"It is a bittersweet thing, knowing two cultures. It is a curse to love two countries."
Prague has captured my soul and tugs at my heartstrings, thus I want to share my love of this beautiful city with you.
I want you to fall in love as I have.
Aside from Lokál, which I have not been to yet, I agree with their selections. U Fleků and Klášterní Pivovar Strahov are two of my favorite places... old faithfuls if you will. I'd say if you'll be visiting Prague, these 5 stops are a definite must. Beer tour, anyone?
I've posted about Pivovar Strahov before and you can read it here, a well as Zlý Časy, which you will find here.
I think we can all agree that Homer Simpson says it best...
It's that time of year again! It wouldn't be summer in CZ without SázavaFest. Between August 2nd and 5th, more than 100 acts will perform their hearts out all for your entertainment.
This year’s headliners include indie rockers Kaiser Chiefs (UK), legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold and New York’s Fun Lovin‘ Criminals (USA), as well as other major acts like Skindred (UK), Yellow Umbrella (DE), Molotov (MEX), Coby Grant (AUS) and Lyre Le Temps (FR).
This three-day shindig features an additional dance stage hosting renowned DJs like Mike Candys, DJ Sak Noel, Dennis Sheperd and Chris Sadler.
So the Czech Beer Festival started today and takes place at Vystavyště Holešovice (Prague Exhibition Grounds), which you probably already know if you read my previous post. But did you now that Vystavyště is also home to a spectacular work of wonder and one of my favorite places to visit? Yep, hidden behind this beautiful building
is a fountain, but not just any fountain, this fountain...
Křižík's Fountainwas designed by and named after Czech engineer František Křižík, the electrically illuminated Křižíkova Fountain was the centerpiece of the 1891 General Land Centennial Exhibition held in Prague, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. Today, the Fountain is equal parts attraction and stage. As the backdrop for a 6,000-person amphitheater, it hosts dance performances, classical concerts, and other events, some of which are performed on various platforms within the fountain.
It's way too soon to begin thinking about Christmas (well, maybe just for me November is still considered early), but the reality is that it IS just around the corner.
Christmas is my favorite holiday and I have a confession... I have already started thinking about it...a lot. You see, I'm very excited for Christmas this year because we're hosting it! I'll have a tree again (real, of course) and get to pull out my beloved ornaments and display my Dickens village. In my mind, there's nothing more heartwarming than the thought of an old-fashioned holiday season in a small European village...cobblestone roads covered with a light dusting of snow*, chestnuts roasting, hot mulled wine and spiced cider, the sound of horse hoofs as they pull a carriage through town, carolers...this, to me, is happiness.
This being said it makes perfect sense that my favorite holiday movie is A Christmas Carol ..
...(National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a close second!)
Want to see Scrooge for yourself? Now you can because A Christmas Carol will be performed at Literární Kavárna in Prague!
From today's The Prague Post, "Prague Playhouse, an English-language theater troupe, is putting on a revival of the classic Charles Dickens novel adapted for stage, A Christmas Carol, Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 24-26 at 7:30 pm at Literární Kavárna on Řetězova 10, Prague 1." For the rest of the article, click HERE
Many different names and insignia were applied to this building throughout its rich history; only during the course of its remodeling in the Baroque style at the end of the 18th century did its owner have installed on the façade the stone relief of a tiger, illustrating the house's new and permanent name - The Golden Tiger. By the 1820s, the building housed a coffeehouse renowned in literary circles, where the leading figures of the Czech National Revival debated long hours over their newspapers. Now, though, for a great many decades the "Tiger" has depended far less on its coffee than its exceptional Pilsner Urquell beer.
Of the connoisseurs of the frothing golden pints poured from the "Tiger's" taps, the most famous was certainly the writer Bohumil Hrabal, though the beer itself was far from the only reason he frequented this historic Prague locale.
"The pub for me is not simply too loud a solitude, not simply the place where beer is drunk, but where the beer sets the tongue in motion, into creation; the pub is where language grows and new argots and phrases come into being", Hrabal wrote.
Bohumil Hrabal
In 1994, U zlatého tygraplayed host to the American president Bill Clinton, at the invitation of the then Czech president Václav Havel. The two statesmen joined Bohumil Hrabal and other members of his circle for a glass of beer after the duties of the state visit.
Basement, cellar, crypt, vault, dungeon...whatever you want to call it, I'm there! You see, these subterrane places intrigue me even more than driving through a ghetto. Now combine this with vino, a labyrinth of stone stairs, in a spot generally unbeknownst to tourists, and I'm in a state of ecstasy.
Honestly, I can't believe I'm even going to share this place, but I trust that you'll wish to keep it a secret. It's not that it's unknown, it's just that it's in the heart of the city and yet mainly frequented by locals and those who are so happy to have stumbled upon it that they dare not tell for fear of it being overrun by stag parties and, well, hipsters and douchebags.
You may think you're in the wrong place when you walk in the front door and are ogled (if you're an attractive female) by the chain-smoking beer-guzzling Czech men siding up to the bar, but you're not, just keep on walking...
