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In the far east of the Czech Republic, just 22 kilometres away from the border with Slovakia, lies the small town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. Its biggest tourist attraction is the Wallachian Open Air Museum, which offers a unique look into the history of the region’s architecture as well as associated arts and crafts. The museum also organises traditional cultural festivals during the Christmas period.

This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Václav Havel, the dissident playwright and first president of post-Communist Czechoslovakia. In honour of his memory, a series of events will take place in cities and towns around the country, but the late Czech president will also be remembered abroad.

The South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice has joined other big opera houses around the world in staging its first opera for toddlers. Called Baby Opera, it is accessible to anyone over the age of three months and promises the youngest spectators an immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the senses.

To date only a small number of cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Czech Republic. However, an independent group of experts known as MeSES believe Omicron is spreading by community transmission in the country – and may have already infected hundreds. I spoke to the group’s Jan Kulveit, an expert on mathematical modeling of pandemics.

České Budějovice is the largest and most populous city in Southern Bohemia. It lent its name to one of the most popular beer brands in the world: Budweiser. However, visitors will find that it offers much more than good beer.

With a growing number of Czech children being diagnosed with Covid-19, hospitals in the Czech Republic are dealing with an increasing number of cases of PIMS-TS, or paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, a rare condition that can occur in children several weeks after Covid-19.

Rising prices are causing great concern in the Czech Republic at present. While inflation was at 3.4 percent in July, experts are saying it will reach at least 7 percent at the start of 2022. What is the reason for this? And how bad can things get? I spoke to Jan Bureš, chief economist at Patria Finance.

A new two-month exhibition opened up in Prague’s Klementinum this week, which focuses on Saint Ludmila, the grandmother and tutor of the country’s patron saint, who was martyred exactly 1,100 years ago. Visitors are able to explore her life and saintly cult through a variety of literary exhibits, including some of the country’s most important medieval manuscripts. The exhibition is also available online, where visitors are encouraged to try out conducting their own research.

For the majority of Czechs, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Christmas dinner of fried carp and potato salad. Indeed, carp accounts for around 80 percent of the fresh water fish bred in the Czech Republic. However, most Czechs only eat carp once a year, on Christmas Eve, and the rest is sold abroad. Czech businessman Jan Čulík aims to change that and make Czechs eat carp not only at Christmas, but all year round.

President Miloš Zeman will appoint the new Czech government to office at Lány Chateau on Friday, despite his objections to the nominee for foreign minister. The development has been hailed as a significant victory for Prime Minister Petr Fiala, a university professor who has promised to change the political culture in the Czech Republic.