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SpecialHanif Kureishi – the famous British author on Prague, Islam and multiracial societies in Europe
Undoubtedly the most famous guest at this year’s Prague Writers’
Festival, the British novelist, screenwriter and playwright Hanif Kureishi
rose to international fame in 1985, with his screenplay for the film “My
Beautiful Laundrette”. Since then, he published the novel “The Buddha
of Suburbia” to great acclaim and continues to write extensively, both
for the screen and works of fiction. Ahead of his first reading at the
festival, I asked him about his work, why he enjoys the short story form
and if he had previously visited Prague. More
SpotlightA bit of Paris in Prague – the Bohemian coffeehouse Café Montmartre
Tucked away on Řetězová street in Prague’s Old Town, Café Montmartre
is one of the city’s oldest coffeehouses. While it looks rather
unassuming from the outside, the former cabaret has a fascinating history.
Famous writers such as Franz Kafka and Egon Erwin Kisch are said to have
spent many a wild night here, and Café Montmartre continues to draw
artists, writers and actors. We spoke to its manager, Iva Nesvadbová,
about the café’s history, its guests and its upcoming anniversary. More
SpotlightThe Prague Police Museum - an institution that explores the history of police and crime in Czech lands
Tucked away in a former monastery in Prague’s Nové Město, the Czech
Police Museum boasts a fascinating permanent exhibit exploring the history
of Czech police, the development of criminology, infamous murder cases and
much more. Sarah Borufka went along and has this report. More
SpotlightBoating along the Vltava river in Prague
Forget the Blue Danube, it’s the greeny-brown Vltava which is the watery
muse of artists and musicians in this part of the world. The Vltava is the
Czech Republic’s longest river, stretching more than 400 km. It is also
the main waterway through the Czech capital Prague, and has been most
famous in recent years for bursting its banks in 2002. The floods caused
billions of crowns’ worth of damage to the capital alone, and put the
city’s metro out of action for several months. More
Current AffairsGovernment renames airport after Havel, but botches translation
After three months of waiting and some sideline debates, the government has
agreed to rename Prague’s international airport after the late president
Václav Havel. While the Havel family and the tens of thousands who asked
for the change are pleased there has finally been some progress, a new
problem has arisen with the English translation of the airport’s name.
Christian Falvey has this report. More
SpotlightCycle path shows the hidden side of Žižkov
The rumbling railroad track that used to pass through Žižkov in Prague
was completely natural to the gritty-but-chic image of the 19th century
proletariat quarter. The main western entrance to Žižkov was arched by
three foreboding railway bridges, and the noisy, spray-painted cars passed
alongside Vítkov hill to the cargo station. Four years ago the trains
were
still rattling the plaster off that lower end of the neighbourhood, just
as
they had been since the late Industrial Revolution, and then the route was
cancelled for a higher-capacity alternative. More
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