An aerial view of the city of Zlin with Bata factory buildings in the foreground.
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You probably haven’t heard of Zlín, and you might not have heard of Bat’a, but outside of the US, most people the world over know the Bata (pronounced “baht-yah”, and I’ll write it without the apostrophe after the “t” from here on out for ease of English reader’s eyes and your devices’ fonts) brand of shoes. This post will explore the unlikely origin of probably one of the world’s first international brands (and arguably one of the first global brands) in this small town nestled in the Vizovice Highlands east of Brno and West of the Slovak border in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic.
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An embankment of the Vltava (Moldau) River in New Town - photo by Vita Valka - reprinted with permission from Pixabay.com
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If you’ve taken one of my Prague tours, you know that I cover the four main historical areas of the city: Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, the Lesser Quarter and Prague Castle. But did you know that Prague also has a New Town (Nove Mesto)? In fact, it was, along with the others named here, one of the five original towns of Prague.
The Leopold Gate at Vysehrad in Prague. This and all other images by the author.
If you’re coming to Prague, you’ll probably spend most of your time in the historic center, meaning you’ll be touring the areas of Old Town, the Lesser Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and/or Prague Castle, and perhaps a bit of New Town (don’t let the name fool you - New Town is 700 years old!). But you probably won’t get beyond these areas, and that makes sense - not only is there a lot to see in each of them, but they’re also more or less adjacent to each other, situated in a relatively compact area straddling the Vltava (Moldau) River.
Farmers' market at Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. Image by the author.
If you like Farmers’ markets, then Prague has something to offer. Beginning about 10 years ago, true Farmers’ markets started to appear in Prague, and shortly thereafter the locavore trend appeared, too. Initially, there were only a few of these places, with some being markedly better than others. But in the intervening years, they’ve grown in size; most have equalized in quality; and the (Farmers’ market) market has stabilized.
 Dresden Cathedral (Cathedral of the Holy Trinity) and Dresden Castle (Residenzschloss). Image credit: aletheia via Canva.com. This blog post contains affiliate links to sponsored products on Amazon.com in an effort to help me maintain this blog. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that for the past few years I’ve been doing a series on Prague day trips, roughly defined as trips you can do in one day (although a few places I’ve covered either deserve an overnight stay).
I started this series during the pandemic, and that means that the destinations I initially covered were, out of necessity, places within the Czech Republic because travel beyond its borders was either impossible or not safe. But there are some international destinations you can do in a day from Prague, as well, and at the top of that list is Dresden.  Photo above courtesy of Canva Did you know? There are many beautiful tram rides through Prague that are a convenient - and inexpensive - way to see the city.
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A recent day trip to Liberec once again reminded me of the richness of the history, architecture and geography of the Czech Republic. In one way, it was strange that I had lived in Prague for so many years and had never visited this city. In another, it wasn’t strange at all - I never heard much about it except occasionally meeting someone who was born there, and no Czech person ever told me: “You must go to Liberec” as they had for other places such as Olomouc or Cesky Krumlov. So, I’d never made the trip.
If you’re planning a trip to Prague and have researched day trips, no doubt you’ve heard of Kutná Hora. While it’s not as well-known or as popular as some of the other Czech towns that you can visit, such as Český Krumlov or Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), it is certainly no less interesting or unique. In addition to my Prague tours, Kutná Hora is the only destination outside of Prague where I also provide tours. Needless to say, it’s one of my favorite places.
Kutná Hora’s History
Kutná Hora, as its name in Czech implies, is a former silver mining town, and this mining legacy had a direct impact on the uniqueness of its layout and architecture that is still visible to this day.
The interior of Červený Jelen restaurant
New restaurants open in Prague all the time, and though I'm a major foodie, it's impossible for me to try them all. Then the pandemic really put a dent in my dining lifestyle. But one new restaurant especially caught my eye – perhaps it was the very big, very red stag suspended between two buildings at the entrance to an alley near Prague’s Marriott Hotel – a location I pass by often. But I never got a chance to try it before things shut down. I did peer inside the windows once, though, as the red sculpture had drawn me in, but I never made it there for a meal. I put it on my list of places to try, though.
When travel to Prague finally began to resume, a friend from Switzerland who used to live in Prague visited, and we met for lunch at one of our favorite places, an old standby that we both love. She had already been in Prague for a few days when we met, so she’d been trying some of the many new restaurants that had appeared since she’d moved away. When we sat down for lunch at the old standby, we started talking about restaurants, and out of the blue she asked, “Have you been to Červený Jelen?” “No,” I said, “but it’s on my list.” She then added: “It’s great.” This only confirmed my hunch that it must be a pretty good place and moved it to the top of my list. 
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You’ve heard of Prague’s Jewish Quarter, and you’ve probably heard of the Lesser Quarter or the Little Quarter (Mala Strana), but I’ll bet you didn’t know that Prague also has an Italian Quarter. While not an official “town” like the others…
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 Spring is Springing!Spring is springing in Prague, and we’re all itching to get out after a very long, very cold and very gray winter here. Easter weekend has always been a big deal in the Czech Republic, if not so much for the religious significance as the beginning of spring, of rebirth and renewal after the dark days of winter and a return to more light, longer days and weekends at the cottage. 
For those of you who follow this blog, you’ll know that travel within the Czech Republic has become a renewed interest of mine, brought on out of necessity in the days of the Covid shutdown. And before 2022 ended, I managed to squeeze in one more day trip – this time to Hradec Králové.
A Dowry Town?
Hradec Kralove sits at the confluence of the Elbe and Orlice rivers. The name literally means “queen’s castle,” a so-called “dowry town” dating to at least as early as the 11th century. After much damage in the both the Thirty Years’ War and the War of Austrian Succession, Emperor Josef II turned the town into a fortress, the remnants of which can still be seen today.
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If you're like me, you enjoy not only traveling but also reading about the places you'd like to visit (either before, during or after your trip), and in some cases when you don't even visit at all!. So, as the Holiday Season approaches, I've put together a list of some great reads on Prague for the traveler on your Christmas or Hanukkah list!
A Fun Companion for Your Visit to Prague.
As a rule, I find it difficult to toot my own horn, but, I must say that I think think my latest Prague Guidebook is really good myself! But mainly I think you’ll find it incredibly fun and useful for when you visit Prague.
As you will know from my blog posts during the pandemic, I took advantage of the free time I had due to the lack of tourists – and therefore a lack of tours – to travel during both summers (2020 and 2021), the only time most restrictions were lifted. But because of the various restrictions that were still in place during the summers, I was for the most part limited to travel in within the Czech Republic. And it was wonderful! I not only revisited some favorite places that I had not been to in years (such as Český Krumlov), I also made it a point to visit some towns and sites that, despite having lived here for several decades, I had never seen (like Žďár nad Sázavou). And I became fascinated again, and in a different way, with the amazing lands that are the Czech Republic. With its bucolic countryside, royal towns and castles, the Czech Republic has something for everyone. There’s even a wine country in this nation of beer lovers!
If you know anything about beer – or even if you’re just someone who likes beer – you probably know that Czech beer is simply wonderful. In fact, many rate Czech beer as the best beer in the world. And if you’re planning to visit Prague, you’ve probably read about how good Czech beer is. The Charles Bridge? The Astronomical Clock? Prague Castle? No, beer is the REAL Czech national treasure!
In any case, if you’re a beer drinker, I would venture to say that you’ll love Czech beer. And many of my tour clients who are not beer drinkers at all want to at least try it when they visit, and even those non-beer drinkers say it’s “very good.” In this post, I’m going to tell you a few things about Czech beer and some of the best places to enjoy it when you’re in town.
 Prague's Vrtba Garden Spring is here and you should be, too! There is nothing quite like a Prague spring. Just the phrase, “Prague spring” has many connotations and meanings. There is the famous “Prague Spring International Music Festival” that takes place every year beginning on May 12 and lasting into June. World-renowned musicians and orchestras – including the Czech Philharmonic, of course, as well as others from around the world – perform in this annual ritual, and concert-goers from all over the world flock to it for a musical holiday.
Now that COVID-19 related entry restrictions for travelers to the Czech Republic have been suspended, I hope you’ve put Prague on your list of travel destinations for this year. And while you’re here, you will definitely want to try Czech food.
Of course, travel between Europe and America is possible now and has been for some time, and I did have a few tour clients in 2021, which was great. But there have been and still are many restrictions on travel, be they Covid test requirements or multitudes of forms to fill out, not just for your destination, but for transit countries as well.
1. Books
Books are always a great gift idea for any occasion, and there are many about Prague or by Czech authors to recommend. Here are just a few:
Mikulov and the Mikulov Chateau
As summer wound down, I took advantage of the remaining nice weather to take a few road trips in the Czech Republic. The most recent was a trip to the town of Mikulov and surrounding areas in the wine-making region of Moravia.
There are many fascinating facts about Prague, so it’s hard to select just ten. But here is an attempt at capturing some of the most interesting ones and hopefully a few that you didn’t know:
Prague's famous Charles Bridge
While rollouts of vaccinations against COVID 19 have been happening in many countries to varying degrees since the beginning of this year, it looks as though things have really turned a corner at least in the U.S. when it comes to having well over a majority of its population vaccinated in time for summer.
Other nations, for various reasons, have not had as much success, and that has included the Czech Republic. However, just this week we here are starting to turn a corner, too, when it comes to vaccines. Just today the New York Times published an article titled “E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer.”
 If you’ve been following my blog, you will know that I spent much of last year exploring more of the Czech Republic than I’ve done in a while. I visited many places for the first time that had long been on my list, and I also revisited some of my favorite places, such as Cesky Krumlov. 
The Christmas tree on Prague's Old Town Square
If you’re asking Santa for a trip to Prague next year, or if you’ve got a traveler on your holiday shopping list, you might want to add these items to your list, as well!
(Note: The products featured here link to an Amazon Affiliates account, which helps support this page. So it is greatly appreciated if you buy any featured products on Amazon through the links on this page. Thank you!)
The Coronavirus pandemic grounded planes and closed borders for most of 2020, but we all hope to be be able to travel – or at least begin to travel again – in 2021. Prague is hoping for the return of visitors from Europe for a greater part of 2021 than was possible this year, and we hope that Americans will be able to enter the EU again, too! I already have a few clients from the U.S. who have booked tours for next year. So if travel is on your mind for the New Year, here are some gift ideas for you.
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AuthorI am an American who has been living in Prague for two decades. After a long career in international finance, I left the business world to pursue other interests. I now work as a writer, mentor and guide to the city. Archives
February 2025
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