Prague tips

I am talking here about the exhibition of Jan Saudek, famous Czech art photographer. His work as well as his personality is celebrated, adored, worshiped by some people and at the same time vilified, despised and cursed by others. There is nothing in between.

Why? Almost all of Saudek’s pictures involve nudity. And nudity is controversial for some. For Saudek and his fans, these are pictures about life, because nudity is part of everybody’s life. Sometimes funny, sometimes pathetic, sometimes a little rude, but that’s perhaps rather like the real thing.

People used as models for his nude photography are ordinary people, no models from magazines. Saudek is fascinated by the metamorphosis of human body over time, photographing children as well as women’s bodies – boyishly thin or voluptuously fat. It is the relationship between youth and old, beauty and ugliness, sincerity and falsehood, irony and cynicism that you can trace in his work.

His work is distinctive and original, not part of any genre or movement. And it is original, provocative adoration of manhood – to which anything human is not strange – that makes Saudek a unique character in contemporary photography.

Jan Saudek was born in 1935, in Prague. Many of his family died in concentration camp during World War II. He himself was held in a children’s concentration camp near Polish borders. This terrible experience as a child had a strong influence on him.

This exhibition, which includes 50 years of Saudek’s photo work, is unique by its range and the choice of works exhibited. It shows more than 150 pictures; either elephant size or published for the first time.

You can form your own attitude towards Jan Saudek after visiting his big retrospective exhibition at newly open Jan Saudek Gallery (this exhbition used to be on the Old Town Square, in the house called U Bileho jednorozce, in English The White Unicorn House). Open daily from 10 am to 8 pm.

Being in Prague and not see Don Giovanni is like being in Paris but not up the Eiffel Tower! If you are a fan, it is a thing of life and death. Do you think I am exaggerating? Not at all. Don Giovanni performed some place else but Prague’s Estates Theatre is a totally different show!

Prague’s Estates Theatre is the authentic theatre that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart chose to premiere Don Giovanni, on October 29, 1787, also conducted by Mozart himself! Prague audience loved it and so it has been played ever since. Don Giovanni has become a traditional opera and means a climax of the cultural life in Prague.

I have seen it twice and even my American friend that is not really an opera-lover liked it and said he wants to see it again!

Don Giovanni is one of the most famous operas of all time. In Prague you can experience the atmosphere of seeing the „opera of all operas“ in the theater where it all started. The Estates Theatre is one of the most beautiful and historic playhouses in Europe, built at the end of the 18th century. The Czech anthem was first performed here as a part of a comic opera Fidlovacka.

The Estates Theater will be forever linked with the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who chose this stage to premiere not only thrilling Don Giovanni, but another of his best-known operas: La Clemenza di Tito, in 1791. A statue in front of the Theater called „Commendatore“ or „Pieta“ serves as a reminder that the Mozart’s Don Giovanni had its grand opening here.

The nearest Don Giovanni performance is on 15th February 2007. Starting at 7 p.m. at the Estates Theater, located at Ovocny trh 1, Prague 1, about 5 minutes walk from subway station Mustek (line A and B). Price is from 390 CZK higher, depending where you want to be seated. If you have your student ID with you, don’t forget to show it when buying the ticket. You may get a discount up to 50 per cent for it!

You might have seen the beautiful blue-velvet interior in Milos Forman’s movie Amadeus, which was about the life of the music genius.

From the end of November until Christmas, the city of Prague comes alive with beautiful decorations, the sounds of traditional music, and the mouth-watering aromas of hot wine (svarak) and delicious local food!

The most impressive Christmas atmosphere is without any doubt on the Old Town Square! The square is dominated by a beautiful Christmas tree (of course it is real) jeweled with hundreds of lights that are lit every evening at dusk, which is usually about 5pm. As it is set against a gothic skyline, it is a spectacular sight!

On the Old Town Square there is also the most beautiful Christmas market in Prague. Hand-made gifts and traditional Czech food and warm drinks are sold there. The whole atmosphere is accompanied by live Christmas concerts since a stage is erected on the Old Town Square every year. You may hear local or international choirs along with musical ensembles singing Christmas carols on open air. Wait till you see it! Now that is a holiday spirit!

In Prague’s Old Town Square there is also a mini zoo. Children can enjoy pony rides and pat sheep, goats and even a lama! Next to this is a Bethlehem manger scene – a large wooden stable with a straw floor shows Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the three kings.

Christmas in Prague is simply wonderful

Christmas is a special time of the year in Prague and the Christmas markets go hand in hand with it. Prague Christmas markets, which have a long tradition, bring people together to share the holiday spirit. It is really worth a visit.

The markets start every year four Saturdays before December 24, which is the Christmas Eve, and run until the beginning of January. They are open every day of the week and still they are always busy despite the weather! Why?

Prague Christmas markets are not mainly about the shopping. It is all about the special Christmas atmosphere that is there. The markets offer you not only a great opportunity to buy some unique gifts, but especially the experience of nice traditions that are still alive. They bring the true meaning of Christmas to life.

The most popular markets are on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square where Christmas items are sold in 70 to 80 stands. Smaller ones are located on Namesti Republiky, Havelske Trziste and Namesti Miru. They are all easily accessible by subway.

The markets themselves consist of traditional wooden chalets that line the market squares and are nicely decorated. You will find there traditional Christmas decorations, holiday items and hand-crafted gifts together with fresh food and drinks. They are usually open from 9am to 7pm.

Browse the stalls and enjoy the festive atmosphere! See you there!

Charles Bridge is not just a tourist attraction. It dates back to medieval times and the whole time it has been the main pedestrian route linking the Old Town with Mala Strana, and then onto Prague Castle itself. But there is another thing that the Charles Bridge is famous for. You can make a wish there that will certainly come true if you do it the right way! It is not complicated, don’t worry. I will help you.

An alley of 30 baroque statues and statuaries erected during the late 17th and the early 18th centuries decorates Charles Bridge. These statues and statuarities depicting saints is the key point here. They do not only form a unique connection of artistic styles – Gothic and Baroque. Touching one of them will ensure you good luck, guarantee your return to Prague and you can make a wish as well. Are you keen on which one is it?

You have to find a statue of St. John of Nepomuk. It is the 8th statue on the right hand if you are heading from Old Town Square towards the Prague Castle. If you don’t want to count, it may be easier for you to look for the shiny-like-gold spot on the bottom of one of these statues.

John of Nepomuk was a priest in Prague under King Wenceslas IV (son of Charles IV). The priest received the confessions of the Queen. Unfortunately for John of Nepomuk the King was a very suspicious man. He wanted to know the Queen’s confessions which Nepomuk would not reveal, not even to the King, because it would be against his commitment of confidentiality. Nepomuk was therefore executed by being thrown into the Vltava River from the bridge and drown.

The plaque on the statue of John of Nepomuk has been polished to a shine by countless people having touched it over the centuries. Touching the falling priest on the plaque is supposed to bring good luck and ensure your return to Prague. However, don’t get confused by the shiny dog and woman (the Queen)! Not everybody knows the legend and therefore is not sure what to touch! It became shiny only by chance. It doesn’t mean anything special.

Some meters before the actual statue (going back to Old Town Square) on the same side is a small golden cross marking the spot where the saint’s body was thrown into the Vltava river. You have to look for it carefully for the cross is not sticking out – it rests on the bridge. Touch the cross and make a wish! It is said it will come true within a year and one day!

Try to visit the Charles Bridge early at the morning for a less crowded walk, or go at night for a truly romantic stroll, with fairytale views of the Prague skyline, dominated by the magnificent Prague Castle.

St. John of Nepomuk is Czech martyr saint whose tomb is in St. Vitus Catedral on the Prague Castle.

Does it sound crazy to you? A museum for a person that never ever existed? Well, nothing is impossible in Prague! There truly is such a museum, and you should pay it a visit for it’s really worth it! Where else can you go to a museum like this?

The museum is dedicated to Jara Cimrman, a Czech genius from the turn of the 20 century, who is said to be the inventor of almost everything but who has not received well deserved acknowledgement in his times. He almost fell into oblivion if it were not for the happy coincidence of finding his life-works in 1969 on the for-century-not-used loft of a little house in a little village.

So now we know about all of his great inventions such as the dynamite. Unfortunately, when Cimrman went to patent his invention, he met Alfred Nobel just leaving the building! Our genius was only few minutes late for his world-wide fame! And so it went with all his great achievements. Were he only 5 minutes quicker, we would have call the Nobel Prize the Cimrman Prize instead!

Are you confused now? Are you doubtful whether this Jára Cimrman lived or not? If you ask any Czech on the street, even a little child, they would all tell you that Cimrman existed although everyone present knows perfectly well that Jara Cimrman was never “flesh and bones” person, but nobody wants to spoil the fun!

Jara Cimrman is really only legendary person. He was created – over a bottle of vodka, they say – by Ladislav Smoljak, Jiri Sebanek and Oscar winning director Zdenek Sverak (1996 for film Kolja). They created a great myth about the perfect Czech. Immediately, Cimrman gained enormous popularity.

Cimrman was a true genius, he has influenced everything starting from world literature, music, art, politics, up to great inventions and discoveries. Stories about him are really funny especially because everybody knows it’s all made up.

He is really a big thing in the Czech republic. He has a theatre putting plays that the great Czech genius allegedly wrote. Some of the passages from „his“ plays are used as catchphrases. There is even a movie about him.

And guess who won the Greatest Czech of all time – the Czech version of the British nation wide poll in which Winston Churchill won? Among all the great historical figures from this country, the number-one vote-getter was a fictional character, Jara Cimrman! This is the Czech humour! Cimrman has thus beaten the likes of composer Antonin Dvorak, Emperor Charles IV or presidents Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and Vaclav Havel. Regrettably, Cimrman was disqualified on the grounds that he never existed.

You can visit the museum for free every day from 10 a.m. till 7 p.m. The exhibition is situated in the ground floor of the Petrin Tower, known as Little Eiffel tower. It’s location is significant for Cimrman helped to influence the final shape of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Cimrman museum is the last place, where you can see the original shape with straight legs. And if you don’t know who invented CD, it was the Czech fellow Jára Cimrman, of course (“Cimrman’s Disk”). I am sure you will fall in love with this great guy just like all Czechs did!

Without any doubt, the nicest view of the Prague Castle is from the river. If you don´t feel like swimming, you can very easily rent a boat and comfortably admire the fantastic castle complex together with the Charles Bridge, National Theatre and others.

It´s a really romantic thing to do! But I would not recommend it only to lovers. I would recommend it to everyone who wants to take a break from walking around the city but at the same time wants to do something new and exciting.

You can rent a pedal-boat or a rowing boat, whatever you prefer. There are even some boats looking like swan for a rent. For a 70,- CZK the boat is all yours and you can fit in 4 adults. For 60 minutes you can cruise round Prague´s islands and enjoy the magical views. When on the Vltava river, you have the chance to wonder at the unknown angles of the truly unique architectural complex. It is worth it!

And where do you find those rent-a-boat places? They are on the island Zofin near National Theatre or by the Charles Bridge. They are open till 10 p.m., so you can also enjoy night views of Prague.

Enjoy your cruise!

Have you seen any Czech movie? Probably not and that’s a pity. Don’t you think that once you are actually in Prague it is the best time to change it?

They say that when you are in a foreign country you should try the food that is typical for the country. Shouldn’t it be the same with local movies? At least you have now a great chance to see one.

Czech film maker Zdenek Sverak and his Elementary School (Obecna skola, 1991) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and his movie Kolya (Kolja, 1996) won it. Hrebejk’s Divided We Fall (Musime si pomahat, 2000) also received an Oscar nomination. So they can’t be that bad!

I know, you may object that there is a problem called language barriers. Czech is a hard language, one of those hardest in a world. But how about English subtitles?

There is a cinema called Kino MAT, it is at Karlovo Square 19. You can get there very easily with a tram number 4, 6, 10, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, or with a subway – yellow line B, just get off at station Karlovo Namesti. Here they play Czech movies every day at 6 p.m. or at 8:30 p.m. with English subtitles and one ticket costs 99 CZK.

I hope you will find it interesting.

Do you want to take a break from Prague sightseeing? Do you believe that shopping goes hand in hand with travelling? Do you wish to go somewhere where you can spend the day away without worrying about the weather forecast? The solution for you who answered yes to any of those questions is the shopping centre called Centrum Chodov.

It is without any doubt the biggest mall in Prague, even further in the Czech Republic. The best thing about it is that it is situated right next to the subway station Chodov (red line C), which means that you can’t get lost by any chance, seriously! The other great thing is that you can reach it in about 20 minutes from Prague’s centre when taking the tube.

I have to confess I am one of those happy visitors. I was there last Sunday. Since this summer has been exceptionally hot, I decided I need a new swimsuit. I planned on spending there no more than an hour considering I had one simple goal – to buy me a bathing suit. This was, however, not a simple task at all after I found out how many stores there are and that pretty much all of them have sales!!!

There are all my favourite brands plus much more at one spot. Any brand you can thing of is there. You name it, you got it. And they are all selling now with great discounts up to 70 per cent. Now tell me, how could I leave after only one hour? That is nearly impossible!

Centrum Chodov will offer you wide range of stores and services. On the area of 55.000 square meters you can browse in 210 shops, drink in Europe so popular coffee or tea and please your taste buds with a cake or two in 12 cafés, and appease hunger in 11 restaurants. There is a hypermarket as well.

And my swimsuit? I didn’t buy any, but this doesn’t mean I wasn’t successful. I ended up buying something else. The sales were so tempting that I bought myself clothes I do not really need, and forgot all about what I came here for. But the prices were so convenient I couldn’t leave it there! My swimsuit will have to wait.
So if you have a buying fever or just want to experience what I did, do not hesitate, since the summer sales won’t last too long, and come visit Centrum Chodov. You won’t leave emptyhanded, I do believe so. Moreover, if you go now, you will be leaving the mall with the thought not that you threw out more hard-earned-money, but rather that you saved some by shopping so advantageously.

And the most wanted information at last – the Centrum Chodov mall is open every day, shops from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m., the hypermarket from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., and restaurants from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. Enjoy it!

During hot summer days like those we have right now back in Prague (check weather forecast), there is nothing better then to go to the beach. But there is a little problem with that – Czech Republic doesn’t have any sea! What to do then?

The solution is quite easy. You don’t have to have a sea in order to have a beach. You can visit a beach on the riverbank. And there is such a place in the very heart of Prague!

The 1st Prague beach is not only for sunseekers who want to top up their tans. There is a pretty big, 15×7 meters long, swimming pool that floats in the Vltava River. You can play beach volleyball, badminton or petanque on payment of a small fee. Sunbeds, sunshades as well as the swimming pool are included in price.

The 1st Prague beach on the Vltava River will welcome you with 500 tonnes of imported sand, 236 deckchairs and 1080 cubic meters of a pool water. Of course there is a playground for kids, as well as a restaurant with a bar, where they make a great Mojito.

At the evening serves the 1st Prague beach as a dancing place, live concerts take place here as well. Together with other entertainment, such as special night events called Fire & Coctail Show or Tropical Night and others, is 1st Prague beach the place to party!

The 1st Prague beach is along the west bank of the Vltava River by the Horejsi nabrezi (alongside the Botel Admiral), in between Palackeho and Zeleznicni bridges, just three blocks from the metro station Andel. The beach is open every day till the end of September from 9:30 a.m. For the whole day you pay 59 CZK; students 39 CZK ; kids and seniors 29 CZK.

Enjoy yourselves and stay cool in hot days!