday. This year it is Friday too!

As you probably know, on the 28th of October Czechs celebrate a public holiday, which means that many stores and museums in Prague and the Czech Republic will be closed due to this holiday. And what is actually being celebrated on this day? Czechs celebrate Independent Czechoslovak State Proclamation Day. So it is something like 4th of July in the USA.

In 1918, after the First World War, rather on the 28th of October, an independent state of Czechoslovakia was declared, with Tomas Garrigue Masaryk as its first president. Czechoslovakia arose as one of the succession states of Austria-Hungary at the end of the WWI.

Throughout the pre-WWII period, for Czechoslovakia it was time of economic prosperity and democracy. Czechoslovakia became one of the ten richest countries in the world back then since it inherited most of Austria’s industry. This interwar period, which was also a golden age for the culture, is now being called the First Republic.

However, everything nice has to end and so the happy period of the First Republic lasted only 20 years. Czechoslovakia was betrayed by allies in 1938 in the Munich Agreement and so Nazi Germany legally occupied Sudetenland, the Czechoslovakia borders with Germany, and in 1939 the whole country was under protectorship of Hitler’s Germany.

After the Second World War, the Nazi troops were replaced by Soviet troops and so the Czechs had to wait for the restoration of democracy till the end of 1989.

So Czechs celebrate the 28th of October mainly to remember this happy democratic era of the First Republic.

Czechs love 28th to public holidays ;-)

There aren’t so many big music festivals in the Prague. This year there is only one with the three years tradition and two new actions, which would like to begin a tradition. The old one is called United islands of the Prague, the second is called Love Planet and the last, which went ahead July 22, 2006 and one about which I would like to tell you is called Music in the park.

The festival was performed in the Prague Park called Stromovka, it cost from the 350 crowns in the advance booking to the 500 crowns. Its the biggest star, Sinéad O’Connor didn’t performed because of illness. There were few who wanted to return their money because of that, but the organisers just tell that it is not hers concert but festival. For theirs honour I must say, that it wasn’t just the empty words.

Little problem happened just while entering. There weren’t allowed any bottles (even PET) with water and also any food. The water wasn’t problem, though was very hot and warm, because there was a cistern with fresh water. The food was worse, because one hot dog cost 30 crowns and anything else at least 45. The menu of the food and drinks was quite big. There were cheese in the buns, meat sausages, fried corn and stuff like that, also for drinking there was wide menu of non-alcoholic drinks, same as beer, something stronger and also cocktails.

But now about the program. Quite frustration became from the absence of Sinéad, but still people were looking for the interesting music experience. The festival itself was oriented on the jazz and blues music. The first performer was David Murphy band, who played some pleasant songs for listening and after him played one of the most honoured Czech classic rock player Vladimír Mišík and ETC. These two bands were only for the beginning and to prepare listeners for the next ride. After them begin to play one of the most talented young guitar player of theses days Tyler Dow with his band and it was really great to listen his solos and to watch his finger running over the guitar neck. After him played another Czech legend and one of ours greatest guitar player Radim Hladík and his Blue effect and followed a list of great interprets with their songs, but the top of the afternoon and evening begin in the 20:00 by the Blind boys of Alabama, the group of blind black singers of gospels. Their show was a great experience even some of them was really tired on the end though they attended song for their fans. The end of this great action belonged to one of the best funky player Maceo Parker and it could be seen that he really understand to his instrument (sax). He and his band, composed of the masters of their instruments make people dancing and moving till the end of this great fest.

This festival really worth 500 crowns and if the tradition will continue next year and you like good music and will have a way over the Czech republic, make sure you don’t miss it.

Well, with the world championship going on all Europe (and I guess the entire world) seems to have gone crazy for football. If you take me, for instance, out of a football ignorant (except for real important games I didn’t even know it existed), I became really interested in it and even read the sports column in the papers to see who and where the action is.

Back to Prague, apart from games projected on huge screens on Wenceslas and Old town Square you can also enjoy loads of actions. For example, Saturday 17th June was the Museums night, a huge cultural event organized by the city of Prague. A good advertising campaign, free entrance to Prague best museums and even the bus tour provided by the city public transport for the occasions played their roles and a huge number of art lovers took by assault the museums in Prague.

The action was overall appreciated and I just live with a bit of regret I missed the Museum Night because of one exam. But that’s life, you win something and lose something else in exchange (or that what they tell me…). Anyway, I look forward to next year, when hopefully I will be able to attend Museum Night in person and I won’t have to read about it in the newspapers…

With a bit of regret, but with the WC2006 to cheer me up I finish this for tonight and promise to tell you more about the United Islands of Prague Music Festival going on this days in the city of one hundred spires.

The Czech people burn witches on the last day of April. Actually it is the perfect reason to go somewhere out in the nature, buy loads of drinks and food, set the fire and grill tasteful sausages. Or set out with friends to some concert, where again draught beer and grilled sausages won’t be missing. The next day, 1 ^st of May, or the International Labor Day is another day for celebrations.
Besides the already mentioned beer and grilled bratwursts Czechs have a tradition a very much liked. Every girl and woman should be kissed under a bloomed cherry tree (but nowadays any bloomed tree whatsoever goes, too) so that she would not wither up during the year.
So, I got my kiss under a romantically blossomed cherry tree on Petrin Hill… If nothing else, at least that will keep me fresh and shiny for the rest of the year!
The commercial wester Valentine’s day might be cute, but this genuine old tradition has something of its own, much closer to my heart.