May, Fun and Factor 15
Photo: Old Town Hall.
So far this year has gone January-February-February-April. March sort of got lost and already it's May so that means I got past another "Witches Night" without being severely burned or poisoned. In central Prague they issued a warning that BANNED all Witches Night bonfires due to very dry and windy weather (but our village went ahead as it's outside the central area).
May brings weather hot enough that you'll burn in minutes if you're not careful so keep covered. If you forgot your sun cream then a Chemist (Lekarna), a drugstore (DM or Droxidrogerie) or any supermarket will have a selection. Just remember it counts as a liquid when you travel home. Really important from now on to keep a bottle of water with you at all times. May also brings the first proper storms of the year. Forget your umbrella, bring a poncho instead.
What's Been Happening on the Site
Woohoo!! I made it to 100 Subscribers on my YouTube Channel. I'm holding at number 20 in Trip Advisor rankings and I broke my visitor record with the April total of 41,596 unique visitors being not only the highest total for any April, this was the highest ever monthly visit total since I began livingprague.com in 2005.
Two new posts. Firstly I wrote about Prague Castle Tours, the different ways you can explore the castle and a recommended 60 minute tour run by the Castle. I also wrote about the Prague Fringe Festival which starts on May 25th and runs to June 2nd. More details on the post and below.
I joined the Rick Steves travel forum so you'll see me post answers there from time to time and if you use that system you can always message me.
Check the BLOG to see the latest 150 posts on the site.
Walking Tours - https://www.livingpraguetours.com
If you've done a walking tour then you are welcome to leave a quick review on the LivingPragueTours Facebook page.
The tour booking system that I use on livingpraguetours.com is still the same but I'm trialing a different booking system on livingprague.com. Basically this new system allows me to 1) reduce the price of tours on average by 10%, 2) in addition to a credit card booking I can now accept debit cards and PayPal transfers and 3) if a booking fails for any reason I can contact the client and let them know other booking options. Feedback so far suggests that the new system is simple, fast and secure. If it works out then I will use it on livingpraguetours from 2019.
Currently the Old Town and Jewish Quarter Tour and the Prague City Walking Tour have the cheaper booking option via livingprague.com. All other tours are still bookable via livingpraguetours.com.
Ticket Insurance
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
Beer Festival
The official 2018 Prague Beer Festival starts on May 10th and runs to the 26th. Check the Prague Beer Festival post for tips and updates plus answers to questions in the comments section.
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.
Prague Spring International Music Festival
The first actual day of the festival is an informal performance on the evening of the 11th. The main festival ALWAYS starts on the 12th. Read why on the Prague Spring International Music Festival Post.
Prague Fringe
It's not called a "Fringe" for nothing. A collection of performance mostly less than an hour in multiple venues. If you time it right you can move between two or three on the same day. Mostly comedy and different types of theatre to choose from. They state if the performance is in English. Check the Prague Fringe post.
Laterna magika 60th Anniversary
Laterna magika is well known for it's contemporary and ground-breaking artistic performances and it's well worth taking a couple of hours of your schedule to see a performance. Check the Laterna magika post.
Noc Kostelu
May 25th will see churches all over the country opening their doors. Check the "Prague in May" link for this and other events on in May.
Trivia
Let it Bee
The EU parliament voted for a ban on a pesticide which was killing bees. Czech voted against the ban but lost so it's Bees 1 - Czech 0.
Transparent Metro
Following Prague City Councils apparent "handing out" of a long-term and multi-Billion CZK contract for building a new metro line even Transparency International is hanging red flags out as a warning about potential "accounting" problems and suggested that a further 3 months of ironing out the contract on a project planned to take up to 20 years may be wise. But Prague City Council was never known for being wise.
Too Much
Three Dutch/Turkish guys on a weekend break here decided to beat the crap out of a waiter who had told them that they could not drink their own alcohol in the restaurant. All were arrested at the airport, three expelled from the country (including a serving police officer) and two held here in custody. As the waiter was put into a coma and video showing the beating was published, I hope these two get to spend some time in a Czech prison.
A Bridge Too Far?
Prague has many bridges but the one at Liben is not in a good state of repair and currently no vehicles are allowed over it. It should be just torn down and a new one built but, as with many things here they must consider the fact that this is the only bridge that has Cubist design elements. So hello EU, do you want to pay to keep historic monuments or not?
Going Up
Plzensky Prazdroj, the makers of Pilsner beer reported a record production last year of 11 million Hectolitres. That's 1.1 Billion Litres or 2.3 Billion Pints. Na Zdravi.
Goodbye!
Czech Film Director Miloš Forman died on April 13th aged 86. Although a frequent film director he'll be best known for Amadeus and my old favourite One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
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