Czechia is rarely on the radar for travellers. That is, with the exception of Prague. Prague is the biggest city in the Czech Republic, its capital, and the only place with a big international airport. Yet, if you ask many Czechs, they will tell you that you have never been to the Czech Republic if you’ve only ever been to Prague. Indeed, it’s not so easy to find authentic Czech culture (or even people) if you follow the tourist attractions in Prague. Though it’s possible to find authentic culture, for example at the Strahov Monastery, a more immersive experience can be a trip to places in the Czech Republic that are not Prague.
Being married to a Czech provides me with plenty of opportunities to get to know Czech culture. There is more to Czech culture than beer and slivovice – although they are undoubtably an important part of it. (In contrast, many souvenirs that offend the eye on the streets of Prague are not at all a part of Czech culture.) For me, the Czech Republic is hilly nature, dotted with outdoor sportspeople and mushrooming microbreweries for the millennials and traditional pubs, where “štamgasti” can still enjoy their beer for a small handful of crowns. Many little towns and villages have been recently renovated and offer visits of old churches, sceneries of half-timbered huts, and often amazing views from sight-seeing towers on a nearby hills. Perhaps potential tourists from the western world associate the Czech Republic with communism, and grey Soviet-style blocks of houses. They exist, too, but increasingly disappear, and those that still exist have been mostly repainted to have colourful facades.
The places below are my top picks of places that are different from each other and, in my opinion, provide an insight into Czech history, culture, and way of life.
1. Olomouc
The streets are rarely straight in Olomouc’s city centre, and looking left and right, you find many secret passageways. It is worth trying out various passageways: They may take you to the next crooked street, a church, or a river-side promenade. The city is filled with students, drinking beer or coffee or rushing to their next lecture: the university is housed by buildings that are scattered throughout the city.
On the central market square, you find a heavily decorated column that looks more like a building. The Holy Trinity Column was built in the 18th century to commemorate the end of a plague. This is where you will find the few tourists that find their way from Prague, Karlovy Vary, and Cesky Krumlov to parts of the Czech Republic that aren’t serviced by swarms of tourist busses. Still, there are no kitschy “shapka ushankas” in sight, as they are sold at every corner in Prague. Instead, modest-looking shops that surround the square sell a local specialty that the local actually eat – though it may be unimaginable to those who don’t like stronger tastes: Olomoucke tvaruzky, round little discs of a type of cheese that, depending on its degree of agedness, reminds something between dry cottage cheese and very old socks that for some reason have gone chewy.
2. Trebic
Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage sight, Trebic doesn’t get a lot of tourists. Maybe it’s because it’s not easy to get to: the Czech Railway website tells me that it takes about four hours and up to three transfers to get there from Prague, and my guess would be that the probability of meeting someone who speaks English will decrease substantially with each transfer.
We visited Trebic in summer. The town is in a valley from which the heat struggled to escape. The river, Jihlava, provided no relief, as it seemed to be more affected by the heat than the humans, struggling to continue flowing and accumulating a green-brownish colour. The river once flooded the Jewish quarter, that is located on its northern side. As a consequence, the Jewish quarter was nearly demolished to make space for Soviet-style housing blocks, but luckily, this project didn’t go ahead, and by now, the Jewish quarter has been renovated and provides several sights for tourists, including the renovated synagogue with extensive information about Trebic’s history and a hipster café that sells delicious home-made cakes and kosher wine. Trebic has been awarded the status of a UNESCO World Heritage sight because it is home both to the renovated Jewish quarter and a Christian monastery. Nice, isn’t it? The Jewish cemetery will make you more pensive: though the dates on the gravestones go back centuries, there is an agglomeration of gravestones from the year 1945.
3. Ceske Budejovice
What is unique about Ceske Budejovice? It’s an obviously historical city, but at the same time, it’s alive. I mentioned microbreweries in this text’s introduction, but haven’t recommended a single one yet. Ceske Budejovice is definitely the place to try: we liked Minipivovar Krajnska, which is close to the town’s central square – though almost everything is. The town’s historical importance, and it’s current status is the region, is evident: buildings are grand and streets are broad. Through a small passageway, you can get from the main square to a park and the riverfront. The river is the famous Vltava, which later flows through Prague. A boat trip is recommended, and comes with a commentary about the town’s history, provided by the boat driver, albeit he seems to speak only Czech.
4. Liberec and surroundings
My husband would probably divorce me if I didn’t put Liberec on the list. Just kidding, of course. No, seriously, I think he really would. Although he himself would say that the town of Liberec is nothing special. Liberec is a popular destination for Czechs themselves, but mainly for its outdoor activities: From Prague, it’s a bus ride to the Liberec town centre, and a tram ride to the mountain of Jested, where you can go hiking or skiing, depending on the season. Or you can rent a scooter (the non-motorised type) and thunder down the mountain along its gravel forest paths.
Locals often complain that Jested is overcrowded. If you
have either a car or a bike plus the corresponding levels of fitness, you can
visit the Czech Paradise – the region called Cesky Raj. Mala Skala is even
reachable by train from Liberec. It’s a small village, consisting of no more
than two streets, each on different sides of the Jizera river. Mala skala means
“little cliff”, and true to its name, there is a cliff where you can walk up via
a steep path. Very rarely, you will find foreign tourists in this region: A few
years ago, we came across a group of not-very-sober Danish teenagers, who were
probably on a school trip for some cheap booze a deeply mind-opening
experience to get to know the Czech culture and history. In addition to the view,
the rocks in Mala Skala feature a historical sight, the Vranov
Pantheon, where you can see the remains of castle ruins and a small arts exhibition
in a small chapel. For lunch, in the village, you have a choice between a
modern microbrewery on the western side, and a small, traditional Czech pub on the
eastern side.
5. Karlovy Vary and surroundings
I’m not sure if Czechs would agree that Karlovy Vary is a Czech city. If you walk through the historical city centre, you will notice that housing ads are written in Cyrillic. If you hear people speaking a Slavic language on the street, chances are, it’s Russian. Yet, Karlovy Vary, compared to the previous towns I described, has a very unique feel. It seems to be stuck in time. So it’s definitely worth grabbing a cup or bottle and making a promenade, going from one hot spring to the next and trying the different types of healing water. In moderation, though, because I heard that that stuff can act as a laxative!
Getting out of Karlovy Vary, you will see yet another side of the Czech Republic. The town of Jachymov has a very unique feel, though during my last visit, I found that it had already been somewhat gentrified. It used to be a very rich town due to its uranium mines, but its wealth plummeted once people came to the conclusion that uranium is bad. Its town houses are arranged along parallel streets, which are located at different levels of elevation in the narrow valley. If you’re lucky, you may be able to join a tour of the old mines. Looking out-of-place, outside of the town’s centre, are luxurious hotels. One of them hosts a public pool with a large spa area. The supposedly healing water is taken from local hot springs, and I can say from my own experience that one doesn’t start glowing after bathing in it.
Conclusion
I hope to have already given some good reasons to visit the places I describe above. You’ll help declutter Prague if you choose to visit one of the places that I recommend instead of Prague. You’ll probably meet a lot of people who don’t smile a lot but won’t overcharge you. They may not know any language other than Czech (and some Russian that they have worked hard to repress), but they will be happy that you show interest in their country. So, if you really want to get to know the Czech country, culture, and people, why not give it a try?
