One of my favorite galleries in Prague is situated in Školská street, just a few meters above the Cafe Therapy restaurant (check the Café Therapy article). Leica Gallery Prague is run by a non-profitable company of the same name and its objective is not only organization of quality photographic exhibition, but also running workshops for public and other activities.

During the years that LGP was open, I have seen a number of great exhibitions held there. Besides their own showroom, LGP has been using various exhibition spaces (such as the Prague Castle in the past or Mánes). Until 17.6. there is an exhibition of Jan Lukas – The New York city diary – photos from NYC. 

LGP has an added value – the café which is part of the showroom. The coffee there is fine and if you are in the mood for something else, you can for sure to enjoy a glass of wine and browse some of the art books and magazines they have there.

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Leica Gallery | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Festivals & events | Exhibition entry CZK 70
Školská 28 | Praha 1 | +420608963523
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 21:00, Sat – Sun 14:00 – 21:00

The A2 Prague bike path slices the city in half from north to south. Starting all the way up around Roztoky the path hugs the Vltava river, taking you to the southern outskirts in Zbraslav. But, that’s actually not the way I would recommend to go. The best way to use the A2 is to take it from the outer center of the city north or south and watch the city landscape turn to green countryside.

If you want to head south, which I highly recommend, start at the railroad bridge near Výtoň. This way, you avoid the tourist crowds moseying along the embankment. The sidewalk quickly turns to a proper paved bike path, once you go under the Vyšehrad cliff, and then at Branik slopes down towards the river away from the car traffic. After that you’re riding along practically uninterrupted greenery for about eight or so kilometers, passing along a golf course, a wonderful tree-lined lane and then riding near the river with plenty of grassy meadows for picnics and pit stops. And since it’s the Czech Republic, there is always a beer stand close by serving refreshing beverages.

Once you reach the bridge to Zbraslav, though, the A2 official ends and you are doomed to riding along a narrow undivided local road, which can be dangerous. If you don’t want to go back, you can cross over to Zbraslav. We recently even kept going to Černošice and then to Karlštejn, without having to ride along any big roads.

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Vltava bike path | Relaxing | Free
Vyton | Praha 1
Daily

I discovered Merrygorando just a while ago while walking to Papelote shop (check the Papirnictvi Papelote article) to buy myself a nice notebook. At  first sight th Merrygorando shop appeared like another shop with T-shirts, but when I went inside and especially after a talk with the shop assistant I learned more about the concept and idea. On my second visit I bought nice T-shirt and presents for children of my friends.

Merrygorando concept store offers eco-friendly furniture, original lamps, T-shirts, fashion accessories, bags and toys, all under the brand Merrygorando. The offer is completed by pieces from Thai and Japanese designers. The designers of Merrygorando claim that they are creating the products with respect to our planet and they are very often using recycled and natural materials.

This attitude is best recognized on the funny toys that shine with beautiful colours and remind me of early Star Track fantasies of alien organisms. These are made in Thailand by designer Thongsuk Mongkhon who also cooperates with Merrygorando. The furniture is mostly made in Czech Republic and the motto of it is ‘fresh design of quality products for reasonable price’. I also admired the very original and merry watches that are surprisingly also made from recycled materials!

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Merrygorando | Shopping | T-shirt CZK 350.00
Vojtěšská 12 | Praha 1
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 20:00, Sat 12:00 – 16:00

If you want to bring home some real Czech made design, simply piece of well done work, visit the stationery shop Papelote. They call themselves ‘new’ but they truly represent the workmanship of the centuries. Papelote is a shop where you will find things manufactured mostly from paper. It sounds boring, but you would be surprised.

I love the way Papelote was founded, how it works now and what this manufacturer has achieved. And most of all I love the designs and products, which are both usable and beautiful. Papelote was first of all a dissertation of a graphic designer and illustrator Katerina Sachova, and later was developed into a living project and shop. Papelote works with paper and offers many kinds of notebooks, planners, cases and last but not least its famous binders. To have the gift unique, you can wrap it in the original wrapping paper. All products you will bring home are Czech made and from ecological materials.

Just as an interesting fact I wanted to mention that Papelote was awarded as Store of the Year on Czech Grand Design Awards 2011.

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Papírnictví Papelote | Art & culture, Shopping | Pencil Binder CZK 89.00
Vojtěšská 9 | Praha 1 | +420774719113
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 19:00, Sat 12:00 – 18:00

Julius FashionShop was on my way home for some time and I usually could not resist to pop inside and to look for some fashion rarity. I know I will always choose some original piece from the wide offer of accessories, or clothes from young Czech or foreign designers. The shop opened in 2008 and the owner Julia, who is present in the shop during the week, can help you while deciding which top fits you better or what would be a real catch from our Prague visit.

Although Jullius Fashion Shop is rather tiny, it concentrates a lot of things – clothes for men and women, bags and purses, brooches, earrings and other jewelery. My recent favorite is a selection of jewelery by Jara design, whose designs are mostly made from steel, porcelain and glass.

A tip for little present, always original, is a notebook or diary with a design from Tarakan. Simply get inspired and be sure, that dressed in any piece from Julius, you will be sticking out from the crowd.

If you’re not able to visit Julius FashionShop, you can order some present (of course for yourself!:-) in the e-shop. They ship worldwide after you both agree on the shipping price.

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Julius FashionShop | Shopping | Top YaxiTaxi CZK 1500.00
Ostrovní 20 | Praha 1
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 19:00, Sat 11:00 – 18:00

Club cinema Evald represents complete characteristics of a small, classy cinema – is in the very center, has stable program with three movies running each day, mixes extract from mainstream, well at least the movies suitable for small screen, and includes also art movies and tiny festivals The last festival I visited was Days of Norwegian film I think.

Generous front door invites you to more private underground, cozy with the carpets and classy with the cloak room, which is especially handy during winter. Now in summer you will be awarded by cool underground environment.

No drinks offered in this cinema, but you can get started before the film in the local restaurant, which is just at the end of the same corridor, and of course also discuss there later on the impact of the film you have just seen. I really like this cinema, there are not many of this type in Prague these days.

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Kino Evald | Art & culture, Cinemas | Ticket CZK 110
Národní 28 | Praha 1 | +420221105225
One hour before 1st film, daily

La Casa Blu pub is cozy inside and on one of the most cozy places of Prague! On a street corner like from old times, in the heart of Jewish town, very near to all attractive sites of the city, is a bar founded by Prague Chilean Jorge Zúñiga and is called the ‘Hispanic’ pub, café and bar.

Inside is always a welcoming environment and I can right now think of several moods the bar was in when I spent some time there. Nicely smelling lunch time, offering its tasty fusion of tex-mex and Latin cuisine. Lazy summer afternoons with chilling cocktails. A totally busy night where crossing 10 meters from one side of the bar to another took an hour, because the motion characterized by the situation was more Brownian motion than a walk. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience!

When visiting, enjoy the food – soups, nachos, salads, tacos, burritos, sandwiches, quesadillas and other delicious meals. As for drinks, your will get anything you wish, starting with coffee, beer, vine, a wide variety of spirits and last but not least cocktails. The bar became non-smoking after a local referendum among customers.

Spanish speaking visitors will be pleased by Spanish speaking bartenders. I met at least one every time I spent one warming moment there.

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La Casa Blu | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Fusion) | Cappucino CZK 44.00
Kozí 15 | Praha 1 | +420723446002
Mon – Fri 11:00 – open end, Sat 12:00 – open end, Sun 14:00 – open end

The swimming pool in Hotel Axa is always convenient and easily accessible. I got used to visiting it when I lived around the corner and I continued going there even after I moved quite far. Ok, it is quite small (25 x 12 m) and I am not saying to go there in case you are training for a national swimming competition, but listen to the pluses before searching for different one.

In Axa you pay per minute, so even if you decide to leave earlier, you pay just for time you really spent with swimming and drying you hair. In case you will get bored after 15 minutes, no need to feel ashamed to leave. Axa has one of the ‘hottest’ water in Prague – also my grandmother confirmed this quality has been stable since the sixties. Last but not least – music is played to keep you motivated and fast.

Other convenient services are the sauna, for men and women or strictly for women, available massages or the solarium. After swimming, cool down in the bar and get some snacks.

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Bazen Axa | Relaxing, Snacks | Price per minute CZK 1.00
Na Poříčí 40 | Praha 1 | +420222323967
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 09:00 & 12:00 – 13:00 & 17:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 21:00

Always, when I am in a mood to see some nice art, but in a small quantity, I choose to go to gallery established in honor of one great Czech photographer, Josef Sudek, in his previous studio. The studio is located between two apartment blocks near Ujezd and Kampa and is not visible from the street at all. Luckily for us the doorbell lets you walk in the courtyard and after you pass three doors you finally see the studio set in the inside garden. Josef Sudek began to work here in 1927 and remained using the studio until the end of his life. More about the importance of his world-known work here.

The small space has limited possibilities, but looking at the overview of past exhibitions and schedule for this year, the curator of the gallery is not limited by the space at all. The exhibitions change every one, two months, and are a blend of new or established authors and the ‘master’ Josef Sudek.

Ujezd is a favorite location for walks and sightseeing, and these two activities usually involve crowds in Prague. Josef Sudek’s studio is always quiet and calming for your mind. After satisfying your mind, choose one of the great bars around, for example artists-concentrating Mlynska Kavarna (check the Mlynska Kavarna article) or to rocking Klub Ujezd (check the Klub Ujezd article).

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Galerie Josefa Sudka | Art & culture | Entrance CZK 10.00
Újezd 30 | Praha 1
Tue – Sun 12:00 – 18:00

Just by the river, near Klárov, there is a place many tourist guides will lead you to. It is a nice small square where there is the famous Franz Kafka museum. I haven’t visited it once, although I am a fan of Kafka’s work. Maybe it actually is worth visiting but I want to draw your attention elsewhere.

What I am talking about is the strange-looking sculpture in the middle of the square. You will find there two copper persons peeing into a strange bowl. Their waists move so that it looks even more life-like. The funniest part which a lot of people don’t realize, though, lays on the ground. Those guys pee into a bowl shaped like the Czech Republic. Once again, this proves David Černý‘s (artist of Entropa i.e.) skills and vision.

We Czechs aren’t a particularly proud nation. We are actually willing to make fun of ourselves quite often, which I find quite appealing. Artist like Černý who would elsewhere be considered very controversial thus have many fans here, me among them. But some others may surely find his work insulting. What is your opinion?

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Miska Republika | Art & culture | Free
Cihelná 2 | Praha 1
24 hours daily