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About Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a small landlocked country in Central Europe, situated south-east of Germany and bordering with Austria to the south, Poland to the north and Slovakia (with which it used to form one country of Czechoslovakia) to the south-east.

Regions

• Bohemia - the western part of the Czech Republic
• Moravia - the eastern part of the country
• Silesia - the north eastern part of the Czech Republic

Cities

Cities in Bohemia:

• Prague (Praha) - the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic
• České Budějovice: Attractive main city of South Bohemia
• Plzeň: Industrial city, birthplace of "Pilsner" beer
• Český Krumlov: Beautiful old town and castle
• Karlovy Vary aka "Carlsbad", historic spa resort
• Tábor: Historic Hussite capital
• Třeboň: Cute old town
• Terezín: Old fortress, Jewish ghetto during WW2.
• Jičín: Gateway to the "Czech Paradise"
• Hradec Králové: East Bohemian city close to Giant Mountains
• Kutná Hora: Historical town with famous St.Barbora cathedral and old silver mines
• Liberec: situated in the Jizerske hory and close to the Polish and German borders.
• Pardubice: City in East Bohemia

Cities in Moravia:

• Brno: Largest city in Moravia
• Olomouc: university; has the 2nd largest historical centre in the Czech Republic
• Novosedly - Village in the moravian wine region, you can go on a great horseback trip through the vineyards
• Luhačovice - The largest Moravian spa resort

Cities in Silesia

• Opava: Historic and beautiful town.
• Ostrava: Mostly Industial town.
• Jeseník: Spa
• Karviná: Spa
• Krnov
• Frýdek - Místek
• Kopřivnice: Famous Tatra cars are manufactured there, large museum of automotive.

Climate

The Czech Republic has a temperate, continental climate with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy winters, usually with snow. Most rains are during the summer. The temperature difference between summers and winters is relatively high due to the geographical position - no access to sea.

Even within the Czech republic, temperatures vary a lot depending on the altitude. In general, at higher altitudes the temperatures decrease and precipitation increases. Another important factor is the distribution of the mountains. The climate therefore is very diverse.

The annual average temperatures differ a lot with the altitude. At the highest peak (Snezka - 1602m) the average temperature is only -0.4°C, whereas in the lowlands of South Moravia, the average temperature is as high as 10°C and this also applies for the country capital Prague, but this is due to urban factors.

The coldest month is usually January followed by February and December. During these months there is usually snow in the mountains and sometimes also in the major cities and lowlands, but this snow tends to melt very quickly and so most of the winter is just wet.

During March, April and May, the temperatures usually increase rapidly and especially during April the temperatures and weather tend to vary a lot during the day. Spring is also characterized by high water levels in the rivers due to the snow melting and there are often floods.

The warmest month of the year is July, followed by August and June. On average, the summer temperatures are about 20°C higher than during winter. Especially in the last decade, temperatures above 30°C are not unusual. Summer is also characterized by rains and storms.

Autumn usually begins in September, which is still relatively warm, but much drier. During October, temperatures usually fall back under 15 or 10°C and decidious trees begin to drop off leaves. By the end of November, temperatures usually range around the freezing point.

By Car

Speed limit is a 130 km/h for highways, 90 km/h on other roads, and 50 km/h within towns and municipalities.

The highway stickers for regular passanger cars (weighing up to 3.5 t) are available in the following categories: 

7 days from date of purchase (CZK 200) 
1 calendar months (CZK 300)
14 months (CZK 900)

Eat

Czech food is hearty and suitable after a hard day in the fields. It is heavy and quite fatty, and is excellent in the winter. Traditional food inclues knedlíky (translated as dumplings but more like slices of white bread), served as a side-dish with Czech classics such as guláš, similar to hungarian goulash but with a thinner sauce and less spicy; Svíčková na smetaně, beef sirloin with a creamy root vegetable (carrot, celeriac, parsnip) sauce, served with a tablespoon of cranberry sauce, a slice of orange and whipped cream; Vepřo-knedlo-zelo, the combination of roast pork, knedlíky and sauerkraut. The latter combines very well with the world-famous Czech beer, the major brands being Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Budvar, Staropramen and Krušovice.

Modified: 14.02.2007 10:08:05 CET
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_republic, http://wikitravel.org/en/Czech_republic

 

 

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