Prague spring

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.

And, of course, there is the famous “Prague Spring” of the 1960s that sought to bring reforms and freedoms to communist rule that abruptly turned to winter when Russian and other Warsaw Pact tanks rolled onto Prague’s Wenceslas Square – and stayed for 20 years.

But this post is about “Prague spring” the season. And if you have ever experienced it, you know that spring is the most glorious time in Prague.  The weather is usually picture-perfect, what many of my clients describe as “San Diego weather” – warm but not hot temperatures during the day, clear blue skies and low humidity, with cool temperatures at night, such that you need a sweater or light jacket outdoors whereas you were probably in shorts during the day.

A Cacophony of Colors

And the other wonderful thing is the flowers and foliage.  Prague is filled with flowers – in people’s gardens, in window boxes, along the streets and in city parks. And once they start blooming, you will experience a cacophony of colors and scents, starting around the last week in March and going through the end of June or later. 
 
First comes the bright yellow of forsythia – sometimes, but not always, coinciding with Easter.  Its bright yellow matches the return of the sun after the spring equinox and is a perfect metaphor for the season of rebirth. It is followed by the pink magnolias and then fruit trees – usually the apple trees bloom first, followed by apricot, plum and finally cherry, many of which are planted along certain Prague streets and lining the pathways in many parks.

The views in Prague suddenly start to change, too, as the gray and brown branches of winter suddenly light up with bright “spring green,” and unlike Georgia where I grew up, the green remains more “spring like” throughout the summer (unless we get a heatwave combined with drought, which sometimes happens these days). 
 
After the cherry trees, my favorites appear:  the lilacs!  They are everywhere!  The gardens of most homes you pass on streets in the suburbs are filled with them, and just about all parks are, too.  It’s a delight to walk through the parks and take in the scent.  And a tram ride through Prague with open windows (if you’re lucky enough to be on one of the “old” trams from the early 1960s), is a special treat, as the scent of the lilacs comes wafting through the tram.

And of course there tulips everywhere, especially in the city’s parks and other public spaces.  And if you’d really like to brighten your Prague holiday, you can visit one of the city’s many formal or botanical gardens where you’ll find rhododendron and more!

In summary, I highly recommend a trip to Prague in the spring, so that you can create your own version of “Prague Spring.” And if you’d like more information on Prague’s garden or if you’re interested in tickets to the Prague Spring musical festival this year or next, don’t hesitate to contact me!
 
Happy spring!