Czech Republic

Visited: July 2006, February 2007

Duration of visit: 9 days

Capital city: Prague

Population: 10.2 million (2007)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

• Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, famous beer and beautiful girls are main trademarks of one of the most charming cities in (Eastern) Europe.
• Prague – one of the most beautiful European cities.
• Business meetings with local distributor in ex-textile center of Liberec.
• Budweiser beer tasting in Česke Budejovice.
• The oldest city map in UNESCO World Heritage city Český Krumlov.

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe that was born out of old Czechoslovakia during the fall of communism on 1^st of January 1993. It is well recognized for famous, high quality beer industry, its capital city, excellent hockey team and beautiful girls. It is also the country of famous writer Franz Kafka and superstitious king Charles IV, who imposed the exact date of setting the first stone for Charles Bridge to guarantee additional strength.

The Czech Republic is rather close to my home country Slovenia, but I never really had a deep interest to explore it in details.

During my position as an export sales manager for Central and Eastern Europe in an American corporation, I was responsible to promote sales of HVAC products in Czech Republic. I was based in London, where our local distributor was located in the city of Liberec, the fifth-largest Czech city, in the north of the country. Called the Bohemian Manchester, the industrial city of Liberec has been a textile center since 16^th century, until the Great Depression in the 1930s, which devastated the textile’s industry.

Today, its rather unattractive downtown with city hall, Ještěd Tower and botanic garden, doesn’t attract many tourists. The best part of my trip was always staying in a local spa-hotel, where I could afford an inexpensive and quality massage after long meetings with our local distributer.

My business partner, Ivo, was a guy who grew up in socialist Czechoslovakia, but soon after the fall of Berlin Wall and a transition to market economy, found a business opportunity importing products of internationally known brands.

He was a tough businessman to negotiate with, sign an agreement or discuss new distribution channel possibilities.

I will never forget days and hours of meetings to align on the new distribution contract, proposed by the American corporation that I represented at that time. The first paragraph strictly prohibited membership in left orientated political parties for any owners or directors in local distribution companies of our products.

Ivo hated the previous system and was not a member of any political party, but, according to him, the local Czech law prohibited to sign this kind of statements. For months, he insisted to remove this part of the contract, until he finally gave up and approved it. He invited me to the best restaurant in Liberec, we cheered with local beer and continued doing business.

I visited “the mother of cities” on various occasions and I might be there again soon, since it is not far from my hometown. Prague is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities not only in Eastern Europe, but on the whole continent. Therefore, its popularity for being among the most visited places in Europe is logical.

Situated on the Vltava River, offering home to about 1.3 million people, Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe. Museums, galleries, theaters and other landmarks make it popular, while inexpensive food, drinks, party and accommodation, position it as a popular party city for Western Europeans.

There has been no other place as Prague, where middle class western boys and men could travel on a low-cost flight, book a luxury, inexpensive hotel, drink unlimited amounts of beer and have fun with some of the most beautiful girls in Eastern Europe on a bachelor party. It can actually be any kind of party!

Prague was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since it largely escaped bombing during the Second World War, which befell so many European cities during that period, Prague has kept its unique historical appearance with a labyrinth of winding, medieval cobblestone streets and beautiful palaces and churches of all architectural styles. Since 1992, the extensive historical center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad.

Prague Castle has transformed substantially since it was originally built as a walled fortress around AD 870, as the home of Bohemia’s kings. The official residence of the Czech Republic’s President these days, it is considered the largest castle complex in the world possessing within its walls a number of Prague’s most popular tourist sites, including St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica, the Powder Tower, the Old Royal Palace and the Golden Lane.

The Roman Catholic St. Vitus Cathedral is Czech Republic’s largest and most important Christian church, which took more than 525 years to complete. No wonder, the result is a mix of modern Neo-Gothic and 14^th-century Gothic styles, along with Baroque and Renaissance influences. Stained glass windows depicting the Holy Trinity, a mosaic from 1370 and the jewel-encrusted altar with more than 1,300 precious stones, are the interior highlights that are really impressive.

The 516-meters long Charles Bridge boasts 32 unique points of interest along its span, perfectly aligned with the tomb of St. Vitus and the setting sun on the equinox. It links the Old and New town, hosting street artists, entertainers and hordes of passengers. The bridge was the only mean of crossing the Vltava River until 1841. This bow bridge, with its 16 arches, is especially magical under the street lamps lights at night. It was used in the past by horse-drawn trams, while buses only operated for a year. All the traffic over the bridge was cancelled in 1965 and since then, only pedestrians can use it.

The Old Town Square, founded in the 12^th century, is the oldest and most significant square that initially served as a marketplace at the crossroads of European trade routes. The Old Town Hall, the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Baroque Church of St Nicholas, the Rococo Kinský Palace, the Gothic House at the Stone Bell and the monument to Jan Hus, dominate the area that is in the summer flooded with foreign visitors. The crowd is eager to wait in front of the 15^th century Astronomical Clock, where every full hour the 12 Apostles and other figures appear and parade in procession across the clock’s face.

Česke Budejovice is famous for the headquarters of original Budweiser beer. The factory started brewing its reputable beer in 1895. The trademark dispute between Czech and American breweries has been going on for more than a century, since 1907, and has involved more than 100 individual court cases across the world.

The current status seems as a big confusion.

There are countries where the original Czech Budweiser Budvar is allowed to be distributed, others where American Budweiser beer can be traded and territories where they can appear under different name, such as for example Bud.

Anyhow, during the brewery tour of the factory in Česke Budejovice, I was guided through different phases of production and maturation, before finishing in the packaging department. Tasting at the end confirmed the glory of the Budweiser Budvar, thanks to artesian water from wells beneath it, flavored by Moravian barley and Saaz hops.

The main reason that makes this beer special is the fact that it is matured for a minimum of 90 days, contrasting with 72 hours of lagering for commercial beers.  I finished the tour with a delicious lunch in the factory inexpensive restaurant.

Nestled on the banks of the Vltava River, the charming medieval town of Český Krumlov is likely the most stunning destination in the Czech Republic, surpassed only by the glorious Prague. It impressed me with the narrow streets, the main square and the castle, which rises above the city. These are also the main reasons that the city has been on the UNESCO list since 1992.

The history of the city dates back to the 13^th century, since when it has been always ruled by German noble families. Most of the German population was expelled after World War II.

The oldest city map in the world, made of tiles, is attached to the wall of the city hall. It used to serve to the visitors that arrived in the city for errands. The city offers many typical pubs where, in addition to excellent local beer, good food is served. The local specialty is goulash.

Driving during cold winters through remote roads of Northern Czech Republic was additionally scary, when dense fog was transforming mystic forests to occult, impenetrable depths through which I moved at the speed of a bicycle. Somehow, my relationship with Czech Republic always leaded to happy endings. Even during the most bizarre business negotiations, there was always a way out to close the deal and make everyone happy.

Prague reminds me a lot of Budapest, which had been much less promoted and off the main tourist maps until recently. Due to many visitors, especially in the summer, the Czech capital has been suffering from crowds of visitors with inappropriate behavior, causing noise and disturbances.

Český Krumlov and Česke Budejovice offer a great alternative to appreciate the cultural attractions which mostly reflects in castles that overview old towns, offering plenty options for local food and beer tasting, water navigation and pleasant walks around old towns.