Prague by Ivan Svatoš

Ivan Svatoš is a Prague painter and graphic artist. His works are represented in collections in the Czech Republic, but also in Germany, France, the USA and Japan. He mainly paints views of old Prague … He lives and creates in Prague. He graduated from the Václav Hollar Art School in Prague. In his work,...

Art and Design, CULTURE

November 11, 2020

Czech Stories in English

I am an avid reader and what I love to read more than anything is stories from my birthplace, Czechoslovakia. In today’s post I am sharing some rare books which are in English and allow you to see a Czechoslovakia of days gone past, often through the eyes and experiences of non-Czechs. A Wayfarer in...

Books

November 10, 2020

A Prayer

A Poem on the Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution Dear readers, on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, we are bringing the poem A Prayer by a Czech author living in Australia, Professor Josef Tomáš. With the poem A Prayer, the author expressed his feelings of how he, at the end...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

November 8, 2020

The Day of the Bison Hunt by V. Kubasta

Vojtěch Kubašta (1914-1992) became a star of the highest magnitude when he combined his artistic and architectural talents in the creation of spatial book. Not only did he draw them all, but he was also the author of the solution to the three-dimensional parts. He was actually the Czech top export artist in the previous...

Childrens Books

August 20, 2020

A Death to Remember

They slept that night in peace. The danger, they felt, had ended. Their democratic revolution would live. The Russians would not come in. As they slept, the chief of Czechoslovakia's secret police, who was scheduled to lose his job within a few days, arrived at Prague's new airport - to secure the field, he explained, for the arrival of an important Russian delegation. Within minutes, Czech and Soviet agents ringed the field, and airborne troops landed. At 1:00 a.m., the people of Prague awakened to the blaring of taxi horns and to news they could not at first believe.

History

May 17, 2020

Anita Pollitzer and Women’s Right to Vote

Did you know that American women vote thanks to a Czech woman? They do. The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. The passage marked the largest expansion of democracy in the history of our country. Hardly anybody knows that the...

PEOPLE, Women

April 18, 2020

JoJo Rabbit and Propaganda

Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, based on Christine Leunens’s 2008 book Caging Skies. Jojo Rabbit was filmed in various locations around the Czech Republic. To be more specific, Barrandov Studio, Chcebuz, Dolní Berkovice, Kytín, Petschek Palace (Petschkův palác), Prague, Úštěk, and Žatec. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

March 15, 2020

Wonderful Gift of Pear Williams Pear Brandy

Wat a surprise! I am blessed because a friend randomly showed up with a delightful gift. He told me he went into a local liquor store and asked for a “top shelf Czech liquor product,” and the man at the liquor store sold him a beautiful bottle of R. Jelinek’s Pear Williams Pear Brandy (or...

Food, LIFESTYLE, Shopping

March 8, 2020

Strange Postcards from the Communist Era

These postcards are at once sinister, funny and surreal. By funny, I mean that the Soviets tried so hard to place their influence on cities that stood long before, and will stand long after their occupation. I personally find it interesting that their colors, architecture and style of the images is so – well –...

Art and Design, CULTURE

March 7, 2020

Paulina Porizkova and the Pink Gap Dress

Today is International Women’s Day so to celebrate today, this post is primarily for the ladies! To us Czech ‘girls’, Paulina Porizkova is one of ours… Most of us grew up with seeing her supermodel covers in the 80’s and 90’s and followed her acting career as well as that of her husband, Ric Ocasek,...

PEOPLE, Women

February 29, 2020

Devil’s Toast, Gypsy Toast, Bratislava Toast

A couple of weeks ago we shared our quick and easy recipe for making a favorite Czech snack or pub food, Topinky or Czech Fried Bread with Garlic. Today we are taking that wonderfully delicious fried bread and adding a topping to it. This dish goes by many names, it is known as Cikánské topinky...

LIFESTYLE, Recipes

February 26, 2020

Prague Subway Guide for Tourists

In Prague, as in many parts of Europe, the subway is called the metro. The Prague Metro is the rapid transit network of Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1974, the Prague Metro now comprises three lines, serving 61 stations, and consists of a transit network 41.5 miles long. Today we’re sharing our Prague Subway Guide...

Czech Republic

February 24, 2020

Czech Fairy Tales in Advertising

During the First Republic, when shopping at the grocery store, children would receive a short fairy-tale pamphlet as part of selecting specific merchandise. These were usually printed on double-sheets with color illustrations. Usually the first page contained a picture with the name of the fairy tale, the inner part then had the text and an...

Childrens Books

February 21, 2020

Bohemian Potato Mash with Fried Onions

A delicious meal shared by peasants and kings alike, and it’s gluten-free! This is a Czech peasant dish for “adjusted” potato mash with fried onions. In Czech it is called Nastavovaná kaše s osmaženou cibulkou. Nastavovaná means that it has been ‘adjusted’ and by this we mean that nutrients coming from another ingredient have been...

Food, Recipes

February 18, 2020

Photo Lens: Marc Riboud’s Prague

Marc Riboud was born in 1923 in Saint-Genis-Laval near Lyon. In 1937, at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, he took his first photos using a small vest pocket Kodak given to him by his father for his 14th birthday. In 1944, he joined the resistance in the Vercors. From 1945 – 1948 he studied engineering...

CULTURE, Photography

February 16, 2020

Czech Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake Recipe

Who would ever imagine that sauerkraut would actually be tasty in a chocolate cake? Well, I thought the same thing about beets and now we make our Czech Style Fudgy Chocolate Cake regularly. Today’s Czech Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake recipe is worth your time to try if you like chocolate cake. It will surely make for...

LIFESTYLE, Recipes