In the land of the two-tailed lion

Kdykoliv zadívám se na Prahu – a dívám se na ni stále            a vždycky bez dechu, protože ji miluji –, obrátím mysl k Bohu, ať se mi schovává už kdekoliv, za hvězdnou mlhovinou či jen za starým paravánem            prožraným od molů, abych mu poděkoval, že propůjčil tu velkolepou scénu i mému životu. Mně i mým radostem            a bezstarostným láskám, mně i mým slzám bez pláče, když lásky odcházely. Jaroslav Seifert: Královský letohrádek

Whenever I gaze out on Prague – and I do so constantly            and always with bated breath because I love her – I turn my mind to God wherever he may hide from me, beyond the starry mists or just behind            that moth-eaten old screen, to thank him for granting me this magnificent setting to live in. To me and my joys            and carefree loves, to me and to my tears without weeping when the loves departed. Jaroslav Seifert: Royal pavilion

Río Wang’s posts on Prague (click to enlarge)

Río Wang’s posts on Bohemia (click to enlarge)

Bohemian history • The Marian Column and the Prague Meridian, 1618-1918 • František Krátký’s (1851-1924) color slides on Tsar Nicholas II’s coronation in 1896 • Hundred years of school beginning in Bohemia • The annexion of Podkarpatská Rus, 1919 • The Moravians of Hultschin, who said no to Czechoslovakia • The Moravian Hawelka brothers and their cafés in Krakow and Vienna • Photo exhibition of Josef Baťka, the globetrotter priest (1901-1979) • The Stalin statue in Prague (1952-1962) Bohemian photo • Antonio Muñoz Molina on Josef Sudek • Bernard Plossu on Josef Sudek • Jiří and Ivan Doležal’s central Bohemian trains • Vlad Artazov’s nail art • Farewell to Jasiňa Bohemian literature • Two poems by Miroslav Holub • Hrabal’s house on the Dam of Eternity • Libeň, visit on Hrabal’s 100th birthday • Ajvaz: The other city • Ajvaz and the sensitive elephant • Ajvaz and the heavy bear cub • The Bohemian sea in the dreams of Radek Malý and Pavel Čech Exhibitions • Hundred years of school beginning in Bohemia • Photo exhibition of Josef Baťka, the globetrotter priest (1901-1979)

Prague • A night walk in the Prague Castle • The Marian Column in Old Town Square, 1618-1918 • The Marian Column standing again, 2020 • The Bruska garrison, 1683-1922 • Century-old advertisement in the St. Castalius neighborhood • The old Smíchov and the former Angel restaurant • Colonialware ghost signs in Újezd • The last trolleybus in Prague, 1972 • Hrabal’s house on the Dam of Eternity • Libeň, visit on Hrabal’s 100th birthday • Prague quiz • The Charles Bridge in winter • A walk under Vyšehrad • Urban birds in Prague • Bird sounds in Prague • A five hundred-year old skate roller • Reconstruction of the Jewish quarter in Prague • Jacob Bassevi, the Jew of three emperors • Handel Bassevi’s tomb in the Jewish cemetery • Evening falls in Holešovice Moravia • The dragon of Brno • Leo Rosten’s The Joys of Yiddish in the bookshop of Brno • The Švejk restaurant in Brno • The Olmütz/Olomouc tram in 1918 • The castle of Nikolsburg on the seashore • The Jewish cemetery in Třebíč/Trebitsch • The annexion of Hultschin • The Battle of Blosdorf Northern Bohemia • Cancerous land. Coal mines in the Sudetenland (es) • Crossing the border at the Prebischtor • Austrian imperial coat of arms in Dečín

Southern Bohemia • In the Land of the Rose, minute by minute • České Budějovice, the first Bohemian trolleybus, 1909 • The church of Boletice/Polletitz, and the deportation of the Germans from Southern Bohemia • The Gothic church and German cemetery of Zátoň/Ottau • The hills of Bohdalovice/Podesdorf along the Vltava • Český Krumlov’s map of monuments • Český Krumlov: the first overview • Český Krumlov’s pub map • Český Krumlov, medieval holy image column and modern village radio • Andachtsbilder from Krumau The Bohemian sea • The Bohemian sea in the dreams of Radek Malý and Pavel Čech • The Moravian sea, 1725 The Bohemian overseas: Podkarpatská Rus • Ivan Olbracht’s Hasidic tales from Podkarpatská Rus • The symbol of Podarpatská Rus, the wooden church of Jasiňa • The Hutsul Republic and the annexion of Podkarpatská Rus • Late Czechoslovak nostalgia for Podkarpatská Rus • Farewell to Jasiňa Traveling in Bohemia • Come with us to Southern Bohemia!