Tag: park

Hot summer in Prague

Most of us are excited about the arrival of summer. We count down the days until the cold and grey days without sunshine are over. Sounds familiar? You wake up in the morning but the sun is nowhere in sight, only lazily breaking the dawn. Then, the long-awaited summer arrives and the sun finally rises earlier than you do. And perhaps you start wishing that the daylight would come just a little bit later…  And then it is all over again.

If you are planning a summer trip to Prague and you are in that stage when you would welcome the sun taking more time to wake up, you will definitely appreciate these few tips on where to hide from the burning heat and cool down for a bit.

There are several hidden spots not far from Prague where you can take a swim, go for a pleasant walk or enjoy a picnic in the shade.

Kosov Quarry

As this is a flooded former quarry, you will by no means feel as Mr or Mrs Chlorine after taking a dip in the crystal turquoise water. The quarry is big enough for everyone to swim comfortably without bumping into other people all the time. Access to water is a bit tricky but do not let this discourage you from the visit as there are many spots on the shore where you will have no problem getting in. The quarry has been abandoned and of course there is no mining going on but swimming there is still at your own risk. Apart from people looking for recreation, it is also a popular destination for palaeontologists and environmentalists. You can see the bottom of the lake through the crystal clear water, which is home to various species of fish, water plants and crayfish. As we all know, crayfish are a sign of clean water. This spot is simply a perfect one-day hideaway in hot days. If you are in the mood for a swim in clean cool water and a bit of an adventure, the Kosov Quarry is the place to go (“Lom Kosov” in Czech). Our tip: take your food and drinks with you since unspoilt nature kind of excludes the presence of snack bars.

Průhonice Dendrological Garden

Have you ever dreamt of a place where you could go with your loved one on a hot sunny day and enjoy a romantic picnic in the shade of a tree by a small lake, surrounded by fragrant flowers? A place where you would have privacy without having to look at another couple’s lunch? Or perhaps you are wondering whether there is a place where you could let your children play outside but still see them all the time? Or maybe a place you could visit with your friends and take a walk while having a pleasant chat, followed by a cold beer in the shade of a tree? If your answer to any of these questions was yes, then we recommend going to the Dendrological Garden in Průhonice. It covers the area of 72.8 hectares and offers nearly 8,000 species of plants. You may admire – and smell – the most beautiful collections of rhododendrons, ornamental apple trees, lilacs or spireas in the Czech Republic. You will also find beautiful climbing roses, old rose species and rose bushes as well as various pine trees and spruces in the park. It is a true paradise if you want to escape from the hustle and bustle of the centre of Prague but, at the same time you, you do not want to travel far away. On top of that, you can expand your knowledge of botany as each plant is marked by its Latin name.

photo credits: https://dendrologickazahrada.cz/

Mlékojedy Beach Park

The beach park opens in mid-May and welcomes visitors throughout the whole summer. It is located on the shore of a flooded sand quarry in Mlékojedy, a tiny village near Neratovice less than 40 km from Prague. It is a great place for swimming, where you can also play beach volleyball or football and try out a climbing wall or let your kids have fun on the playground. There are many different events organised every night, including live concerts, DJs, film screenings, workshops, sports events and much more. You can sleep in a tent but there is a real possibility that all the great music will not let you close your eyes and you will simply dance all night long. Four-legged companions are welcome. Come and enjoy a party, awesome music and sports activities with your friends – all in one place!

photo credits: http://www.beachparkmlekojedy.cz/

Prague From Stalin’s Viewpoint

You may have come across a beautiful postcard or an amazing Photoshopped picture of Prague that made you wonder where the heck the picture could have been taken?! You comfort yourself with the idea that the photographer must have suffered a lot and surely walked miles before getting to this distant secret place, or even worse, must have gone on some kind of dreary walking tour of Prague! 

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photo credits: http://poprve.blogspot.cz

However, things that seem distant and unreachable are often closer and more accessible than we think. In fact, one of the most beautiful and popular parks in Prague – Letná – is only a short ride from the city centre! You can take tram no. 15 from “Náměstí republiky” (the square with two shopping centres, the Municipal House and the Powder Tower) or tram no. 17 from “Právnická fakulta” (Faculty of Law at the riverbank at the end of the famous “Pařížská ulice” (Paris Street) full of luxury boutiques). Either way, you will get to the stop “Čechův most” in no time and then you just have to climb up the stairs.

Praha,_Holešovice,_zimní_Letná,_schodiště_k_Čechovu_mostu_II

Still having trouble finding this place? Don’t worry, the people of Prague have gone to great lengths to make it clearly visible from far away… Just look for a huge ticking triangular thing right next to the Vltava River. By now, some of you might be asking yourselves who in their right mind would build a giant metronome in the middle of a city? To satisfy your curiosity, we must look back at a chapter of Czech history, which is not a particularly happy one to recall for most Czechs.

Praha,_Holešovice,_zimní_Letná

In 1948, the Soviet Union decided that the freedom celebration party in Czechoslovakia after the Second World War had been going on for far too long, so we became a communist country. As peoples’ hearts were being injected with communist ideals, the park in Letná suddenly started feeling too empty. The Czechs were forced to show their gratitude to their Soviet liberators (just like we are grateful to our boss for letting us work overtime, thus liberating us from the chains of laziness…) and the empty Letná Park was the perfect place. As a result, since 1955 no tourists (if there were any), however bad their sense of direction was and even without a tourist map of Prague, could have possibly missed this place. There was a huge statue of Stalin, enjoying a beautiful view of Prague from the top of the Letná Park (while everyone else worked in factories). It was the biggest statue in the whole of Europe at the time (no wonder the architects committed suicide before it was officially revealed, probably due to exhaustion). What is interesting (and a bit upsetting for some) is that some of the stone used for the statue was taken from sites playing a significant role in the history of our nation (e.g. the Old Town Hall, our national hill Říp or from village Ležáky, annihilated by the Nazis along with Lidice).

Letna-park._Európa_legnagyobb,_30_méteres_Sztálin_szobra_volt_(állt_1962-ig)._Ma_egy_25_méteres,_működő_metronóm_van_a_helyén._Fortepan_7365

Fortunately (for us), Stalin’s supporters didn’t enjoy this magnificent statue for long (those who miss it can buy Chinese Pu-erh tea with a picture of Stalin and Mao Zedong in one of the many Prague tea shops).  When Khrushchev took power, he openly criticized Stalin’s cult of personality and the statue was taken down (narcissism never gets fully appreciated…). After the fall of communism in 1989, when the hearts of people were being filled with money for a change, the Letná Park seemed a bit empty again.  The Metronome Monument was built at exactly the same spot where Stalin’s statue used to stand. The rationale was to remind us that times can change and to warn us against repeating the mistakes of the past (anyway, there is no need for that today, since dry river beds, infertile soil and climate change can do the job very well on their own).

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So come and enjoy the view Stalin once had and see our beautiful city of Prague from a different angle. Since there are several playgrounds in the park, it is one of the things to do in Prague with kids. And don’t forget to learn from your past mistakes (especially don’t make the mistake of not having an awesome once-in-a-lifetime Prague holiday)!