Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Thanks to all you regular readers who stuck with me this year, and a special thanks for voting in the recent Igougo awards. My journal about Bristol won the award it was nominated for, so a big 'Thanks!' to everyone who took the time to vote.

Speaking of taking time, I'll be taking a break from any writing for a few weeks, but Where the Czech...? will continue on uninterrupted (on Friday mornings at 7am).

Enjoy the holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Olomouc in winter? Yes.

I’ve recently had a couple of emails asking if Olomouc is still worth visiting in the winter, and it occurred to me that there are two types of town from a tourist’s point of view; the ones you go to see something specific, a castle, a museum, the birthplace or grave of somebody famous, and the type you go to just for the pleasure of being there and taking part, as far as possible, in the rhythm of local life.

Olomouc definitely falls into the second category, and winter is probably an even better time to visit than summer.

Because it’s such a big university town (the Czech Republic’s biggest by percentage of population) concerts and festivals and special events tend to take place during the academic year, not during the summer holidays. Through the winter the Jazz club, U-Klub and 15 Minut student club have regular programs of live music, during the Christmas markets there are free concerts on the square every afternoon, and there are film festivals, music festivals and of course traditions like Mikuláš, New Year’s Eve and Three Kings’ Day that are celebrated everywhere across the country.

But even Olomouc’s specific historic sights stay open year round. Many of them are large outdoor public sculptures and monuments; the UNESCO-listed Holy Trinity Column, the series of baroque fountains, the astronomical clock in the front of the town hall and the old city walls would all fall into this category.

The Archdiocese museum is another standout. Even for people who are sick to death of museums, this is one is worth the entry price just to see the interiors of the places, all of which started their lives as part of the Olomouc castle. And if you’re not convinced they would be worth the 2 euro entry fee, the museum, along with the Modern Art Museum, is completely free every Wednesday and every Sunday. For everyone, not just students.

And then there are the churches. There are 12 or 15 churches in Olomouc’s historic centre, but probably the main three or four will be enough for most visitors. St. Wenceslas cathedral has the tallest spire in Moravia (second tallest in the country) and displays the skull of Saint Jan Sarkander in a glass case, St. Moritz has the largest pipe organ in Central Europe and the best tower to climb for a view over the city and St. Michael’s has as spectacular a Baroque interior as you’re likely to see anywhere.

There’s also the regional cuisine to complement anybody’s visit at all times of year. Olomouc ‘stinky’ cheese, Traditional Haná meals from the Hanácká Hospoda, local beer from the St. Wenceslas or Moritz breweries, and the famous chocolate pie have all earned reputations that extend far beyond the boundaries of the city.

Of all the guidebooks, Lonely Planet sums it up best:
“the glorious cityscape of Olomouc (possibly Central Europe’s most underrated) hosts an urbane population inspired by a lively influx of students. Thanks to a profound lack of tourists, Olomouc provides the truest sense of what Prague would be like without the crowds: in a word, fabulous.”

The kind of place you can go just for the pleasure of being there.

And if you choose the right accommodation, you can even have your room prepared by ninjas...

The colours of Masopust

One of my favourite Czech traditions takes place in Vortova next Saturday, 2nd of February.

The Masopust parade is performed every year about seven weeks before Easter. It’s the equivalent of Mardi Gras, Carneval or Fashing celebrations in other parts of the world, a farewell feast and celebration before people give things up for the sober 40 days of Lent.

Masopust parades take place in lots of towns and villages, even in some of the more community minded suburbs of Prague, but the one in Vortova is widely considered to be the most colourful and spectacular parade in the country. I heard about it from former Lonely Planet author Richard Nebeský once at the Ride of the Kings in Vlcnov. We got to talking about Masopust parades and “Vortova’s the one to go to” was his recommendation.

And he’s not the only one to hold it such high regard. Czechophiles will know that the definitive work on local folk customs is Lidové Zvyky by Jiřina Langhammerova (director of the Prague national folklore museum). Not only do photographs from Vortova illustrate the Masopust chapter, but of all the colourful traditions that take place through the year around the country, Vortova Masopust was chosen for the front cover.

The parade itself starts in the morning and after asking permission from the mayor begins to wind its way throughout the village, visiting each house in turn. Horses always lead the procession closely followed by the butchers, the turks and the joker and his wife. The second half of the parade is made up of the chimney sweeps, the strawmen and the travelling salesmen, and the local brass band brings up the rear.

Each character has his role in the procession and it falls to the joker and his wife to knock on each door and find out how many songs the homeowners would like performed. The band strikes up and the young Turks do most of the dancing but the other characters join in or fall out as the mood takes them. When the song and dance is over, the performers are rewarded with a share of the family feast, including donuts baked specially for the occasion and shots of a clear liquid with a high, high alcohol content, if the steadily degenerating dance moves of the Turks are any indication.

The rear of the parade is just like the back of the school bus-this is where all the mischief takes place. The chimney sweeps carry lumps of greasy black coal and put big stripes of it on everybody’s face for luck. According to old mythology, the strawmen are charged with ensuring fertility for the coming year, and the lady of each house is supposed to take a straw from the costume to ensure their animals breed well and the crops flourish over the coming year. The fertility also applies to the lady of the house herself, and if the strawman thinks he can get away with it, he might even drag her out for a tumble in the snow.

The parade doesn’t end until every house in the village has been visited, which might take several hours and include a break for lunch. In the evening almost the entire village gathers at the local pub for a dance with music from the same band that played all day. The strawmen are not likely to roll you in the snow if they don’t know you, but you can’t expect to get away without a blackened face.

And if you do happen to get rolled in the snow, then you should consider it a compliment. This is one of the things I enjoyed most about last year’s Masopust parade. I really felt like the locals went out of their way to make us feel included and that we became part of the event, rather than just spectators, like at the Ride of the Kings when the participants glide above the crowd or at Mikulaš which is focussed on children.

Have you been to a Masopust parade or are you going this year? If you’re a traveller, is a festival like this something you would go out of your way to see, if you knew about it in advance?

How to get there

Vortova is a village of several dozen houses about 8 kilometres south of Hlinsko and 48km from Pardubice in Eastern Bohemia. Coming from the west (Prague) it's best to take the train to Pardubice and change there for a bus to Hlinsko and another to Vortova. From the east (Olomouc, Brno or Ostrava) you’ll switch trains at Pardubice for the bus to Hlinsko.

Where to stay

There’s no hotel or pension in Vortova, but Pension Betlem in Hlinsko (http://hubert.hlinsko.cz Tel 469 311770) offers double rooms with ensuite bathroom for 800Kč/night.The pension is in one of the traditional old wooden cabins in the historic part of town, as is Hospoda U Sv. Huberta, with good meals, reasonable prices and an open fire.

When

The official start of the parade is 8am, and it would be good not to be too late. Because Vortova is built around a crossroad, and the parade goes several kilometres in each of the four directions, it could be kind of difficult to find unless you catch them at the crossroads when they begin. If you do miss the start, ask somebody at the Hospoda (pub) to point you in the right direction.

Three Kings Day

K+M+B 2008

Ever noticed initials like that scrawled on or above Czech doors and wondered what it was all about?

Schoolteachers doing a spot of freelancing on the way home or a note from a wife to a husband saying “don’t bother coming in if you’ve forgotten the milk again, buddy”. Nope, it’s just that Kaspar, Melichar and Balthazar are in town and they’ve been around town chalking their initials on houses for the New Year.

They’re not just some gang of mischievous teenagers on the loose for the holidays, though. They’re the Three Kings who visited Bethlehem with gold, frankincense and myrrh a little over 2000 years ago. You might know them better as the Three Wise Men or the Magi, and if you’ve been travelling Europe for while, you’ve certainly passed a painting or two in their honour. Botticelli, Breughel, Rubens and Velázquez have all had a shot, and the Uffizi gallery in Florence holds two of the most notable works; by Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer.

The 6th of January is the Three Kings’ Day, and as the 12th and final day of Christmas it’s also the day that many households, towns and cities choose to pull down their Christmas decorations and pack them away for another year.

Are the chalked K+M+B’s a form of low-tech tagging by the Three Kings then? A kind of ancient “K+M+B were here”? Well, partly. The three letters are their initials and do show that they’ve been to visit, but the inscription also stands for Christus mansionem benedicat (Christ bless this house), and is intended to wish health and luck on the occupants for the coming year, which is why the chalk is left up even when Three Kings’ day is over.

In the Czech lands (and nearby) the traditional commemoration of Three Kings’ Day has evolved to become one of collecting for charity and trios of young collectors dressed as K+M+B will be doing the rounds for about a week. The money collected is used for things like caring for the disabled, projects in underprivileged communities and so on. Specifically this year, amongst other things, the donations will be put towards emergency housing for mothers with young children in Prague’s 5th district - Smichov, and to purchase an X-Ray machine for a hospital in Uganda.

So if you’re in the Czech Republic today and bump into Kaspar, Melichar and Balthasar, spare them a coin or two, it’s a local tradition that goes back a long way and the money is going to good causes…

Christmas markets

Traditional Christmas markets on the main squares of the Czech Republic’s towns and cites are something to look forward to every year. After the warmth and glimmer of the golden autumn sunshine, November is a drab, grey and depressing month. But when December rolls around, the Christmas markets explode in a burst of colour, music and energy, and bring everybody out to forget about the grey skies and enjoy the festive season. And the punch.

The punch is a staple of every Christmas market I’ve been to, every second stall will have a cauldron of it bubbling away and a crowd of ruddy faced revellers getting ruddier by the sip between puffs of frosty breath. You’ll find Irish punch (with whisky), French punch, Viennese punch, Finnish punch and English punch, with the bar staff in their approximation of national dress. You can also go for the old standard mulled wine, warmed and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and sugar.

There’s always plenty of food on offer. Most of the stands offer typical old fashioned hotdogs (parek v rohliku), langoš (a Hungarian deep fried batter with your choice of toppings, sweet or savoury), corn on the cob, or roasted chestnuts. There can also be a big barbeque area with spit-roasted pork and a range of thick and spicy sausages (klobasa). More progressive markets might even offer things like crepes with your choice of toppings or hot chocolate spiced with chilli, ginger or orange. In Moravia you’ll find traditional pastries like Štramberk Ears or Wallachian Frgal (a delicious and relatively healthy pizza-shaped fruit pie, eaten by the eighth or quarter).

Markets being markets, you can also buy stuff. Most markets will offer wintery gifts like socks, slippers, sheepskin coats, some will have traditional craftwork like woven baskets and straw figures, works of embroidery or weaving, and you might even see a blacksmith knocking out bells, candelabra and decorative door handles beside a portable forge. Christmas necessities are also catered for-you should able to pick up some smoked meats, your Christmas tree and when the big day gets closer, a fresh carp or two.

When you’ve shopped and enjoyed a drink what else is there to do? Well, the better markets also have a program of entertainment. Everyone from popular bands that have been playing for 20 years to school groups cobbled together weeks ago has their chance on stage. Carousels, horse-rides, and craft workshops for the kids are part of any good Christmas market.

So if you’re travelling the Czech Republic (and Central Europe) at this time of year, there’s no need to worry that you’ll run out things to do because all the castles and tourist attractions have closed up for the winter. Just pull on your warmest clothes and get down to your nearest main square to join in the festivities with the locals.

Just make sure you can find your way home after all that punch!

Where the Czech...? #16

Christmas Markets take over the main squares of most Czech cities and towns at this time of year. The ones I've seen get better and better every year, with more traditional craft and home made produce, and less cheap imported rubbish. And let's not forget the punch. The market in Olomouc has 120 stalls and I'd estimate about 60 of them are selling Mulled wine or Punch of one kind or another, and it was the same at the place in the photo. Does anybody recognise where it is?

Mikuláš - St Nicholas' Day

Today, December the 6th is St Nicholas’s day. As in Saint Nicolaus, Santa Claus to you and I.

In the CzechRepublic it’s the first real day of the Christmas season and like all good medieval traditions, it’s celebrated the evening before, i.e. on the 5th. (This is because, before clocks and watches were in widespread use, sunset was considered the natural end of the day. So twilight on the 5th was the beginning of the 6th).

On the evening of December 5th, St Nicholas (Sv. Mikuláš in Czech), the Angel and the Devil (or Devils) come to find out which children have been good and which have been bad. If you’ve been good the angel will give you a treat, probably something sweet. If you’ve been bad it might just be a potato or a lump of coal. If you’ve been really bad, you might find yourself bundled into the devil’s sack and carted off to hell!

Sounds scary doesn’t it? Not many kids actually seem to get carried away by the devils, but some of them sure do get a fright. The newspaper this week had an interview with a psychiatrist who said that every year he sees at least one child scared badly enough for the parents to have sought his professional help.

For those of us too old to get sweets or be carted away, it’s fun to watch the antics of the costumed characters and, at least in the city that I live in, the big public Christmas tree is lit for the first time and there’s a ten-minute long fireworks display that brings five or six thousand people down to the main square.

The families with children usually make their way home after the fireworks, leaving everybody else to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine from one of the market stalls, while the next band gets ready to play up on stage.

It’s good fun and a real part of local life, so if you’re travelling around at this time of year, make sure you’re not stuck on a train somewhere on the evening of December 5th.

All is white on St Martin's day

November the 11^th is St Martin’s day and he arrived on his white horse this year. It’s been snowing heavily since early this morning and is showing no sign of letting up now. There are lots of sayings in Czech connected with St Martin, mostly predictions for the winter weather:

“Na svatého Martina zima svůj chod začíná’. – On St. Martin’s Day winter begins its march.

“Na sv. Martina kouřívá se z komína”. On St Martin’s the chimneys will smoke.

“Přijede-li svatý Martin na bílém koni, metelice za metelicí se honí”. - If St. Martin arrives on a white horse, there’ll be blizzard after blizzard.

And “Je-li na svatého Martina pod mrakem, bude nestálá zima. Je-li jasno, bude tuhá zima”. - If St. Martin’s is cloudy the winter won’t be much. If it’s clear, the winter will be tough.

Even the Czech meteorological bureau has been known to keep an eye on St Martin.

To me it really feels like the beginning of winter. The Christmas tree will be trucked into the main square any day now, the Christmas markets will be underway not long after that and then St Nicholas’ day is celebrated on the evening of the 5^th December.

Guess it’s time I dug out my hat, scarf and thermos-bottle?

Happy St

Martin’s day!

Hello Winter!

As the Czech Republic prepares for winter, travellers start to wonder which of the tourist attractions they've heard so much about will still be open and which of the summer destinations are also worth visiting in the colder months.

Český Krumlov
1) Český Krumlov's chateau is the second largest in the country and is the town's main historic attraction. Unfortunately it's closed from the beginning of November to the end of March.
2) The Egon Schiele Art Centre is a museum/gallery of world class with an excellent permanent collection and recent temporary exhibitions of both Keith Haring's and Salvador Dali's work. The Schiele museum is open year round from 10am to 6pm, 7 days a week.
3) Much of the appeal of Český Krumlov is simply wandering it's romantic cobbled streets, squares and lanes. If you'd like to get a little further under the surface of the town, Krumlov walking tours operate year round and the offerings include a brewing history tour (with tasting) and a ghost tour.

As the most popular destination outside Prague, Český Krumlov has extensive tourist infrastructure. The tourist information centre is open year round, as are Hostel Krumlov House, Hostel 99, Travellers' Hostel, The Old Inn and Pension Tilia. Unfortunately the town's best restaurant, The Two Marys' closes in the winter, but the Gypsy Bar and Na Louži will stay open. Advantages of visiting Krumlov in the winter are that you stand a good chance of seeing it frosted with snow, there's a lot of competition among accommodation providers, so you may benefit from discounts, you'll avoid the heavy crowds of summer tourists and might actually get an impression of a small Czech town in the hills as opposed to a major Czech commercial tourist destination in the hills.

On a scale from one to ten, as a winter destination, Český Krumlov is an 8.

Kutná Hora
Most international visitors go to Kutná Hora as a daytrip from Prague. It's also however a rewarding overnight destination, even in winter.
1) The 'Bone Church' is the town's most famous attraction. It's certainly not every day that you see a cemetery chapel filled and decorated with thousands of human bones. It's open year round from at least 9am to 4pm. In winter it closes between 12 noon and 1pm for lunch. If you arrive this late for some reason, there are a couple of places in the same street to get a warm drink or something to eat while you wait for 1 o'clock to tick around.
2) St Barbara's cathedral is arguably the most spectacular in the country. It's open to visitors year round (except on Mondays) from at least 10am to 4pm, but even when it's closed you can enjoy the exterior and the views across the river valley from the vantage point behind the cathedral.
3) The Museum of Silver mining is closed through the winter, but the minting museum in the Italian court and the Alchemy museum on the main square are open; again from 10am to 4pm.

Like Český Krumlov, Kutná Hora is a wonderful place just to aimlessly wander. It has a grittier more Gothic atmosphere than pretty renaissance Krumlov or grand baroque Olomouc, and places like the Dačicky beerhall and restaurant V Ruthardce are good places to try the local fare in front of a roaring log fire. As a winter destination Kutná Hora gets 8/10.


Olomouc
I need to preface anything I say about Olomouc with the declaration that I live here; I'm almost undeniably biased. With that in mind though, I'll stick as much as possible to cold hard facts.
1) The former Olomouc Castle now houses the Archdiocese museum, which is the only one of it's type in this country. There's an extensive permanent collection and the temporary exhibit for the first half of the winter includes works from artists like Picasso, Klimt, Hundertwasser, Kokoschka and the aforementioned Egon Schiele. At 50Kc admittance, it's a fraction of the price of similar facilities in Prague or Krakow and its free every Wednesday and Sunday.
2) Olomouc is a city of 105,000 people and 20,000 University students. While the University is not so much an attraction in itself, the vibrant cultural and social life and the many inexpensive cafes and bars complement outdoor sightseeing when the weather is unfriendly.
3) And outdoor sightseeing there is aplenty. The Holy Trinity Column on the main square is the largest plague column in Europe and is the monument that is UNESCO world heritage listed in Olomouc. The seven fountains of Olomouc will have the water removed to protect against freezing and when the last of autumn's leaves drop, the parks around the city walls lose much of their attraction, but the twelve churches, two big marketplace squares, the archbishop's palace and the narrow cobbled streets and lanes, especially in the old Jewish quarter, provide hours and days of outdoor sightseeing opportunity.
4) Such a large historic city that has until this year been overlooked by mass tourism and the major guidebooks is an opportunity to immerse yourself in local life and one good place to do this is at a game of ice hockey. The Olomouc team have home games on these dates.
5) Christmas markets transform the main square of Olomouc from the beginning of December until the 23rd. There are free concerts every afternoon, loads of stalls selling hot food and drink and a good chance of the whole thing being under a frosting of snow.

There's actually more open in Olomouc during the winter (and university semesters) than in the summer; there's a regular program of live music at the jazz club, Uni-klub, student club '15minut' and at the theatre on the square. Poets' Corner Hostel is open year round, but the daily walking tours from Olomouc Tours are now by arrangement only. Especially with much of the budget accommodation being right in the historic centre and the skifields of the Jesenik mountains being so closeby, Olomouc is 9/10 as a winter destination, but remember I might be biased.

Karlovy Vary
Actually I'm biased about Karlovy Vary as well. I don't know why, but I've never liked it all that much. The place is quite nice architecturally but has the atmosphere of a resort town for overweight and overfunded Germans, Russians and Arabs. Which makes it not much fun for everybody else, especially those of us on a budget.
1) That said, there's one thing I really enjoyed doing, which was the tour of the Moser glassworks factory. Bohemia is famous for its crystal and the Moser company is one of the most notable manufacturers. There's a small crystal museum on the factory site which is open year round and the glassworks tour begins there, but only on weekdays and the last tour begins at 1pm.
2) Another good museum on factory grounds is the Becherovka Museum. This herbal liqueur is a favourite among Czechs, and you're much more likely to find them drinking it than absinthe. If you haven't tried it you'll have your chance at the museum; three shots are included in the price of the tour (100Kc). The museum is open year round from 9am to 5pm, 7 days a week.
3) Karlovy Vary is another good place to take a peek at a game of Ice Hockey. Becherovka is one of the local team's major sponsors. The club are close to the top of their league so far this year, so whether it's due to spiderlike goalman Lukas Mensator or a shot of Becherovka in the drink bottles is open to debate. Karlovy Vary home games on these dates.
4) The famous hot springs of Karlovy Vary are probably a great asset to beating the winter chills. You can bring your own drinking vessel or buy one of those awkward-looking porcelain spa cups from dozens of stalls. For a sauna or swimming in a heated pool, the Elizabeth spa is a good bet.

It's probably just as good in winter as it is in summer, but as unbiased as I try to be, I can't bring myself to rate Karlovy Vary more than 7/10.

Telč
I really like Telč, but I don't think it's very good as a winter destination.
1) The chateau is one of the two highlights of Telč, but it's closed from November through March
2) The main square is the other; it's a beautifully restored example of a renaissance main square and is protected as a UNESCO world heritage site. But there are only so many times you can walk up and down, the fountains will have their water removed and the outdoor cafes will be closed for the winter.
3) There are also a series of ponds surrounding the old town. In summer, you could go boating and if there's water in them when you visit, they provide nice reflections for photographs. Part of the fish harvest that happens in late autumn is draining the ponds and this creates a great muddy expanse that doesn't smell too good. Pity, because Telč is one of the country's prettiest little towns.
There's a good hostel in Telč, but it's already closed for this year and seems unlikely to reopen before next May. At least there'll be fresh fish on the menus at the U Marušky or Švejk restaurants. Telč in winter 4/10.

Now let's see, have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, Prague. Well, Prague is Prague and there are dozens and dozens of websites with the same details repeated again and again and again. It's probably one of the ten most visited cities in Europe, if not the world, by tourists, so you'll never run out things to do there. In your pocket has a good roundup of information and Gordon's city spy maps are another source. Prague Free Tours operate year round and Sir Toby's hostel, Hostel Elf and the Czech Inn all get consistently high reviews and are open year round.

Wherever you decide to go, remember your warm hat, order a bowl of soup or cup of tea if you feel yourself getting cold and maybe I'll see you at the hockey...