Czech Christmas, Part I: Santa, go home!

by Iva Skoch on

Since I am spending the holidays with my family in the Czech Republic this year, I will give you a little insight into what Czech Christmas is like.

One of the first things you will notice when talking to the locals is that people are angry at Santa Claus. You might ask “How can you not like Santa?”

Well, Santa personalizes just another expansive monster who invaded the Czech lands in the past few centuries. Traditionally, Jezisek (Baby Jesus) brought Christmas presents to Czech children. After the fall of Communism in 1989, Santa was one of the first signs that capitalism is just around the corner. He started appearing in window shops, competing for children’s attention. As a results of this, many Czech kids now get presents from both Jezisek and Santa Claus. Ain’t capitalism grand?

Of course, parents complain that the Santa propaganda just makes children more materialistic. “Why can’t we just have Jezisek? Santa go home!”

Frankly, I always found this sort of spirituality hypocritical. Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Yet, somehow, Czechs are hung up on Baby Jesus bringing their children’s presents. The Czech Republic is actually the perfect place for Santa Claus. We even have a president named Vaclav Klaus. That is him in the picture, implying “shop, shop, shop!”

Also see Czech Christmas Part II and Czech Christmas Part III.

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Sigmund Freud is not suicidal even though he’s hanging from a building

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a life-size statue of Sigmund Freud hanging high above the ground outside the Trade Center Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s created quite a stir. Good Samaritan types saw the statue hanging by one hand from a pole 7-stories up and thought it was a real man in distress. After they called the police and the truth was discovered, there must have been a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just Freud.”

This statue of Freud by Czech sculptor David Cerney has been hanging around in a variety of spots for a year or more. Most recently, Freud was hanging in out in Chicago. Before that, he was hanging from a pole in Prague. Freud will be in Grand Rapids, possibly accumulating more than a dusting of snow, until the spring thaw.

As for Cerney, here’s an intriguing interview with him in the Compass Prague. He moved back to the Czech Republic since the Americans he met in New York City were a bit too friendly. That’s not something you hear that much. (Actually, this is my interpretation of what he said. I may be off the mark.) [via New York Times]

Around the world in 60 pubs: month-long party or month-long hangover?

by Catherine Bodry on

As a traveler who — nonchalantly, with no prior intention! — tends to end up in heated dance-offs and other bizarre late-night situations, I’m not sure that a tour centered on drinking would be good for me. I tend to stumble upon party places without even trying. But if you’re the type of traveler who prefers pub crawls to walking tours and local beer to local cuisine, and you have an indestructible liver, an Australian tour operator has created what may be the perfect trip for you. The Around the World in 60 Pubs trip is a month-long, alcohol-drenched tour of the world’s hottest party places. Destinations include Munich, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; the Thai island of Phuket; and Cancun, Mexico.

The tour’s operator, Thirsty Swagman, specializes in “thirsty tours;” besides the round-the-world venture, the company also offers a 10-day “Euro Hard ‘n’ Fast” power pub crawl as well as one Australian trip named the “Slammer.”

Although the website claims the “Around the World in 60 Pubs” is “one tour you’ll never forget,” I have a suspicion that it might be one that many of its participants barely remember.

Photo of the Day (11/29/07)

by Neil Woodburn on

It always amuses me when local legend requires the touching of some object for good luck. Inevitably, this object becomes a must-see for tourists and quickly becomes worn and tattered.

As you can tell from the photo above, this has been the case with the plaque on Prague’s statue of John of Nepomuk located on Charles Bridge. Legend has it that those who touch the falling priest are blessed with good luck and a guarantee of a return visit to the Czech capital. Although millions of greasy fingers have rubbed this plaque clean, it looks like the majority have missed their mark and touched far more than just the priest.

Congrats go out to Arex for capturing this fine shot. If you’d like one of your own shots considered for Photo of the Day, please visit our Gadling Flick Pool and upload away.

World Hum and where the heck is Justin?

by Jamie Rhein on

When I came across his interview and picture posted yesterday on World Hum, I was so happy to see that Gadling’s lead blogger Justin is keeping warm during his travels in Eastern Europe. He was staying near Prague in the Czech Republic. I knew his girlfriend had caught a cold a while back, and being the fine fellow that he is, he had tracked down medicine to help her feel better. [see post] Now that he’s shown up in this interview I’m feeling even more envious of his trip than I did before–except for one thing.

In his interview I did notice his details of the teenage travelers who were swapping spit (not Justin’s words, but mine) on a good part of a bus trip he took through the Czech Republic countryside. As wonderful as travel is, there are those moments when it is just hard to relax in any kind of Zen-like way. From what he said, the teens were in competition with the scenery for his attention.

At what point does a lovefest, when it’s not our own, become a point of distraction? Once when I was ushering a concert at the New Mexico State Fair for a civic club I belonged to, I had to repeatedly ask a couple to quit necking. Seriously, they were all but laying across their seats. The people around them kept imploring me to do something to get them to stop. From what I recall, they never did stop. The people who paid to see the concert who had the honor of sitting next to these two hickey makers ended up with a show quite different from the one they anticipated when they first settled into their seats for a night out. [Thanks to valerio for the shot on stockxchange]