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+

Prague’s Charles Bridge For Sale

by Iva Skoch on

As if Madonna is not causing enough stir with her European tour, she got herself wrapped up in another controversy.

Louis Vuitton invited her to perform at a party on the Charles Bridge before her September concert in Prague. She accepted. The controversy is not with Madonna this time, it is with the bridge. LV booked the 14th century Czech national treasure for a mere $54,000 from Sept. 6-10, just to throw a private VIP party.

It would require the city to close it to all traffic for those days. Starved for cash (and probably after a few bribes) the City of Prague actually said yes, until some historians and politicians raised a big stink about it.

In an article titled Material World, the Prague Post quoted a senator who said that the Charles Bridge is no “whore for sale” and compared renting the bridge to “holding an eating party inside St. Vitus Cathedral [the famous Gothic church inside the walls of Prague Castle].”

Enough people protested that the city actually had to call the party off, suggesting to LV that they can take the waterfront instead. Poor little VIPs. Must feel a lot like wanting a Louis Vuitton bag and settling for a Gap totebag instead.

One for the Road: Traveler's Tales Prague

by Erik Olsen on

We haven’t done a ton of One for the Roads since Kelly
left, but I’m going to try to get one done every once in a while. I’ve got a whole bunch of books on my reading list,
or which I am currently into, but most of them are somehow related to work (i.e. a book on genetics that I’m reading)
or are just plain fun (I picked up Carl Hiaasen’s Lucky You the other day on a whim and now am plowing through
it). Anyway, I also just got my hands on a new book out from the good folks at Travel’s Tales. Called Travelers’ Tales Prague
and the Czech Republic : True Stories, the book is edited by David Farley and
Jessie Sholl and contains stories by a menagerie of well-known and lesser-known writers.  the names include 
Myla Goldberg, Helen Epstein, Jan Morris, and Francine Prose, among others. I’m psyched to read it, if just because a
couple of good friends of mine just moved to Prague and because I’ve been there a few times myself. So check this one
out if you’re a Czech republic fan.

Hot New Prague

by Erik Olsen on

We’ve blogged here
about Prague on several occasions, and the city without a doubt remains one of our favorites. I was there a few years
ago for a friend’s wedding and was reminded what an interesting and exciting place it is. It was also the first time
I’ve ever consumed a Red Bull and Vodka, and realized how mixing alcohol and caffeine can make for a rather heady mix
that can help get you through the night and make the morning more difficult. Alas.

Well, keeping with the
Prague theme, I urge you to head over the
epicurious.com where writer David Farley talks about many
of the hot, hip, new, happening places in Prague. Farley should know. He was the man behind the Travelers’ Tales Prague book. A couple of the key places he
mentions are the Eva Jiricna-redesigned Maximilian Hotel, which is rich in amenities like huge plasma-screen TVs,
complimentary high-speed Internet access, and DVD players. Also, he says, check out Kolkovna, a well-known pub and
restaurant on the Old Town/Josefov border, and the James Bond Café where you can treat your inner James Bond to
a martini, served shaken, not stirred…and hopefully without nerve toxins.