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So, You’re Going to Prague? (A Mini-Guide of my Favorites)
prague is now europe’s fifth most visited city as of 2016, surpassed by only london, paris, istanbul, and rome. so chances are, if you haven’t already been, you might be planning on going to prague soon, especially since summer’s coming up. i get a few emails and comments about what to do in prague, and man, that’s a hard question to answer in an email, let alone a comment! so! consider this post my e-mail to you about my favorite things and places to visit in the city. this is by no means an exhaustive guide (hah) but rather just my favorite places that i’ve been to loads of times and like…
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things to know before moving to the czech republic
let’s just get into it, shall we? the things they just don’t tell you… you’ll probably have to leave the country to get a visaif you are a non-eu passport holder and unless you have a pre-existing arrangement with a sponsor of your new job, mentally prepare that you’ll be headed either to berlin, bratislava, or vienna to get your visa. why? nobody knows. oh, and you’ll be going back there again to pick it up. nobody in immigration will speak english to you. even if they know english.you’ll likely be spending a lot of time in your local immigration building which probably looks straight out of a kafka novel.…
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what month is it?
… because it’s certainly hard to believe that it’s january. after “hibernating” the past two weekends, we had a delightful saturday wandering leisurely through trebon: around the ponds, through the historical city center, & to a fancy little fish restaurant called šupina a šupinka where we feasted on carp fries and fish soup. i was in the mood for a true “sobo meal”, and i know a lot of czechs make fried carp for the holidays (often in the form of a rižek, or schnitzel) but some families do the carp “chips”. and hey hey, those were really delicious! i certainly didn’t fancy myself a carp lover, but anything šupina prepares…
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a new year
happy new year! this year i didn’t feel much pressure to ring in the new year in any particular style. we went to our friend (and czech teacher’s) house in a nearby village on the afternoon of the thirty-first and had a frosty walk before we made it back to the house for punch, snacks, and chatting. in my memory, i cannot remember trying slivovice before (i know) until that day and i quite liked it. after many drinks and coming back home at a reasonable hour, i just couldn’t summon the ire to go out “on the town”, and even better that we could see loads of fireworks from…
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melding traditions
the other day, my student asked me in the middle of a class, “so if you celebrate the holidays here, do you participate in czech or american traditions?” (cut to a dream sequence) hmmmm, that’s an interesting one! it’s now my fourth holiday season here (and my first married christmas!) in the czech republic and i do love adapting to different christmas traditions, much like a sponge. (below, large shoe box full of cookies we were famously gifted in 2013) czech christmas cookies? this is an easy one to adapt to! particularly the linecký and the rohlíčky! it is so common in the czech republic for babičkas and maminkas to…
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halloween abroad, pt. IV
hello friends, i hope you had a nice halloween if you celebrate it! as it is one of my favorites, you can bet i did. it was the fourth we’ve celebrated abroad and it really came and went without too much fanfare. (below, the state of the backyard this morning) it’s been interesting talking about this holiday with the groups of teenagers i teach. usually about half the class seems interested and celebrates the holiday in some way (whether that is some activities at their school, going to a halloween party or gathering, carving a pumpkin, or even getting dressed up!), one or two are completely indifferent and don’t celebrate it,…
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hello, october + a woodland walk
hi friends, i was just reading an article in the local budejovice rag, milk and honey, about the lazy days of summer (it was an old issue!) that got me seriously jonesin’ for summer’s return already. no! not happening!so i am turning my face away from the hot, everlasting summer of two thousand fifteen that was to the pleasant autumn, recounting all of my favorite autumn things. first thing that comes to mind: pumpkin everything. along with the ubiquitous (or perhaps here, not so much) pumpkin spice lattes, it means pumpkin soup! pumpkin cookies from my absolute favorite recipe. pumpkin coconut curry.lighting a pumpkin-scented candle and a bubble bath. reading…
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i heard it at summer camp
ahhhh, summer camp. the obligatory summer job that helps keep the lights on around here in those slower months when people aren’t exactly jumping at the idea of having lessons, but it also brings us great joy… when summer camp is administered in small doses, of course. we almost missed out on summer camp this year entirely because of our back to america travel plans but managed to teach one week of it right after we came back from greece. one thing i love about it, besides tasting all of the czech meals at lunch time, is it’s not so much just teaching as it is hanging out with kids.…
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unique czech gift ideas
it’s tough to figure out a meaningful gift to bring home from your holidays sometimes… especially a product actually made in the country and not shipped from china with “prague” emblazoned on it. why not try these ideas next time? totally czech, and your loved ones will definitely appreciate them. 1/ becherovka, the most popular herbal liquor choice! made from a secret blend of over 100 herbs and minerals from the karlovy vary region. (i don’t recommend trying to bring czech beer- too much hassle) also recommended: slivovice or moravian white wine. the more homemade/local, the better. 2/ oplatky, especially the kolonada brand. they’re round wafer cookies that come in many…
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A Local’s Guide to České Budějovice
When I moved to Budějovice (international alias, Budweis) in 2013, there was almost no information online about this place, save for an extremely scant Lonely Planet blurb (and thank goodness for that!). Moving somewhere sight-unseen without knowing any information or what is actually there is a little unsettling, which is why I have for you this “visitor’s guide to České Budějovice” (pronounced chess-kay bood-yay-yo-vit-suh), written by a “new local”. As tourists have started to discover this city, more and more info is thankfully online, but I still present to you this guide I have written and keep updated. Whether you are looking into studying here, moving here, or maybe even making…
