Praha Smichov train station

Entry to the Staropramen brewery

One of many entries to the Staropramen brewery at Smichov. It looks like they own a few blocks here. They really are big.

McDonald's at Smichov

One of a few McDonald's in Prague with Drive-in - which is on the opposite side (as well as the gas station). I worked here for a while. Have a few funny stories, too. And hence I like McDonald's. Isn't it weird? :)

House that drinks beer

And yes, it's a brew house. Left side as well as the right side. Smichov is known for Staropramen beer. They even have a "beer emergency" here :)

Help me find the best

It was a sunny weekend in Prague. Vltava river was full of those boats. And I decided to start preparing a Christmas gift... a calendar with photos from this blog. My only difficulty is to choose the photos. So if you have a tip on a photo on your mind, please let me know. You can comment here or at that photo post. I would really appreciate it :)

Camaro at Prague's Autogallery

Old Camaro at Prague's vintage cars gallery at Smichov. This is an older photo and the camaro is gone by now (or maybe only in deposit, who knows). They have a various old cars here and all of them are timeless. My personal favourite for today would be a Porsche 911 from the seventies :)

... and there is a great view at Vltava river behind the Gallery. It is very close to this picture.

... and the Gallery is almost facing a building with new studio type of flats. They are amazing! You can see them here.

Prague - Smichov

Tree behind the fence at Smichov. There is an old factory complex inside. Abandoned and waiting only for a demolition. I wonder why anybody haven't started any development project here yet. This place has a great position in Prague, very close to all kinds of mass transportation and very close to city circle road.

Smichovske nadrazi train station in Prague

Although I had my way through Smichovske nadrazi station (bus and metro) every day since my 5th class at elementary school today was my first time seeing it from this perspective. Sure, it was a total coincidence. Actually, this isn't the main part of Smichovske nadrazi train station. The platforms are to the left where there's a bunch of other rails. And more to the left is the bus station and metro entrance. Even more to the left is Smichov's McDonald and just a little even more left is Vltava river. On the other side there's the new highway. It really speeds up driving through Prague. But you must be careful about your speed. They are evaluating the average speed you have over the whole section of this road and if you go faster you get the ticket. (FYI the speed limit is 70 km/h in here, that's about 44 mph ... isn't it interesting that conversion between km and miles is the same as the 1.6 crop factor on Canon cameras :)

Canon 40D at 3200 iso - Prague bus night shot

While waiting for a bus at Smichovske nadrazi bus station. As I've said before, Smichovske nadrazi is a station where people from Prague outskirt change from bus and train to metro and tram to go further inside Prague. And this is the actual bus I was waiting for.

I took this picture to try 3200 iso on my new Canon 40D :) You can see the big picture at Flickr (click on "All sizes" to view the 9 MB file). Time 1/20 and aperture 2.2 ... it was really pretty dark here.

Novy Smichov - Prague's best shopping center in the center

Backstreet look at the shopping center Novy Smichov. It is probably the best "in the Prague center" shopping center in Prague :) ... considering people going to and actually shopping here. The shopping center at Flora (also a metro station) may be as popular as Novy Smichov. Chodov (also a metro station :) would follow. Novodvorska Plaza and Eden would be on the other end - they are definitely not successful. Then there are "on the outskirts" shopping centers, but I won't bother you with them.

We will have a new shopping center very close to Old Town. But not as close to ruin the historical feel of Prague. It is called Palladium and is located at Namesti Republiky square (also a metro station). Opening of Palladium will be a big event. A lot of new brands entering the Czech market will have their first shops here. Palladium is at a very lucrative place - it is just a minute from Prague's shopping street Na Prikopech. Palladium opens on October 25.

PS: Abbreviation for shopping center in Czech language is OC ("obchodni centrum"). Do you know anything else named OC? Maybe a TV serie? :)

PPS: Lindex is one of the new brands in Czech republic. Actually they opened their first shop in Brno just a week ago and will be at Palladium, too. If you are from Norway/Sweden/Finland - do you know Lindex? What do you think?

Splendid place to park your car in Prague

If I was an Audi wagoon I wouldn't park anywhere else but here. This part of Prague is called Smichov and Smichov is usually known just as a big bus and train station where people from Prague outskirts change to metro or tram. But it has its beauty, too. It is hidden in the hills. And you can see the depth in front of the car. The buildings are amazing here. Lot of them looks like a little mansions, almost non of them is repaired. So you can literally feel the history here. It was well worth not taking the bus and having a short walk here.