Sheer magic, that's what this is

Absolutely breathtaking.  I can almost feel that peaceful calm that comes along with a nighttime snowfall...

This is just magical

Photo by GrosMAN Photography... 

check them out at Facebook for even more stunning pics of Prague

Please help me feel Christmassy!

I'm longing for that Christmassy feeling and no place delivers better than Prague.  But, alas, I am not in Prague for the holiday season this year, thus I need to ask you, readers, for your help in making me feel festive and bringing a Prague Christmas to me in Hawaii. 

Today I envision strolling through Old Town Square with a hot cup of Svařák (mulled wine) in-hand.  Perhaps a cinnamon Trdelnik in my other hand.  Gloved hands, of course, for I picture it to be quite chilly, perhaps even lightly snowing.  

I don't like the cold weather by any stretch of the imagination, but during the Christmas season, it's what helps make me feel festive, especially when the scent of wood burning fills the air...or roasting meat!

The Christmas markets are now open throughout Prague and they are where I long to be...

During the day I like to browse the stands and pick up presents and stocking stuffers for family & friends

And at night, there's just something so spectacular about being in the square surrounded by twinkling lights and holiday music... gives me a sense of calm and happiness that I just can't put into words.

** All of the photos except for the very first one are from MyCzechRepublic since I am not there this year **  Visit the website for opening hours and a list of all of the x-mas markets in Prague

As if it's not cold enough...

But hell, if it's cold you may as well surround yourself with ice, snow, and even more ice right here in Prague at our very own ice bar!  Good thing cocktails will warm you up...

Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge at the Hilton Hotel will be holding it's Ice Bar Opening Party tomorrow, Friday, January 6th.  Don't miss your chance to experience a bar made entirely of ice!  The view from the Hilton's terrace is spectacular, and you'll also get to taste and enjoy Slovakia's Double Cross Vodka, as they're holding their official launch at this event, too.  

Even better, Lime & Tonic has a special offer to attend this event.  Tickets are normally 2000kc, but through Lime & Tonic they're only 1,390kc, and every purchase helps to support tree planting.  There's also an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet included, and of course all-you-can-drink Double Cross Vodka cocktails.

As they say in Slovakia, na zdravie, and as we say in Czech, na zdraví!

Romance is a Ball

You've heard me say it time and time again...Prague is a magical place.  And although most of us prefer spring to the biting cold of winter, there's something very enchanting about the city when it's coated with a fresh dusting of snow and filled with the scent of fireplaces burning.  Darkness sets in early, but the street lamps cast a warm glow over the historic buildings and cobblestoned roads...lighting the way for horse-drawn carriages carrying ladies and gentleman dressed in gowns and tuxedos.  Where are they off to dressed so divinely?  To the Ball, of course!

'Tis Ball Season in Prague, and January through March is when most of the balls talk place.  

The Ball Season brightens up the dark winter nights at Prague's grandest venues, including Lucerna Palace's Marble Hall, Žofín, and Národní dům na Vinohradech. 

Žofín Palace

The famous composers, Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana took their turns on the dance floor here

Lucerna Palace's Marble Hall

Lucerna was Prague's first multipurpose complex from the beginning of the 20th century - it is one of the best known of Prague's cultural "palaces"

 

Národní dům na Vinohradech (National House of Vinohrady)

Majakovsky Hall

The biggest and most spectacular historic hall in the National House of Vinohrady, named by Russian poet Vladimir V. Majakovsky

Shall we waltz?

May 2011 be your best year ever!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and may 2011 be your best year ever!  

A few pics of Prague in the winter...like I've said before, I'm not a fan of cold weather, but Prague in winter has a warmth about it.  In the snow it's just spectacular.

This is how we say "Merry Christmas" in Czech...

Here's a great article from The Prague Post that I want to share with you...

The beauty of beer is that it can be just as heartening in winter as it is refreshing in summer. And, to give people an even more seasonal excuse to quaff the cold away, many breweries produce special beers for Christmas, employing both a cunning age-old marketing strategy (limited time only!) and the chance to experiment with some flavors that are decidedly festive.

While long a popular tradition in places like the States, Czech brewers are now hopping onto the beer-wagon, and there are several that are available either in Prague or from farther afoot. Here are just a few:

In Prague, Pivovarský dům is featuring a Christmas Vanilla Special beer, which is also available at Pivovarský klub.

Also in Prague, the U Bansethů restaurant and brewery  is cooking up a special batch of Christmas beer, flavored with cloves and vanilla. Their taps will start pouring the cheer on Monday, Dec. 20.

Jihoměstský pivovar in Haje, run by brewmaster František Richter, is hosting a Christmas Carnival at the microbrewery on Wednesday, Dec. 22., starting at 7 p.m. Free entry with masks.

Up near Prague Castle, Klaštěrní pivovar Strahov, monks and makers of the St. Norbert range of beers, has an unfiltered holiday brew. Available in half-liter and 1-liter bottles, the Xmas Beer Super Strong” and at 19°, is just that, and is flavored with caramel and Carapils malt.

Market leader Pilsner Urquell is releasing special 1-liter bottles, with a retro, vintage design that harks back to the first half of the 20^th century, featuring a ceramic cap and label. Each bottle is packaged in a special Christmas gift box, and supplies are limited (only 15,000 were produced).

Another Plzeň brewery, Purkmistr, is producing three special brews for the holidays: California Advent Ale 12°, Vienna Special 16° and the Festive 15°. Approximately 950 liters of each type are being produced.

Jihlavský pivovar, the makers of Ježek beer, among others, has a 16° Čertovský Special out, which features a red hue enhanced by natural grape extracts and will be available at about 400 pubs across the country.

Velký Břežno pivovar prepared a special semi-dark Christmas version of its Brežnák beer that is being served at select pubs and shops nationwide. This is the fourth year of the annual brew, and this year the brewery has produced 2 million bottles of it.

According to iDnes.cz, Berounský medvěd should have its Christmas Bear 14°. “It is a semi-dark lager in a special, half-liter bottle with our Christmas Bear logo, for 55 Kč. And get ready for our special dark porter,” said brewery owner Hana Mayerová.

Kácov brewery, which makes the light Hubertus lager, is making a Special Dark beer, that, according to David Horejši, head of the brewery via iDnes.cz, has a “fruity flavor” and costs 18 Kč in shops. There is also rumored to be a Nicholas Wheat Special, or Mikulašský pšeničný special.

The small but award-winning brewery Matuška Broumy, near Beroun, releases its special ultra-strong Matuška vánoční beer, at a heady 19°.

And of course, any beer at all can be festive if consumed with the right spirit!

"Wisemen & Shepherds, Camels & Sheep. Bow at a Manger, God's Son Fast Asleep"

Both live and still nativity scenes are set up throughout Prague for the Christmas season.  Look for open-air nativity scenes and for special nativity scene exhibits in museums around Prague.

This version of the manger story, located at Prague Castle, shows the Three Wise Men and animals formed from straw 

 Nativity scene made of wood in Old Town Square

Be sure to visit the many churches and museums that have nativity scenes on display...

It's just not Christmas without carp!

 A traditional Czech Christmas dinner just wouldn't be complete without carp.  Yes, carp.  Fried carp served with potato salad.  It's the main dish really, and believe it or not, it's quite good!  Although I love fried carp, I like to have carp 2-ways at my Christmas table ...fried and baked carp, aka Gypsy carp ("kapr po cikánsku") - it's delicious!!

Traditional Czech Christmas dinner... fish soup (carp), fried carp and potato salad 

Right about now you'll see fishmongers with their large tubs of live carp throughout Prague and other cities in the Czech Republic.  

 The Třebon Fishery, located in the south Bohemian town of Třebon, is one of the country's main producers of carp, harvesting roughly 2,200 of the company's yearly output of 3,300 tons in the fall.  The country has a long tradition of carp farming that started in the early 14th century.  "Our method of fishing has remained largely unchanged, apart from a few innovations," says Aleš Kříž (no relation to me... that I know of!), the company's head fish-breeding technician.  "First, we drain the pond, which can take anywhere between a week and a month, depending on how deep it is.  The fish move to the deepest part of the drained pond, and that's where we catch them, with boats and nets.  it is hard physical labor that hasn't changed in the past 500 years." 

Třebon Fishery

Třebon Fishery, which has 388 carp ponds, employs 95 fisherman, but seasonal workers as well as carp-fishing aficionados who come in when the main season kicks off to help out the staff.  After carp is fished, the specimens are divided by size and the smaller fish are returned to ponds while the bigger ones are moved to holding facilities from where they are delivered to retail outlets.  Czech carp are sold when they are 3-4 years old, so it's a long process.

The country's total output of carp averages 20,000 tone yearly, 70% of which is exported to countries such as Slovakia, Germany and Austria, but also to more remote importers like Spain and Italy.

In recent years, salmon and even poultry and pork-based dishes have gained popularity as viable replacements for carp at Christmas, which the younger Czechs view as too heavy a meal.  However, carp remains the undisputed favorite for most families.  Some families have tried salmon or something else one year, but they always come back to carp realizing that it's just not Christmas without carp!

Happy Birthday, Josef Lada!

A Czech Christmas wouldn't be complete without Josef Lada's simply drawn carolers, snow-covered villages and nativity scenes.

Josef Lada was born on December 17, 1887, in Hrusice.  He was a Czech painter and writer and best known as the illustrator of Jaroslav Hašek's WWI novel The Good Soldier Švejk.  He produced nearly 600 cartoons of the Švejk characters, depicting Austria-Hungary officers and civil servants as incompetent, abusive and often drunk.

Josef Lada

Born in the small village of Hrusice, his father was a cobbler and the family was very poor, but Josef seemed to have a very happy childhood and loved Christmas.  Years later he recalled with relish the traditional foods his family prepared and said he loved their small and modestly decorated Christmas trees more than the wealthier boys whose trees reached the ceiling.

The village of Hrusice

Lada's villa in Hrusice today houses his museum

Josef Lada was sent to Prague to be an apprentice binder, but art was his passion and he loved to paint and draw.  Entirely self-taught, he created his own style as a caricaturist for newspapers, and later as an illustrator.  His first illustrations were published by a magazine called Maj.  He also wrote and illustrated the adventures of Mikeš, a little black cat who could talk.

Mikeš and his travels...

Two years later Josef had his fateful first meeting with Jaroslav Hašek.  Decades later, Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk and his Fortunes in the World War would be most people's first introduction to Lada's distinctive art, at least outside of the Czech Republic.

The Good Soldier Švejk 

In this country, however, many people associate Josef Lada with his wonderful Christmas paintings, many of which have been appearing on Czech Christmas cards for generations.  Typical images include large families in simple but cozy rooms; the men smoking pipes while rosy-faced children marvel at Nativity scenes.  Other typical Lada Christmas figures include carolers, and children building snowmen or sledding.  Invariably, there is snow all around, and while it may be a dark the village looks calm and pretty, and the wooden houses warm and welcoming.

His grandson, also called Josef, says that the reason his grandfather's illustrations remain so popular over five decades after his death is that everyone can relate to them.  "I think that with his art he managed to capture something general, something that everybody can accept.  His pictures from all four seasons were so perfectly done that everyone finds something in them, everyone finds a bit of their own childhood.  They show villages and the countryside as they used to be, but aren't any more.  I think that's why his work is still so popular."

In the 1970s there were Lada calendars in which religious figures were removed and replaced by, for instance, a bowl of apples.  Now, however, all of his wonderful Christmas illustrations are exactly as he painted them.  

Chances are that if you receive a Christmas card from the Czech Republic it may very well feature one of Josef Lada's timeless images.

Josef Lada 

December 17, 1887 - December 14, 1957...buried at Olšany Cemetery in Prague