At certain times in the 20th century, Prague took on a leading role as one of the major design production centres in Europe. During the Art Nouveau period, it was among the leaders, together with Vienna, Brussels and Barcelona. Now, the Prague design scene is again emerging on an international level. We went there to take a look at what’s been happening of late.

On our arrival in the capital of the Czech Republic, we decided that the best way of discovering the trends in Czech design over the last few years was to visit The Museum of Decorative Arts, a beacon for enthusiasts of the arts and applied design. However, we found that the museum was closed for renovations and will only re-open to the public in 2017. Instead of feeling disappointed, we took the setback as a more stimulating challenge and set about unearthing less well-known places associated with the past and present of Czech design. Just opposite the Museum stands the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, whose students are destined to influence the future course of design, architecture, fashion, jewellery, graphic arts and the fine arts. Apart from presenting the work of its students and graduates, some of the Academy exhibitions are contextualised in terms of references from the past and present.

From Cubism to the Influence of the Brussels School

There are still many sites from that period on display. The Czech Republic – or Czechoslovakia, as it was then known – was a hub of multi-cultural design during the two World Wars. Even prior to World War I, the Czech Cubist movement played a vital role and creators such as Josef Gočár, Pavel Janák and Vlastislav Hofman designed unique works of architecture, furniture and ceramics. The furniture which Jindřich Halabala began to design for the United Arts and Crafts Manufacturing Plant between the wars influenced several generations. For further details of the key players in the design field during the interwar period, there is a publication entitled “Czech 100 Design Icons”. But, we also recommend having a look at the stores Modernista and Kubista, where you will find a wide variety of replicas from that period.

Czech design also came to the fore in the 1950s and 1960s, making itself felt on the international scene, particularly at the Brussels World Fair of 1958, while eight years later its consolidation earned widespread recognition in the film, Czechoslovak New Wave.It was not, however, until democracy was restored in 1989 that the following resurgence of Czech design occurred.

New Age of Splendour – Studios and Shops

Events unfolded apace after the return of democracy to the country. Thus, in the nineties, design flourished in the Czech Republic. A host of stores, designers and architectural and design studios emerged, notably Olgoj Chorchoj, Studio Najbrt and Maxim Velčovský, which continue to play a decisive role. At the same time, the design world continues to be augmented by young, upcoming talent provided by the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, which organises the Great Design Prizes competition each year.

On the contrary, fashion designers have been late in catching the wave. While in the nineties and the early years of this century they were practically nowhere to be seen, nowadays there are some stores of note. These are Timur et Grupo, Sister Conspiracy, Hana Havelková, Klára Nademlýnská, Denisa Nová and Liběna Rochová, to name but a few.

Design Markets

The 17th international Designblok exhibition, with “Freedom” as the theme, will take place in October this year. The event is aimed at both the professional sector and the public at large and will be given over to design from a broad perspective, ranging from fashion to furniture design, to jewellery, home accessories, product design, lighting, etc. Also to be featured there are installations of a character halfway between design and the plastic arts.

While Designblok holds its presentations in upmarket establishments, the Dyzajn market focuses on the sale of original creations. Here, the leitmotif is the open-air format. But, if you’d like to see it, you’ll have to wait until next year, as it is held on the first two days of August. This year’s location was Střelecký Ostrov. Lastly, the next DesignSUPERMARKET is scheduled for this December and will be hosted in Kafka’s House. These three events provide an opportunity to see the exhibitions and also to make design purchases.

Prague design is waiting to be discovered. Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Wendy, Kubista, Academia de las Artes, Arquitectura y Diseño de Praga, Museo de Artes Decorativas de Praga

Berlin clearly lived through one of its most bizarre periods during the Cold War. Bizarre, in that erecting a wall dividing a city into two parts, separating families and neighbours and setting them in opposing universes, is an Orwellian experience to say the least.

Each part of the city obviously developed in a very different way. On the one hand, East Berlin stagnated within a system based on obsessive control by the regime, a pattern shared by the rest of the communist bloc. West Berlin, for its part, evolved in similar fashion to the rest of the capitalist world.

West Berlin – From the Mecca of the Underground to Hedonistic House

From the seventies on, in line with the new trends in England and the United States, a new musical scene began to gain currency in Berlin, based on creative freedom and the aesthetic of a clean break with the past. Berlin became one of the leading centres of punk and all its subsequent ramifications. Their outsider and underground art culture sediment attracted performers of the calibre of David Bowie, Brian Eno, Keith Haring and Lou Reed throughout the seventies. By then, a good number of bands were feeding such exciting circuits as those of London and Sheffield.

At the end of the seventies, the music of Joy Division and dabblers in electronic and industrial music were adopted as icons of the flourishing alternative scene of an open Berlin. Unlike the British or American varieties, German post-punk was characterised by a tension between politics and culture and aesthetically owes much to krautrock, as many of its themes are endless repetitions at a heady pace, notably Geld/Money by the arty band, Malaria, or the early recordings of DAF.

As of 1980, the exciting Berlin scene was always on the move, spawning an inexhaustible string of bands like Einstürzende Neubauten– headed by the controversial Blixa Bargeld – Die Unbekannten, Nina Hagen, Die Krupps, Mekanik Destrüktiw Komandoh, Die Tödliche Doris, Geile Tiere and Die Arztewith their punk funk distinguished by sarcastic lyrics.True to say, the scene was not made up of musicians alone, but by film stars and directors, writers, philosophers, artists and photographers, too. By the mid-eighties a process of disintegration had set in. Music became ever more commercial and groups began to sign up with multinationals. However, it was not long before a new sound revolution arose which had a marked impact on the city – the advent of acid house and techno. Recall that Berlin’s Love Parade was the first mass parade of electronic music in the world. The first Love Parade was in 1989. The event started out as a clamour for peace and mutual understanding through music. Just a few months later, the Wall came down and West Berlin was consigned to history.

The legendary SO36 was still going strong at that time. The club, located on the Oranienstrasse near Heinrichplatz in the Kreuzberg district, took its name from the area’s famed postal code – SO36. The district of Kreuzberg is historically the home of Berlin punk, and of other alternative German subcultures. SO36 was initially dedicated mainly to punk music. As of 1979 it attempted a crossover between punk, new wave and visual art. In those days the club rivalled New York’s CBGB as one of the world’s leading new wave spots. Others on the Berlin circuit included Metropol, the disco, Kino, the club 54 Kantstrasse and the Sputnik alternative cinema, where the cult film Christiane F. premiered.

Period Document on the Big Screen

The 13th Beefeater In-Edit Festival will be held in Barcelona from 29 October to 8 November. Prominent among the many films to be shown is B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989, a documentary directed by Jörg A. Hoppe, Heiko Lange and Klaus Maeck on music, art and chaos in the Wild West of Berlin in the decade of the 1980s, the walled city that became a creative crucible for a special type of pop subculture which attracted brilliant dilettantes and world-famous celebrities of all kinds. However, prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, artists, squatters, poets, music creators and hedonists came together to enjoy a highly unconventional lifestyle in Berlin. They all knew it would be short-lived but, who’s worried about tomorrow? It was a case of living for the here and now.

Featuring mostly unreleased television material and original footage, photos and interviews, B-Movie chronicles life in a divided city, a cultural interzone where anything seemed possible – a place different from anywhere else in Europe. It is a fast-moving collage of stories about a frenzied but creative decade starting with punk and ending with the Love Parade, in a city where days are short and nights are interminable.

Berlin is currently experiencing a youthful resurgence in terms of cultural activity – and music, too! Why wait to discover it all? Check out our tickets here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by B-Moviem, SO36

The thing about London is that you can not only eat very well, but that you can eat almost anyplace, including the street, where food trucks and outdoor stalls abound. Take a stroll around the busy Brick Lanemarket in East London, especially on a Sunday, to glimpse and sniff the startling diversity of tempting dishes you can try in a city where you can snack 24/7 without repeating yourself. You might start with a good curry in Banglatown, an excellent Egyptian koshariin Boroughmarket, a mealy African ugali in Brixton Market, or a tasty Sri Lankan kothi-roti in the new Kerb Clubhouse in Hackney Wick, one of London’s best districts for “alternative” dining and shopping, where you can fill up on exotic food and drink for very little money in a very cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Why settle for a hot dog when you can have a wood-stove baked pizza at Fundi, traditional fish and chips at Proper Fish&Chips, or even an authentic Spanish paella at La Churrería, a Spanish restaurant on wheels you can usually find between Devonshire Square and Chapel Market on Angel street.

A must on Lexington street is the Asian restaurant Bao, specialising in a variety of steamed, stuffed pastries. There is often a queue outside, which says a lot.

The fashion for Latin cuisine is very much in evidence via the stands in street food markets where you can sample Mexican tacos and burritos, or tasty South American ceviche –marinated raw fish “cooked” in lime juice. For a more African experience and a huge variety of fresh foods you should visit the Ridley Street market in Dalton, especially on Saturdays, for unforgettable shopping and culinary experiences.

If you fancy sitting down indoors to enjoy good Spanish food in London, you should consider the Hispania, Ametsa, Ibérica,o r the new StreetXo.

You’ll have to book in advance to a chance to try London’s best gourmet hamburgers in Bar Boulud, a French-style basement bistro in the commercial district of Knightsbridge. The menu constantly changes to include the best foods in season, and it is famed for its sauces and puddings.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge.

New restaurants open every day in London and it’s hard to keep track, but a here are a few of the most promising:

The Attendant. The old public lavatories dating from the Victorian are now a hugely popular underground café, serving hot and cold dishes, both savoury and sweet. The atmosphere and the décor make it a unique spot to enjoy a drink, snack, or meal.

27A Foley St.

Cereal Killer Cafe. A unusual self-service café specialising in cereals served with different types of milk and toppings.

139 Brick Lane

Hixter. Great service, succulent steaks, artistic and imaginative décor, and a winning personality define this new restaurant near Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre south of the Thames. It’s ideal for long conversations with friends over fine food and excellent coffee, and features its own bar.

16 Great Guildford Street

Jenius Social.Cooking and socialisation are a formidable combination at this unusual venue founded by Jennifer Yong, and “starring” chef Andrew Clements –a student of the legendary Jamie Oliver. It operates as a international cooking school, tapas bar, and delicatessen.

Studio 8, 6 Hornsey Street, Islington

Breakfast (with or without bed)

The Caesar. You can breakfast like a king (or queen) in Queens Gardens after a good night’s sleep in the eponymous hotel located near the Bayswater, Queensway, and Paddington tube stations. Functional, sober, elegant, and very attentive to guests, this is a wonderful venue for savouring a traditional British breakfast, though you can also choose a Spanish potato omelette (tortilla) or even more exotic items from the breakfast buffet.

26-33, Queens Gardens, Hyde Park

Your Afternoon Tea

Grand Café Villandry. This is where London’s cognoscenti do their people watching over tea behind the huge windows overlooking the busy street. For £18 per person on weekends you can have tea and a selection of sandwiches, biscuits and cakes, and pralines. And a glass of champagne!

12 Waterloo Place, St. James's

Jaw dropping

At The Shard you’ll have London literally at your feet, since you’ll be 309.6 meters above ground, Western Europe’s highest urban lookout point, with views in all directions. It’s especially impressive at night.

32 London Bridge Street

Check out our prices here!

Report by Belén Parra. Gastronomistas.com

By Mariana Calleja from TravelThirst

Florence made us happy. Yes. Florence made us go creative, free and overwhelmed about everything in life.