Prague Easter markets 2012

Firstly, there is the atmosphere to relish. The snow and ice and low temperatures will have gone by now and with the sun shining and the breeze warm everyone wants to be out and about in lighter and brighter clothes. Nowhere is this feeling more evident than in the great marketplaces of the city on Old Town Square, at Mustek on Wenceslas Square, at Andel, and at Namesti Miru and these are just the main centres, all of them in, or very close to the centre of the city. These Prague Easter markets as they are called take place daily from 24th March-15th April 2012 at the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Easter Monday is on April 9th 2012. Over 100 stalls stock a variety of handcrafted products; wooden toys, Czech crystal and glass-ware, jewellery, beautifully dressed puppets and dolls, metal-ware, candles, embroidered cloth. Just to wander around them at your leisure, admiring them, stopping here and there, lingering at something that particularly captures your imagination, maybe making a purchase or two. It is all a delightful pleasure. Time can run away from you when you are in such a mood but luckily great selections of outdoor foods and drinks are close at hand. Try some enormous barbecued sausage, or some lighter ham slices, some typically czech Potato cakes called Bramboracky, or for something sweet look out for the 'Trdelnik'-hot, looped, and very sweet pastry. Drinks are aplenty also from the ubiquitous beers of the city on tap and served in half litre plastic cups to wine and to soft drinks also. You will certainly hear the angelic sound of music in the air as school choirs, folf groups, and traditionally dressed children from schools throughout the Czech Republic sing their hearts out. Small children will have attractions and distractions that will excite them too like Workshops at some specially erected cabins especially for them where they can paint eggs and flower pots and Easter chickens and have endless fun. Close by will be a farm pen with docile sheep, rabbits, goats and donkeys.

So far we haven't mentioned one of the truly magical, colourful and skilful of Czech Easter traditions and this must surely be the choosing and the colouring of Easter Eggs. A hands only skill it astonishes and amazes at just how imaginative a design can be made on a simple hard-boiled egg. It helps of course that this lovely tradition has been going back for centuries and today it is as strong as ever. How it has always worked is that On Easter Sunday, the girls and women of the village paint eggs ("kraslice"). This is a patient and careful job with many variations on the decoration; usually a mixture of watercolours, picture stickers, bee's wax, straw and/or feathers.For particularly well decorated eggs there is even an Easter egg contest held annually in Prague. As girls paint their Easter eggs, the boys prepare their Easter whips ("pomlázka"), ready for Easter Monday. This is not the kind of whip used on horses, but is made from osier twigs, braided together. Once again, this takes some skill to make and the more twigs, the more difficult it is to braid a whip. It all sounds like a very unfair and unpleasant custom but in any case once Easter Monday comes the boys chase around the town, or village especially, seeking girls to beat with their whips and upon achieving their goal are rewarded with one of these exquisitely designed eggs. As the day wears on the boys who are carrying a bag now are accumulating no small number of these eggs. For older young men the desire for an egg has diminished some what so they seek out a strong glass of alcohol especially one called 'slivovice' a great Czech favourite.

We have spent a lot of time now describing Easter in Prague by way of its traditions and markets but at this time of year there is much, much more going on. The Flower gardens are being planted and tended to again and so many of the early blossoms are coming into bloom. A walk through the Royal Gardens of Prague Castle is absolutely gorgeous this time of year with bird song ringing in your ear, the trees about to come into bud and a feeling of regrowth and regeneration everywhere. Similarly the nearby Petrin Hill with its miniature Eiffel Tower and its Astronomical Centre as well as House of Mirrors is a spectacular place for unhurried walks and in the high, clear Easter sky the views across Prague are as spectacular as they can possibly be. For those who love culture and high art the opera and theatre season is still in full flow and it is no problem whatsoever to acquire some tickets for a fantastic performance or two. And it wouldn't do not to mention one of tzhe high points of the music calendar which is of course the annual Prague Spring Music Festival with events taking place frequently and almost daily in the stunning Rudolfinum music house. Elsewhere too museums, and especially chateaux and memorials which may have been closed for the Winter break are wide open again and in full swing, just like the memorable boat trips that one can go on up and down the Vltava River. Easter and Eastertime in and around Prague is a magnificent occasion and a truly special time of year. Come to Prague and discover it for yourself.