The Linden Tree, Slavic Icon About 4 months after arriving in Prague I was having a conversation with a local guy and I asked what was the national flower of the country. He replied that they did not have a national flower but they did have a national tree, the Lípa (pronounced like leepa) or … Read More
Prague Streets – Platnerska If you are heading from the Old Town Square to the riverside then one of the streets you could choose is Platnerska especially if you are staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. On a map, Platnerska is located to one side of the Klementinum. This area was best known for it’s … Read More
The Beneš Decrees As I write this, Ukraine is being invaded by Russia, some towns are being occupied and Russian supporting people are being put in public administrative positions. It made me think of events in Czech in 1945 when the occupying power was kicked out and retribution swiftly followed against those considered, rightly or … Read More
1948 Communist Coup All over this website on the historical and political posts as well as many of the attractions you’ll see me refer to the “Communist takeover” or the “Communist coup d’etat” which is still referred to historically as “Victorious February” by our local communist party. It’s worth taking some time to see where … Read More
Book Review – Prague’s Stolpersteine Stumbling Stones Defiant in Their Memory 2008-2021 On March 24th 2019 an email arrived into my inbox with a single word in the title – Stolpersteine. The purpose of that email was to engage with people who had written about Stolpersteine (I’d called them Prague Stumble Stones) and suggest linking … Read More
Sophies Fan On the Sand Gate post I described where one of the original fortified city gates can be found and in the same area 50 metres in front of the gate is a little piece of art called Sophies Fan so I’m going to use it to tell the story of a woman. Anybody … Read More
Prague Stalin Statue If you had been in Prague on the evening on November 6th 1962 you would have heard a terrific explosion. It was the end of the road for the Prague Stalin Statue. This post is about why it was built, things to look out for, why it had to be destroyed and … Read More
Trips from Prague, Zbiroh Castle There are several reasons for visiting Zbiroh not least for the surrounding countryside hiking experiences but the Castle/Chateau is fairly unknown to tourists. It has an interesting history so if you are driving between Prague and Plzen it might be worth a stop especially if you are a Slav Epic … Read More
Thomas Vokes and William Greig, Scottish Heroes of the Prague Uprising On May 5th 2021 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Na Smetance primary school in the Prague 2nd District of Vinohrady. Strangely it commemorated two British soldiers called Thomas Vokes and William Greig who fought with the Czechs during the Prague Uprising exactly … Read More
The Sand Gate Prague was a fortified city up until the 1880s. On my Walking Tours I can point out where the various city wall gates used to be, what they were called and who might have used them. I can even show you what they looked like, describe the dimensions and generally paint a … Read More