Dirt Cheap Rental Cars in Europe

by Iva Skoch on

It is sad, but true. The cheapest rental cars in Europe typically come equipped with stickers advertising the rental car company. And, no, we are not talking subtle advertising here. The car companies, Alimex in the Czech Republic, and others, such as Sixti (renting similarly “stickered” Smart cars for as little as $6/day, as well as other cars, all over Europe) do it.

The car in the picture is a Skoda I rented in Prague to drive to Switzerland, not realizing that it would look like this. Needless to say, the circus-car made quite a few heads turn around the upscale Lake Geneva. BUT, it did cost less than a dinner for two in Lausanne. In fact, if you drive this thing in Switzerland, it is quite likely people will just pick up dinner for you out of pity.

One thing about it is practical. When someone asks you how much you paid for the rental, you can just point at the door, which prominently displays: 450Kc/day. (That would be some $20/day, even given the sad state of the dollar these days.) Of course, it only works if they didn’t notice the price from a mile away…

Central Europe in Trouble?

by Iva Skoch on

If you missed 1989, now is a good opportunity to sample the “revolutionary, yet peaceful” spirit of Central Europe once again. Head over to Budapest.

Hungarian students have been protesting the new socialist government of the Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány for a week now. Last weekend, he admitted to the nation, that his party lied about the real state of the Hungarian economy in order to win the election. Apparently, everyone lies, so he didn’t see anything wrong with admitting to it. Since then, students have been demonstrating in the streets of Budapest, demanding his resignation. Sure, you have some radical nuts and soccer hooligans joining the crowds, but that is the way things in Central Europe have been — ranging from the extreme left to the extreme right.

Some say this is the first indication that Central Europe is in trouble: Hungary is wrapped up in protest, Poland is on the verge of a government crises and Czech Republic has a “puppet” government in place before preliminary elections are called. I think being in the good old revolutionary days is pretty cool. It’s good to see students in the streets again, rather than only in their bedrooms playing computer games. You know people care. The spirit is contagious.

Maybe Neil was right in his post, suggesting that Budapest is stealing some of Prague’s spotlight.

From Prague, For the Absinthe-Minded

by Iva Skoch on

Dude, I got so wasted on absinthe last night…

If you’ve spent some time in Prague, you have heard this line one too many times. Walk into any bar on the beaten path and you will almost for sure see a group of American college students doing shots of the bright green liquor, which they think (or hope) will make them hallucinate.

The funny thing is that most of the stuff they sell here in the Czech Republic is not even absinthe. Not only is it not derived from wormwood, but it does not contain thujone (which is exactly the substance that many countries regulate heavily for its alleged hallucinogenic effects.) Generally, the brighter the color, the more fake it probably is. Don’t get me wrong – you can still get a mean hangover if you drink this stuff, but that’s mostly because the “green liquids” contain 60 percent alcohol and some food coloring. If you really want to go over the top, try that stuff with Red Bull. Make sure to sign up for life insurance well in advance though.

If you want to taste the real thing, you can still do it, but don’t expect to pay $3 per shot. It will be more like $10. For example, the Czech company L’OR makes The King of Spirits (see picture), which is the real thing containing 10mg of thujone. A bottle of this will set you back around $60. If you want the King of Spirits Gold, which contains 100mg of thujone and is illegal even to sell even in the Czech Republic, is available to ship for $200+

Red Corner: Using the Violence of Video Games to Tout Historical Memorials

by Neil Woodburn on

In an age where the horrors of war are so easily forgotten and, indeed trivialized by today’s violence infused video games, how exactly does one reach out to the younger generation and drive home historical lessons that shouldn’t be forgotten?

Through video games, of course.

Or, at least, the promise of video games.

Faced with declining attendance figures, the Lidice Memorial in the Czech Republic turned to a very controversial advertising campaign to re-spark interest in their museum. The museum chronicles a particularly horrible moment of World War II history which occurred after the 1942 assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia. The Nazis retaliated by randomly selecting a Czech village and wiping it off the face of the earth.

The town of Lidice, just 12 miles from Prague was ceremonially torched and 340 residents executed. The town has been rebuilt since the war and now hosts a rather moving memorial site.

A few decades ago, the memorial used to draw 300,000 people a year. Now, only 15,000 show up.

The bid to increase attendance incorporated a campaign designed as though it were plugging a video game. According to an article in The Prague Post, the ads and the website being promoted, www.totalburnout.cz, tantalized gamers with the challenge of burning Lidice “In the shortest time possible.” Players were promised a variety of weapons and were told the number of points awarded for either shooting (10 pts) or burning (20 pts) residents and for torching a house (100 pts).

In less than a week, 24,000 people visited the site where they discovered there wasn’t any game whatsoever, just some information about the massacre and a link to the Memorial’s website.

From an advertising point of view, the campaign really nailed it.

Current residents of Lidice, however, as well as survivors from the massacre, were understandably outraged and demanded that the advertisements and pseudo-game be yanked (which it eventually was).

I’m not sure how I feel about this. A mere 15,000 visitors for such a historical travesty just 12 miles from Prague is a very pathetic showing. Sometimes it takes drastic measures to keep history alive so that it never repeats itself, and this was a gallant, yet perhaps misguided effort.

Red Corner: Touring Bohemia

by Neil Woodburn on

When it came time to come up with a name for the non-Slovak part of Czechoslovakia after the country split in 1993, Bohemia was one of the frontrunners since the Bohemian region made up most of the area in question. Unfortunately, the non-Slovak part also consisted of Moravia and the Moravians were not about to let their country be called Bohemia.

So, the compromise was the rather sterile sounding Czech Republic.

Bohemia still exists, however, and anyone who wants to indulge in the “Bohemian” lifestyle can still hop on a plane and do so. Although you may not have the opportunity to disappear into a smoke filled café with a copy of Sartre tucked under your arm and a swank beret and goatee adorning your noggin, you will come away with an amazing experience filled with castles, spa towns, beer, nature, and friendly people.

Bohemia spans the western part of the Czech Republic and encompasses such iconic locations as Prague, Cesky Krumlov, and Karlovy Vary. It is my favorite region of one of my favorite countries.

Thankfully The Independent has just printed a rather nice break-out of things to see and places to go in Bohemia. And they don’t use the terrible, yet irresistible “Czech it out” pun so prevalent in such writings and therefore I recommend checking it out.