Czech national rail operator ČD is reviving a sleeper route between some of central Europe’s most fascinating cultural hotspots. Europe’s train revival is one of the most exciting shake-ups to travel on the continent in decades. From new mega-cheap high-speed routes to an increasingly huge night train network, Europe is showing that trains are an affordable, convenient and environmentally-friendly alternative to air travel. And now another rail company is getting in on the act. The Czech Republic’s national rail operator Czech Railways (České dráhy or ČD) has announced a new sleeper service that will go from Prague to the Swiss city of Zurich via Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main and Basel. The new service will be called the ‘Canopus’ train and it’ll be a collaborative project with the national rail providers of Austria (ÖBB), Switzerland (SBB) and Germany (DB). It’s a revival of an old service that closed down back in 2017. The trains themselves will consist of several seating classes, with couchette tickets starting at €69 and fares for sleeping car compartments starting from €89. The service will leave Prague at 6.25 pm and arrive in Zurich at 9:05 am, while the return will depart Zurich at 7:59 pm and arrive back in Prague at 9.25 am. And that’s not...
Mexico, Indonesia, and Taiwan are the best places to live abroad in, according to findings in the Expat Insider survey. Global expat community InterNations conducts one of the biggest annual surveys on life abroad, Expat Insider. In 2022, close to 12,000 expats representing 177 nationalities took part. Covering key areas such as working abroad, the ease of settling in, quality of life, personal finances, and expat essentials, the findings are a must-read for anyone interested in living abroad. The Czech Republic ranked 20th, losing five places during the year. Expats praised the country for its high-quality working conditions, good career prospects and ample opportunities for a fulfilling family life. Respondents particularly praised the relatively low cost of raising a child, as well as the quality and accessibility of education. However, in the category “Ease of Integration”, the republic scored poorly – 42nd place out of a possible 52. The Winners Mexico was rated the best country for expats in 2022. Expats particularly appreciate their Personal Finances (2nd) and the Ease of Settling In (1st). “Mexicans are very friendly people and eager to help when you have a problem,” states an expat from Armenia. In fact, three-quarters of respondents (75%) agree that it easy to...
The Czech government has proposed the abolition of more than 10,000 laws, regulations and orders that are redundant and no longer used, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) told journalists after a cabinet meeting today. President Milos Zeman has asked Interior Minister Vit Rakusan (STAN) to remove or reduce the security checks at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech President. The request was made in an open letter from Zeman to Rakusan, published on the Presidential Office website yesterday. The year-on-year inflation rate in Czechia decreased to 15.1 percent in October from 18 percent the month before, according to data published by the Czech Statistical Office on Thursday. This was well below the market forecast, which had predicted that the inflation rate in October would be 17.9 percent. On Thursday morning, the energy company ČEZ announced record profits for the first three quarters of this year. From the beginning of next year, electricity will become more expensive. Most customers will pay the government’s capped prices from January, with clients paying around CZK 300 a month extra for the most common tariffs. Tourism reached pre-pandemic numbers in Czechia in the third quarter of 2023, at least according to mass accommodation facility booking figures released by the Czech...
The Czech Republic will not adopt the euro in the current parliamentary term, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. He added, however, that the government wants to allow companies to keep their accounts in euros. The prime minister made the remarks in response to a question about Saturday’s statement by House Speaker Marketa Pekarova Adamová, who said at a program conference that she saw 2030 as a realistic year for adopting the euro “What will happen in 2030, we will see. I don’t look at this question, speaking for myself, ideologically. For me, it is really a question of what is beneficial for the Czech Republic and Czech citizens. Now the situation is such that during this term of office, and therefore during the term of the government I have the honour to head, the adoption of the euro will not be a topical issue,” the Prime Minister and ODS chairman said. He said that the government was taking steps to fulfill the Maastricht criteria, i.e. the conditions for adopting the euro. “But at the same time we have not agreed on adopting the euro because we do not consider it realistic at the moment and the Czech Republic will not...
The Czech economy is set to grow by 2.4 percent this year, although it is “currently going through a mild recession,” Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS, ECR) said on Wednesday. According to the ministry’s November macroeconomic forecast, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) could increase by 2.4 percent in 2022, after growing by 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year. The estimate is 0.2 percent higher when compared to the ministry’s August projection. Growth should be driven by fixed capital investment and increased inventory accumulation, the ministry said. However, the forecast estimates that the economy will go through a slight recession in the second half of the year and early next year. In 2023, it will contract by 0.2 percent, the ministry has predicted. “GDP could be more or less stagnant in 2023. Households will continue to face the impact of high inflation next year, so their real consumption should fall slightly. Government consumption and gross fixed capital formation will continue to be pro-growth, but weaker year-on-year inventory accumulation will slow the economy noticeably,” the ministry said. Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura described ongoing high inflation driven by unprecedentedly high energy prices as the “main economic problem...
Martinmas, the feast of St. Martin of Tours is traditionally celebrated on November 11. St. Martin was a Roman Catholic saint, the bishop of Tours, who lived in the years 316 – 397. The most- repeated story about his life says that while he was a soldier, he encountered a scantily dressed beggar at the gate of the city of Amiens. He cut his military woolen cloak in half and shared it with the freezing man. The following night he had a vision of Jesus Christ, surrounded by Angels, and arrayed in the half of the cloak. As a consequence of the experience, he received baptism, left the army and became a monk. People in the Czech republic associate the feast with the onset of winter and snow. There are a lot of proverbs in Czech, which feature predictions for the winter weather. According to the most popular saying, the first snowfall of the season can be expected on this day since Martin may arrive on his white horse. St. Martin´s celebrations are particularly popular with children, who create colourful handmade lanterns. After darkness falls, kids participate in lantern processions and sing songs. The candles in the lanterns flicker and the kid´s eyes are...
With few exceptions, Prague is not planning to limit Advent markets and Christmas decorations due to rising energy prices. Before the end of the year, the town hall signed a contract that would ensure that electricity would stay the same price. The different districts in Prague will not, for example, renounce to Christmas trees or other decorations. But some administrations will replace them with less expensive LEDs. Traditionally, the biggest markets will be held on Old Town Square. This year they will be dominated by a 25-meter tall spruce tree from Česká Kamenice in the Děčín region. The organisers of the market will light the 80-year-old spruce before the first Sunday of Advent on Saturday 26 November. “We have been using the most energy-saving LED bulbs for ten years, so there is no need to limit the lighting significantly,” said Hana Tietze, a spokeswoman for Taiko, which is in charge of the markets on Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, and Namesti Republiky. The situation is similar in Prague 3, where organizers will also choose more economic lighting and use led bulbs. The markets on Jiřího z Poděbrad Square will be on the same scale as before the covid pandemic, i.e. 12...
Prague welcomed 1.84 million tourists in the third quarter, around 800,000 more than a year ago. However, the number of arrivals in the metropolis has still not reached the pre-Covid level, with almost 2.3 million in the third quarter of 2019. The statistics were published today according to the Czech Statistical Office (CSO). Of the 1,844,332 tourists who have been accommodated in the capital from the beginning of July to the end of September, almost 1.45 million were foreigners and about 397,000 were domestic guests. The number of foreign tourists increased by 130 percent year-on-year. Guests from the Czech Republic, on the other hand, decreased by five percent. In total, tourists spent 4.26 million nights in the capital, up 1.9 million year-on-year. In the third quarter of the last year before Christmas 2019, the number reached 5.4 million nights. Foreign tourists spent 3.52 million nights in the metropolis in this year’s third quarter, up from 1.5 million a year ago. The number of overnight stays by guests from the Czech Republic fell from about 817,500 to 732,170 nights. Across the Czech Republic, 7.3 million guests stayed in hotels, guesthouses and campsites in the third quarter, up 11 percent year-on-year. Compared...
This Sunday, November 13th don’t miss out on the South American Brunch hosted by Gran Fierro. A month ago Chef Pablo surprised everybody with the Venezuelan Brunch and this time Chef Jordan will be in charge of bringing Brazilian delicacies to Prague. Gran Fierro is known as an Argentinean steakhouse, but it has been offering Latin American dishes since it started. So there are a few foods on the brunch menu this Sunday that you won’t find anywhere else such as the “Milho cozido na manteiga de garrafa” (corn with ghee butter). For more details and menu visit the event on Facebook Here’s what you can get: Welcome drink: “Caipirinha” – Cachaça cocktail Finger food: “Pão de queijo” – Baked tapioca cheese bread “Kibe” – Deep-fried beef croquettes and bulgur wheat “Romeu e Julieta” – Halloumi and guava slices “Coxinha” – Chicken and cheese croquettes “Tapioca Recheada” – Crepe type made of yuca hydrated yuca “Bolinha de queijo” – cheese croquettes Main Dish: “Feijoada” – Black bean stew brewed with a variety of selected smoked pork and beef meat. Rice, orange, yuca flour, and curly cabbage “Caldo verde” – Potato soup/cream with curly cabbage “Carne seca com aipim” – Dry...
The energy company ČEZ will increase the price of heat from power plants and heating plants by an average of 20 percent next year. The increase in prices is mainly due to higher costs for allowances and production. According to the Heating Association, an organisation promoting the interests of Czech heating companies, the rise in prices will affect almost four million customers in the Czech Republic, which amounts to a little under half the country. ČEZ supplies approximately 7,500 customer points, including over 132,000 households, non-residential premises, and dozens of industrial enterprises, hospitals, schools, and other institutions. The increase is mainly due to rising costs, which include the price of fuel, materials, repairs, and carbon dioxide emission allowances. According to ČEZ, the cost of producing heat or buying it from suppliers accounts for approximately 80 percent of the price, and the total amount depends on the source of the heat and the fuel used to produce it. The increase for next year will average 123 crowns per month. For the owner of a standard 3+1 flat, this will mean an increase of about CZK 256 per month or CZK 3,074 more per year. Almost 9.5 percent of the company’s heat is produced from biomass, 8.5...
The northernmost capital in the world, a city of monuments and mysterious nooks – Reykjavík is the gateway to the beautiful Icelandic landscape full of waterfalls, water geysers, warm and hot springs surrounded by snow, glacial plains, rocky deserts, and smouldering volcanoes. It is a place to which flights from Václav Havel Airport Prague will be available from June next year, operated by Icelandair, a carrier launching its new service in Prague. “The opportunity to welcome a new carrier at Prague Airport is always clear proof of the Czech market appeal. Icelandair’s new direct connection will support not only outbound tourism to Iceland, but also provide another transfer opportunity to Icelandair’s wide network of connections in North America,” Jaroslav Filip, Prague Airport Aviation Business Director, said “Thanks to this new connection, we expect to see further strengthening of tourism between the Czech Republic and the United States or Canada,” added Filip. The carrier will offer flights to Keflavík Airport four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, using Boeing 737 MAX8 for 160 passengers. “We are happy to add these two great cities to our extensive summer schedule. Prague is an exciting destination, known for art, culture and history,” Bogi...
The deadline for presidential candidates to submit their candidacy papers for the January elections expired at 4pm yesterday, with 21 individuals having done so, about the same number as before the previous presidential elections five years ago, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Klara Dlubalova told CTK. The government has approved a new CZK 54 billion programme of the EU’s Modernisation Fund called HOUSEnerg, which is aimed at supporting measures to save energy in family homes and falts across Czechia, acting Environment Minister Marian Jurečka said on Wednesday. Prague Energy (PRE) will increase the price of electricity and gas supplies from January next year. Most customers will pay the government’s capped costs so that the average Prague household will pay hundreds of crowns less per month than at present. Icelandair will launch new flights from Václav Havel Airport Prague to Reykjavík from June next year. The carrier will offer flights to Keflavík Airport four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, using Boeing 737 MAX8 for 160 passengers. Tourism reached pre-pandemic numbers in Czechia in the third quarter of 2023, at least according to mass accommodation facility booking figures released by the Czech Statistics Agency on Wednesday....
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
