Czech Christmas Carp

by Neil Woodburn on

One of my very favorite things about living in Prague at this time of year was the carp.

Carp, you see, is the traditional Christmas meal in the Czech Republic. I myself prefer turkey, but I simply love the way the Czechs go about their traditional meal.

About a week or so before Christmas, vendors appear on street corners throughout Prague with little plastic kiddie pools. Each is full of water and brimming with live carp swimming about in agitated little circles. Snow is usually on the ground at this time, lending a rather surreal element to the pools of fish and the fish mongers all bundled up to keep warm.

Czechs usually do one of two things. They either pay to have the fish mongers kill and gut the fish on site, or they bring home a live one so that it will be as fresh as possible for Christmas. According to friends of mine, families sometimes fill the bathtub with water and keep the fish alive until it is time to cook him. This means fresh fish, but not-so-fresh family members who can’t really bath during this time. I’ve also heard stories of wine being poured into the tub to marinate the fish while still alive.

I feel silly writing about this since we have a Czech staff writing living in Prague right now. So, I would like to defer to Iva for her insights on this tradition and to see if I have all my facts right. More importantly, Iva, can you provide us with a little photo essay of the fish mongers doing their thing? I guess I have a little bit of carp nostalgia right now…

Czech Spa Vacation: Shaken, Not Stirred

by Iva Skoch on

Bond movie junkies will probably know that a large portion of the last Bond film, Casino Royale, was filmed in the Czech Republic. Actually, most of the scenes which are supposed to be in Montenegro are filmed in the Czech spa town Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), about 2 hours east of Prague.

The hotel, where Bond and his femme fatale are staying, is Karlovy Vary’s 5-star Hotel Pupp (yes, it is pronounced “poop” but it is a nice hotel, really). The hotel was built in 1701 and has been famous for its spa treatments ever since.

The hotel is now offering special 3-day packages called “In the Track of Agent 007“, including visit to a castle, beer spa, and a shooting range. Casino is also a part of the hotel and one of Czech Republic’s best golf courses is located just a few miles away. And, I hear they can make a mean martini. Not that the new Bond cares.

All Roads Lead to Rome

by Iva Skoch on

Czech couple from northeast of Prague, near Mlada Boleslav (home of the famed Skoda auto), decided they’d go for a walk…to Rome. The couple just reached their destination, completing the 1500 km (932 mile) trip entirely on foot.

The couple, the Koziskas, have three adult children, and the husband, an avid travel book reader, got the idea reading the story of a similar trek by Moravian priests last decade. Mrs. Koziskova, who works at the Skoda plant, suffers from back pain and wasn’t quite sure she’d make it. Further, they were forced to sleep outside a few times along the way, coming in close contact with some foraging wild boar and even a curious badger.

However, now she says, she “can’t imagine spending [their] next holiday lazing around.” Nothing like good travel writing to inspire a trip!

The Consequences of Drinking Tourism

by Iva Skoch on

I had to laugh at a recent article regarding the grueling work of the British Embassy, helping tourists after misfortunes. With the recent glut of cheap flights to Prague, there’s been a rise in “beer tourism,” whereby punters come to Prague to enjoy gallons of excellent, but cheap, Czech beer. (Stag parties alone account for 10% of the 650,000+ British tourists to Prague.) This travel is not without its consequences, however.

According to the article, the two broad categories of light-night hazards for embassy staff are a) being woken up in the middle of the night to replace lost passports, and b) being woken up in the middle of the night to go meet tourists who can’t remember where they are staying and are seeking shelter at the embassy. As you might guess, both problems arise primarily from too much of the yellow nectar.

A recent example is indicative: a man came in after a pub crawl, “unable to recall anything about his hotel, even once he had sobered up later in the day” according to a spokesperson. Another “young man was arrested for dancing in a fountain naked” and had to be assisted by the Embassy. In seven months, incidents numbered 155.

So, the Embassy has responded. It is socking those folks with 84.50-pound charges for using these emergency services, and it’s spending 3,000 pounds on a poster, beer coaster, and leaflet campaign to try to reduce these incidents through education. But, I’m thinking, if you’re too drunk to remember anything about your hotel, I’m not sure you can read a beer coaster….

Hostel II: More Bad PR For Slovakia

by Neil Woodburn on

Movies, for the most part, are free publicity for the tourist board of any country featured on the big screen: People see the movie and want to visit the country.

But what happens when the plot of the movie involves backpackers who are kidnapped for the sport of torture, dismemberment and murder? This was the idea behind last summer’s horror flick, Hostel.

The unlucky country in which the story takes place is Slovakia. Obviously the depiction of tourists being brutally murdered for fun and profit in quaint little Slovakia didn’t sit well with local residents (even though the movie was filmed in neighboring Czech Republic).

Director Eli Roth received his share of hate mail over his slanderous depiction of a Slovakia far more screwed up than it actually is, populated by lunatic sadists, throngs of gypsy children, and bleak surroundings.

So, what is he doing now? Filming Hostel II, of course.

According to the Prague Post, Roth is back in the Czech Republic filming the sequel. I guess that means Slovakia can look forward to more negative press and another summer of college backpackers giving the country a very wide berth on the way through Europe.