Sep 29th, 2008 at 10:00AM: This weekend I was in Prague, happy to be reminded, thanks to signs hung in pretty much every bar and cafe window, that it's once again bur?ák season! Huh? you say. From now into November, most drinking holes outside of seedy herna, or gambling, bars will be offering bur?ák, which is barely fermented wine. If Beaujolais is the French answer to early wine, bur?ák -- ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
czechrepublic posts
It's bur?ák season in Prague! Try it, with caution
Sep 29th, 2008 at 10:00AM: This weekend I was in Prague, happy to be reminded, thanks to signs hung in pretty much every bar and cafe window, that it's once again bur?ák season! Huh? you say. From now into November, most drinking holes outside of seedy herna, or gambling, bars will be offering bur?ák, which is barely fermented wine. If Beaujolais is the French answer to early wine, bur?ák -- ...Prague transportation: Traveling to the Czech capital? Be choosy about how you get around the city
Jul 15th, 2008 at 12:00PM: If you're heading to Prague this summer, one of the first things you'll notice when arriving at Ruzyne Airport is the number of car services competing for your business. Prague's airport is not serviced by the city's subway network, though talk is ongoing about eventually extending it. If you go the public transportation route, that means a bus, usually the 119 that takes you to end station on ...From the New Europe: The Unbearable Appeal of Being in Prague
Mar 29th, 2008 at 1:30PM: It is still a fairly common cliche in Prague: a backpacker with a beat up copy of Milan Kundera's 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, trying to discover the Prague Kundera once described.
That Prague--desperate amidst the Russian invasion--does not exist anymore. The locals don't want it to exist. I always sense a little disappointment when tourists find out that Prague is not at all ...From the New Europe: 106 cars collide in a snow storm
Mar 21st, 2008 at 5:55PM: They don't call the D1, the major Czech highway, a "death trap" for nothing. Yesterday morning amidst a surprising spring snow storm which brought down as much as one inch of snow within minutes, the D1 turned into a bloody mess. Lucky me, I drove to Prague from Moravia just hours before the accident happened.
It all started with two semi trucks getting stuck mid-hill (summer tires?) about ...From the New Europe: Three hemp plants? No problem in the Czech Republic
Mar 17th, 2008 at 11:20AM: On Friday after a hearty Czech meal, my Mom popped the question. She asked me if I could somehow manage to get her a hemp plant or two. At first, I thought it was a trick question. What do you answer? So I said what any good Czech daughter would say. "Sure Mom. I think I can manage that."
I know she has no intentions of actually using it for "marijuana-smoking purposes," but her request still ...Hard alcohol banned from Wenceslas Square stands. Kielbasas saved!
Feb 8th, 2008 at 9:00AM: The sausage stands on Prague's Wenceslas Square are probably familiar to anyone who stumbled its cobble-stoned streets after midnight, looking (unsuccessfully) for a more civilized place to eat. The after-dark scene around these stands is not what most people have in mind when they picture the fairy-tale city of Prague: homeless people, prostitutes, and people of various stages of ...Photo of the Day (12/31/07)
Dec 31st, 2007 at 9:30AM:
Allow me to indulge myself by posting my own photo as the last photo of 2007. I took this picture last week in the central highlands of the Czech Republic right before I escaped to sunny Portugal to ring in the new year. It summarizes my year pretty well: sad. Goodbye, not-so-good '07. Glad you are almost gone. Hello, 2008!
***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go ...Is the beer too cheap in Britain?
Nov 12th, 2007 at 1:30PM: Apparently, some people in Britain are mad because stores are charging less for beer than they are for bottled water. When I was in parts of Czech Republic and Poland last month, beer was always cheaper than water. And did it affect me? Well, yes, it did -- but that's because I had a hard time discerning which bottles of water were carbonated or not. There were times when I never did figure it ...Which European Country has the Worst Drunks According to YouTube Videos
Sep 20th, 2007 at 7:28AM: Europe has a long tradition of drinking. While this may not be such a bad cultural norm, there are a few bad apples who embrace their love of alcohol just a little too enthusiastically. If you've been to Europe, you know what I'm talking about. Sure, my home country of America has its share of drunks, but for whatever reason I always see far more stumbling, incoherent, word-slurring reprobates on ...
Leave Prague for Authentic Czech Pubs
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Sep 5th, 2007 at 1:30PM: To get the typical Czech pub experience these days, one must now leave Prague far behind. When I first began visiting this fine city more than a decade ago, traditional Czech pubs were on every corner. They were smoky, served cheap beer, and full of all walks of Czech life, from students to pensioners, artists to soldiers, and everything in between. Today, however, most pubs in the center of ...Low-Brow Wine-Cellar Hopping in Moravia
Sep 4th, 2007 at 4:04PM: Getting away from cities. Folks in costumes. Plenty of cheap wine to go around. If this concept frightens you already, you might as well stop reading now.
Most people visiting the Czech Republic--some 8 million annually--come only to Prague. For those trying to get away from all those tourists, I suggest heading to the south eastern part of the country: the wine growing region of Moravia. ...Mushroom Pickers Unite!
Sep 2nd, 2007 at 3:10PM: Well, it's that time of year again in the Czech Republic. Time for those atavistic hunter-gatherer instincts to be unleashed. Thousands of Europeans with crazed looks in their darting eyes, trembling fingers clutching baskets, socks rolled over their pant legs (ticks!), marching, probing, snooping, we stumble through the forests like zombies. We guard our secret spots, we spy on others for their ...Savvy Traveler: Let Czechoslovakia Die, Please
Aug 28th, 2007 at 9:03AM: It has been 14 painful years for me since Czechoslovakia broke up in what they called a "Velvet Divorce". Not so velvet for me.
Since January 1, 1993, I have been trying to patiently teach everyone outside the country to learn to love the sound of "Czech Republic" and "Slovak Republic". I know, I know. It doesn't quite come out as easily but please, don't make me suffer any longer.
See what I ...Where on Earth Week 20: Adr?pach-Teplice Rocks - Czech Republic
Aug 24th, 2007 at 1:00PM:
Well done neil_metblogs. You covered absolutely all the bases to give a correct answer. The "Rock Towns" of Adršpach and Teplice in Northern Bohemia aren't as well known as the similar sandstone formations further west in the Cesky Raj region of the Czech Republic, but for my money they're actually more spectacular.
While researching the latest edition of Lonely Planet's Czech & Slovak ...Prague Pub Crawl: 4 Blocks, 20 Pubs, 20 Beers, $20 Spent
Aug 22nd, 2007 at 2:50PM: In the last few years, much of Prague's nightlife has shifted from the center (too expensive, too many tourists) to the neighborhood of Zizkov in the Prague 3 working class district. Consequently, Zizkov is my favorite neighborhood for going out. Let me be clear, there ain't many martini bars to be found here, although a few have popped up. Rather, you will find old school pubs still selling beer ...Free Visa Entry In Exchange for US Missile Shield in Europe?
Jul 23rd, 2007 at 9:48AM: The Czech Republic is one of 13 countries trying to renegotiate its visa-requirement for traveling to the US. Currently, Americans do not need visa when traveling to the C.R. but Czechs do when traveling to the US. The unfair visa requirement is a source of much bitterness toward Americans in those countries.
Now, Czechs have a new negotiation tool on their hands. The US wants to build an ...Photo of the Day (7/9/07)
Jul 8th, 2007 at 11:31PM:
By the time the Western Hemiphere has woken up today, Prague's famous Charles Bridge will be over 650 years old.
Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Charles IV laid the first stones himself at the exact time of this post, 650 years ago: 5:31am (GMT +1), 9 July 1357.
By the way, the statues on the bridge, like the one above, came much, much later. Many were placed in the 1700 and 1800s. This one ...Photo of the Day (7/2/07)
Jul 2nd, 2007 at 10:00AM:
Wow. There's just something about the Czech Republic that gives you that "sweet light" near the sunset. And there's nothing quite like it on the red rooftops of Prague. But here's a shot that takes the breath away, from a town in southern Bohemia, called Telc (pronounced "telch").
The town center is a UNESCO World Heritage site of colorful, picturesque 14th century buildings that can be seen ...The Birthplace of the Dollar
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:30AM: Not many people know this, but the "dollar" (and lager beer, but that's another story) had it's origins in the lands of what is now the Czech Republic. The word "dollar" is actually from the German word "taler." The taler was the official currency in the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-16th century until the mid-19th century, and spread throughout the world, getting adopted as currency as far as ...Looking for Value: Three Options
May 19th, 2007 at 5:10PM: When I saw "Value Vacations" at Kiplinger.com, I thought that meant cheap. Nope. What that meant was vacations that were less expensive than others. Three of these not cheap vacations caught my attention as future possibilities for my own overseas destinations.
The price tag on the Prague trip for two was $5,100 for 6 nights. That included the airfare from Chicago, a overnights in an inn and ...
