Czech culture at home: 5 tips for what to stream, eat, and read this weekend, Jan. 22–24, 2021

An almost hour-long documentary, with English subtitles where needed, covers the career of Art Nouveau icon Alfons Mucha and his lasting impact on artists today. It streams for free over the Arte.TV website, but only until Jan. 25. The documentary by director Roman Vávra uses archival photos and films, interviews, and re-enactments to cover Mucha’s early work in advertising posters as well as his 18-year effort to make the Slav Epic.

Much of the story is seen through the eyes of the painter’s son, writer Jiří Mucha, who is played in flashbacks by an actor. Poster and album cover designer Stanley Mouse briefly explains Mucha’s impact on his art for the Grateful Dead and other bands.

Mooi, a popular vegan and vegetarian eatery in Brno, now has a Prague location that is ready to deliver kebabs, tortillas, salads, and fries. Currently they have five types of kebabs made with their own meat substitute, and they claim you won’t miss having real meat.

Mooi is located at Na Poříčí 25 in Dům černá labuť for those who want to pick up their orders. They also deliver via OneMenu, which is cheaper, as well as Wolt and Dáme jídlo. You can find more about Mooi on Facebook and their own website. Their motto is  “approved by the future,” referring to sustainable lifestyles.

An exhibition called Fragments of the Metropolis 2020, with photos by Czech News Agency (CTK) photographer Roman Vondrouš, has opened online. It will also be in the Czech Photo Centre in Prague when the lockdown restrictions are loosened. The exhibition shows Prague during the coronavirus epidemic and its inhabitants affected by the restrictions.

Vondrouš, who won Czech Press Photo 2020, said at the online opening that there is a single global theme that photographers deal with after a long time, the coronavirus. Some go to the streets, like him, while others show the situation in hospitals. He said he preferred pictures with at least some sign of optimism, but he admired his colleagues who were strong enough to be in the hospitals.  

Dan Reed is perhaps remembered by some people as the frontman of Dan Reed Network, which opened for the Rolling Stones at Strahov Stadium in 1990. Reed fell in love with the city but didn’t come back until 2010 for another concert. He has been based in Prague since then and has started a family here. He recently released a solo album called Liftoff, with the title track as the first single and three more available on YouTube. It is somewhat of a change in direction for Reed, meant to offer some peace in troubled times.

Reed has also recently finished a yet-unreleased and untitled album with the reunited Dan Reed Network and directed a related short film. Both should come out in the first half of this year.

Prague was rapidly changing in 1998. The city is seen through the eyes of an American expat named Elliot who gets a job teaching English. Brian Kimberling’s novel Goulash follows Elliot as he meets his students in pubs for lessons and falls in love with a fellow English teacher from the UK. He also becomes involved with a conceptual artist who steals his shoes. This, of course, leads to a series of misadventures and intrigue. The author, who taught English in Prague as well as Mexico and Turkey, drew on some of his own experiences. The book is available for Kindle as well as in print; buy it locally via BookTook.cz or Megaknihy.cz.