Shelsea D., Author at Prague Morning

Prague City plans to plant 25,718 trees this autumn. Most of them will be added to the Běchovice (17,800) and Jinonice areas.

By June 2020, Běchovice will have another 56,000 trees added, in addition to the “V Panenky” forest built. Parks in Petřín and Stromovka will also grow in numbers of trees. Hopefully, over 186,000 trees are planted by the end of this year.

Further planting is planned for next year in connection with the construction of a new wildlife rescue station. Prague City wants to expand the Stromovka Park as well with 100 new trees implanted.

The park invites the public to help plant them on November 9 and 21. Joint planting is planned on Nov. 13 in Petřín and Nov. 27 in the Třešňovka orchard in Hrdlořezy. Reconstructions of the Prague parks this year is budgeted at 68 million CZK (2.65 million euros).

“Most of the trees were newly planted as part of afforestation of the original agricultural land,” said Vít Hofman, spokeswoman for the municipality. These were mainly urban areas in parts of the city which are quite distant from the wider center (i.e. Vinoř, Běchovice or Slatina).

It is estimated that the trees will still be the most expensive in the city’s outskirts. Forests play a vital role in the city’s life. Trees consume carbon dioxide and return oxygen, heal the environment, and affect the climate.

“For example, a hectare of beech forest can absorb 63 tons of dust per year,” biologist Zdenka Zavičáková said. Due to summer heat and drought, the important fact is that the forest is a reservoir of groundwater. Its roots capture the surface rainwater and help ensure its accumulation.

Plant a tree, build a house and beget a son. This is the oldest traditional list of life achievements that every good man should achieve. Thanks to the latest project of the Czech studio DDAANN and Lukáš Otevřel, virtually anyone can uncheck the first two tasks, thus giving them the opportunity to fulfill their third mission.

Building your own house in the suburbs of a larger city can be very costly and up to many millions of crowns. Hence, post-construction is often accompanied by many compromises and concessions, making the resulting house not as comfortable as the owners originally imagined.

An increasing number of people, and in other places, living in these dwellings are forming their own communities. This phenomenon arrived in the Czech Republic quite recently and it is still in its very beginnings.

Photo: DONE

DONE and it’s done!

Tiny house can be a real style, evidenced by the latest domestic project called Tiny House DONE, which allows an owner to not only own housing but the possibility to build their own house, as well.

DONE is a minimalist prefabricated wooden building created by architects Daniel Baudis and Rohan from the DDAANN studio, who also teamed up with Lukáš Otevřel (creator and developer of his famous floating house project on the Vltava river named PORT X).

Lukáš spoke more about DONE and its requirements. “We wanted to create something minimalist, locally Czech and contemporary, with the ambition to extend this in the future [though]. The DONE concept was created with an emphasis on the practicality of use in today’s hectic times; own partial assistance in the construction and fulfillment of two parts of the life triad – that is, to build a house and plant a tree.”

The tiny house DONE provides a living room, kitchen, stove, and sink, shower with toilet, utility room and an outdoor terrace. The owners have available storage space, folding bed, and kitchen table with chairs, all in craftsmanship from the Czech company Devoto.

Photo: DONE

Build yourself

The house is currently offered in three variants: CORE, OFFGRID, and GLAMP, respectively. CORE is the basic habitable structure of the house without amenities such as heating, kitchen, shower or toilet. Owners can retrofit it by themselves, or it can serve as a shelter, farmhouse, etc. The cost is 365,000 CZK.

OFFGRID is equipped with a stove and a tank for imported water, which can be combined with collected rainwater. House energy is provided by either a smaller gel battery or system-combining solar panels with batteries that can be connected to a heat pump. With these suitable options, the house is fully self-sufficient and can long-stand. The price is 630,000 CZK without tax.

GLAMP, the most luxurious, comes with features such as ash kitchen with artificial stone countertop, storage space for longer stays, luxurious showerheads and taps, ash tiles, root purifier, pressurized water, and full network connectivity. Ash is also used for furniture equipment and seedlings of this tree. The price of the top version is 670,000 CZK excluding tax (possibility of deducting the same amount as the OFFGRID version, if you arrange transport and construction yourself).

“The most demand is for GLAMP, which is suitable to place somewhere where networks already [exist]. It can be a [family-extended] house, a special guest house – or for [a family’s] own privacy. It can [also] be used as a temporary building in the construction of something larger. GLAMP was built by our first client Jaroslav, as both electricity and water were already on the plot, and it made more sense for them to connect to local networks,” Otevřel added.

Houses are also abroad. Currently, Denmark has become the greatest interest in area for DONE.

One applies to the tiny house and is then placed on the waiting list after the deposit. The panels take about two months to process following transport and assembly the month after (length of time to deliver these depend on location).

Hopefully, in the future, sufficient inventory is made available for faster delivery and construction.

Photo: DONE

It was December 4, 1989, when the so-called exit clauses—aka special permits—were finally abolished, which was not possible to leave former communist Czechoslovakia without (with the exception of several Eastern Bloc countries). For the first time in many years, Czech tourists could travel freely into the world. But at a time when they didn’t have this option, how and where did they travel?

Since 1970, Czech and Slovak citizens (formerly Czechoslovaks) could travel more or less freely only to some countries of the socialist camp, namely Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, and Romania. The visit to these states was covered by a so-called permanent exit clause, which has been part of the passport since that year.

To other countries (including socialist countries) it was not so easy. The Soviet Union and Poland needed a verified invitation; the journey to the West was virtually closed for most of the population.

Even if one wanted to visit one of the Western European republics, they had to undergo an incredible martyrium: first, they had to process an application for a foreign exchange promise addressed to the Czechoslovak State Bank. This was the only official way to get a foreign currency (in a minimum amount). This request had to be recommended by the employer, the school, or the national committee.

Only with a criminal record, then was it possible to apply for an exit clause. This application request had to be approved by the National Committee and the employer, including the working organization of the Communist Party and the special department.

In the case of students, the school, and the Socialist Youth Union, it was only with the clause obtained that a tourist visa could be applied for. At any step, one’s planned trip could have been halted. Moreover, either parents or children could travel at the same time, but not together because part of the family had to stay at home as “hostages” to prevent others from emigrating.

To nudism to East Germany

Husák’s children living in Prague may remember the German Cultural Center, which was based on Národní třída, not far from the Church of St. Voršila. In the second half of the 1980s a remarkable publication was sold there: a photo book of nudist beaches in Rügen.

The white chalk cliffs and the unbridled nudism beneath them became iconic in the years of socialism ending. In addition, there were individual trips to the East German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea.

Despite nudism and interesting rocky panoramas in Jasmund National Park and the Stralsund Marine Aquarium, Rügen did not offer much. In fact, it was relatively windy, and the Baltic Sea was rather cold compared to the more popular Adriatic. Furthermore, it was considerably poorer in observing underwater life. Czech tourists usually slept under the tent in camps, which they had to book in advance.

Nevertheless, Rügen was extremely popular, partly because of the widely practiced, tolerated, and propagated nudism. Partly because the classical socialist black trade worked in its developed form and it was possible to buy any goods that were in short supply in Czechoslovakia– if one managed to carry extra marks (foreign currency allocations were not high).

Journey to the future and years back

In the 1980s, tourism beyond weekdays was also associated with trips to the Black Sea (i.e. to Romania and Bulgaria, which were mostly traveled through Hungary). For Czech tourists, this meant an interesting journey through time. While Hungary tolerated at least partially small business and the existence of the private sector, and since its foreign policy was more open to the West, in Romania—under the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu —it was the opposite. As a result, a visit to Hungary meant a half-opened window into a world that, for example, Husak’s children knew only from illegally imported copies of West German magazine Bravo, or from those Western European films that were released by the Central Film Rental.

In Hungary, for example, it was possible to buy postcards with naked women (unthinkable in Czechoslovakia at that time), and a marketplace with a rich offer of vegetables and fruit from private farmers was popular, which was again quite unprecedented in our country.

Meanwhile, Romania was most reminiscent of the reality of some backward outpost of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. A common reality on the roads was donkey-drawn wagons. At the resting places, Czechoslovak tourist buses were immediately surrounded by a bunch of begging children. And the dominant feature of Romania at that time were the herds of stray dogs, which occurred almost everywhere. On the other hand, the country offered breathtaking natural beauty, like the Romanian Carpathians, which were virtually undamaged by civilization.

To the Soviet Union only with an expedition or by invitation

A separate chapter was represented by trips to the Soviet Union, where it was practically impossible with a collective and organized expedition (the only other option was a verified invitation). Officials in the Union were noticeably polite to the Czechs, but this commitment was a little chilling – often it was that they wanted to have the fullest control over the movement of Czech tourists and show their country in the best light.

“My dominant memory of the Soviet Union is mainly that we got there about a month and a half after the Chernobyl disaster, so we all were terrified of what would happen. But when I [reminisce] this is what I like to remember,” said Markéta Kasalická, a student of a secondary medical school, who visited the Soviet Union with a school expedition during the so-called exchange stay.

“They probably wanted to show us the best they had, so they took us to a burn clinic that was super-equipped at the time. They had modern positioning beds to prevent bedsores that I was rolling my eyes on. But it is quite possible that the patients lying on them were from Chernobyl”, Kasalická adds.

She also remembers the taste of Russian ice cream, Russian tea, and leaven. “A strong memory is that I was standing on Arbat classroom in the center of Moscow, and suddenly heard Waldemar Matuška’s song about Prague Mother of Cities. At that moment I had tears in my eyes. After returning home I did not hear her for years, because Matuška just emigrated and stopped playing,” added Kasalická.

Promised Yugoslavia

Yet, the mecca of socialist tourism was primarily Yugoslavia, especially the Adriatic coast in present-day Croatia. Split, Makarska, Baska Voda, Jelsa, Dubrovnik- these places have many Czech families associated with the most beautiful holidays they have experienced during socialism.

But getting to Yugoslavia was never easy. This country was not on the list of socialist states where it was possible to travel with the so-called permanent exit clause. To travel to Yugoslavia it was necessary to undergo a similar martyrium with obtaining an exit clause as anywhere in the West. The reason was that Yugoslavia has been considered politically not very reliable since President Tito’s times. It was also known for helping Czechoslovak citizens to escape.

It should be added that these suspicions were not entirely unfounded. Yugoslavia in 1968 not only joined the occupation of Czechoslovakia, but 200,000 volunteers from this country wanted to help Czechoslovakia fight Soviet intervention, and Yugoslav officials also opened the arms of Czechoslovak tourists literally.

“When we went to the reception on August 21 at 7:30 pm to pay for our return home, the receptionist showed up completely [and said]: ‘Where do you want to go back? Are you occupied by the Russians, shooting there! I will give you the radio, you must not go home!’,” explained Markéta Krupková, who in August 1968 spent a holiday in a camp in the resort Mlini near Dubrovnik. Since Markéta and other Czech tourists were under the validity of the exit clause at that time—whose exceeding was considered a crime of leaving the Republic—they went to the passport department to confirm the validity of their travel documents.

“The passport clerk was a tall young guy, welcoming us with understanding and participation, [saying], ‘It’s terrible what’s going on with you. Do not go home, do you have a place to sleep?”

We said that we still have accommodation, but that we would need to extend our exit clauses, that we can work. “I’ll arrange the items, don’t worry about your work at all, do you have money?” he replied. “Then he reached into his pocket and opened his own wallet. We were almost shocked,” recalls Krupková.

Until the fall of the socialist regime, Yugoslavia remained one of the most popular—although difficult to reach—destinations, and there were often friendly ties between Czech and Yugoslav citizens. These began to complicate only in the 1990s when Yugoslavia engulfed in a series of war conflicts between its individual republics, which eventually led to its disintegration.

For the Czechs, this war was difficult to understand because they had warm relations with both Croats and Serbs, and even those two nations came against each other during the war.

This year, the restaurant in the Czech Center building, in New York, has received the Bib Gourmand Award from the Michelin Gastronomic Guide.

The Bohemian Spirit restaurant, which offers Czech specialties such as svíčková, duck with cabbage and bramboračka (potato soup) in the American city, is among more than a hundred businesses where Michelin inspectors say people eat well without spending excessive sums.

The list of restaurants that this year’s Michelin Guide in New York attributed to the Bib Gourmand symbol—which stands for good quality at an affordable price—was published by the publishers before declassifying the overall rating. The guide will be released next week and will focus on which businesses will receive Michelin stars.

Currently, there are 55 restaurants with one Michelin star in New York, 14 restaurants with two stars and five restaurants with the highest possible three-star rating.

Other national cuisines are appreciated quite often by the Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, such as Japanese, Mexican, French, Italian or Korean restaurants. However, local specialties are often offered at the menu for more than $ 100 (2000 CZK).

The Bohemian Spirit restaurant keeps low on New York rates: appetizers, soups, and desserts cost $9 (210 Kč), veal schnitzel with potato salad can be bought for $24 (560 Kč) and confit duck leg with cabbage for $22 dollars (515 Kč).

This year, four Prague restaurants have been awarded the Bib Gourmand symbol in the Czech Republic, while two more – La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise and Field – have been awarded a one-star rating from previous years.

Source: Bohemian Spirit

Source: Bohemian Spirit

Photo: Emon Hassan

Photo: Emon Hassan

What will be the fate of the Libeň Bridge? The question, which is already being dealt with by the second Prague management, caused the mayor of Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) to fall apart just before the end.

Deputy Minister Adam Scheinherr is clear: the bridge will not be demolished, it will be repaired and extended, and Prague will pay about two billion crowns. Moreover, the whole area from Palmovka to Holešovice will be closed for two years.

“The entire project will be worth up to two billion crowns. Repairing the bridge alone will be worth half a billion, and we would like to have it done in 2024,” Scheinherr said.

The original design only counted on the repair of the bridge, but the city eventually decided to extend the project. Prague would like to start reconstructing the area from Palmovka to Holešovice at the end of 2021. So, for the next two years, Prague residents will have to prepare for traffic complications. There will be no replacement bridge, as promised by the previous leader.

“The replacement bridge is not much foreseen. A study was made, and such a bridge went up to 350 million crowns. DPP and I are ready to serve public transport, cars do not go there so much,” added the deputy.

According to him, the situation can be partially solved by crossing the footbridge from Holešovice to Karlín. Not done just yet, but by the end of 2021, it is to be finished. “But the trams and cars will not run on it and will serve only for pedestrians,” the deputy explained.

From the beginning, the new management of Prague claimed that it did not want the Libeň Bridge to be demolished. It announced a tender for reconstruction.

However, the conditions were very strict and only Pragoprojekt applied (they have not yet met the conditions). TSK canceled the competition.

18 companies are interested

“We wrote it too harshly. I expected companies to be willing to create an international team. Unfortunately, the market is now saturated, especially for construction companies,” Scheinherr said, saying it was his mistake, but he corrected it and now announced a new project aimed at repairing the entire area, and 18 companies have already expressed interest.

“We responded and discussed with the companies all summer. Preliminary market consultations for Design & Build projects have been announced, which means design and build. Companies indicate that they will be interested in such a contract. We want the winner to be selected by June 2020,” added Scheinherr.

Prague must now clearly explain how the project is to be imagined, and according to companies will apply for a new, selective procedure.

A hundred-year-old weather column, on the corner of Buzulucká Street and Vítězné náměstí in Dejvice, has been restored. It is one of the few surviving columns in Prague.

There were over fifty of them all over the Czech Republic. Another one is located on the pavement next to the Masaryk Railway Station.

One has also been in the Hadovka Dejvice park for several years, and after an agreement with the authorities it was installed there a few years ago by architect Jan Trejbal. Before that, he bought it for 1200 CZK, where the technical monument originally stood.

Meteorological columns have been produced since the second half of the 19th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century the setting in villages, larger villages, and towns became the fashion. The columns were used for weather forecasting plus showing time.

After World War II, the advent of more modern technologies halted the development of these weather stations. Eventually, most of them gradually deteriorated and in many places had them removed completely.

A 1914 technical monument remains on the outskirts of Kulaťák, but in a dysfunctional state. Some time ago, the Czech National Trust (CNT)—a non-profit organization—decided to save this meteorological column in Dejvice.

The reconstruction project was sponsored by Penta Real Estate and the Prague 6 City District. The artificial stone was cleaned and repaired. The locksmiths created new metal parts and the column was fitted with replicas of metrological instruments. On the corner of Buzulucka and Vítězné náměstí, people can learn temperature, humidity or air pressure.

“In the next phase, it will be fitted with an electronic display, which will provide additional supplementary data on both the columns and current air measurements from the Meteorological Institute, such as air pollution. It will complement the data provided by analogue devices,” said Jakub Stárek (ODS), Deputy Mayor of Prague 6.

The renewed post welcomes the revitalization of the area as a suitable revival. One may also find it interesting to compare traditional and modern technologies in the field of meteorology. The city district will take over the post in agreement with the CNT. The district had already painted it with antigraffiti paint from their resources.

“We considered installing touch screens with some practical applications on it, such as in the Town Hall building, but we abandoned the intention. [However], the place is not so busy,” added the deputy mayor.

Photo: Jan Puci

At the end of this year, O2 will shut down all public payphones, except those in the smaller municipalities. Out of the 3900 telephone booths currently in operation, 1150 remain in municipalities with up to 200 more inhabitants next year. It was confirmed by O2 spokeswoman Lucie Jungmannová this past Wednesday.

The reason for the interference is due to little or no calls from the booths; everyone has mobiles. “In recent years, coverage of the 4G mobile network, which is available in the Czech Republic territory at 96.9 percent, has risen significantly, making it one of the best in Europe. Most people use a mobile phone or a fixed-line, and phone boxes are gradually losing their meaning,” Lucie said, with some people calling less than once a month.

The operator will continue to operate the machines in locations where it is required by the Czech Telecommunication Office as part of the so-called universal service. Every year, the operator sets parameters for the size of the municipality, in which at least one booth will be placed. Another reason for the obligation to place a booth is a weak mobile signal. Loss of the municipality’s operation is then paid by the state to the operator. The subsidy is around 9000 CZK per machine per year.

In addition to the decreasing number of calls, the high demand for maintenance and the fight against vandalism is another reason for interference. Booths are the target of vandals rather than a place to call. Call revenues are thus far from covering maintenance and operating costs.

Interrupted payphones will be operational until December 31. Afterward, the supplier company gradually dismantles the instruments and boxes and ensures its ecological disposal. O2 also cooperates with the Bookstores project, where unused booths become small public libraries. This project was created with the help of the corporate O2 Foundation.

O2 operated most of the payphones at the turn of the century when over 30,000 booths were in operation. Since then, their numbers have been decreasing due to declining usage, an effect from the advent of mobile technology.

Prague is a very well-known tourist place that provides travellers tourists with a variety of choices when it comes to restaurants and eateries. From different ethnic cuisines to even American fast foods—KFC and McDonald’s are popular here—people from all over who come to visit Prague can still feel close to home when it comes to eating at a restaurant.

Adding itself to this list of ethnic cultural cuisine is the Australian family-pub that has been making a name for itself for three months now: The Down Under.

Bringing some of Australia to the city life, Ashley McGlynn—the Down Under founder—fell in love with hospitality at the age of 14, when he started working for his godfather at a restaurant back in Sydney. Although he held down odd jobs in his early years in Prague (i.e. English teaching, journalist, tour-guiding), Ashley never lost touch with his first love.

Photo: Mike von Köppe

Ashley describes Australia as being a “mixed-bred” nation. “The bulk of the country is built on people who immigrated, who were running from something, escaping from or for something, or looking for something new,” he said. “You have Greek-Australians, Italian-Australians, Asian-Australians…[so many different mixed ethnicities]. That’s what Australia is.” This description of Australia, along with his own multiethnic background (Scottish, Hungarian, Irish, Austrian, English, Norwegian), allows Ashley to create Australian-styled meals but also include influences from other parts of the world. For instance, the dim sim dish is inspired by Asian cuisine dim sum. Moreover, the restaurant also includes a vegan and kid’s menu for those with dietary or age restrictions.

The Sydney-born restaurant owner travelled to Prague for the first time at 20 years old, when he was backpacking around Europe for about a year after completing his studies back home. Ashley fell in love with the Czech Republic’s capital.

“There was just something about Prague that really— I just felt comfortable [here]. It felt safe…still had that area of [post]communism, that gray blanket hanging over, which made Prague more authentic in 1998, to me,” Ashley said. He stayed in Prague for about a month before returning back to Australia.

It would be another 15 years before Ashley returned to Prague and permanently reside there. He met his wife, who is Czech, back in 2002 at a bar in Sydney, a moment that was “divine intervention.” They married four years later in the Czech Republic, returned to Australia for a little while, then finally decided to settle in Prague in 2013. Around this time in November, Ashley opened up The Pie Shop.

The pie shop story is quite a humorous one. After being out late and drunk one night with his father, they both were left craving pie (eating pie after getting drunk is common in Australia). However, they realized there was not any pie shops in Prague. This led Ashley to the idea of creating and opening up one here himself. And so it was, the Aussie Pie Shop was born and has been flourishing steadily ever since.

Photo: Mike von Köppe

“Were very proud of what we created. It has gained and almost like following, especially in pubs…people telling others about our pies. It’s fantastic!”

Ashley explained further, the new home of the Pie Shop, The Down Under, was not as glamourous when he first saw it. “There had been no tenant for months, it smelt and was very dark.” However, it didn’t stop him and his partner from seeing what they could create, with a lot of confidence taken from the Pie Shop’s success.

The Pie Shop’s pie is more British in style, due to its delicious shortcrust pastry, and it buttery and delectable, unlike normal Australian pies that are made from puff pastry. In addition, the British market here in Prague is larger than Australian, nonetheless, the pies are still made in Australian style.

The Aussie Pie Shop may still be a small business but as Ashley stated himself, he is “hoping to expand it with bigger business ideas. There’s a different kind of energy here…[and] I want the pies to have a bigger, better home here, too.” In general, Ashley has been expanding his own business ideas, and the recent move to the bigger family-friendly venue of The Down Under works with the plan.

In this larger home, Ashley is trying to merge his bigger business plans and other things together into one restaurant or venue. The Down under also includes and super comfortable sports bar area, as Ashley is a bit sports-crazy himself, with the desire to create a new and unique sports bar atmosphere.

But the Down Under is more than just a home of pies and sports; it’s home for the whole family. This is why Ashley describes it as a family venue. With good food and sports to boot, the last piece in the family gigsaw is the massive kids corner, catering for mums and kids alike.

“I don’t want people to just come in and go. I want them to stay for three hours. Stay for coffee, breakfast, a few beers, eat in, etc. We’re not a hi-and-bye business. We’re a pub with good food, sports, and kids corner. I want people to be comfortable here. I don’t want bucks parties or groups of party people here. Although there’s great money in them, I believe I will do much better with this business,” Ashley stated.

Photo: Wolt

Photo: Mike von Köppe

The death of the famous singer Karel Gott has affected Prague, where the artist – popular across generations – left a significant mark and spent most of his life here.

The city councilors, therefore, have decided to start looking for a place that would be named after Karel Gott. The task of choosing a suitable place to commemorate the deceased singer has been given a topography commission of the Prague City Hall. The specificity of the place—as in square, street, park—is not yet clear.

When the public heard the overwhelming news Wednesday morning that the severely-ill, 80-year-old Gott had died, surrounded by family, around Tuesday midnight, the whole nation expressed regret. Gott was remembered almost all over the Czech Republic. There would be few people who didn’t feel sad for a moment. Politicians also competed in statements about Gott’s death.

“Karel Gott was also nicknamed the Golden Voice of Prague. I will surely suggest that Prague greatly appreciates the Master’s extraordinary contribution to our culture. My condolences to [his] family and loved ones,” wrote Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) on the Facebook page.

Hřib then told ČTK that he would propose to the City Council and coalition partners from Prague himself and the United Forces (TOP 09, STAN, KDU-ČSL) that Prague proceed to some form of a Gott award. To the mayor, for example, it is possible to name the public space after the singer, but the matter will still have to be discussed. The opposition movement leader ANO and MP Patrik Nacher also agree with this intention.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, together with the family of Karel Gott, will propose to the government to organize a state funeral in St. Vitus Cathedral. The Prague City Hall is also considering an award for Gott.

“I offer my condolences to his family. Prague appreciates the Master extraordinary contribution to culture. I will entrust the local commission to select a dignified place in the capital that will be, in the future, [a remembrance of] his name, ”said Mayor Zdeněk Hřib.

The mayor has not specified whether the renamed place will be a street or square. Suggestions for a suited place in Prague can be written to us for discussion.

With a little changing, it may be possible to rename Karlovo náměstí or the metro station of the same name in remembrance of Karel Gott. Passengers could thus see the message: “Next station Karlovo (Gottovo) náměstí.” But of course, this option is not very likely. Who knows if the name of Nad Bertramkou Street will change, where the late singer had a villa and tours, as well as the main Germany and Austria fan-base?

In addition to removing posters and signs, Prague public lighting maintainers have another task: removing the key boxes from the street lamps, which are placed there by the owners of apartments offered via Airbnb.

If the owner wants their box back, they must pay 1500 crowns. It is not surprising that no one has applied yet. Moreover, the value of the box itself is much lower.

“We will remove the illegally placed key boxes without damaging the box itself. Owners can contact our company where they will issue the boxes after paying the costs incurred by our company for removal and storage,” said Tomáš Novotný, Vice President of Technology of the City of Prague.

According to sales director Filip Brückner, however, boxes are not yet enough to require special warehouses or shelves for storage, and companies would incur additional costs. “To remove, it is necessary to leave the service vehicle, and it costs 1500 crowns. But we do not charge storage yet,” he said, saying that none of the owners have picked up their boxes yet.

The company also published a call for people who come across pillar boxes to report the case to the toll-free line at 800 40 40 60. “It’s the use of a strange thing, for the lamps are owned by the city. At the same time, it is unjust enrichment because the city leases masts for advertising accessories,” Brückner added. In some cases, the boxes can also cause complications when handling the lamps; for example, they can make the service hole unavailable, iDNES.cz pointed out earlier.

Box keys can bring more revenue

Boxes cost several hundred crowns and are primarily used by providers of shared housing, such as Airbnb. Thanks to the keys stored in the boxes, guests can stay at any time, and the hosts do not have to be physically present when handing over the keys. It is also an option for them to offer self-service accommodation

It is also an option for them to offer a self-service accommodation process, allowing guests to access it. For example, guests can use a smart lock (fingerprint or mobile phone unlock), a code lock, a porter, or the locker in which they store the keys.

Self-service accommodation is also one of the conditions for a host to be classified as a business-friendly accommodation and to attract more potential clients.

As part of the Chocolate Festival, ChrisEvents organizes the very first of its kind in Central Europe and in the Czech Republic — an exhibition of chocolate sculptures.

ChrisEvents is the largest exhibition of chocolate sculptures ever, comprising more than 20 sculptures of chocolate animals that will delight the young and old at the Harfa Gallery in Prague.

Taking place from October 18 to 20, the festival will set aside a space of 300 m2 for the incredible exhibition. If the festival lasts 3 days, its sculpture exhibition will be extended until October 28.

The idea came from the director of the Belgian company Imagine Events, who thought of sculptures made from sand or ice and decided to try the same with chocolate.

Imagine began to prepare around 40 impressive sculptures. One of its first pieces was a statue of a gorilla, weighing almost 150 kg. The most admirable chocolate sculptures are poured out using a gypsum mold, the smaller ones are sculpted directly from a block of chocolate. However, they are not edible. The chocolate used in their manufacture is prepared from chocolate waste. And the statues travel, so they have to be repaired and remodeled from time to time. Colors used for mixing were white, milk, and dark chocolate. The statues must be properly preserved between temperatures of 17 and 23 degrees.

The animals will be exhibited in an engaging environment (a real small jungle, where sound will be incorporated for livelier effects). We will create a unique and extraordinary atmosphere for you.

The exhibition will be accompanied by information panels, in which visitors can learn more about individual animals, and children can be engaged in some activities.

chocolate-sculptures-prague-2019

The NHL starts its season in Prague on Oct. 4, with the Philadelphia Flyers playing against the Chicago Blackhawks at Prague’s O2 Arena. Tickets were sold out on the Ticketportal network back in March.

“The 2019 NHL Global Series will mark the third straight year, and the eighth season overall, that the NHL has traveled to Europe to play regular-season games. These games reward the legions of loyal and passionate fans in Europe that enjoy live NHL games available via international broadcast partners and the NHL’s streaming service, NHL.TV,” said the NHL in a press release.

“The three games [this] fall will be the 26^th, 27^th, and 28^th NHL regular-season games played in Europe. The Oct. 4 game, between Chicago and Philadelphia, will mark the fifth NHL regular-season game played in the Czech Republic, at O2 Arena in Prague. The two games between Buffalo and Tampa Bay will mark the 12^th and 13^th NHL regular-season games played in Sweden, and the 11^th and 12^th games played at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm,” the NHL added.

O2 Arena is one of the most modern multi-purpose halls in Europe, with up to 18,000 seats and built for the Ice Hockey World Championships. The 2003 championship games that were supposed to be held were postponed to 2004, due to construction delays. The arena’s original name was Sazka Arena. O2 Arena is now the home of Prague local team, HC Sparta Prague.

Before the Blackhawks and Flyers play their season openers, they will play exhibition matches in Berlin and Lausanne at the end of September against European teams.

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