Don’t Miss (Page 7)

Wine cellars in the Břeclav region will be open this weekend. (COURTESY) Are you happy to see the spring finally come? You can celebrate on the first day of spring, 21 March, as many events take place around the country. One of them requires a trip to Moravia, but it is well worth it. Wine cellars of five southern Moravian wine areas will open their doors to visitors who want to taste local wine and regional dishes. More than 40 vintners from five municipalities, including Velké Pavlovice, Bořetice, Němčičky, Kobylí and Vrbice, will take part in the weekend festivities. You can go for a day or spend the whole weekend and explore more than just one village. There will beContinue Reading

St Patrick’s Day celebrations start in Prague on Friday. (ČTK) It will take a few more weeks before spring paints trees and flowers green. But many places around the world will turn green on Tuesday, 17 March, to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. The Irish national holiday has become a popular event among Czechs, partly because of their Celtic roots and also because of their love of drinking. The annual Prague Irish Music Festival opens 13 March at Caffrey’s Irish Bar at Old Town Square. Most Irish pubs in the city will feature live music (Shamrock Pub, J.J.Murphy’s) and a related programme will be available at some of the city’s night clubs (Lucerna Music Bar 17 Mach, Palác Akropolis, 17 March).Continue Reading

If you are fans of the late Jan Kaplický’s architecture, you can join a demonstration in support of his national library project this Thursday (6:30pm) at Old Town Square. The civic group Democracy builds. Face the National Library!, which is organising the event has already attracted over 22,000 supporters in their Facebook campaign since the architect’s death last month. Mucha’s paintings will be on show at Belvedere from 13 February. (ČTK) A weekend trip to Vienna can be great fun. Now you have another reason to go. Vienna’s Belvedere opens an exhibition 13 February to mark 70 years from the death of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha. The exhibition will feature some 150 pieces from Czech and Moravian collections,Continue Reading

Are you still interested in Czech art now that David Černý’s Entropa has been unveiled at the European Council building? If yes is your answer, make a trip to the Holešovice art gallery DOX. Here you can see yet another art exhibition poking fun at stereotypes, on display until 1 February. When the lower house was discussing the bill that was to criminalise the possession of marihuana for personal use in 1998, a group of artists known as Pode Bal made their first public appearance with a protest art installation displayed in the lower house. This group of provocateurs now has an exhibition at DOX, showing Briefs of their unrealised projects. An exhibition dedicated to Jan Palach, the Charles UniversityContinue Reading

The Petřín hill offers suitable conditions even for skiing when Prague has enough snow. (ČTK/AP) The New Year has brought real winter weather, complete with snow and sub-zero temperatures. That’s not good news for everyone, but if you like snow, now is your chance to go and have some winter fun. Prague has many winter stadiums (Štvanice on Střelecký ostrov, Nikolajka in Smíchov, Výstaviště in Holešovice or Ice Arena in Letňany) with ice rinks open to the public and offering skate rentals. There is even one outdoor ice-rink Na Františku downtown Prague, where you can skate everyday for CZK 50. It’s a bit worse when it comes to skiing. Although Prague has many hills, only some of them are suitableContinue Reading

The year 2008 has come to an end. Today is the last day. If you still don’t know what to do for New Year’s, the last issue of Do It may give you some ideas. Before setting off for a party, you may want to do something for your body. Winter swimming in the Vltava river already took place, unfortunately. But you can go for a run. One race starts today at the Riegrovy sady sports hall in Vinohrady at 2pm. The 3.4-km run takes place every year in memory of Jarda Štercl, a Czech musician, actor and adventurer. The fee is CZK 30. The second running event (a 5-km race) today starts at 10am in Apolinářská zahrada, Prague 2.Continue Reading

Of all the Christmas markets you can see in Prague these days, this one may be your favourite. At least if you like beer. The Christmas Beer Markets give you an opportunity to sample international and regional Czech special and Christmas beers brewed just for this holiday season. The event takes place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel from 20 until 22 December. Along with the great beers, the hotel will offer an array of beer-paired specialties. It’s open daily from 1pm to 5pm and from 6pm to 10pm, and the entry fee for each session is CZK 150. As far as beer goes, Czechs have a lot to offer. The same relates to opera. A new piece premieres at theContinue Reading

Have you already seen the Christmas tree at Old Town Square? Have you had a taste of svařák and roast chestnuts? Have you bought at least one Christmas present? Do you need a break from the holiday hustle and bustle? Here we are with a few tips. She thought she would do great things, but actually she was quite clumsy. (COURTESY) The theatre Alfred ve Dvoře stages tonight the Prague premiere of The Cat, a 45-minute audiovisual performance combining cinema with improvised acting and puppet theatre. Are you curious to see the last 45 minutes in the life of a cat that fell from a roof? The show starts at 8pm. The Irish quartet of two poets and two singersContinue Reading

Have you been good or bad in the last 12 months? (ČTK) Christmas is around the corner as we can tell by a growing number of people looking for gifts, Christmas decorations and various cultural events. One of them is scheduled for 5 December, a Christmas holiday celebrating St Nicholas. That’s when adults or teenagers dress up as St Nicholas, a devil and an angel and ask children whether they’ve behaved themselves. The kids are rewarded or punished depending on what they say. This is probably only fun if you have a kid, or if you play a devil yourself. For more Christmas related events, visit an exhibition of some 50 historical and current nativity scenes at the Supreme Burgrave’sContinue Reading

Lila Downs will present her new release Shake Away in Prague. (COURTESY) The 11th of November is the day when it is supposed to start snowing in the Czech lands. At least that’s what a Czech proverb says. But the weather was surprisingly warm yesterday. And it should last for a few days at least. So the first snow is yet to come but you no longer have to wait for the young St Martin’s wine (Svatomartinské víno) from Moravia or the French Beaujolais Nouveau. The season of young wine tasting has started and you can enjoy it with roast goose and traditional Moravian sweets served at numerous restaurants and events across the country. One such event, Letenská husa, willContinue Reading