Czech Update

How and where Czechs travel on holiday?

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:47:10 +0100

How Czechs travel seems to be impacting on where. The most popular destination for vacationing Czechs has been and still is Croatia. However, a recent Croat ban on importing certain kinds of foods has caused almost 10% of the 900 thosand Czechs planning a trip to cancel their holiday there (in favor of Italy or some other place). Why? read more »

Police respond to Prague tourists's needs

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 31 May 2008 02:37:09 +0100

A new unit of Prague police will focus on the needs of tourists, particularly in crime prevention but also in helping them get around. read more »

Good Czech beer recommended

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:35:40 +0100

An expat beer expert living in the Czech Republic has some useful recommendations to make about Czech beer.
read more »

Dictionary of Czech culture

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:56:48 +0100

The Amazon reviewer got it right! read more »

The look of post-communism: New ČSA logo

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:17:25 +0100

It appears the Czech Airlines are changing their look to look less Eastern European, lower quality and post-communist. See them below side by side and judge for yourself if you can tell the new from the old: read more »

The simple pleasures of non-Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:29:00 +0100

A visit to Třeboň, a small picturesque town (malebné městečko) in Southern Bohemia elicited justified outbursts of lyricism from a Seattle columnists. And he's right. The individual personality of small Czech towns is something to be experienced through a leisurely journey rather than a hectic 'been there, done that' trip. read more »

EasyJet planning to bring a friend to each person in Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 14:21:44 +0100

The population of Prague is roughly one million and that's exactly how many people EasyJet is planning to fly into the Ruzyně Airport each year. In effect, bringing one person for each person already in Prague. In the future, they may even make Prague one of their hubs joining ČSA and SkyEurope. As it is, they fly in from 9 destinations (incl. Geneva, London, Milano, Belfast). read more »

The 10 best Czech breweries - And travelling outside Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:02:39 +0100

The 10 best Czech breweries -Life & Style - Travel - Destinations - Europe - TimesOnline Prague's status as a destination for beer lovers is undisputed: the Czech Republic is home to the original Pilsner, the original Budweiser and boasts the world's highest beer consumption, 160 litres per person each year. In Prague, great pubs are found on every corner, and it is not uncommon to see people drinking one or more of the country's outstanding lagers with breakfast. Ounce for ounce, beer is cheaper than water here, and often appears to be consumed more widely. However, if you really want to sample Czech brewing, you need to leave the capital. This is far easier and less expensive than in many neighbouring countries, with excellent public transportation to nearly every Czech brewpub and regional brewery within a few hours.

Two wonderful pieces of advice. How to get to some great lesser known beers (remember you each pub only has one or at most two brands of beer) and how to travel outside of Prague to get more enjoyment out of Czech lands. read more »

Czech communities in Texas since 1850s

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:45:25 +0100

Texas Czech group working to preserve traditions - 21-06-2007 - Radio PragueThe first Czechs began settling in Texas in the 1850s and within five decades there were around 250 Czech communities in the state. Today one of the organisations keeping the community's traditions alive is the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Centre. This week John Polasek, a member of its board of directors, was in Prague on behalf of the centre to receive an award from the Czech Foreign Ministry. He told me about its activities. read more »

Prague has two hotels World Top 10

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:43:57 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Pražský hotel Riverside je osmý nejluxusnější na celém světě. Na osmé místo se dostal v prestižní anketě portálu Tripadvisor, který každý rok oceňuje nejlepší hotely z celého světa.

Two hotels in Prague made it to the top 10 in a survey of hotel visitors from around the world conducted by Tripadvisor. Riverside is 8th (4th in Europe) and Le Palais 10th. It should be of note that neither of these hotels has a Czech or even Czech sounding name and that one read more »

Applicants for Czech visas to need fingerprints in 2008

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:00:05 +0000

Applicants for Czech visas to need fingerprints, photographs - Prague Daily Monitor Fingerprints and photographs of applicants for Czech visas coming from countries which do not have visa-free relations with the Czech Republic and other EU countries will start to be gradually taken at diplomatic missions as from August 2008, the Czech Foreign Ministry told CTK today.

The visa empire strikes back. But making it more difficult for people to visit is probably the price Czech Republic has to pay for being in the EU. (Although, the old bureaucratic procedures are easy to resurrect.) read more »

New property law raises expectations of Brit influx

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:31:40 +0000

News - Check out Czech Republic for property investment - Real Estate TV A change in VAT laws in the Czech Republic is set to see an increase in the number of Britons investing in the country, according to a spokesperson for Property Secrets.

The VAT rule alterations, due to come into effect in 2008, coupled with the accelerated growth in the economy are set to drive property investment in the Czech Republic in the next few years.

What more can be said? The number of read more »

Czechs take the bus abroad to spend 13000 on holidays

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 09:32:53 +0000

Average Czech spends CZK 13,395 on holidays abroad in 2006-ACCKA - Prague Daily Monitor Prague, Jan 9 (CTK) - The average Czech spent CZK 13,395 on holidays abroad last year, five percent more than a year ago, Czech travel agencies association ACCKA spokesman Tomio Okamura has told CTK.

Given that that is slightly more than the half the average monthly salary, that's not a small sum. But given that it is only 500 EUR, it isn't that much (of course the figure includes all individuals including those who don't travel - I think). read more »

Carp carnage confounds tourists

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:29:14 +0000

Turisté nechápou zabíjení kaprů - www.lidovky.cz Turisty lákají především předvánoční trhy. „Teď jsem byl na Staromáku a viděl jsem turisty, jak obléhají stánky, cpou se klobásami a nechápavě koukají na hromadné zabíjení kaprů,“ dodává Beránek.

Other than the headline the other interesting tidbit in this article is the numbers of tourists who even during Christmas number in 50 thousand and spend over 10 billion crowns in the process.