Prague Blog

Are you starving after walking through Prague all day long? Do you feel that no regular portion can fill you up? Do you love meat? Then there is a great restaurant for you! The restaurant is called Ambiente – Restaurante Brasiliero.

This restaurant offers a special service – you will not order your meal from a Menu, although you can, of course, but then you can visit any other restaurant in Prague. This restaurant is special in a way it serves the food. Waiters from Ambiente walk among the tables offering cuts of meat which they have just prepared on a grill. You can see the huge grill yourself so you don’t have to worry that the meat is not fresh.

They come and offer you all kinds of great meats – chicken of course, but I would recommend you not to waste space in your stomach with a meat that you can have anywhere. Wait for the Uruguayan beef, or for the delicious seafood, or the overwhelming hot pineapple!

In this restaurant, you can eat as much as you can!! You are not limited with one portion only. When you have tried all the meats, there is another round, and another and another … As long as your stomach is not completely satisfied.

The waiters come in short intervals, offering more and more great meats. And as you eat more and more it seems that they are quicker and quicker. That is why you have this special paper circle in front of you – the green side means: “Fill my plate” while the red side means: “I am taking a little break”.

You can spend in this restaurant all afternoon or all night, if you wish, for one price only. You don’t pay for the amount of food you have eaten. Isn’t it great? Well, it is not particularly cheap, that is to say, but it is fun. You feel like a king – everybody jumps around you and brings you more and more of appetizing food.

One person pays 565 CZK (465 CZK if you pay by 6 pm). This includes all starters, salads, side orders and of course all the meat. It doesn’t, however, include the drinks.

This restaurant you will find not far from the Wenceslas Square, in street Na Prikope 22, best reached by subway Namesti Republiky (yellow line B). They are open daily from 12:00 to 24:00. Another one is not far from Old Town Square, in street U Radnice 8/13, open daily from 11:00 to 24:00.

Good advice at the end: Make sure you don’t wear anything tight when you go there!

Have you heard about “Bodies … The Exhibition”? No?!? Then you are probably the last person in the whole Czech Republic. This unusual exhibition has been the main topic of discussions not only in television but also in Czech Parliament! Yes, even Czech politicians have the urge to comment on it. Some people want to see this exhibition closed. But don’t you think this is the best advertisement? Anyway, what is so controversial about this exhibition?

The “Bodies … The Exhibition” is an exhibition which has no analogy because it is presenting REAL, skinned human corpses, some of them sliced into halves and thirds! But this is not all – some corpses are arranged in poses such as a soccer player in a mid-kick! Is this moral?

The answer is not easy and it depends on whom you ask. Some say that this is nothing else but a freak-show which is not ethical at all. They also question whether the corpses, which come from China, are not bodies of executed prisoners. But others will praise it as being the best educational opportunity which can’t be missed.

This exhibition will illustrate the ravages of disease and poor lifestyle choices much better than any book in the world. Maybe after seeing the blackened lungs of a smoker placed near the pale lungs of a non-smoker, you will want to quit your bad habit forever.

This extraordinary exhibition is not only for students of medicine. It is for everyone who wants to know a bit more about the thing we call human body. It is not only informative but also fascinating exhibition. You will find it in Lucerna, not far from Wenceslas square, best reached by tram 4, 9, 14, 24.

The Monastery Na Slovanech is bound to the famous emperor Charles IV for its foundation (1347). The ruler invited hither Slavic Benedictine monks from Dalmatia and Croatia. The area was thus destined to become the only Slavonic monastery of the entire empire. The liturgical language to be preached in was an ancient predecessor of Czech.

In the case you are asking about the name “Emauzy”, it was derived from the gospel, according to which Jesus met with his disciples near the village Emmaus. This gospel was read during the solemn consecration of the monastery and the subject was immortalized in people’s name of the place.

Another and less well known version of the story says that “Emauzy” was derived from Emmahaus (the house of Ema) nearby, which should have belonged to the castle owned by Czech queen Ema… (read more)

For more than 600 years, the roofs of Prague Castle have been overlooked by the towers of St Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral, whose original name is St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert Cathedral, is the biggest and the most important church in the Czech Republic. It’s the seat of the Archbishop of Prague and the place where saints, kings, princes and pmperors of Bohemia are buried. The coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held there until 1836. It’s one of the best examples of Gothic architecture.

When you walk from the II courtyard to the III courtyard the first thing you notice is the impressive western part of St Vitus Cathedral. There is also the official main entrance to the cathedral. This part of the cathedral is the newest, it was built at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century… (read more)

Prague is famous for all the architectural styles you can find here – Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and other style sometimes in one street. The city is not so known for its modern architecture though. The Dancing House is probably the only one. This should change, however, with the new National Library being built on Letna Hill.

“Eye above the City” is a name of the winning project for the new National Library of the Czech Republic. The new library should be finished in 2011 and is estimated to cost 2 billion CZK. But the price is not the only controversial issue here.

The winning project is miles off from being conservative. This new library is probably going to be the most futuristic building in Europe. It looks like a huge green-purple jellyfish with a big glass eye overlooking the city. It reminds me of the film Flubber from 1997 starring Robin Williams. When I first saw the winning project, I thought of a big green slime. Sorry, but I can’t help it.

The new library, also called the “octopus”, divided locals into two camps. Some residents say it is going to ruin the historic district of Prague, others say that Prague needs more from contemporary architecture. Whether you are on one side or another, the Eye above Prague is the winning project and its realization is only question of time.

So it looks like the architect, Czech Jan Kaplicky, can be content since his main goal – to attract non readers as well – seems to be accomplished. For Jan Kaplicky, his “octopus” is going to be his first building realized in his home country. He is more famous abroad. His perhaps best known work is the futuristic Selfridges building in the English city of Birmingham.

If you are interested in seeing the new National Library before its realization in 2011 visit the exhibition called The Eye above Prague in Klementinum gallery, not far from Staromestska underground station (green line A) – Krizovnicka 190, Prague 1. You will get to see not only the winning project but also other projects that took part in this international competition. The “octopus” was not the only extraordinary project. It is really worth seeing!

This exhibition runs till May 31. Open is from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7 pm. And the best information at the end – the exhibition is for free!!

Had you lived in the medieval times, you would have found only gardens on the entire island. A park designed in the English style can be found at the southern end of Kampa still nowadays whereas the northern part has Renaissance houses and a Baroque palace.

The very first buildings to appear here were the homes of bricklayers, carpenters and stonemasons so that they could comfortably keep an eye on Charles Bridge and maintain it in a perfect state. The square surrounded by these houses is the place where pottery used to be sold regularly. Kampa was namely also a place, where traditional pottery markets took place for centuries… (read more)

Where for some May 1st represents the true and only Love Day, for others it commemorates the historic achievements of the Labor movement in the world. And some people recall the not long gone communist era in the Czech Republic. Why?

The celebrations of May 1st are in many people’s mind connected with the huge celebrations during the communist regime. For over forty years, there were float parades in all big cities in the back then Czechoslovakia. The biggest parade was, of course, in Prague, to be more precise, in Letna Plain, Prague 7.

The participation on those massive communist manifestations celebrating the Labor Day was mandatory. People had to go if they didn’t want to have troubles. And so the big plain in Letna witnessed every year on May 1st the same scenario – thousands of people waving little Czechoslovak and Soviet flags at the communists party officials who were seated on a tribune decorated in red, with huge pictures of Marxist leaders and signs “With Soviet Union Forever”. For everyone this was a waste of time.

Thanks God this era is gone and people in Prague don’t have to go to Letna on May 1st and pretend enthusiasm. They can do whatever they want. No wonder that people in Czech Republic prefer to celebrate the Love Day rather than Labor Day on May 1st. The Labor Day brings bitter memories.

But it is not true that there are no demonstrations at Letna on May 1st since the fall of communism. Last year there was a great anti-communist demonstration. It is easy to see why it was there and at that time. (see Part One)

St Wenceslas Chapel is the masterpiece of Czech Gothic and the pride of St Vitus Cathedral. This beautifully decorated chapel is dedicated to the patron of Czech lands, St Wenceslas, a Bohemian Prince from the Premyslid dynasty assassinated by his own brother. The chapel was built on the former place of Romanesque rotunda where Wenceslas was buried. St Wenceslas Chapel still keeps the holy relics of the saint.

Charles IV built the chapel as an honour to the saint. He invited his favourite architect Petr Parler to design the chapel and he himself helped to design the place. We can still see the original look of the chapel that has stayed unchanged during the centuries… (read more)

May 1st means in many countries around the world the International Workers´ Day. It commemorates the historical struggle of working people for an eight-hour work day. In the Czech Republic, May 1st is called Labor Day and is a public holiday. Surprisingly enough, however, May 1st in the Czech Republic is more Love Day than Labor Day, although you will find Labor Day in all Czech calendars. There is not a single word about Love Day and still, for the majority of Czechs it means this. Why is it so?

The tradition of celebrating love on the first day in May goes far back into Czech history, to be more precise, to the beginning of 19th century. This was the time, when great Czech Romantic poet Karel Hynek Macha lived and composed. His best work is an epic poem Maj (in English May).

This poem is about a tragic love between two young people and is a Czech classic. Every Czech knows first few lines of this poem. It goes like this:

It was late evening, on the first of May,
The eve of May was the time of love.
The turtle-dove´s voice called to love,
Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.

The tradition says that on May 1st a girl should be kissed under a cherry blossom so she will stay beautiful all year round. But finding a cherry blossom in Prague can be difficult so kissing under any blooming tree should do.

In Prague, however, there is one additional tradition – to go up to Petrin Hill on this day and visit the statue of Karel Hynek Macha. Here you should kiss in front of the “poet of love” so your love will be as strong as the stone his statue is made form.

So let’s all kiss on May 1st! See you near Karel Hynek Macha statue. It is best accessible from tram station Ujezd (trams 6, 9, 12, 20, 22, 23). But I would recommend you to go there before noon or in the evening because I heard that this year there will be in front of this statue in the afternoon a gathering of one of the biggest political parties in the Czech Republic. I guess they want to misuse this event for propaganda. Oh well. (See Part Two)

Benedictine Archabbey of St Vojtech (Adalbert) and St Margaret (alias Brevnov Monastery) was the first friary in Bohemia. Its name is derived from a Czech expression for rough-hewn timbers. They lay scattered around the place of future monastery and were used for foundations of a village nearby, which suggests that you are reading about one of the oldest inhabited parts of Prague… (read more)