Archive: Travel | Prague Prague
Corruption universal but corruption tourism unique to Prague, says tour boss Petr Šourek
One of the more colourful news stories out of the Czech Republic last year
concerned Corrupt Tour, which started running excursions – in Czech,
English and German – to sites linked to graft. These include the villas
of dodgy businessmen, Prague City Hall and the spot where the city’s
“Olympic centre” was projected to stand. More
My Prague – Glen Emery
Glen Emery has been in Prague since the early 1990s and today owns the
lively and cosmopolitan bar Bukowski’s in Žižkov. But the Canadian, a
seasoned raconteur, started out in the city with Jo’s Bar, just off the
main square in Malá Strana, or the Lesser Quarter. In this edition of My
Prague, Emery takes us on a short tour of the historic area, which lies
below Prague Castle on the left bank of the River Vltava. More
Cycle 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
A Tale of Two Towers
Prague’s skyline gave the capital one of its nicknames: the city of a
hundred spires. But in actual fact around a thousand spires, belfries and
towers of various styles and ages now grace the city centre. Some of them
are popular tourist attractions offering great views of the city, others
only recently revealed their mysteries. One served as an observation post
for the secret police; another hosted a morbid display of a dozen severed
heads. More
My Prague – Tonya Graves
The US singer Tonya Graves is extremely well-known in the Czech Republic. A
member of the popular funk group Monkey Business, she also performs solo
and has been involved in various other musical projects since she first
arrived here in the mid 1990s. More
My Prague – Radim Špaček
Radim Špaček is perhaps best known as the director of the multi-award
winning film Pouta, or Walking Too Fast. A former child actor, Radim also
makes documentaries and co-organizes Prague’s Bollywood Film Festival. He
was actually born on the other side of the country, in Ostrava, but came to
the capital as a child.
More
Prague's Žižkov district celebrates twenty years of Masopust
Traditional carnival celebrations preceding the beginning of lent are
taking place all over the Czech capital, with many neighborhoods organizing
their own celebrations. Prague’s Žižkov district holds the claim to the
longest running post-communist tradition of Masopust festivities, as they
are called in Czech. This year, Žižkov celebrates the twentieth Masopust
in the neighborhood. More
St. Martin in the Wall
I had never really been inside or had a proper look around, but I was sure
the small church of St Martin in the Wall would have an interesting story,
if for no other reason than its ancient appearance and peculiar name. Just
off the central Národní třída is a classic Prague alleyway that’s
tucked away from the shopping boulevard, neatly dividing the centuries from
one another, and there you’ll find it. One of the oldest churches in the
city, St Martin in the Wall is one of those relatively few landmarks whose
story can transport you all the way back through the ages to the beginnings
of the Czech metropolis. More
A Prague institution - the famous Café Slavia
Prague’s wealth of traditional coffeehouses is a legacy from the era of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But even in today’s hectic time, grabbing a
quick cup on the run is fortunately not the only option for coffee lovers
in the Czech capital. Probably the best-known café in the golden city is
Kavárna Slavia, or Café Slavia. We recently visited this traditional
coffeehouse. More
The small Vršovice château – an old landmark rising slowly from the ruins
Standing atop of a small hill, with a tramline swooping around it,
punctuated by a baroque Roman Catholic church on one side and a modernist
Hussite church on the other, Rangherka, or the small Vršovice château,
contains within its own story the history of the surrounding district as
well. The original building was put up just as the then village of
Vršovice began to grow and develop rapidly. Now, unlike the surrounding
neighbourhood, it is a sad sight. The prominent neo-renaissance building is
in ruins, with reconstruction having dragged on for more than six years,
although the past year has seen the work finally intensify. More
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