Pestrý Týden 1929 Vintage Covers from Czech Weekly News

Today we are looking at Pestrý týden from 1929 – Vintage Covers from Czech Weekly News. Pestrý týden (Variety or Varied Weekly news) was a popular illustrated magazine during the First and Second Czechoslovak Republic during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. It was published from November 2, 1926 to April 28, 1945 and it...

NOSTALGIA, Periodicals

December 28, 2016

The Twelve Months – A Czech Fairy Tale

Twelve Months (O dvanácti měsíčkách) is a Czech story that dates back to the 14th-century and is attributed to Mistr Klaret. At that time and through many centuries after, it served as an exemplum, or a moralizing story. Mistr Klaret, Latin Magister Bartholomaeus de Bohemarius Solencia Dictus Claretus own name Bartholomew of Chlumec, also called Master Claret...

Childrens Books, ENTERTAINMENT

December 25, 2016

Bohemian Christmas Eve Celebration in the U.S.A.

Merry Christmas everyone! We have backdated this post to see how we spent our Bohemian Christmas Eve. Having Czech roots, but living in the United States, consequently, it is sometimes difficult to find a balance between Czech and American customs, but we think we managed it quite well while creating our Bohemian Christmas Eve celebration...

CULTURE, Holidays

December 23, 2016

There’s a Carp In My Bathtub! Czech Christmas Traditions

Czech Christmas traditions are many and this one is deeply embedded into the culture of the Czech people and it includes a bottom dwelling freshwater fish called carp or kapr in Czech. A time-honored tradition of the traditional Czech Christmas feast is to get your carp early which is great because several days before the 24th carp...

CULTURE, Holidays

December 22, 2016

The Holiday Magic of Czech Nativity Scenes

The wonderful biblical story of the miraculous birth of a child in an abandoned shed has been accessible to human emotions and hearts since it’s inception and since the story has been told, many artists have offered their renditions of this holy event. Czech Nativity scenes are a part of the holiday magic in the Czech...

CULTURE, Holidays

December 21, 2016

My Mother’s Bohemian Potato Salad Recipe

My mother’s delicious Bohemian potato salad has been a staple at all significant family events since I can remember. It was the centerpiece at the table for each Christmas, birthday, Thanksgiving, and weddings. While most Czech women will sway a bit when it comes to the exact ingredients, I feel that what really makes the...

LIFESTYLE, Recipes

December 20, 2016

Czech Christmas Fish Chowder for All

Whereas American’s may say “Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night”, Czech’s would say “Christmas Fish Chowder for All”. Traditionally served on Christmas Eve, carp fish soup is a Czech tradition. The images that follow are from Kampa which attracted many people in 2014. The pouring and serving of carp fish soup takes place...

Food, LIFESTYLE

December 19, 2016

Old Czech Christmas Cards & Postcards

We were browsing online for vintage and old Czech Christmas cards and postcards from then called Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and we found so many that we decided to share the best ones here with you. This should bring back a lot of memories! They go all the way back to the early 1900s. Veselé...

Holidays, NOSTALGIA

December 16, 2016

Vánoční Sen aka The Christmas Dream

The Christmas Dream or in Czech, Vánoční sen, is a Czechoslovakian animated stop-motion short film from 1945 created by Karel Zeman and Bořivoj Zeman, also known as the Zeman Brothers. This wonderful short film was Karel Zeman’s first experiment in combining live-action footage with stop-motion animation, a process he continued to explore in his later feature films,...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

December 14, 2016

Flashback to Christmas In Prague

Flashback to 1937, 1964, and 1965 and what Christmas time looked like in Prague. We begin our glimpse into the past with Christmas trees. Fortunately, the narrator explains in this short video that shows the tree chosen for Old Towne Square. Well, this year it didn’t snow, but it looked foggy and chilly nonetheless. And...

CULTURE, Holidays

December 8, 2016

Vintage Czech Crystal & Rhinestone Christmas Trees

For many centuries, the foundries of former Czechoslovakia had been renowned for their impressive Czech crystal, glass and jewelry making craftsmanship. Before WWII, numerous factories all over the country made bižuterii a šperky – costume and real jewelry – which was admired the world over. Sadly, many of these factories closed during the war and never reopened....

CULTURE, Holidays

December 4, 2016

Valuable Life Lessons from My Czech Grandmother

Happy Birthday Babička Marie – I Miss You. Tomorrow would be my grandmother’s 93rd Birthday if she were still alive. She’d surely be just as beautiful as she always was. Today I’m sharing valuable life lessons from my Czech grandmother. My grandmother, Marie (born Šrámková) was born on December 5, 1923, in Prague, Czech Republic. Her...

PEOPLE, TresBohemes

December 3, 2016

Gingerbread Designs from the Czech Republic

December is here again (so quickly!) and today we are looking at Moravian and Bohemian gingerbread designs from the Czech Republic. Back home, gingerbread is eaten year round and beautifully decorated cookies are given on all occasions. You can purchase cookies with designs or harder loaves of gingerbread which is often grated into recipes. Walking...

Food, LIFESTYLE

November 29, 2016

The Magic Voice of a Rebel

The Magic Voice of a Rebel, Marta Kubišová, was born in České Budějovice in 1942. She was synonymous with the Czech pop boom of the 1960s. She was a three-time winner of the Golden Nightingale music award and had a stellar career and future ahead of her… But then it all ended in 1968 with the occupation of Czechoslovakia. Because...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

November 28, 2016

Retro Czech Toys As Seen on Instagram

Retro Czech Toys As Seen on Instagram is an idea that came to me this morning because Thanksgiving is over and so is Black Friday, thank goodness, and the shopping madness has finally stopped. (By the way, we never partake in the madness.) I can’t count how many advertisements I have received regarding toys this...

NOSTALGIA, Retro Chic

November 27, 2016

The Bourgeois Art Nouveau Cafés of Prague

The café – whether called caffe, Kaffeehaus, kavarna, or coffeehouse – has been central to urban cultural and artistic life. In Prague and elsewhere throughout Europe, it is a place to start and end the day, to read, compose, gossip, debate or mull over the intricacies of a chess move. We never miss any opportunity to...

PLACES, Restaurants