August, benvenuto a Praga
Photo: Free-to-air band on the Old Town Square
Just in case somebody thinks I slipped in a bit of Italian by mistake, this was deliberate. August is the month when Czechs go to Italy and Italians come to Czech. From the middle of July up to September you'll have music students playing all over the city to both get a feel for playing to the public and to earn a little extra cash. These guys play jazz.
Expect hot and stormy weather. Hats, caps and sun screen will be required. Drink little and often and add a bit of salt to your meals. On a side point. If you are used to staying in Marriott Hotels then also note that the Carlo IV (what we locally call the Boscolo) has recently become part of the group and you'll love it.
What's Been Happening on the Site
Woohoo! July set a NEW MONTHLY UNIQUE VISITOR record of 51,293. The DAILY UNIQUE VISITOR record was broken 4 times during the month with the record being July 29th at 2,275 visitors.
No new content added largely due to the fact that I practically worked everyday of the month with walking tours. I added to new nightclub called EPIC to the nightlife page. I found there was a way of ordering a Prague Tourist Card so you could collect it on arrival at the airport so I updated the Praguecard page. A tour client said that Rick Steves recommended the site in one of his videos but, not found which one yet.
The FREE Trip Planner was updated.
Check the BLOG to see the latest 150 posts on the site.
Walking Tours - https://www.livingpraguetours.com
I'm holding at number 16 out of a total 580 walking tour options in the Trip Advisor rankings (that's the highest ever). Of the top 10 private tours in Prague ranked by Trip Advisor, I'm currently 4th (highest ever). More and more people are finding me just with a simple search for Prague Walking Tours.
July saw my 500th tour and also broke the record for the most number of tours in a single month (41). In Fit-bit language that's 350,000 steps.
If you've done a walking tour then you are welcome to leave a quick review on the LivingPragueTours Facebook page.
The tour calendars on Livingpraguetours.com will only run until December 21st. From early January 2019 I will then be cutting over to a new website/hosting and the new calendars will be published for 2019 Spring/Summer at that time. All available tours can also be booked via livingprague.com for dates in 2019.
Ticket Insurance - Until December 21st 2018
During a tour booking via livingpraguetours.com when you get to Review and Checkout you'll find the Ticket Guardian cancellation insurance option. If you don't want it then make sure that you untick that box.
Quick Links:
In Prague
Bike restrictions
Maybe a little less madness this year. There's a law going through it's final stages which will see bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters banned on the big squares and some of the pedestrianised areas between 10am and 5pm.
Burčák season begins
As the weather has been super hot, grass is brown, flowers are wilting etc there is a brighter side. Grapes have ripened at least a month earlier than usual so Burčák (early wine) will be on sale. Stalls will be doing a 0.2L for around CZK50. Just remember that it's not finished fermenting yet so if you buy a plastic bottle don't screw the top closed or it WILL explode.
Prague Pride
August 6th to 12th is Prague Pride week with organised and pop-up events in the centre of the city.
Prague Spring
August 21st will see a whole day music festival on Wenceslas Square commemorating the end of the Prague Spring.
Old Town Hall Renovation
From January 8th until August 31st 2018 the entire Astronomical clock has been removed for renovation. The city has gone to some expense to put in a video screen on the Old Town Hall where you can see the procession on that. Otherwise, if you want to see what you missed then check the Prague Astronomical Clock Striking 9am video. Remember that the tower viewing gallery is open.
Cross Club
Cross club begins it's summer bi-weekly food festival and outdoor cinema. It's just along from the Holesovice Metro. Take a look at the Prague in August post for link details.
Trivia
Rath Justice
After a court case that seems to have dragged on for years a former health minister called David Rath was finally sentenced to 8 years in prison for corruption. He almost immediately announced his intention to run for a Senate seat which, if he wins, will mean immunity from prosecution.
Air BnBig Brother
Officials from the tax office recently completed the work of collating who has earned money by listing their property on Air BnB. Now they will systematically go through their tax records to see that the proper incomes have been declared. Oops!
Going Up!
The number of Spanish visitors to the city increased by 40% in the last year. Overall tourist visitors increased by 9% to 1.5 million visitors in the first quarter of this year.
The price of apartments in the city rose by 24% in the last year.
Going Down!
"Reported" crime in Prague has dropped by a massive 38% over the last four years. Car break-ins and pickpockets account for the majority of foreigner-related crime. So either crime has gone down or they've stopped answering the phones.
The number of applicants to universities dropped but this was expected due to demographics.
Fake Views
Politicians are coming under pressure with another two stepping down after it was revealed that their university theses were not exactly unique. The rise of digitalised works combined with anti-plagiarism software is kicking ass and taking names.
Know Thyself
As the centenary year moves on a study by "Post Bellum" (Historians and Journalists) found that 20% of questioned people could not name a single event that happened in 1918. 60% could not describe the basic terms of the 1938 Munich Agreement although knowledge of the 1948 Communist takeover and the 1968 suppression of the Prague Spring was much better. Probably due to personal experience relayed by relatives or school education.
Up Up and Away!
85 years ago this month construction began on the Prague International Airport at Ruzyně with the first flights taking off in 1937. It was named Vaclav Havel International Airport in 2012 after his death (but in his book "To the Castle and Back" he hoped that they wouldn't name it after him as he hated flying).
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